Justin watched as the nervous girl rocked on the couch in front of him. They were in the dressing room backstage. It was a steady rocking as she wrung her hands. Her crutches lay beside her, forgotten. He sighed, remembering his first performance; he used to be as nervous as she was now.
He kneeled in front of her, trying to catch her gaze. “Hey, look at me. I know this can be nerve-wracking but you've got an amazing voice. You worked so hard to get here, you can't give up now.”
“I don't know if I can, Justin,” she whispered.
“I know you can. And I’ll be right beside you.” He gave her a genuine smile as he heard their call.
---
SIX MONTHS EARLIER 23 year old Nicole walked down the hall of Memphis Community College on her crutches. On her way to her dorm room, she passed the bulletin board. On it was a red flyer with white writing. It read: ‘Do you want your voice heard? Have you always wanted to learn music and show your talent? Well, here’s your chance! Music lessons for underprivileged students; sponsored by The Justin Timberlake Foundation.’
Thinking about it, she walked to her RA’s room. “Hey, Girl, what's up?” Linda asked, letting Nicole in and sitting on the bed.
“Do you know what this is about?” She handed her the paper.
“Oh, yeah, I’m working on it. Are you going to enter?”
“I don't know, what is it exactly? I don't know if I’m ready to be signed to a label. I’m not even that good.”
“Well, it’s not for the label, perse. You don’t get signed right away. It’s sort of a contest you could say, through the foundation. You audition for a few people from the foundation and one artist from the label,” Linda explained. “If they like you then you get to work with the artist and he’ll teach you more about music. It’s like a stepping stone in the right direction. That way in a few years, you'll have what you need if you do want to be signed. Understand?”
Nicole had heard about the programs Justin and his foundation set up over the last year. She didn’t think much of it because no one had ever thought she was a good songwriter. But she wanted a job in music after college and knew she needed to learn more. She was a writer, but didn’t understand much of the music aspect. Not to mention she was a fan of Justin’s. He was the reason she had a connection to music; it calmed her. The Cerebral Palsy she was born with made some things difficult. And music had a soothing way of letting her escape the day. If she could show him how much that meant with her writing, she’d take it. Taking a deep breath, she signed the paper.
---
25 year old Justin Timberlake rolled over as his alarm went off. He pulled the covers over his head and tried to seek warmth. It wasn't physical warmth he needed though, it was a feeling he hadn’t felt in a while. He was so tired. This week had been long and stressful. Justin was dealing with an impending record release and a nasty breakup. Part of him wanted to stay under the covers and sleep for another 8 hours, but he knew he had work to do.
He had broken up with his ex-girlfriend a few weeks ago and it was hard. But, he always found the way to deal was through his music. It was a soothing way for him to sort his feelings and helped better than bottling them inside. He brushed off the thoughts, knowing it would only make him feel worse, and got up. Walking into the bathroom he looked in the mirror. He wore a wifebeater and worn boxers. His short curls were a bit messy and he had a bit of scruff.
Justin moved to the shower, getting ready for the day. He had a ton of work to do in the studio. Though the album was almost done, he still had a few finishing touches – namely a ballad. Plus, today he had a meeting with Johnny, his mom, and a few people from the college in Memphis to talk about his foundation. He wasn’t really looking forward to that but knew this would be a good opportunity for his hometown and wanted to help. He’d arrived in Memphis the week before so it wouldn't require so much travel.
THE MEETING – Justin sat in a small office before everyone arrived. He was thinking about what he’d created and what he wanted to achieve with it. So far he had gotten thousands of signatures from teens all over the world to sign a petition which his mom Lynn had taken to Congress. This convinced Congress to support music education. The Justin Timberlake Foundation was a great way to promote music education and he wanted everyone to benefit.
That was why he came up with this contest. He wanted to help someone learn music and hopefully love it like he did but also learn how important the subject of music is. Truth be told, Justin didn’t know what to expect from the young people he’d hear, but he had hope that they could make it. He simply just wanted them to have the opportunity. And should they want a record deal later down the line, well then they’d have what they need to start.
Soon, everyone piled in. Dean Robert Hamilton sat at one end of table, Lynn on one side of Justin, Rachael on the other. Johnny sat at the other end; and an RA from the college, Linda Scott.
“Thank you for coming all the way down here,” Hamilton started. “I am sure you're very busy.”
“My foundation sets up opportunities to help those who don’t necessarily have access to music. I want to help in any way I can,” Justin offered.
“That’s very generous of you. We’ve seen the other programs you've created and we could certainly use the help.”
“Being that this is my hometown, I felt I had a personal call behind this. It’s been a great help to me and I want to give back.”
“Ok, and what would be involved in this?”
“Well, Justin would meet a student and help them with the basics of music. Just enough to get them started,” Lynn chimed.
“Then we were thinking of maybe him helping co-write a song. It would be enough to get the person used to the idea and give them a boost toward their goal,” Johnny continued.
And Justin finished. “I want to help someone who has a passion for music gain the opportunity to do what I have. The best way to do that is by first teaching them how to get there.”
“In light of that, we’ve chosen a few students and you can make the final selection of who exactly gets this position,” Linda spoke up. “We have Daniel Swanson, Aaron Thompson and Nicole Alexandra.”
AUDITION, A FEW DAYS LATER, Justin sighed and tapped his pen on the counter. The first two auditions had been a bust so far. While both seemed talented, he thought that they lacked something, more specifically; soul. He was looking for that spark, that excitement that he possessed when he sang. He was beginning to think that maybe his expectations were too high.
The next person, Nicole, came in. She kept her head down as she tried not to trip. She was so nervous. She never thought they’d pick her for a callback; she didn’t even know whom the artist she’d be auditioning for was. She seriously didn’t think she had the courage to do this. As she picked her head up, her jaw dropped.
Story Notes:
my co-writer and i are deeply sorry this took so long. i wrote it wrong and redid it, then he was working so finally last night i was told it sounded more accurate. i think that meant i could post? idk it was unclear lol. but here it is! please let us know what you think :)
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