The competition is fierce

People were watching Tristan and the piano guy now. He didn't care.

He reached for the piano guy's items, but a voice from the other seat next to him made Tristan pause.

"Man, if you need more space, I can move. No need to start a fight over this! For real."

Tristan turned to look at the person who was already moving his things to the side to give Tristan more room.

The person was a young man, somewhat handsome in a boring "village boy" way. He had shaggy blond hair, open blue eyes and a wide, kind smile.

He seemed laid-back and genuinely nice. Which Tristan didn't trust for one moment.

"No, thanks," he said and turned back to the piano guy.

Without warning, Tristan silently pushed his things away from "his" place, until everything was behind the invisible line. A bottle of water (closed) toppled and rolled on the ground, followed by a book of notes and a bunch of hair-styling products.

The piano guy gasped in outrage and stood to his feet. From the corner of his eyes, Tristan saw the reflection of the blond guy's shock.

"Damn it! I knew people like you are just… savages! Thugs! Bandits!"

Tristan pulled out his makeup kit and spread it in front of the dressing mirror.

No matter what they said in interviews, no human could look perfect for a camera without makeup or photo editing. It didn't matter if it was a man or a woman, every star did makeup.

Even on Tristan's handsome face were tiny blemishes that could be corrected, and things that could be enhanced even further with makeup.

In the last two weeks, he invested a lot into this vital skill. Not only money for the makeup kit, but also training and Pop-star Points.

There was a new line in his status now, and it said:

[Styling: 506]

With expert movements, Tristan began applying the makeup to himself, starting with the tone foundation.

"You are disturbing other people. Be quiet before someone calls the security and drags you out."

The calm with which Tristan said this was so powerful that the piano guy recoiled from it. The force of Tristan's personality pushed like a massive snow-swept mountain. Without a word, with its nature itself, it threatened to drop an avalanche of snow on top of a person shouting too loudly!

The piano guy closed his mouth and sat back, shaken.

But then, to his surprise, he was approached by the blond man.

"Um. Well, it looks like you need the space I freed more. It won't be as convenient, but you can take it!" The blonde gestured at his part of the dressing room.

Tristan glanced at the pair sharply in the mirror's reflection.

The blond man was smiling kindly at the piano guy. However, when Tristan's gaze met the blonde's, that smile didn't drop.

'What a strange man. Is he so determined to help that he doesn't care whom he helps?'

However, the piano man shook his head and scoffed.

"Ugh. I will be better on my own. Just stick to your own business, you understand?" He turned away and muttered more quietly, "What did the judges think, letting this village pumpkin compete?"

The blonde's smile dimmed for a moment from hurt. However, a moment later, he shrugged and went back to his seat, seemingly forgetting the entire matter.

'What a strange man,' Tristan thought again.

When no one was looking, he stole the piano guy's hair gel, and later threw it into the garbage bin together with some of his own trash.

Watching him look all over the place trying to find the hair gel was satisfying.

***

The actual contest began with an opening ceremony, which Tristan watched from the waiting area away from the stage.

It was a large room with plenty of seats for every participant and some, and had a large projector screen set in it, as well as loudspeakers. The order of contestants was written on a wall poster right next to the screen.

Tristan was going to perform almost the last.

Right now, the projector screen was showing the stage. On it stood the host, addressing the audience.

"And today we will welcome the most talented young people of California, whose determination to reach the heights of show business shines as brightly as the stars! Those are Californian young stars, and on this stage they will show what they can for our judges!"

The host then introduced each judge by name. Each of them was a small-grade celebrity.

"And without further ado, our first contestant—Philippa Gray! This young woman is like the rising sun, the rays of which will surely warm the hearts of everyone who listens to her soul-wrenching country songs."

Tristan leaned closer, watching as the young woman dressed in jean shorts and a poncho played on an acoustic guitar. She was an excellent singer, and despite barely moving during her performance, made all eyes fall on her. The nervousness she felt was almost imperceptible.

Just the first contestant, and there already was a worthy adversary.

However, Tristan was much more interested in the reaction of the judges.

He wanted to know what they liked and disliked and adjust his performance accordingly.

There was no room for mistakes! Out of over thirty contestants, only one will pass to the next round!

The next couple of performances were worse than the first one, but these people were still talented. 

Then, Tristan saw the piano guy walk to the stage. Remembering his play a couple of months earlier, Tristan was skeptical.

But when he heard the first seconds of that man's (Frank Valerian, host reminded) performance, Tristan was still blown away.

Valerian, with his slicked-back hair and a way too formal tux, played like a man possessed!

Although the melody Valerian performed didn't have vocals, it had so much personality in it that even the most skeptical judges were blown away.

'No way… Where did this snob dig so much talent from?! Even if he didn't make the song himself–he couldn't have learned THAT quickly!'

Tristan couldn't believe it. Something HAD to be amiss!