Mr Santoro's judgement

The Meerkats sat in the studio's rest area, taking a break from practicing for a while. They wanted Mr. Santoro to judge their performance since the middle aged man has more experience than they do combined. They also wanted to do their best and get him to agree quickly to save time.

The other boys sat on the couch while Kokomi and Carter sat cross-legged on the carpeted floor, leaning forward on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Out of the blue, Beyond asked a question.

"Should we change our band name?," Beyond proposed.

"Why?," Simon questioned.

"I don't know, the songs that we've chosen don't fit the band's name. 'The Meerkats', makes it sound like we only play jazz and nothing else", Beyond explained.

"True that", Carter agreed.

After Carter said that, Nahida walked into the room. He heard the rustling of plastic grocery bags clutched in her hands. She then placed them on the coffee table with a thump, in front of Carter's and Kokomi's faces.

"Hey, do you mind?", Carter asked, annoyed by the action.

"Yes", Nahida said while untying the plastic bag and took out a cold bottle of ice lemon tea and handed it to Kokomi.

"Here hon", Nahida said softly.

"Thanks Nana", Kokomi said and took the bottle from her.

"The rest of you, grab your own", Nahida said, pushing Simon gently to the ground and sat in his place beside Albert.

Albert with widen eyes and furrowed eyebrows scooted towards Beyond a little to not ruin Nahida's mood.

Kokomi grabbed Carter's drink and handed it to him.

"What happened to you?," Beyond questioned.

"Work", Nahida sighed as she reached into the plastic bag and took a bottle of green tea and twisted the cap off.

"I see," Beyond said.

Kokomi's eyes glanced between the two adults and shook her head softly.

"Anyways, let's get back on topic", Carter said.

Carter had gotten acquainted with the whole group in a span of four days. Those four days was the foundation of the most best days he'll ever have in his entire lifetime. Carter congratulated himself on making this decision and Kokomi for opening up his heart to try new things. He had decided that he'll spend the rest of his days fully committed to the band.

"Should we change the band name?," Beyond asked again.

Nahida raised an eyebrow at the proposal, crossed her arms and turned towards Beyond.

"You sure?", Nahida asked.

"Yes," Beyond answered.

"Alright, any ideas?", Nahida uncrossed her arms.

Carter heard a creak coming from the sofa, he assumed that Nahida had leaned forward in her seat, interested in Beyond's proposal.

"Uhhh," The others trailed off, trying to think of a new name.

Carter thought of all the words he could think off that would fit the song they've chosen. The band had chosen to play the rock genre so the name 'The Meerkats' don't quite fit the kind of song that Carter had practiced singing.

He heard Nahida and Beyond arguing about again, but this time about the band's name.

"What about 'The Sprites' ," Nahida suggested.

"Heck no, we're not gonna be fairies on stage", Beyond rejected the idea.

"Fairies and Sprites and different things, Beyond. One has wings and one doesn't", Nahida explained.

"I don't care, it sounds like a fairytale," Beyond said.

Nahida sighed while she face-palmed her forehead.

Carter wanted to give the band an amazing name, something that is both meaningful and cool. He looked around him, even though he saw only figures and shapes, he could still hear the chatter of his bandmates. Everyone here has a part to play in to keep the band going for years to come.

Then, like a lightbulb flickered on in his head, an idea had introduced it self.

"I know! How about 'The Clockworks' ?," Carter suggested.

"Ooo, that sounds catchy", Nahida agreed on quickly.

"But why?", Kokomi asked him.

"Well because, everyone has a part to play to keep the band going. Just like clockworks in a watch," Carter explained excitedly.

"Ok, now that's cool," Simon admired.

"That's sounds poetic, I kinda like it," Kokomi said, Albert nodded in agreement with her.

"You're good at naming things kid, I'll give you that", Beyond said.

Carter smiled happily, glad that the group received his suggestion.

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After 3 days of practicing, teaching Carter some vocal exercises and choosing out their songs for the competition. The group tried practicing the Japanese song that they've chosen in front of Mr. Santoro to see if the song appealed to an older audience. At this point, they didn't know whether the judges are gonna be young people with old souls or old people with young souls.

Doesn't matter, everyone has different preferences for different kinds of music, including you. That's why there are millions of music being produced by all kinds of people alike. Movies, Concerts, Orchestras, Theaters, Ballets, and many more. Music makes the world a little less boring if you ask everyone.

Anyways, Kokomi invited Mr. Santoro down into the underground live house. There, she introduced him to Carter, the only person Mr. Santoro didn't recognize. Kokomi introduced Carter as the new vocalist and wanted Mr. Santoro's opinion after she and Nahida tried to train him. They also taught him how to breathe correctly whilst singing so he wouldn't pass out on stage. CPR is nasty but still helpful nonetheless, but Nahida would rather die if that were to happen.

