Pinn - Memories

Chapter 51

Piper's POV

My back aches as I sit up and groan, squinting to adjust to the light. I yawn and slowly slip out of bed to get dressed.

I dawdle towards the door to open it and walk to the rehearsal room, but I halt. My hart begins to race.

I can't do this.

I turn around and sit back on my bed, taking some deep breaths.

Knock, knock.

I jump. My breaths, which were beginning to slow, start to accelerate again. I gulp.

I try to move, but my stubborn body decides to stay frozen. 'C-come in', I croak nervously.

I hyperventilate in anticipation as the doorknob slowly turns. The door creeks ajar. The first thing I can see is wavy, red hair.

'Hey Piper', Giselle says softly.

'G-Giselle?', I say, slightly bewildered. She's certainly not the person I expected.

Giselle smiles, and after closing the door, she walks towards me and sits on the bed. 'How are you feeling?', she asks.

'I've been better. I really don't want to go to rehearsal', I admit, and she gives me a sympathetic look.

'Why are you so afraid to go?', she asks.

'Because everyone will see me! They'll make fun of me-'

'How do you know that?', Giselle asks.

'Because they-'

Giselle raises her eyebrows.

'Well, technically I don't, but they're definitely all going to be looking at me and I don't want all the attention. They're all going to judge me', I mumble.

Giselle sighs. 'You're a lot like my sister Clara. Whenever I see you, I think of her'.

I sit up straight. 'I didn't even know you had a sister!', I exclaim. 'Is she a dancer?'

'No, but she's a singer and songwriter. She's part of the elite training program at Lost and Found', Giselle explains.

I nod. 'That's still in the same building. I'm surprised I've never bumped into her.'

Giselle shrugs. 'She's... a pretty private person. So I'm not surprised that you haven't seen her. Though she channels all her emotions into her music and really opens up through the lyrics.'

I sit, waiting to see if Giselle will say any more.

'You two are so alike in so many ways, and she's about the same age as you. I should introduce you to her. Clara – she used to put way too much pressure on herself. Every time someone spoke about her, she assumed the worst. She exaggerated, blamed herself for everything that went wrong, saw everything as black and white. Her anxious and depressed thoughts blinded her from reality.'

'What reality?', I ask before I can stop herself.

'She couldn't see or accept that there are people in her life that love her. That care about her. I can see that your thoughts are blinding you from that reality too.'

Giselle has a point. But what happened yesterday was utterly humiliating! If I go back to that rehearsal room, that terrible event will come flooding back to my mind. I just want to forget it. To push that memory far away.

'Clara still worries quite a bit. She's definitely a perfectionist and too self-critical. But things aren't as bad as they were a few years ago. Her thought patterns are improving... slowly.'