Adam stared at Juno in disbelief.
Juno encouraged him, "At worst, I'll run with you when the time comes."
Cash's eyes lit up. "That's the Juno McGough I know—fearless! Adam, you're not scared, are you?"
Adam's face darkened, but under Juno's constant winking, his pride kicked in. With a grim expression, he said, "Why would I be scared?"
Cash eagerly finalized the deal with a hearty laugh and strode away. Soon, the hallway buzzed with excitement about the upcoming competition, leaving Adam with no chance to back out.
"Juno, what are you thinking?"
Left alone with the Candy Rock quartet, Adam couldn't hold back any longer and snapped at Juno. "Why agree to this? This is streaking we're talking about!"
Juno was nonchalant. "All we have to do is win the competition."
Adam scowled. "As annoying as Cash is, his musical talent clearly outshines ours. Not to mention his skills in performing classic rock and writing original songs. How are we supposed to win?"
"We can write originals too."
Juno grinned. "Adam, you're incredibly talented. I've noticed it before—those snippets of melodies you casually play are amazing. If you put them together, not only can you beat Cash and win, but you might even become famous."
"That's just accidental inspiration, not a complete piece."
Adam's expression softened as he shook his head with a wry smile.
Now he understood where Juno's confidence came from. As a reincarnated soul, Adam wasn't a music enthusiast, but growing up in the age of big data, he'd been exposed to countless classic tunes, including rock anthems.
With his increasing intelligence, memories from his past life became clearer. While jamming with the Candy Rock band, fragments of these classic melodies would occasionally surface.
And any rock tune that could still resonate with a casual listener decades later was undoubtedly among the top ten in rock history.
Even incomplete snippets were enough to astonish Juno and make her believe Adam had unparalleled talent.
"You just lacked motivation before."
Juno smiled. "Now's your chance. If you can compose one complete song, you'll crush Cash, win the competition, and become the talk of the school. Fame waits for no one. If you succeed, think of the leadership bonus points you could earn!"
"But what if we lose?"
Adam was tempted but hesitant. After all, he wasn't truly an American teenager, and the thought of streaking gave him severe anxiety.
"So what if we lose?"
Juno shrugged. "Do you think Cash would streak if he lost?"
Adam wasn't sure. From what he remembered, Americans were all about having fun. Wasn't streaking par for the course?
Juno rolled her eyes. "It's just a publicity stunt. Unless they're crazy, no one actually streaks for fun. If the time comes, just make up an excuse or ignore it. Who cares what people say?" She gave Adam a sly look. "Besides, even if you do streak, so what? Plenty of people at school have already seen you like that. What's a few more?"
"Cough, cough—don't joke about that!"
Adam was immediately flustered. His embarrassment stemmed from the original owner of this body.
But now that things were laid out, Adam felt a bit relieved. He thought, *Yeah, it's just like those livestreamers in my past life who claimed they'd eat something gross but never actually did. It's all for show.*
"Let's get to work. The weekend's almost here."
Juno reminded him, "Don't think you can slack just because you might not have to streak. Backing out is still embarrassing, and even if you're handsome, you won't charm many girls that way."
Adam was speechless. But Juno had a point, especially with her last remark. Feeling pressured, Adam walked home with Juno and the others, wracking his brain to recall a complete song from his past life.
If he could remember one full song, he was sure he'd win the competition.
Not that he cared about charming girls... Ever since he started hanging out with Juno, the girls who used to flock to him after Amy dumped him had all stopped in their tracks, watching each other warily.
Honestly, Adam thought this was fine. It gave him more time to focus on his studies, and he wasn't the type to lose himself over a pretty face.
Between Juno's friendship and the original owner's mundane life, he'd choose friendship without hesitation. That's just the kind of principled guy he was.
Soon, the weekend arrived, bringing with it one of America's countless traditions: the homecoming party.
On this day, students dressed to impress. Those lucky enough to snag dates brought them along. The school also invited several prominent alumni to join the celebration.
After hearing the guest list from the principal, Adam relaxed when he didn't see his ex, "Amazing" Amy, among them.
Today marked a turning point in his new life, and the last thing he needed was a drama-seeking ex. He'd had enough of that in his past life.
"...Let's welcome the Emotions Band, performing their original rock song, *Heaven of Love*."
The host delivered the usual pleasantries, then introduced the bet between the Candy Rock and Emotions bands, prompting wild cheers from the audience. Finally, he invited Cash and his band to take the stage.
As the curtain rose, the Emotions Band's drummer, keyboardist, and bassist were already in place. Their lead guitarist and vocalist, Cash, walked out with his guitar slung across his back. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn Nove1Fire.net
The auditorium erupted with whistles and applause.
In this age of entertainment, students in a small, remote town adored rock bands, especially ones that could write their own songs. Even generic tunes could send them into a frenzy.
In the spotlight, the already somewhat handsome Cash seemed even more charismatic to the girls, whose screams drowned out the boys' cheers.
"This is rock 'n' roll."
Emmett, watching the girls go wild, grew restless. Looking at his date Ivy, whom he'd reluctantly brought to avoid being dateless, he suddenly regretted it.
"Damn it. Why did I pick her? I should've known. When it's our turn to perform, with our song, the girls will go even crazier. Who needs a date then?"
Amid the deafening screams, Cash bowed dramatically and pointed at Adam, oozing confidence and pride.
"Now, let's welcome the Candy Rock band…"