Choosing America's Next Superstar by Jeff Erno Page B

It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, but now here I am, grown up, working at a grocery store and going to community college.”
    “Least you ain’t a grease monkey, like me.” Jimmy winked at him.
    “Someday you’re gonna be a country megastar. Mark my words. It may be sooner than you think too. When I hear you sing, Jimmy, it touches my heart. You have one of the most beautiful, smooth voices I’ve ever heard. I don’t think Josh Turner himself sings that song as well as you do.”
    In spite of all Jimmy’s apprehension, when Corey said those words to him, he seemed sincere. Jimmy believed him. He reached up with his other hand and placed it on Corey’s opposite shoulder, now holding him at arm’s length.
    “Thank you,” Jimmy whispered. And then in spite of himself, he leaned in. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t even logical, but it was the only thing he could do. He leaned in to press his mouth against Corey’s. As their lips brushed together, they were startled by a banging on the door. Jimmy quickly let go of Corey’s shoulders and jumped back.
    Corey stared up at him, wide-eyed. “Uh, I’ll get it,” he said, spinning around and then stepping over to the door.
    “Hi,” Tristan said as Corey opened the door. “Sorry to bother you….”
    “Come on in,” Jimmy said. “We were just practicing.”
    “Are you sure it’s okay?” Tristan said.
    “Yeah, I’m totally sure. Come on, you can have pizza with us.”
    “Uh… I don’t wanna intrude. It’s just… uh, well, I don’t have a roommate. They put me in a room by myself because one of my parents was supposed to come with me. My mom couldn’t come, though.”
    “You’re cool,” Jimmy said. “Right, Corey?”
    “Um, yeah, sure,” Corey said, rather unconvincingly.
    Tristan stepped in, and Corey closed the door behind him.
    “Hey, I wanna show you something,” Jimmy said. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. “See this picture here? That there’s my kid brother. His name’s Charlie.”
    “Wow,” Tristan said. He started laughing. “He looks… well, like me .”
    “Weird, ain’t it?” Jimmy said.
    “Let me see,” Corey said. “That’s crazy. Same eyes, same nose.” Corey took the wallet from Jimmy’s hand and held the photo up next to Tristan’s face. “Are you sure you two aren’t related?”
    “So do people tell your brother he looks like Justin Bieber too?”
    Jimmy shook his head. “I don’t think either of you look like Bieber. Maybe a little bit. You two look a lot more like each other. You’re even the same height and everything.”
    “Your brother’s hair is shorter,” Corey said.
    “In this picture it is,” he said. “It’s longer now. His eyes are a little different too. But anyway, there is definitely a resemblance.”
    “Maybe I’ll get to meet him,” Tristan said. “If we both make it through….”
    “That’d be cool. Charlie’s been sick, though. I don’t know if he’ll be up to traveling though. And if we make it through, we gotta go clear out to California.”
    Corey sat down on the bed and grabbed the TV remote from the nightstand. He turned the TV on. Tristan sat on Jimmy’s bed, while Jimmy sat next to him in the chair. The three of them talked, and it became clear to Jimmy that Tristan was basically just a little nervous. He was a bit insecure and kind of freaked out being away from home by himself. He thought about Charlie’s question on the phone, whether or not Tristan was gay, and Jimmy really didn’t get the impression that he was.
    Corey, on the other hand, didn’t seem overly fond of Tristan. He noticed Corey rolling his eyes a couple times behind Tristan’s back. At least he was being nice to the kid. Jimmy had already decided that he was going to look out for Tristan. As long as the kid was there, Jimmy would make sure he was all right. Maybe part of it was that he looked so much like Charlie.
    After surfing through the channels a few times,