Chapter Sixteen: You’re blushing, aren’t you?

The red curtain was moved to the side and a handsome-looking young man stepped on the stage. He was the presenter of the show who goes by the name Sam Barton.

As he got on stage, a wild round of clapping could be heard resounding all over the hall. He smiled and waved politely at everyone and soon, the cheering died down.

"I, Sam Barton, this show's presenter welcome you all to the 8th edition of the upcoming idols contest. This is a contest where talented individuals from all over the nation gather to showcase their special talents, learn from mentors, gain experience from Top idols, and also to earn awesome rewards and prices!"

A loud cheering erupted the hall once again backing up Sam's opening speech.

"Today, we have about 350 individuals participating in this contest. And we'll be having everyone perform on stage, if possible, before the day ends. Also, be advised that a winner isn't determined by what they showcase today as the contest will continue on for about eleven more weeks before the winners are eventually determined. So in conclusion, I'm wishing you all the very best." A round of applause echoed through the hall as Sam ended the first round of his speech.

"Now let me introduce you to our mentors who would also be the judge of this contest. Please put your hands together as we welcome Dora Barton; our judge and mentor from the music aspect. Jenny wood; a beautiful and stunning mentor from the dancing aspect. And lastly, but certainly not the least; Thomas Hemsworth, the newly assigned director in charge of the number 1 top entertainment company; Alley Industry, and also a mentor in music aspect."

Whenever Sam introduce the judges, they would stand from their seats and then return back to their positions. At first when the two female judges were introduced, the applauds and cheering went a bit higher, but when the third judge was introduced, it got reduced to only just a few claps here and there.

As he returned back to his seat, Thomas just scoffed and shook his head for a second before signalling for Sam to proceed on to the next announcement.

'Such embarrassment!' He grinned.

'I can't believe he left a bad impression on everyone's mind on his first day. That comes to show how bad he is at being a mentor. I never wanted him to do that but he just won't stop pestering me. Now that he's got what he wants, let's see how it goes.' Alex sighed.

"As the upcoming idol contest begins, we'll be calling out on participants to come on stage and showcase their own very special talent for everyone to see. Our three judges here will listen to your presentation and if you perform well, you will receive a rank. Be aware that the highest rank any participant could aim for is rank five. So get seated as we welcome participant number one onto the stage."

As participant number one walked towards the stage, a lot of people were trying to see his face and the expression he had since he would be the first to perform.

Surprisingly, Participant number one didn't seem to be fazed at all as he climbed up the stage with raised shoulders and a confident smile on his face. Some couldn't imagine doing so, they wondered how he was able to stay so calm despite being the first to perform and also to get judged by the judges. They imagined how fast their hearts would be racing at that moment.

"He looks so composed. He must have participated in this contest before." Bob stated.

"It might be the reason why he's so confident, since he's already familiar with how things works here." The other participants agreed with him.

"That he has participated before in this contest doesn't determine the confidence he has. He didn't win the previous contest, what makes him think he would win this current one? Believe me, I've experienced a lot of these myself and I know you wouldn't look as confident as this man here. You will even be scared to perform first, like a fellow nervous participant beside me." Alex replied.

"Hey, you're talking about me." Bob pouted while Alex pretended to have no idea of what he's saying.

"Sorry, was I talking about you? I thought we were talking about number one's composed action." Alex said as he chuckled softly at Bob's pissed expression. Since no one knew each other's name, they had decided to address the other with their role numbers.

"What he said is true." Number 203 said, "The man looks confident, but it's not because he has attended this contest before. It must be because he has a good presentation to show that will blow ours and the judges' mind. That's why he looks so unfazed and determined."

"Exactly." Alex commented; quite impressed by the fellow's reasoning. He tilted his head to the side and noticed that the fellow was a female.

Her sweet soprano voice was backed up by a pretty and spotless white face, mesmerising every onlookers, including females by her perfect form and beauty.

At that moment, Bob had wrapped his hands around Alex's neck. He noticed that the two were just looking at each other without saying any word, so he decided to jump in.

"What's your name pretty girl, my friend here may seem intelligent but he has no idea how to talk to girls."

The fellow whose role number was 203 turned out to be a young teenage girl, about the same age as the current Alex and Bob.

'Huh, what's this idiot blabbing about. Who can't talk to who.'

"I know you must be wondering, of course he's single and he would very much like for you to be his girlfriend." Bob explained.

"Hey." Alex grabbed Bob's arm that was wrapped around his neck, and stared intently at him. That was when bob noticed a red coloured spot on Alex's cheek.

"Oh, you're blushing. That must mean you like her, don't you?" Bob teased him.

Touching his cheeks, Alex had to reply back. "No, I'm not blushing."

'Damn it, I can't believe I'm blushing. But how could a girl be this pretty. Even Selena Gomez's beauty didn't make me blush. No that's not right, it's this body. I'm not the type to blush at silly things like this.'

"The name is Tyler, and you?" Participant number 203 said with a stretched hand, causing Alex to shift his gaze to look at her, while still covering his cheeks.

However, their introduction was suddenly interrupted by the feedback coming from participant number one's mic.