hesitant res;; not sure yet butthis babe is gorgeous <3
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- username: Mint Chip
name: August Maxwell
gender: male
theme song: Stand Out
This song essentially describes August's personality and viewpoint. While August isn't about fame and fortune, he is about making a name and a way for himself. When August heard real music for the first time, he was immediately drawn and the music had him mesmerized without him even realizing it. His soul entwined with the rhythm. When he grew into his teenage years his was beginning to lose hope and beginning to settle but ultimately chose to stand out instead. His goals and determination are what makes this song suit him, it's what makes it his theme. He would do anything to get his shot and to prove that he is more than worth being noticed. He displays his talent proudly and puts himself out there without any fear because he knows he has to make an impact. Show people that he's there and show them why he deserves to be. In the end, he did more than just merely stand out and he was certainly recognized and popularized by his talent. But it was his desire and drive that brought him to where he was. I also selected this song because immediately when I saw this viscet I could not get the image of Powerline from the Goofy Movie out of my head, something about it all clicked and this character was just set into motion. Plus the charisma and character that is just exuded from that song (and the character Powerline) I can just imagine August having once he grew to be the popstar he grew into being.
(260 words)
do they face any challenges? how do they overcome their challenges?:
an interview with a popstar wrote:"We have a very special guest today here on our show." The show host says to the audience and the camera as he stands to greet their guest. "Let's welcome the whirlwind sensation, August Maxwell!" Applause and cheers resound as a well-dressed viscet makes his way to the stage. The brightly colored male reaches out at a hand to the show host to shake before they both take their seat.
"It's great to have you here, August." The host says as he straights up his cards.
"It's great to be here. Thank you again for having me, it is truly a treat to be here." August says in earnest as he shifted in his seat and rests one leg over the other awaiting the host to speak again.
In the small pause between speaking, there are a few cheers from fans among the crowd. The host grins and motions for them to continue and there is a roar of cheers and applause again for the popstar. August smiles brightly, obviously very flattered and somewhat embarrassed by the outburst of cheers. He flashes them all a grin and it's as if the audience exploded into even more cheers like during his live performances on stage.
"Well, I don't even think we need to ask you anything. Just having you here seems to be a huge hit." The show host joked with August who just laughed in return and agreed. It took several minutes before the audience calmed back down even for them to all be more serious and for the host to be able to ask his first question. "Hope you don't mind answering a few questions for us, we do have a few we're rather curious about."
"Oh yes, of course. I did come here with that intention though we did seem to get a little off base." August said with another light chuckle, "But ask away." He relaxed against the seat for the time, not seeming at all nervous about any of the potential questions that could be coming.
"Alright, well I'm sure we're all dying to know what got you into music. Did you always know you'd be a popstar?" The host asked with some curiosity.
"I never imagined I'd come as far as I have today considering where I started. I feel I'm incredibly blessed to be able to perform live and make music for the radio as well. It's still really surreal to me. It's been three years and it still feels like a dream to be here." August admitted, he paused a moment before continuing, "but to answer the question you asked first, I first realized my passion for music and singing when I was a small boy. It might not seem like much but I can remember the exact day. I was six or maybe seven and my family and I got the chance to see a live performance by a wonderful singer in our local town. The music, the melody of her voice and everything about the experience changed my entire perspective. That's what genuinely first got me into music."
The audience and the host both seemed rather surprised. The host cleared his throat as he regained himself, "Really now? One experience when you were a child left that sort of impact on your life?" The host still seemed shocked, "That's rather impressive. Well, when did you start performing and writing your own music?"
August thought that one over a little before settling on the answer, "About five-ish years ago actually. It's been a bit of a journey getting to this point but I started singing and performing on stage about five years ago. I've been scribbling down lyrics to songs for years before that even but I never imagined those few lines scribbled here and there on napkins or whatever I could get a hold of to write down my thoughts would turn into such popular songs." He smiled, his eyes showing how humbled he was by all of this as he looked out to the audience. "and it's all thanks to the people who encouraged me and my wonderful fans." There was an applause and some "awes" among the audience before August looked back to the host.
"Only five years? Surprising. You're extremely talented, August, did you have schooling or any special tutors to teach you how to play or write?" The host questioned.
August shook his head, "No, I didn't have anything like that. I taught myself mostly and had some input from people I've met along the way."