"Mr. Santoro thanks for joining us today," Nahida said after he took a seat at the front row.

"Not a problem Nahida, I do very much like the band to shine, as well as win the competition if possible," Mr. Santoro said, giving Nahida a pleasant smile.

The Meerkats stood on stage with their instruments plugged in their respective amplifier. The amplifier is used to make instruments sound clearer and stronger. Besides, no electric instrument could function without it.

The musicians stood a little bit to the back to make the vocalist stand out, in this case, Carter. Kokomi stood on Carter's left while Beyond stood on his right. Albert stood in between Kokomi and Carter but behind them. Lastly, Simon sat between Carter and Beyond but a little bit to the back. Quite the sitting, I know. But this would make all the band members stand out without being blocked by the others.

Beyond this time held a Pyramid BC46 F-Series Black Electric Guitar. The guitar had a weird shape, like a rough shaped body instead of a smooth like usual electric guitars have. Simon thought it look more like a beetle's horns than a guitar. Kokomi had her blue Bullfighter 4-string bass strapped around her body.

Albert stood by his two Yamaha PSR-EW310 Keyboards looking very bored as he waited for Simon to begin their beat. Carter stood by the mic stand in front of him, holding onto the microphone gently. Lastly, Simon sat on the stool near his drums and scanned the rest of the members to see if they were ready.

Carter introduced the members of the band and the roles associated with them. He then revealed their new band name.

"We're The Clockworks," Carter revealed.

He then announced the title of the song they had chosen.

"Falling Rose,".

When everyone was ready and waiting, Simon began hitting his hi-hat to begin the beat. The song started off with a powerful melody bursting through Carter's ears as Beyond started the melody with his guitar Kokomi following suit, acting as support for the beat with her bass. Albert had changed the keyboard to resemble a group strings to give the song a haunting melody. Strings, as in violins and cellos.

The sound of the strings sent shivers up Carter's spine as he held the microphone nervously. The que to start singing is coming close, he had to remain calm. Everything will be ok when he starts singing. Soon, the haunting strings quieted down and the guitar began playing chords. The bass and drum still being played together in sync.

Reikoku ni hikaru saiaku na Stigma,

Orishikiru Misery...

Open you eyes...

ichi, ni, san, shi

'I just have to get through the verse then build up my voice for the chorus. That's what Kokomi and Nahida said when they thought me how to sing properly. I take breaths little by little so that I won't choke on saliva' Carter thought.

Soon came the chorus, Carter placed all his strength in this part. Albert had also set up a tubular bell sound to give more effect to the haunting melody which he then began to play along side the strings as Carter sang the first verse.

The chorus soon began. Carter placed aside his nervous and sang the chorus with all his might.

Falling Rose... Falling Rose...

Kami no sukui wo...

hitosuji no hikari wo...

Falling Rose... Falling Rose...

Chiri yuku bakari no kono akai bara...

Carter sang with his powerful baritone voice as he dragged out the last word. Beyond sang with him, acting as the second voice to harmonize with him.The action made both of their voices vibrate like an opera singer, singing dramatically at a concert.

Mr. Santoro nearly got up from his seat at Carter's majestic voice.

'What is this powerful voice?' he thought.

Mr. Santoro kept his composure as he waited patiently for the whole song to finish

The song's bridge soon came. That's when the other instruments quieted down, only leaving the bass and lead singer's voice. Carter began to sing softly.

Ah, Nagare dasu kurenai wa,

Tomaru koto wo shirazu

Sono shizuku ga yami

tokedashi hirogatte iku

The bridge then returned back to the chorus with a sick guitar rift after it. The song ended dramatically with the sound of the tubular bell playing an ending melody. Everyone felt elated that they didn't make one mistake. Carter leaned on his knees for support as he huffed, having used all his energy for this one performance, he really needed a break.

Carter felt amazing. For the first time in his life, he felt like he had stepped into a new world. A world full of new things to be explored. He couldn't believe that his voice sounded amazing. He came back to his senses when he heard a of applause coming from two people, Mr. Santoro and Nahida.

"You guys were awesome!," Nahida cheered.

"Nahida's right, you kids were really astounding", Mr. Santoro praised.

The band members began to give high-fives amongst themselves as they smiled brightly at their achievement of getting praised by the well renowned Mr. Santoro. (more on that later). Nonetheless, Mr. Santoro was already proud of them for trying out a song like this, especially trying to cater to the elderly and young.

Mr. Santaro didn't care what language it was in, Carter's voice was surprisingly phenomenal to listen to. Its so powerful that even he was taken aback by the sheer power it held when he sang the chorus. Mr. Santoro hoped that the band would go far with someone like Carter in it.