Treble Cleft

The Actual Finale

Vieve POV

   "Thank you for coming out folks!" The announcer announced.  "So many wonderful performances. It was hard for the judges to decide!" 

   The room got silent as everyone waited impatiently to hear their name after 'first place goes to...' 

   "In third place-" I didn't even hear what name was said before a group started cheering and running up on stage. We politely clapped since Bumper wasn't there to tell us to stop. 

   "In second place, you know them, you love them, THE TREBLEMAKERS!" 

Crickets

    No one made a sound. After a moment of silence, the cheering started up again. The first-years and I joined in but everyone else on the team stayed silent. 

   "What-" Donald didn't finish his thought. 

   "Go on stage!" I yelled, pushing them towards the end of the row. "Go! GO!" 

   They looked so upset on stage. They were obviously trying to be happy, but it was obvious for everyone that they came into this competition expecting to win. That only leaves one group to win first. Well, it actually leaves a bunch of groups, but only one was close to the quality of the Trebles.

   "And in first place, the queens of Acapella, the BARDEN BELLAS!!" 

   Cheers erupted. I joined in, jumping up and down. They worked hard for this. Despite the difficulty and fights they had, they had come together to figure out what they could do. Don't tell the boys, but I may have helped out where I could. 

   The Bellas ran on stage, looking happier than I'd ever seen them. Aubrey was practically crying, but she was smiling  as she lifted the trophy. The cheers just got louder as Fat Amy prompted us by yelling at us.

   "I'm sorry guys," I said as the Trebles filed back in their seats. "I already said it, but you all did amazing." 

   "Thanks Vieve," Greg muttered.  "We're going back to the house, are you coming?" 

      They started gathering their stuff and I followed. Random fans kept stopping us to express how upset they were that the Bellas were the ones who had won or to compliment the performance. A few had flowers that they gave, others had random other gifts. I think someone gave them a bunch of toothbrushes. 

   Is that a gift or an insult? 

   We almost made it out when someone yelled my name from across the room. Chloe carefully weaved her way through the mass of people who were trying to congratulate her. 

   "Vieve," she panted, holding up a hand, "wow, it's crowded in here." 

   "Chloe," I said, laughing at her. "What's up?"

   "We're going out to dinner to celebrate our win, do you want to come?" she offered. "I mean, we couldn't have done it without you."

   Not all of the Trebles heard, but the ones who did snapped their heads up to stare at me. I could feel the questions that they had. 

   "Vieve?" Donald questioned. 

   "Nah, I think I'll go with them," I politely rejected Chloe's offer. "We can do brunch or something later if you want though?"

   She nodded and bounced away. 

   "So Vieve, you helped the Bellas," someone stated. They were angry. "Helped them with what exactly?"

    "Calm down," I muttered. "They asked for feedback and there's nothing in the rules about giving honest feedback to the Bellas." 

   I know the rules. I checked the Treblemaker handbook as well as the official collegiate acapella association book of rules. Which is a thing apparently. It's surprisingly difficult to find, but Aubrey keeps a copy on her bedside table and reads it almost daily. If you ask politely and do a favor, she'll let you read it. 

   "Yeah, but they're the Bellas, why would you help them?" Greg whined. Well Greg, maybe it's because I'm a nice person who wants to see her friends succeed. 

   "Cause we're friends and they asked," I snapped. If they keep asking, I'm going to march back into that crowd and go to the Bella's dinner. 

   The bus ride back to the house was tense, but thankfully, everything seemed okay when we arrived. 

   "Congrats everyone!" A large crowd yelled at the bus turned in. Behind them was a table that had snacks piled on it.  

   "Before we get out, I'd like to say a few things," Donald announced. "I know we all expected to win, but we got second. That's good. Out of hundreds of groups, we got second. That's not bad. This season was wild, with Bumper abandoning us. I'm really proud of all of us"- he gestured to the crowd outside-"have fun today."

   And with that, we got off the bus to join the party.