"No schooling or anything? Really? So you taught yourself to play and to write music and you've only been performing for roughly five years. You're quite the success, August, I would have thought you had come from less humble beginnings" The show host admitted.
"Well," August replied, "It's easy to judge a book by its cover but it's another to flip through its pages and know the truth." There was a silence and the audience seemed to be listening with baited breath. "Like I said before, I consider myself to be very blessed. I didn't start out with a leg up or really any form of a headstart. My family was rather poor actually and we didn't have a lot." He kept his charming smile intact as he spoke, "Things were bleak for quite a while but one day I made a decision. A decision to follow my dream and to make something of myself. With only the clothes on my back and that dream in my heart I left the only life I ever knew for a chance in the city." His smile faltered only a moment as he continued, "and at first I thought I had made a terrible mistake. It felt like every door was closing in my face and I was roaming the streets for a long time just barely getting by. It was a long six years but I never let myself stay discouraged. And one day," He snapped his fingers, "just like that, I went from living in a rundown shack to the presidential suite of a very nice hotel. And it's been like that ever since it's been one wonderful surprise after the next." There were a few tears that escaped his eyes but he still smiled, "And all of that has brought me to today. To having the luxury of sitting here answering your questions and being able to say that all of the sacrifices were worth it."
The host was speechless as was the audience for several minutes. Many were in tears with just the small exert from August Maxwell's life. They were in awe of his boldness and the strength it had taken him to get where he was. There were touched by his story and shocked by his humbleness. After a couple more minutes of silence, the audience stood to their feet and cheered. They cheered as they had never cheered before and August's heart swelled as he watched the audience. He twitched an ear as he heard a closer applause. He turned to look to the host who was also standing and applauding him as well. As August had said you simply cannot judge a person by where they are or how they look now because you just don't know what challenges they had to face to get to where they are and to become who they are now.(1240 words)
Story 1 - Beginnings wrote:It was a normal evening for this dusty, little town. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, everyone going about their normal routines. Except for one family. One family were eagerly expecting the newest addition to their family. It was hours of waiting with anticipation before the announcement of the new bundle of fluff was finally born. His bright pelt was striking much like his father's, but as his eyes opened and were revealed to be equally as bright it was obvious there was a spark of his mother in there too. The parents smiled to one another as they took their son into their arms and cleaned him up to prepare to show their two daughters their baby brother. As the mother worked on cleaning up the baby, his ears unfolded and twitched bringing attention to just how large and unique they were. The father had gone to get the girls but came back to check on his wife and son, startled at the sight of those bizarre ears. At first, both parents just looked to one another, uncertain of what to say to the other but as their small child began to whimper both of their gazes softened as they gazed at him.
"He certainly is special isn't he?" The mother said softly as she finished cleaning up her son. She wrapped him in a warm blanket and held him close to soothe him.
"That he is." The father agreed as he stepped over, an arm around his wife as the other was gently placed on his son to help soothe him. "What shall we name him?" He asked quietly as the child's whimpers subsided into quiet little coos.
"We had so many names discussed but none seem quite right anymore, do they?" The mother thought, she smiled as she gazed at her bright little child. "His pelt is as bright as yours."
"No, I believe he shines brighter." The father replied.
The mother raised an eyebrow at her husband before shaking her head, "He reminds me of a sunny day. Reminds me of summer."
"Perhaps August then?" The father offered. The name felt right but it felt as though it were missing something.
"It's good, I think it suits him." The mother replied, "But perhaps we should also name him after your father?"
"Maxwell?" The father questioned her, at first the name sounded odd and ill-fitting but he thought it over some. "August Maxwell." The more he thought about it the more he liked it. "Yes, I think this name will take him far."
"Then it's settled." The mother replied with a smile as she looked down to her son. "Hello, my little August. My beautifully bright son." She nuzzled her face softly against her son who continued to coo and make happy quiet noises. "Come on now my dear, let's go show the girls. I'm certain they're eager to meet their baby brother."
