Angel finally walked in, nearly an hour after our scheduled time, with her stringy blonde hair and caked-on makeup trying to cover up her wrinkles. Back in the day, she’d had a voice that could go from screaming to sweet to sexy in an instant. But after one of the band members committed suicide, Dark Embrace had broken up, and she’d started bouncing in and out of rehab. Now she was just a washed-up celebrity trying to relive her former glory days. Still, my mom had played her songs all the time, and I’d grown up with her raspy voice and scratchy guitar, so I was a bit star-struck being in the same room with her. Almost enough to forgive her very late arrival.

“Good, you’re all here,” she said, like she hadn’t made us wait. “Let’s get this over with.” She gestured to the two assistants who had walked in with her, and they began passing papers out to all of us. “Here’s your schedule, blah blah blah. Read it, whatever.”

She leaned against the podium and started playing on her phone. Jared and Kyle exchanged a look, the kind siblings give each other that say an entire sentence without a word, and I got the feeling they were not impressed. I had to admit it was odd how the Angel at our audition had been so excited while this one seemed like she couldn’t wait to get out of here.

We spent a few moments looking over our band’s schedule for the week. After this meeting, we had to take photos together, but then we were free for the rest of the night. Starting tomorrow we had a six-hour rehearsal slot every day at a local studio. On Friday, we’d record the song so people could buy it on the show’s website, and on Sunday, we’d be filming the actual battle round, which would air Monday night.

Angel finally put her phone away and stood up straight. “Are we rolling now?” One of the camera guys nodded, and she tossed her hair and put on a big smile. “Welcome to Team Angel. I’m so thrilled you’re all here!”