From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 105: Swan (5)

"What’s the issue with your team?" Ari sat on the rooftop, far from the door, while eating his breakfast sandwich as Jamie scarfed down a plate filled with eggs, multiple types of sausages, and bacon.

The blonde boy paused to gulp down water before scooping the rest of the plate contents, burping loudly, sending the disgusting smell of eggs in Ari’s direction.

Ari: ಠ_ಠ

His fist reflexively clenched on his cup of ice water, and he was 3 seconds away from dumping it down Jamie’s shirt, but seeing that he still looked depressed, even while greedily starting on his second plate of food, Ari decided to let it go just this once.

After several minutes, Jamie mumbled quietly, "Everyone is always arguing, and getting mad, and they expect me to be in charge."

"Okay? What’s the issue? Be in charge. Boss them around. You’re the leader." Ari replied casually while keeping an eye on the door.

He didn’t want anybody to approach them off guard or overhear anything.

As if he had been waiting for Ari’s words, Jamie slammed his plate down and began complaining.

"But then they’re mad at me when I do that. Nobody likes any of the decisions I make, nobody wants to agree on anything, and they keep saying it’s not fair when it comes to dividing roles or choosing the focal point of our performance. They’re always arguing when all I want to do is sing and dance! Why is it so hard!!"

Seeing that Jamie was genuinely frustrated and knowing that despite his big frame, he had a very gentle personality, Ari thought it over.

"When assigning positions for the parts, how are you choosing them?"

"At first, I let everyone pick what they wanted, but since everyone wanted the same positions, we tried out for them, but the higher ranks got the better parts, and the others were angry and kept complaining and blaming me, and wanted to split things evenly among everyone. They said I was discriminating and giving all my friends, or the popular kids, the good stuff. Everyone is mad at me." Jamie slumped down while burying his face in his knees.

Ari thought it over and concluded that it was just nonsense happening.

People were greedy and wanted more than they could chew, and since Jamie was a soft pushover, they were climbing all over him, complaining about the parts that they got.

Ari could guarantee that, without a doubt, they would never do this in front of any of the trainers, and if it was someone with a fierce personality like Levi or even himself who would argue until people caved in, they would fall in line even if they complained about it.

Since he couldn’t go and yell at people on Jamie’s behalf, the blonde boy would have to figure it out himself.

Still, he could give advice.

"Then just say f*ck them. You made the team; you chose people based on their skills, so if they don’t have the skills to back it up, then they don’t deserve a standout role. At the end of the day, you’re here to make sure you do well on stage, not to make everyone happy, and since you’re the leader of the team, if things go wrong, both the trainers and your teammates will blame you so you might as well pick a group to be the villain to and stick with it. In this case, I recommend being mean to your team and whipping them into shape."

"But then they’ll be angry..."

"So? They’re already angry. Don’t let them drag you around, or you’ll be the one to suffer during the mid-week review with the judges and on stage when you perform for the people who came to see you. Be firm, and if they hate you, so be it. They’ll get over it when you get good results."

Ari honestly advised him.

He still had ptsd from leading his team the last time, and while he could understand Jamie’s frustration, he also thought it was a little bit funny that the blonde boy was experiencing a taste of what he had gone through.

Seeing that Jamie was still slumped, Ari began his praise barrage, "Wow, I’m Jamie. I’m smart, talented, can sing, can produce, tall, have good hair, a nice truck, 5 billion cowboy hats, and a great personality. "

As Jamie slowly perked up, his ears twitching, Ari snorted before smacking his empty plate on his head.

"Let’s head to vocal class. I’m sure Jelissa will praise you too, and if you ask her nicely, even if she’s not supposed to, she can secretly give your team advice on how to split the parts, and you can sell her name to your team."

"...really?"

"Yep. Don’t try this with the others, though, just Jelissa." Ari told him.

Since he had been the only person in Jelissa’s class on his previous team, he had comfortably sold her name to his team many times when things got difficult.

Cheering up, Jamie cleared his throat in embarrassment, "Ahem. It’s not that I want to be praised by you or Jelissa."

"Sure, sure. Next time you’re depressed, don’t sulk outside my door, just come to a practice room to find me."

"I wasn’t sulking."

"You sound delusional."

"I wasn’t sulking! I was relaxing!"

"In the hallway at midnight? Okay. Let’s ask production for the footage and see what the internet says."

As Jamie began trying to defend himself before giving up and just putting Ari in a headlock, Ari laughed while tapping out more before leading the way to vocal class with Jelissa.

He took his place near the back and observed the faces of the contestants coming in.

Some of them looked dark and depressed, while others looked pretty pleased with themselves.

As he and Jamie chatted while waiting for Jelissa to enter the room, he saw William Forbes walk in with a broad smile while talking with Carlos, who kept rubbing his throat with a worried expression. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Immediately on alert, Ari instantly covered his mouth while whispering status.

Just like before, nothing came up for William Forbes, but when he checked Carlos’ stats, what he feared seemed to have happened.

[Carlos Emilio Ortiz Rodriguez]

[Age: 21]

[Vocals: C+ (S+)]

[Dance: C+ (S)]

[Visual: B+ (S)]

[Rap: D- (A)]

[Charm: B- (S)]

Carlos’ vocal stats had decreased from A down to C+, which means he lost 5 whole stat points.