The girls were very eager to meet August and awed at his unique trait but after that passed they were just happy to have a baby brother. The family of four was now five and couldn't be happier. This small town felt bigger, even if only for a short time, with the addition of their new child. And for a short time, everything was alright.---------------------
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In the first few years of August's young life, things changed a lot for his family. They moved several times, each house seemed to get smaller and smaller. Jobs were hard to hold on to and money was tight but his parents always made the best of it for him and his sisters. August never thought much about not having money, he had everything he wanted most of the time but there was never much that he wanted either. He loved to spend his time in the backyard just playing with whatever he could find and playing pretend with his sisters. It wasn't until his sisters were a bit older that he really started to understand how little they really had.
When August was around five when his sisters started helping their mother. His mother did odds and ends jobs, usually mending cloth items as well as creating clothing. His sisters worked hard to help their mother finish her orders and take on new ones just to help their family make ends meet. Things were harder now but they had been for a while, August just had never noticed. His parents, his sisters, they all had so little time for him now while trying to provide the funds to keep them all fed, clothed and with a roof over their heads. At first, he didn't understand any of it, he felt like he was being pushed away or that they were forgetting about him but the exhaustion and desperation were something he couldn't ignore even if he didn't understand it fully. It spurred something in him even as young as he was to try and be more helpful. He didn't know how to help really, and he couldn't learn to sew quite like his sisters yet without pricking himself too often. While his mother appreciated the attempts he made she told him she had a better job for him and sent him out to collect wood for the fire. August was quite small still so he couldn't carry more than a couple big sticks at a time but he did his best making trips all day long to bring as much wood back to help. He was so desperate to make a difference and to help his family even if it was a little bit. He was praised by his father on days he wasn't too exhausted to notice all the hard work that August had done but most days he was just too exhausted to properly do so.
August worked hard every day except for days when the weather was too bad and his mother wouldn't let him. His diligence was certainly something to admire and it made his parents quite proud to see such a determination in such a small body. When August was a little over six and a half his parents had saved back just enough extra money to treat their kids by taking them to the county fair that year. It was only the second or third fair that his sisters had ever been too but it was the first fair that August would attend. They all got tickets and eagerly ran around to play games and ride on as many of the fair rides as they could manage. August was in the middle of waiting in line to get on a ride with his sisters when he heard something. His large ears twitched some as he caught the sound of something different. The sound of a voice in a way he hadn't ever heard really. He looked around, swiveling his ears in every direction until he pin pointed the direction the beautiful voice was coming from. Without even thinking he began walking from the line he had been waiting in towards the sound of the voice. He swayed a little as the sound of the voice grew louder as he neared.
There was a small crowd standing between him and the voice but he weaved in between legs until he found himself in front of a platform. He looked up and his eyes widened in awe as he saw a beautiful woman singing. The emotion and power in what she was singing made everything else melt away, all August could hear or see was this woman singing as her band played. He swayed with the music, his young mind couldn't even process or recognize most of the words she sang but the sound of her song brought tears to his eyes. He couldn't explain it but he could feel every emotion of the song through her voice and he loved every minute of it. He stayed there in the front of the crowd, watching and listening in awe until the performance ended and his parents, who had been frantically looking for him, found him and dragged him away from the stage. They scolded him for running off like that but August just smiled with eyes still so full of wonder. He asked a million questions that night on the way home, about the singer and what she was singing. About the music, the melody and the band. He asked so many questions that his parents could in no way answer but they did their best to answer him as best they could. And thus his love of music was born. Now when he went out to work to collect wood for the fire, he would hum and sing things that he made up or thought of. Sometimes he'd even hum the melody of the song that woman had sang.(1480 words)
Story 2 - Hard Times wrote:As August began to grow into his preteen years everything got harder. His mother had a harder time finding work as did his sisters and his father was struggling a lot to keep up with the workload at the factory job he had. August couldn't go with his father to the factory and his mother wasn't getting enough business for him to help out there. He began taking up yard work jobs for the neighbors and things like trash pick up. Any type of manual labor he could find that could bring in some extra money to help his family. The economy was in a recession so after a while, even those sorts of jobs were hard to find. His family was beginning to go more and more without. He was powerless to help as well.
Things only persisted to become more difficult. Workers were getting laid off from the factory and his father only barely managed to keep his job. But now his work load has tripled and he was even more stressed as he tried to keep his job and keep up with the demands being made of him. August said goodbye to one of his older sisters as she married into a family that lived up state and was better off financially. With one less person to feed it was a little easier to manage but only barely. His other sister married within the next year and moved away too. Now it was just him and his parents, struggling to get by as best they could. August did all he could still working more odd jobs and saving back whatever he could for in case they need more. He refused to spend a cent on himself as he worked tirelessly to try and improve their financial situation.
