One Man Band System

A moment later, Sophie came out with a young man wearing the exact same festival shirt and a pair of jeans. The only differences were his baseball cap, an intercom headset, and the tablet he was carrying.

"Hey... sorry to keep you waiting, this is Kevin..."

"Wait... Emma? Eric?" Kevin asked, completely shocked as he pulled off his cap.

"Hold on... what the heck are you doing here, you idiot brother?" Emma asked.

"Helping out a friend and running security... what are you guys doing here?" Kevin shot back.

"Oh... you already know each other? Kevin’s... helping out as the co-organizer... so here’s the deal," Sophie intervened, immediately breaking down the whole situation for Kevin.

Kevin listened intently, glancing over at Eric, Emma, and the rest of the group. Once Sophie finished explaining everything, Kevin looked back at Eric, Emma, and their friends, looking visibly relieved.

"Awesome... thanks for stepping up. There were supposed to be six bands performing today, but two of the indie acts suddenly backed out at the very last minute. So, we’ll just slide you guys into today’s schedule," Kevin explained.

"Hmm... I see. Are those six bands famous?" Eric asked.

"Not really... they’re only known for a few tracks. The main reason they play here is just to sell their records. You guys are good to go, right? I actually watched the video of your all-girl band... hmm... Reed’s Empress, if I’m not mistaken... Emma definitely picked that name because she’s so extra," Kevin said, typing away on his tablet.

"Hey! I am not extra, watch your mouth," Emma snapped loudly.

"Alright... alright... come on, let’s head backstage," Kevin managed.

"Hold on... aren’t you supposed to be heading to the military base?" Eric asked.

"That’s still three weeks away. Besides, it’s not like I’m shipping out instantly. I’m helping out here because a friend’s company is running the festival. Plus, I can set up stages and handle security. Actually, a bunch of my buddies from the army are pitching in too," Kevin explained.

"Oh... got it," Eric replied.

"Let’s go... head on backstage first. Sophie and I still have to track down one more singer or band to fill today’s lineup... this has been a total nightmare," Kevin grumbled.

"Sorry, just a suggestion, but why don’t you have Eric fill the other slot... as a solo act?" Monica chimed in, raising her hand.

Eric immediately shot a look at Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura, who were all wearing devious smirks, clearly trying to get back at him. Kevin thought about it for a second, muttered something to Sophie, and then turned back to Eric.

"What do you think? You down?" Kevin asked.

"Hmm... sure, why not," Eric replied casually.

Seeing how relaxed he was about accepting the challenge without a second thought, a hint of disappointment washed over the faces of Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura. They all clicked their tongues in frustration, while Emma shot them a smug glare and a sly smile. But before she could even start teasing them—

"Emma, you should help them out on tambourine. Just follow the beat, you can handle that, right?" Eric said.

"Huh? Me too?" Emma asked, pointing to her own chest.

"Yep... help them out so they don’t get stage fright... you’ve got the experience, after all," Eric said.

"Oh, she’s got plenty of experience, don’t worry about her. She’s been in piano competitions with massive crowds and even done some opera work. She’s golden," Kevin added, waving his hand dismissively.

"Grr... I was totally planning on just being a spectator," Emma grumbled, furious.

"Karma’s a bitch," Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura taunted with wicked grins.

"I am so going to murder you guys after this," Emma whispered to her five friends with a wicked smile.

"Alright... looks like we’re all set. Thanks a ton, everyone. Let’s head inside... Sophie, take good care of them," Kevin said.

"You got it, boss," Sophie replied, flashing a relieved smile and giving a playful salute.

They walked over to the backstage area and found that, aside from the sound system and engineering rigs, there were three large trailers being used as dressing rooms. Tons of crew members were buzzing around, busy prepping the stage and double-checking all the wiring before the show started in an hour, making the atmosphere feel even more tense and chaotic.

Kevin and Sophie met up with a young man and woman near the trailers to tell them about Eric and the group. The two crew members craned their necks to look over, and Sophie showed them the videos of Eric and the all-girl band, Reed’s Empress.

