14 Chapter 14

“All of you have given your best in the third round performances, but only a few will go ahead into Star week.”

All the contestants were standing in a big hall with the judges in front of them.

The third round ended yesterday, and today was the day of the results. Again, Aiden had the calmest expression among the tensed group.

“4 contestants have already managed to impress us and have passed the third round, which means only 12 more spots are left.”

When Andrew said that, Aiden was able to hear some gulping noises. Andrew’s words were a piece of news for them, after all.

Now, they have even a lesser chance of qualifying with only 12 spots left. There were 36 contestants gathered in the hall, so it meant that only one would go ahead in every three contestants.

‘It seems like both Rachel and Emily have already qualified. Well, it’s expected of them.’

Aiden thought in his mind as he couldn’t find both of them in the hall.

Two people he knew had qualified, but he wasn’t even least surprised. He knew better than anyone else that they were few of the most skilled contestants in the show.

Aside from them, he could make out Jackson and Michelle standing in some distance. However, both of them looked vastly different.

Jackson looked really anxious and tense, and he was holding onto the helm of his shirt. It seemed like his performance hadn’t gone too well, making him more nervous about the result.

On the other hand, Michelle looked calmer standing with her group. It seemed like she was getting used to the stress as the competition progressed.

When she noticed Aiden glancing at her, she nodded her head. He returned the gesture before focusing on Alyssa.

“Now, I know you all are tense. It’s evident on your faces but don’t be too anxious. I know some of your journeys would end today, but that’s not the end. You could return to this show next year or find another path for yourself. Music has endless possibilities, and it’s on you to find what suits you.”

Some people nodded their heads at her words, but it didn’t seem like their worries were gone. Shaking her head a bit, Alyssa showed a cue card to the contestants.

“In this card, the contestants’ names who would be going to the next round are written.” Some faces tensed at those words. They felt like the inevitable was coming closer now. “When I say a name, the contestant has qualified.”

Aiden took a deep breath hearing that. He was acting calm till now but hearing those words; even he felt a bit nervous.

Would he really pass this round? Or was it going to be the end of his journey?

The only reason he was even so calm was that he knew he had given his best in the third round. But what if his best wasn’t enough?

That was still a concern that was literally dancing in the back of his mind.

‘I can just hope for the best here.’

Aiden braced himself as Alyssa started to announce the names one by one.

“So, the first contestant that is going to qualify is… Stacy Miller!”

A girl with a ponytail standing right next to Aiden nearly cried as she heard her name and jumped with joy as others applauded her.

After that, Alyssa took one name after another.

“Henry Matthews.”

“Elon Husk.”

“Selena Murry.”

Every time she took a name, Aiden’s composure took a hit. He was finding it hard not to become more anxious as time went by.

“Jackson Brown.”

When he heard his name, Jackson looked like he didn’t believe it. For a second, he just looked at the judges dumbfoundedly and only after that did he realise that he had qualified.

All sorts of emotions overwhelmed him as he thanked the judges while trying to stop himself from crying.

“Next, we decided to qualify one of the two groups.”

Other than Michelle’s group, there was also a boy band. Both these groups tensed hearing Alyssa’s words.

“The group which will go to Star Week is Symphony!”

“Yayyy!”

Michelle’s group cheered among themselves as their name was announced, while on the other hand, the boy group had dejected shoulders like they had given up on the world.

Aiden also felt happy for Michelle as her former teammate.

Now only seven spots were left, and still, so many contestants were hoping to be selected.

“Helen Kerr.”

“Will Ivan.”

“Jeremy Parker.”

“Mary Christine.”

Only three spots were left now. If Aiden felt a bit anxious before, he had started to feel even more so now. He could feel his heartbeat increasing as Alyssa looked at the remaining contestants with a thin smile.

Even Andrew seemed like he was enjoying the situation.

Only Steven, who had a stoic face like he didn’t care a lot about who would go ahead. When Aiden’s eyes met his, Steven gave a blank look.

That actually made him more anxious.

‘Am I really going to get eliminated here?’

He thought, praying in his mind that his name would be among the three spots that were left.

“Archie Fox.”

His heart sank as a black-haired white guy standing in some distance cried tears of joy for passing the round.

Only two spots were left now, and there were still 26 remaining contestants left in the hall.

“Now, the final two contestants…” Alyssa trailed off on her words to make some suspense, but the atmosphere was already quite tense. She slowly read out the name of the 15th contestant who had qualified. “Joe Walker.”

Aiden clenched his fist tightly and took deep breaths. Now, only one spot was left.

‘This might actually be the end for me…’

He thought inwardly and tried to prepare himself for the worst. He repeatedly told himself that this wouldn’t be the end for him, and he would even succeed without X-Star.

But maybe those were empty words, and like everyone else, Aiden was also afraid of being a fail-

“Aiden Silvereye!”

He blinked his eyes repeatedly as he suddenly heard his name.

“What?”

“Congratulations! You are the final contestant to qualify for the Star Week.” Alyssa smiled as she said those words.

It took a while for him to take in that sentence. Yet, he has suddenly survived from the river of despair where he was drowning.

‘I qualified… Phew… I actually thought this might be the end for me…’

Aiden plunged to the ground thinking that. It was hard for him to keep standing. All around him, he was able to see the sad faces of the contestants that haven’t qualified.

Some were even crying as the judges consoled them that it wasn’t the end of their musical journey.

But Aiden knew that words were only just that. They might make you feel better, but there was no guarantee that you would find a path for yourself.

‘I need to do my best to not become like that.’

He thought as he stood up. His true test would be starting next week with the start of Star week.

**

At the same time as the results of the third round were being announced to the contestants, the third episode of the X-Star was broadcasted.

In the first two episodes, a lot of contestants were introduced. Some qualified and some didn’t, but the reception was the same as the first two seasons.

That changed from the third episode.

Gossip Tribunal, which has released articles on the first two episodes, also released one on the third with intensive research into why the third episode got more eyeballs than the first two.

[Panther TV’s reality show [X-Star] is on the cusp of another high-rated season, with the first two episodes getting high ratings, similar to the last seasons.

Talented contestants, interesting backstory and very entertaining – The show had everything that other reality shows in this age don’t, and its grounded approach had already made it a fan favourite.

But when the third episode was released, it got way higher ratings than the first two episodes.

It was mainly because of the theme of the second round, which was introduced to be a group round. This made contestants group together with each other, which gave an interesting perspective to the viewer.

Many famous contestants grouped, which made the viewers interested in the development. Moreover, the stills of them working together and even the arguments made it a greatly entertaining episode.

Mainly because many viewers came to Sparrow to talk about their favourite contestants and the groups they were in after the episode.

Due to this, X-Star was trending on Sparrow yesterday. For a while, it had more tweets than even the most critical news yesterday, which was of a famous yet controversial businessman wanting to run for President…

…

//DreamNote//

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