For a short while, it seemed like things were beginning to look up. With only the three of them to feed they had more money to properly pay their bills and scrape by with enough left over to afford food as well. It was still stressful and busy times but at least they could afford their way of living for the time. August was still saving back everything he earned while he helped provide a little of that money towards food and anything his parents couldn't cover. In those few years, he had learned how to properly sew and helped his mother out with that when he wasn't out working his odd jobs. However, it seemed like just as soon as they were getting everything back in order to get them back to breaking even that everything began to fall apart again. August was just a few days short of sixteen when he received word on the job that his father was in the hospital. His father has gotten injured during an accident at the factory and his right arm was broken and messed up quite badly. They were told that he would be out of work for a few months at the minimum. This wasn't the news any of them wanted to hear at all but the news that came next was far worse.
Due to his father's injury, the factory managed to find a loop hole that allowed them to get out of paying any sort of workman's comp as well as laying him off. Without his father's job, everything became harder. There was no way of paying back the hospital bills as well as keeping up with all their bills. This particular bind ended up getting their house taken from them and left them all on the street, still fighting to survive. August had tried to offer all he had to try and stop from losing their home but his mother said it wouldn't have helped and that he needed to keep it to survive. They had all hit rock bottom, they had nowhere to live and very little to eat beyond what his parents could manage to bring in. His father's arm still in a sling and mostly unusable and his mother working her fingers to the bone trying to keep them as fed and clothed as they could. She managed to get them a small shack to live in that had barely one bedroom. There were no furnishing beyond a wood stove in the front room.
This was where August found himself just shortly after turning seventeen. He was laying on the floor in front of the wood stove, staying as warm as he could there. It was a bitterly cold winter, and although he had argued they should sleep in the main room to stay warmer they insisted they wouldn't so he could sleep more comfortably. He laid there, exhausted but unable to sleep as he started at the stove and the dim light flickering through the vent on the door. His mind was blank as he laid there, just so tired and feeling hopeless. He was working himself to death but for what? For this meager way of living? His heart twisted in pain as he tried to push back the despair he felt.There has to be more to life that this. There has to be.
It's all he could think. It was more of a desperate plea than a definite statement or thought. He sighed quietly as he kept his eyes trained on the flickering light.What if there isn't more than this? What if there is never more than this for me?
It was at that point that something in August snapped. He shifted upright, No, there has to be more than this. He told himself, determined that there must be. In that moment, a melody was brought to memory. His heart leaped as a thought, a crazy thought, occurred to him for the first time in his life.What if I leave and aspire to be like that singer?
The thought was crazy. August knew so little about anything beyond manual labor, he didn't have much schooling or really anything that could aid him in aspiring to this goal. But everything in him felt that this was right somehow, that this thought was meant for him. It was his destiny, he just knew it. Much like how he had done when he was a child, he rose to his feet and followed his heart without thinking about much else. He grabbed a pen and paper, leaving behind all the money he had earned over the years except for a couple bills. He wrote a goodbye note to his parents, telling them he was leaving the money for them so they could buy food and survive the winter. He promised to make them proud and that he would be back one day. He felt some tears as he wrote his goodbye and signed with "love your son, August". He packed the few things he had to take with including one of his mother's spare sewing kits in case he needed it. He didn't look back, not once as he took himself and his things and stepped out into the cold that night. He breathed in the crisp winter air and made his way to the train tracks. He walked along them a long way until he heard a train coming, he was looking for a specific night train that always headed into what he'd always heard called "music city" and that was the train he was going to get on. He watched a couple pass as he walked along the tracks before his train came, he watched for an open cart and made his run. He managed to jump and latch hold of the door of the train car.
