The Rare Ones

*28*

Anyeong my lovely people💖

It's me again🤸🏽‍♀️

Let's pick up where we left off, yeah?

~~~~~~~
"Stardom's close,
I feel the storms,"
~~~~~~~
- Tec ~ Show Dem Camp
(Shadow of Doubt)

BERYL

"Name, please?" the light-skinned lady at the table in front of me asked crisply.

"Beryl Ogechukwu Okezie," I answered.

She tapped at her keyboard and studied the screen in front of her.

"Ah, there you are," she eventually said. "Your online registration is valid. Now you just need to fill this info sheet for me," she completed, sliding over a piece of paper and a pen.

With shaky hands, I filled in the required information and then handed it back to her.

She glanced over it with her eyes and then scanned it into her computer, all while I watched her intensely.

"Okay," she said, handing me a sticker tag with the number 38 printed boldly on it. "Just stick this on the front of your leotard and go wait in that room with the others in the first set."

She pointed at a white door some distance away from where I stood.

"Thank you," I told her.

"Good luck," she said, smiling briefly at me. "Next!"

I walked towards the door and pushed it open gently.

The room was half-filled with both male and female dancers, some of them looking a lot younger than I expected, most sitting and chatting, others stretching on the floor or at the barre by the wall, and everyone generally in audition mode.

I scanned the room for somewhere to sit. There were empty spaces about, but I didn't want to sit all by myself.

I moved further into the room, clutching my bag with both hands.

"Isn't that Beryl Okezie?"

"No way, she doesn't dance ballet."

"But...that's her face na."

"Can't normal people resemble celebs again?"

I chuckled internally as I listened to the two girls whispering loudly a few feet away from me.

I gave the first girl who had her leg up in a developé a small wave and a smile, making her gasp and nudge the girl by her side.

" I told you!"

I walked past them and made my way over to the other side, where I spotted a girl about my age, dressed rather fashionably in a light purple wrap cardigan and matching leg warmers.

"Hi," I said, sitting down on the free seat beside her.

"Hi," she replied with a snowy white smile and a light accent I couldn't place. "I'm sorry, you seem rather familiar."