While they were waiting, a sharp click echoed as the door to one of the trailers opened. Eric, Emma, Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura turned toward the sound, their eyes widening. Walking out of the trailer were three guys and a girl whose faces were incredibly familiar, they were from a pretty famous band called The Red Tide.

The handsome, lean guy leading the pack had messy blonde hair and ears full of piercings. He glanced over at Eric, and Eric looked right back, their eyes meeting. The guy studied Eric’s face, his brow furrowing, before a look of sudden realization washed over him. He walked straight up to Eric.

"Yo... you’re the guy who posted that solo video a few days ago, and the one in the clip playing on the sidewalk with those street musicians, right?" the guy asked.

"Um... yeah... and you’re... Zachary, the lead singer and guitarist?" Eric asked.

"Yep... just call me Zach. Man... I didn’t expect to run into you here. Hey, you want to join our band? Our bassist is about to retire," Zach replied.

"Who exactly are you saying is retiring, huh?" shot back a guy with a black buzz cut and earrings, dropping his elbow onto Zach’s shoulder.

"You, obviously... Max. Didn’t you say you were getting married?" Zach teased.

"Screw you, man, no way. I just broke up, stop reminding me," Max replied, shoving his bandmate.

"Hahaha... sorry, man," Zach replied.

Seeing Zach and Max talking to Eric and Emma, who was holding his arm, the only female member of The Red Tide turned her attention to the five girls who were standing there completely frozen. She walked straight up to them.

"Hi... I’m Naomi, nice to meet you," Naomi said. She was the only female member, sporting shoulder-length blonde hair, thick mascara, dark lipstick, and a row of piercings up her ears. She extended her hand to the girls, who took turns shaking it.

Naomi then turned her attention to Monica. Flashing a smile, she walked over, threw an arm around her, and leaned in close to Monica’s ear.

"Your vocals are pretty solid... Empress. What’s your name? I’m Naomi, and I handle the keyboards," Naomi said.

"Oh... thanks. Um... my name is Monica," Monica replied, shifting slightly and looking over.

"Um... you’ve already heard our recording?" Heidi asked, standing right next to Monica.

"Of course... I’m actually the one who told the organizers you guys were at the beach. I happened to walk past and saw you," Naomi answered.

"Hey... Naomi, leave them alone," said a guy with a shaved head wearing a bandana.

"I’m not bothering them. Oh yeah... guys, this is our drummer, Jackson," Naomi said, introducing him.

"Just call me Jack. I watched your video. You’re the drummer, right? Your technique is awesome," Jack said to Laura.

"Oh... thank you," Laura replied shyly.

"Yeah... I really dug your performance. The guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist are just as cool. You guys are playing today, right? The four of us went through a lot of trouble to recommend you," Zach said, suddenly materializing right in front of the five girls.

Hearing such high praise from a widely known band made the hearts of Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura beat even faster as the stage fright crept back in. They glanced over at Eric and Emma, who were chatting with Max, and then looked back at the three members of The Red Tide standing before them.

"How about a little showdown? Whoever gets the crowd moving, gets the loudest applause, and triggers the biggest cheers wins. And as for punishment, the loser disband. What do you say?" Zach challenged with a confident smirk.

"Huh?"

Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura stared back at Zach, who stood there with his arm around Jack, who had his arms crossed over his chest, while Naomi stood with one hand on her hip. The looks on all three of their faces were dead serious; they genuinely viewed the five girls’ musical skills as being on their exact same level.

Naturally, Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura swallowed hard, but for some reason, their stage fright had completely vanished. Hearing Zach’s challenge, Eric and Emma naturally turned to look at the five girls, who were already clenching their fists in determination. But before anyone could make a move,

"Man... ignore Zach, I’m sorry. He loves to mess around... Honestly, it doesn’t even matter who wins, because at the end of the day, we’re the ones disbanding anyway," Max whispered, shaking his head.

"Oh... why is that?" Emma asked, totally confused and taken aback.

"Too many issues," Max whispered back quickly.

Seeing that Max clearly didn’t want to get into the details, neither Eric nor Emma pressed the matter any further.