He wasn't alone though as a hand reached out to him, helping him into the train car. There were several young and old individuals who had hopped the same train car aiming for the Music City to make their break. This both excited and terrified August. He was excited to see others aspiring to make their way, and having company for the trip was always nice but he feared how many of them would make it. He shook those thoughts from his mind though as he conversed with the strangers on his journey. During the train car ride which was several days long, he learned a lot about each of them and also learned much from each of them. He learned a few tips to help him and even learned a few chords on an instrument called a guitar. August may not have known how hard this road would be to travel but he was more than determined that this road would lead to his destiny.(1449 words)
Story 3 - Holding out for the Dream wrote:The train was beginning to slow as it was coming up to the city. Everyone who had hitched a ride on the train was gathering their things and were about to make their jump off. After all, they hadn't paid so staying on the entire ride was out of the question. August was nervous and uncertain about this for it seemed everyone else knew what they were doing so he prepared himself as he watched a few jump off. He waited until the right moment and jumped off right after one of the guys he had gotten to know some what well in the past several days. He landed alright but lost his balance and fell over. He laughed a little at himself as he pushed himself up and brushed off the snow from his clothes and fur. He picked up his things and prepared himself for the trek into the city.
It was nightfall when he and a couple others reached the city. August's eyes lit up with wonder just as they had when he was a child at the sounds of all the music and the sight of all the bright neon lights. It was beautiful. He marveled at it for a few minutes before one of the guys he had traveled into the city with nudged him and began walking again. He didn't know where he was going or really anything to expect so he continued to follow after the few others he had walked this far with. Some of them knew a bit more about the city and its lay out. Some already had places to stay for the night while others didn't. August was one of the ones that didn't, so he and the handful of others that didn't found a place in an alley that would keep them sheltered from the weather and kept warm by a lit trash can with some other strangers that knew more about the city. He learned much that night, both helpful and worrisome things. He was told by many of them there that this was a city where dreams died and that likely most of them would end up homeless like the rest of these strangers were but he was also told several things that gave him hope that he could do this. He was too stubborn to give up after only just arriving.
The first several days were days spent out in the weather. He spent every day asking around and trying to find the right people he was looking for to help aid him in his pursuit of his dream. Each day seemed to be a new lesson learned and often was filled with a lot of disappointment but August was determined to succeed. He had to. He had to make his parents proud and he had to make a way for himself. The days turned to weeks and weeks to months as he struggled to get by. It was hard here to get a job, to get a meal and to continue to aspire towards his dream. Everywhere he turned seemed to be a dead end for a while but he managed to find a low paying job for a while bussing tables. This job gave him a lot of opportunities to meet and see a lot of people even if he didn't talk to him. He committed them to memory and learned much about them and took notes of the things he heard. He earned enough money to buy a guitar as well as rent a small apartment. It wasn't much but it was everything to him. He practiced daily, every day when he got home from work regardless of how tired he was. He'd lay on his bed and practice his chords. He'd play until his fingers were too sore to play anymore or until he fell asleep playing.
In the first hard year of living on his own in this city, he learned a lot. He bussed a lot of tables, learned how to play his guitar and began practicing writing his own music. It was raw and rough but he would scribble down whatever came to him on any pieces of paper he could find. Even when he was at work, he'd jot it down on a napkin and stuff it in his pocket to work with later. At it stood he still wasn't being recognized or even given the time of day to show off his raw talent and skill. But nothing discouraged him, his heart was set on the dream of becoming a singer and moving people as that singer had when he was but a child. As time went on his job began to give him less time, cutting back on workers if what they said. He still worked his hardest and tried to pick up a second job for his time off but work was scarce. August lacked a full textbook education with certificate though he was everything but uneducated. But any jobs he applied for minus a few lousy jobs required him to have a certificate or diploma to prove his level of intelligence. This discouraged him some but he would do what he had to do to get by as he continued to keep his dream alive.
During the middle of the second year in this city, August thought his luck was beginning to turn around. He had talked with some of the local establishments that allowed live music and got a couple of gigs. For these gigs he was given songs they wanted him to sing and told how to sing them but he didn't like doing that. He felt like a cheap copycat and the pay was beyond sub par for the hours of music and singing he'd provide. Some gigs would draw crowds and others would draw critics. He begged to sing his own music, in the style he was developing but he was always shut down. Told that if he didn't do what they wanted then they would find someone else. August was in a place that was still tight on money so he did what he had to for a while until the managers of the establishments found other aspiring young artists who they liked better or could pay less for the "same product".
