Scenes of Disharmony (Laurmani)

Act I: Scene III

We have made it past judges' houses, thankfully. We've also made it past a few rounds, but we're still in the middle of the pack. Sometimes, we're near the bottom. We're really dedicated to winning, but I'm always prepared to go home every week. Normani and I decided to share an apartment. Camila admitted to being really messy, and Dinah and Ally seem to be okay with it. Normani and I knew we wouldn't want to put up with it, especially Normani. Camila and I had been talking for hours until we both decided to retire to our respective apartments. So, here I am walking to my apartment. I open the door and walk to my room, but I hear sniffling. I am going to knock on Normani's bedroom door and see if she's okay.

Lauren: Normani? Can I come in?

She doesn't say anything, so I just walk in. I see her sitting on her bed using a tissue to wipe her eyes. I walk over to her, sit on her bed behind her, and wrap my arms around her waist.

Lauren: Hey, princess. What's wrong?

Normani: Nothing.

Lauren: You can't expect me to seriously believe that.

Normani: You wouldn't understand.

Lauren: Why wouldn't I understand?

Normani: Everyone loves you.

Lauren: Is this about you not having any solos the past couple of weeks? You're getting a solo this week. You're talented; you just need to be more confident in yourself.

Normani: It's not just that. I'm the least popular one in the group, and everyone wants to kick me out.

Lauren: Not everyone.

Normani: Enough people do. Even Dinah's aunt wants to kick me and Ally out of the group. I feel like Ally is the only one who can understanding where I'm coming from. Dinah is not as popular as you and Camila, but at least no one wants to kick her out of the group.

Lauren: We all have faced a bit of hate. It bothers me sometimes, but I know it comes with the territory.

Normani: See. This is why I can't talk to you about things like this. Any hate you and Camila might have received doesn't even come close to the amount of hate Ally and I have received. Even Dinah receives hate for how she looks. You don't have hundreds of people on Twitter calling you ugly and telling you that you should stick to dancing because you can't sing. I even receive hate for being with Arin. People think he's too good for me.

Normani slouches over and starts sobbing hard. I tighten my embrace and kiss the back of her head. I hate seeing her like this and don't know what to do to make her feel better. I could tell her she's talented and beautiful a million times, but it won't silence the people spewing hate at her. As long as her confidence stays low, she won't be singing a lot in our performances. And, as long as she's not singing a lot in our performances, her confidence will stay low. It's a never ending cycle. All I can do is hold her and wait for this moment to pass.