He wanted to win this thing so badly, in fact, he could taste it. Rock n roll was his life and nothing had dissuaded him from the course his life had taken.1
Not his Mother; who had cried for days after seeing him emerge from his room, his face covered in white zinc and copious amounts of her dark plum rose lipstick on his mouth and the high heel boots that she never wore any more. She had screamed obscenities at him and then collapsed into mumblings about satanic music. If he had understood all this he may have decided to follow George Michael. All that designer stubble may have had his Mother swooning instead! He was only eight, so how the hell was he to know what the woman was on about?2
Now his Father; there was a problem and he had been one all the way from nappies to greasepaint and leather pants. Dad, of course, thought he was gay! After all who put make-up on if you were straight? Time and again he had bemoaned the fact that he had never made his son take up a sport in school. 3
"If he'd played baseball, he wouldn't be a sissy. Sissies don't play ball." he said over and over again.4
Well Dad knew his son had tried to play the game, he just wasn't any good at it and besides the bat was way to handy to use as an electric guitar. Much better than air guitar and the tennis racquet well, that was even better because it had strings!5
I guess the lure of the groupies was much stronger than the turgid longings of some half assed ball player who may get some now and again. Alex Lloyd, he dreamed of getting it every night and as many times a night as he could. Because that's what rockstars did!6
Now as Alex sat waiting for his number to be called out he felt the nerves for the very first time in his nineteen years. All that air guitar on the bed and the belting out of 'I wanna rock'n'roll all night' was about to come to fruition. If it didn't, he'd sue their asses because he had found that even while wearing make-up he was damn good at legal studies and had obtained a healthy scholarship to college. He sighed and shook his head, he wouldn't need that anyhow because he was going to be rich beyond his wildest dreams. He vaguely heard the voice.7
'Number 117568 please, you're next.'8
This was it, no turning back now. Alex was about to open the door to opportunity and his hand shook as it turned the knob ever so slowly. This was the bigtime, American Idol, his dream.....9
Suddenly he found himself sprawled on the floor with his mate Danny shaking him violently by the shoulder and he roused himself from the nap he had been taking.Somewhere in the befuddled recesses of his mind he remembered the audition did not go quite the way his dream had.10
Danny was chortling away and slapping Alex on the back.11
'Man, that was the funniest thing I have ever seen. Simon groaned and started shouting out please get me Gene Simmons because you're goddamn awful and Paula ran outta the room so fast I think she was in tears over you! Alex, buddy, why didn't you tell us?"12
Alex was still fuzzy from his nap and he mumbled at Danny.13
'Tell you what man, what are ya saying?'14
Danny had tears rolling down his cheeks and he threw his head back and guffawed.15
'That ya couldn't sing?'16
Alex picked himself up off the floor and began to walk slowly out of the auditorium, pausing for an instant to look back towards Danny.17
'I didn't know I couln't, well; not until now.'18
Alex left the building with the sound of Danny's laughter ringing in his ears but the only sound he heard as he jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge was Gene Simmons singing 'God gave rock 'n' roll to you.'19
Author notes
I think the photo explains why I wrote this!
A contest entry
- Describe it to me. by mooseyx3.
200 points, ended August 21, 2006, 6 entries
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 12 of 12
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I really liked this story. Unlike another reader, I thought you captured Simon and Paula beautifully. I found the ending *slightly* (stress slightly) too abrupt. You could alter that by changing the order of the last bit. It would make a good subplot in a film.
For some reason in my browser it's formatted white-on-white. -
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Gosh you've gone back into the dim distant past lol I'd forgotten about these things on Storywrite..they seem such a long time ago now. Yes the end was abrupt, I think the contest called for it or something to be within a limit. I hadn't thought of it as much of anything than my overactive imagination lol I might relook at these one day. Thanks for the read
Chez
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Now, as a fan of old 'hair metal' from the eighties, I gotta tell you that just the title had me liking this one.
What a pleasure to find it backed up with a damned enjoyable story to boot.
Fun read, great flow, all around good one.
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I thought you were definitely on to something when you began this.
You describe the parents' mannerisms perfectly - the father figure was superb and wholly believable.
However, the 'waking up' aspect was unclear - and the ending, though I love the short cut off, really needed development.
Nice.
beginning: 5, language: 3, plot: 3, ending: 2, dialog: 4, characters: 4.
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Fair Dinkum
Hi OZ,Its been a while.
Enjoyed it from start to finish,it was an exelent read,i think most of us have been there at some stage in our lives, perhaps not as musicians or singers, but there was always the dream. Me? I wanted to be a cowboy, a super hero, and at one time an angel, sadly i ended up pounding a keyboard, in the hope of writing something worthwhile.beginning: 4, language: 4, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 4.
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good
this was an amazing piece, though at the beggining I was a little confused. I think you need to define more who Alex was, I thought at first he was a transexual, so maybe a little more detail? otherwise this was a really good write. -
This is cute, especially as a Kiss fan. And in all fairness- the guys in Kiss can't sing well either.
Not even close. Made me think of when I was a kid and my brother and I would rock out in the bedroom. I'm glad I read this.
beginning: 4, language: 2, plot: 4, ending: 4, characters: 4.
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Right On!
What's NOT to like about a story with Gene Simmons in the title?? If it were up to me, though, I'd change the ending...True rock-n-rollers don't commit suicide...Well, not intentionally, anyways. -
Okay
You have a good idea in this, but it took a while for it to unfold when compared to the resolution. By the time we learn what is going on, it is over. The climax could be a bit more clear as to what happened. I'm guessing he got on stage and, after at least a short performance, fainted. I'm not sure about that though as you mentioned him sleeping more than once. The description of Simon & Paula didn't make much sense to me as, having watched the show, I don't think their behavior was natural. I was impressed with your language in this. It seemed grammatically correct. Take a bit more time to polish this and you will find that it is worth it.beginning: 3, language: 4, plot: 3, ending: 2, dialog: 3, characters: 2.
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Fits perfectly with the picture. I loved the beginning with the mom and the dad. I could see the mom on the floor curled in a ball and the dad shaking his head and walking away. This was great.
~Syren~
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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Aww, poor kid, that's sad. This was definatly an interesting piece.
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Oh, my...
I admit that I am an Idol fan. I watch avidly. I keep wishing I could be a judge, but sometimes, I am not as nice as Simon about the contestents. This piece brought a chuckle, and the thought "Oh, dear..." Poor fellah. At least he has the law.
I like the way you wrap his thoughts, his parents, his prospects, all into one tidy package. Nicely done.
beginning: 4, language: 4, plot: 4, ending: 4, dialog: 4, characters: 4.
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