Snippet #1832375

Kenzi nodded quietly. "Good," he murmured. “Now let’s get going. They’ll want us on stage.” He reached over to where he had left his cane, picking it up and setting it out ahead of him, walking along accompanied by the soft click of both his heels and the end of the slender black stick. He tossed back his half-bleached bangs, not glancing around to see whether the others would follow. He was their leader. He knew they would.
In his stage presence, there was not a glimpse of uncertainty.

Char smiled nervously and reached out, tugging on Tag’s and Kay’s arms. “Let’s go?” he whispered, nodding after Kenzi. He pulled on Stef, too, as he stepped out ahead of the three older boys and drew them on after Kenzi. He couldn’t go out alone, but if they waited for too much time Kenzi would be out on stage alone. He knew Kenzi wouldn’t mind it but…
Well, it just didn’t seem right.

And so, hooking his arms around Tag’s and ignoring the quivering of fear that ran through him, Char coaxed the others out towards the stage.

Stepping into view at the head of their arrow formation, Kenzi was met with the blasting screams of fans, and he knew that the host must just have announced them. He knew by the man’s startled look that he hadn’t expected them on stage just yet – after all, no one had come back to get them – but Kenzi had always enjoyed doing things that were not expected of him. Half the fun of being famous was surprising people, breaking the rules, and getting away with it. He strode across the stage to greet the host… Jeremy Springer, that was his name.

“Hello,” he murmured, smirking quietly and holding out one hand, still holding his cane in the other. “Thank you for having us.”
If ever a murmured thanks had sounded insincere, it was now.

“A-ah, yes,” Springer answered, taking Kenzi’s gloved hand and shaking it firmly. “The pleasure is mine. You are Kenzi?”

“I am,” Kenzi agreed, glancing back to meet the eyes of Stef, Kay, and Tag, each in turn. Char, tucked in at Tag’s side, did not receive acknowledgement. But in his case that was not cruel – he simply avoided calling attention to the timid little creature by ignoring him. It was Kenzi’s way of taking care of their youngest member, while maintaining the arrogant air of his stage persona.