I could barely hear him even when he was sitting right next to me. Nick was trying to say something, but he just couldn’t say it loud enough for me to hear him. It was because of the girls that were sitting right next to us talking about guys like they always would do. I just said to Nick and Cameron that we should just move to a different seat. When we were able to find another seat, it was luckily quieter then before. Now I could be able to hear what Nick had to say and by the look of impatience on his face, I could tell what he had to say was important. Nick told us that the talent show was coming up and that he had an idea. He said that we should form a band just for the show. He said that he plays bass and he knows that I play guitar, as does Cameron. So right there we already had a bassist and two guitarists. Also, singing was my passion so right there we also had a singer. Nick also said we needed a drummer. Luckily, I knew exactly who to go to.

I called out his name from the hallway. John couldn’t hear me though, so I had to run and get him. When I had finally reached him, I was practically catching my breath from all the running I had just done trying to get down a hallway. It wasn’t a sports season, so I was a little out of shape. He was a little surprised to see me chasing after him, but I could tell he knew that what I had to say was important. Once I had gotten my breath back, I told him about the band and me and how it could be a really great experience. He agreed and said that he would join us in the talent show. I was so overwhelmed with excitement and happiness that I didn’t know what to do. So I just hugged him right in the middle of the hallway. I couldn’t care less about what people thought of me at that point. John was able to push me off luckily, even though it took him some time. He said to me that he knew that Sam plays guitar and that he heard he was supposedly very good. I said to John that he should ask Sam if he would be interested in joining and that if he agrees, he should come tell me at the end of the day. Instead John had seen him walking down the hallway, so we both ran over to him just before he walked into his classroom. When we got to the part where we said the word band, he accepted before we could even get to the part about playing in the talent show. I told him I would text him later with the details about practices and stuff. As him and John walked away to their classes, I knew that they would have a smile on their faces for the rest of the day just like I would because it always exciting to fulfill a dream of yours.

Sweat dripped from my face. Man, the lights on stage were a killer. But if you want to be a performer, you have to get used to all of this. We were going on in five minutes. It was so exciting to think that just two weeks ago we started practicing and here we are, five minutes away from performing. We took a minute to set all of our amps and guitars so we could be ready while the student council gave us our introduction. The whole band gathered up for a small pre-performing pep talk. We also prayed a little bit just so we could get a little extra help from the man upstairs. You know, God. Then we got our instruments ready, and we just waited for the yellow curtain to open and show us the hundreds of people that will hopefully be cheering our names. Student council said our names and gave a description on what we play and how we were formed. Then they opened the curtain. John counted us off and then we just took off playing like a rocket shooting into space. We were getting higher and higher into the song just like a rocket would do in space. As the final words from the song arrived out of my mouth, we stopped with a perfect ending. I couldn’t believe it. I had just pulled off what I had thought would’ve never happened in a million years to me. But it did.

The crowd went wild! They were so loud that I almost felt like covering my ears to drown out the sound. They were chanting our name. CHEAPGAS! CHEAPGAS! They couldn’t even take a break to catch their breaths. That’s how excited they were for us. I couldn’t tell but I think I heard a couple of encores coming from the audience. The feeling of doing this well was so overwhelming that I couldn’t even imagine what the appreciation would be like to a famous rock band at one of their concerts. It would be ten times as loud and appreciating probably. But for now, I think I can live with this.

The next day at school was pretty amazing. People kept coming up to me and congratulating me on a job well done at the talent show. I didn’t even know some of these kids but I could care less. All I knew was that I was practically famous to the school. I wondered if anyone was giving this much appreciation to the other guys too. When I saw Nick, Sam, Cameron, and John at lunch I asked them if they were getting a lot of congratulations from people and they said they got a ton of them. I was stunned to see what was happening. I could tell CHEAPGAS could be the next school sensation and hopefully more. I gave a suggestion that we should keep the band together. With all this attention we are attracting, we can’t just stop playing now. They agreed that staying together was a good idea. Passing up all of this opportunity we had would just be a dream wrecker. So we all agreed that we should just stay together until we think we should take a break or if we can’t do it any longer. We all agreed and swore to that pact. Hopefully nothing like that will happen though.

A year later we were back in the same situation. We had made it into the talent show again and everyone still loved our band. Mr. Burdge was still doing the same job he always had, running the show. He went over all the same information just like he did last year. He seemed to use our band as an example of a lot of stuff. I think it is just because he liked our band so much. For example, he used our band as an example of how to look on stage when we were playing. I could tell that meant something because last year, I remember all he really cared about was how good you sounded and how you looked and acted on stage. He said those were two great qualities to becoming a great shows men. I think Mr. Burdge had that feeling about us though because why else would he use us as examples for showmanship?

After the first practice, everything was going great. It was fun to hang out with everyone in the show. We all goofed off when Mr. Burdge wasn't watching so we were always having a great time. But at the dress rehearsal, things started getting bad. After we had finished rehearsing our song, we all ran out into the hallway to talk about what we should do tomorrow night on stage. We discussed for like ten minutes so I basically thought we were done by then, so I went to go sit down, watch some more acts, and do my homework. Then Sam and John came running out to tell me that Nick and Cameron were screaming and yelling at each other. They weren't exactly sure what it was about but all I knew was that it was about something serious. When they were finally done nick then walked over to us. I asked him what the argument was about but instead he told us he was quitting the band.

We were all in shock. We couldn't believe that Nick would just leave after one little argument. Some bands usually have like ten arguments before they would decide to break up. He said that he would play the show with us, but after that he was done. I couldn't believe that this was all happening. It was absolutely ridiculous. We were all great friends and a good band. I don’t get why Nick would just walk out on us now after all that we've gone through. If the band was breaking up like this then I couldn't afford to see what our friendships would be like afterwards. But losing Nick might not be the end of the world. A lot of bands don't even have bass players anyway so it wouldn't matter as much as it seemed right now. I thought everything was going to turn out fine that was, until Sam told me he was quitting too. He said he thought we were losing our focus on becoming really good band. Basically that we weren't as professional as we needed to be with our song decisions and with not irking out arguments like these ones. So since sam and Nick were leaving, that then just left Cameron, John, and me left.

Talent show night. The night that our band would play together for what looked like the last time in history. My parents and Mr. Burdge were extremely upset about Nick and Sam when I told them. But it is what it is. Since we were the first act we had to do sound check first and set up all of our stuff at the same time. The whole time were setting up no one said a word to anyone. Not even to like say they were excited to play tonight. It was pretty awkward between us five. I was just really hoping that after we played, Nick and Sam would hopefully change their minds about their decisions and come back to the band. Once we were done setting up, we then just sat backstage and waited for student council to start the show. At about like eight o' clock, they made an announcement for everyone to take their seats. Student council announced all of the acts in the show and introduced us as the first act. We were all waiting in our playing positions. Then the curtain finally rose and we started playing as best as we could. As we were playing, I remembered all the good memories we had together and it just made me think. Nick and Sam can take away the band, but they will never be able to take away the memory.

A week later, we met up for another practice. But without Nick and Sam there, it just didn't seem right. Cameron and John were also sad about the break up too. But it's not the end of the end of the world. We can get some new players and get a new band name. We could now start fresh. Hopefully we could be better just like in sixth grade. For now, we can relax about this whole new band thing because there are no gigs coming up that we know of right now. But when next years talent show comes around, we'll be ready to rock once again.