Every door August thought was open was closing again. He was finding it harder and harder to keep his meager apartment and his job continued to cut him on hours. Eventually, he fell behind on his rent and was evicted without a second thought. Back out onto the streets, the viscet was sent to fend for himself with only what little clothes he owned and his guitar. He managed to keep his job for a little while before they let him off for being in such rough shape when he came into work. At the start of year three, he was homeless, jobless and nearly penniless entirely. Some days he let himself fall into despair but most days he remained determined and did whatever he could to try and make enough money for his next meal. He began playing music in the local park every few days to earn a few bucks which helped get him by for a few months until the winter came. There were fewer people roaming the parks or out and about in the weather so many fewer people willing to donate money for the music he played. Still, August would play, play his music and sing into the wind and cold. His heart entwined with the melody and the words he sang out, even when no one was there to hear them.
Another harsh year of living off of whatever charitable people would give him and the dream all but forgotten. August was growing weaker and thinner from the years of living on the streets and hardly surviving. He was growing tired and his spirit losing hope a little more each passing day. He had given up on seeking out individuals who could give him a shot, he had given up on being seen, all he could focus on was giving his all to the people on the street in hopes for their pity and charity. He was at the end of his rope, much longer and he would have no other choice but to give up.
But it just so happened that on that day, just an ordinary day, a very prestigious man was making his way through the park. A cell phone to one ear as he walked briskly with somewhere to be. He had no intentions of stopping or anything else but making his way to his next destination. But a sound caught him off guard, a melody and beat that stopped him completely. The man lowered the phone from his ear as he listened to the sound. To the sound of someone's soul pouring out in the form of a cascading melody. The man turned, closing his phone as he began following the sound of the music straight to where August was playing. August was playing as if no one was there, singing his heart out as the few that had gathered watched and listened. The man stood there, intrigued and surprised by what he was witnessing. He stayed until the end of the song when August finally looked around at the small crowd with a tired smile. When August's eyes met the businessman's he had no idea just how much his life was about to change all thanks to this chance encounter.(1596 words)
Story 4 - Overnight Sensation wrote:That chance encounter led to the businessman introducing himself as Mr. Holts who invited August out to lunch. August had been hesitant, wary of the stranger's kindness but also feeling a bit embarrassed by his outward appearance. Still, Mr. Holts insisted and eventually August agreed, packing up his guitar and things before walking with the stranger. On the way to the restaurant, Mr. Holt asked about August, asked his name and how long he'd been in the city.
August hesitated some before being open with the stranger. He told his story about being inspired as a young boy and then finding himself in a hopeless situation that pushed him to pursue his dream of becoming a singer. He talked for a while about his experiences, finding it to be nice to have someone listen to his story. Someone who seemed to genuinely care and was interested in where he came from as well as his aspirations. By the time August had finished his telling of his story thus far and his current situation they had arrived at a rather nice restaurant. Mr. Holts didn't even seem to flinch as he walked towards the door but August had stopped, lowering his ears a bit.
"Sir, I can't go in there," August said, feeling uncomfortably self-conscious now as he realized just how filthy and disheveled he looked.
"Nonsense." Mr. Holts replied simply, looking back to him. "You did agree to come with me, yes? Don't want to go back on your word now do you?"
August felt a little trapped now, "Well, no, but sir--"
Mr. Holts cut him off, "Then come along. I promised you a meal and you certainly could use it. Besides I have a proposition I'd like to talk to you about that I think you'd be interested in."
"A proposition, sir?" August questioned, he was curious but still felt self-conscious. He looked up to see the man looking back at him, beckoning him to follow. After a few more moments of hesitation, August relented and followed Mr. Holts into the pristine establishment. As he entered he was greeted with an odd look from the man in the front but when Mr. Holts requested a table for the both of them that look went away. August still felt uncomfortable walking through the restaurant looking as he did but once he was seated he felt a bit better. Mr. Holts had arranged a table towards the back that was a bit less in the open which was rather nice August had to admit. He had never been in a restaurant so grand as this one and he knew just by the outside of the menu that the prices on the food would be far too high for anything he could afford.
"Sir, this is a rather pricey place. I'm quite alright." August said, trying to persuade the businessman that he didn't need him to buy him anything. Mr. Holts just looked to him with a raised eyebrow that didn't believe anything he had just said and August relented again. "If you insist, sir."
August was still trying to pick the least pricey looking items on the menu when the waiter came by to get their drink orders and left rolls for them in the meantime. Mr. Holts sighed a bit as he watched August, he knew what to order the boy and ordered for the both of them when the waiter came back with their drinks before August even had the chance to interject. After their order was placed they began talking again. At first, it was simple small talk and more discussion on what August had been doing in the recent year and any gigs he had previously. In no time at all their food had arrived and they began eating.
It wasn't until Mr. Holts was about half finished with his food that he brought up the proposition he had mentioned earlier. "So August, I mentioned a proposition earlier to you. Are you still curious as to what that is?" He watched August pause from eating a moment, his mouth was full so he just nodded eagerly. He swiveled his ears forward curiously to listen as Mr. Holts help back a small chuckle, "Very well. I took you as the curious sort." He shifted a bit to rest his arms against the table. "Well, I haven't told you what I was doing before I saw you in the park." August looked at him curiously, he hadn't even thought to ask before about that. "Well, I was taking a shortcut through the park to get back to my work. I was actually talking with one of my employees when I heard you singing in the park. I was intrigued by the sound and followed it to you. I have to say I'm quite impressed with your talent. You've got such a unique but yet soulful sound to your voice when you sing. I simply had to find the source and I was not at all disappointed to see you there." August blinked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Have you ever heard of Sunflare Studios?" Mr. Holts watched as August's eyes lit up brightly. "Oh? So I take it you do then?" He smiled as he watched August nod vigorously, still hungrily eating. Poor kid has been starving but I can tell he's hungry for more than just food. He mused to himself before he spoke again, "Well that's good. I take it you know that it mostly deals with pop, dance, R&B and rock genre artists, right?" August looked at little uncertain. "Well that's no matter, the genre is easy to teach," Mr. Holts said with a chuckle. "What you were singing in the park you told me earlier you wrote it?" He watched August nod, "Well I found it to be rather impressive honestly." He paused a moment before clearing his throat, "I suppose I should cut to the chase. August, how would you feel about being given a shot to be the next pop idol?"
August dropped his fork and choked a little on his food before swallowing hard. He looked to Mr. Holts with shock that turned to surprise and then to tears. "W-what?" He squeaked before trying to clear his throat. His eyes sparkling with the tears and hope that danced across them, "You said me? Me as a pop singer? For--" He was getting too choked up to speak now. "For Sunflare Studios? But how?"
Mr. Holts could see the hope in his gaze and the fear as well. "I am a producer and manager of that studio." The realization of that was almost too much for August. "And I believe you'd be a wonderful asset. I think you'll go far, kid if you're up for it."
August was still in shock, he wiped his eyes quickly, drying them as best he could. "Yes, yes please, sir. I am. I would be honored." He meant it with every fiber of his being.
From there it was as if everything just began falling into place. The first order of business was to get August off the streets. That was easily enough done for Mr. Holts as he set August up with a hotel temporarily before getting him a small apartment near the studio to use until he was making radio hits and could get his own apartment. Sunflare Studios was known for a lot of great hits and very popular artists so when August was introduced to the team that would be working with him and teaching him he was greeted with a lot of eagerness and expectation. They knew that if their boss had handpicked this boy that he must be something special. Within the first month, August had a few demos of some lightly modified songs of his very own ready to show Mr. Holts. The process was exhilarating and everything August had hoped for and so much more. When Mr. Holts said the tracks were ready they re-recorded one of the tracks they thought would make the best first debut hit and sent it out to the radio stations to begin playing. Within weeks it was played for the first time and it was as if the world was hooked.
August rose in the charts right out the gate. No one knew who this new artist was and many believed he'd be just another one hit wonder until his second and third singles hit. Each of those holding one of the weekly top ten spots for more than two consecutive weeks. In only a few months time, August had climbed to one of the most popular artists of the season and his fame only continued to rise. As the money began steadily coming in August couldn't help but to feel overwhelmed with gratitude towards Mr. Holts and the studio that helped make his dreams a reality. He began to write home now, realizing how much he missed his parents now and included money for them as well. He promised he'd come back home soon to visit and tell them all about his journey. He smiled fondly as he signed the letter and sent it out. He couldn't wait to see them again and to return home to see everyone again.(1550 words)
Lyrics: Stand Out | Artist: Tevin Campbell
