Legends of Ninjago: Book 3: The Four Fangs

Chapter 13: Round One

It was another early night for the group, but an even earlier morning. They had their suits, props, and the dress all prepped the night before, and now they were driving toward the Performing Arts Centre for the second and final time as the sun just started to touch the clouds.
Everyone seemed to be on pins and needles, not just due to pre-performance jitters, but also because they were on the lookout for Serpentine soldiers. No official news had been leaked about yesterday's debacle—it would seem that the people in charge didn't want to cause a panic—but there were still quite a few more security guards present than Cole remembered there were in years prior. They would need to be in top form both in dance and ninjitsu.
Their first stop was the check-in desk, then the dressing rooms where they would drop off their things and freshen up, awaiting their turn to do a sound check. Everyone was still too groggy to make much conversation, instead looking for the comfiest seat they could find and nodding off in it.
Liu, on the other hand, was wide awake. He had his cellphone out and was staring at it.
"Everything alright?" Cole asked, lowering his cup of coffee.
Liu's brow seemed to loosen. "Well... I'm sure it's nothing. It's fine." He sure didn't sound fine, but before Cole could ask any other questions, a woman's voice crackled over the speakers.
"Spin Harmony, to the stage please."
"That's our queue. Let's go!" Liu said with a loud clap of his hands that jolted Kai awake.
"Spparta sfforum huh?" He mumbled as his eyes adjusted.
"We're moving, Spike. On your feet!"
With a few more yawns and a lot of heavy sighing, the gang made their way through the crowded halls, dodging stage crew carrying large lights and boxes full of micro phones, security guards who seemed to be watching them from underneath their thick sunglasses, and a million other contestants, all of whom looked like they were from another planet. There were very few acts who were alike, and fewer still that looked remotely "average."
Cole felt his breath quicken just a tiny bit when he saw the stage lights shining from behind the giant red curtain. As he stepped out into the wide open world of center stage, hearing his shoes click-clack against the polished wood, he felt that sudden urge to... he wasn't sure. Open his arms wide? Dance? Sing? Fly? Or simply perform? An empty stage was a world of possibilities. Like a blank canvas ready to be painted with the brightest colours. He turned and, through the blinding glare of the lights, could just make out the auditorium. The nosebleed section was harder to see, but he knew it was there. Every seat represented a pair of eyes that would be watching them that night, and suddenly he felt goosebumps rising on his skin. Perhaps it was just the fact that it was practically freezing in there.
"Alright, Spin Harmony? Let's do a run through," a stage hand said somewhere nearby. Cole blinked and plunged back into the familiar world of stage set-up.
Over the course of the next thirty minutes, they had tested everyone's ear-mounted microphones, had shown the lighting crew where they would be moving across the stage, had tested the backing track, set up the canvas backdrop and taken it down again, and had done a lot of standing around while the crew fiddled with buttons and sliders. After all of that, they were free to go back to their dressing rooms and start preparing for the actual competition.
"Well that wasn't too bad," Ann was saying as they walked back through the halls.
Keaton gave a big yawn. "Yeeeah. It also could have been more fun."
Cole smirked, then caught his dad glaring at his phone again. He would have asked about it a second time, but upon arriving at the dressing rooms, he discovered that he didn't need to.
"Where is he?" Liu muttered as he walked in.
"Where's who?" Ann asked anxiously.
"The stylist I hired. He was supposed to be here by now." Liu got out his phone and dialled what Cole presumed to be said stylist's number. The phone rang. And rang. And rang. Then it went to voice mail. Liu tried again, only to receive the same voice mail.
"What do we do if he doesn't show up?" Jay asked cautiously.
"Our best," Liu grumbled. "But don't worry. I'm sure there's a logical explanation. Perhaps he's on his way right now and can't answer because he's driving." Cole wanted to believe that... but this was also the first time any of his dad's professional hired help hadn't come through.
They ended up waiting for about twenty minutes, there in the dressing room, listening to everyone else outside getting a head start. Maybe it was just the coffee he had been drinking, but Cole started to feel a little jittery.
"Alright! That's it!" Liu finally snapped as he began pulling out odds and ends from the cupboards and drawers. "Tardy, uncouth, rude—unprofessional, that's what this is!" He sighed a very frustrated sigh. "There's no time. We'll just have to do it ourselves. I'll speak with Monsieur Archambault later. Ladies, can you handle this on your own?"
"I'm on it," Nya said without hesitation.
"Excellent. You take care of Ann and her sister, Cole and I will take care of the boys. Now let's get moving!"
Three minutes later, Cole and Liu were helping the other boys into their tails and spats, then, while Cole was busy tying Jay's bowtie, Liu was trying to tame Kai's monstrous hair, much to the fire ninja's chagrin. The girls were in the dressing room over and as his mind flashed to the image of Nya and Ann locked in a small room together, Cole began to pray that they wouldn't tear each other's throats out.
"So, generally the preliminaries weed out about half-or-so of the contestants," Cole was explaining as he combed his hair back. "Then there's the second round, and the finals. We have to score near perfect tens if we wanna make it that far. So that means no getting distracted, no getting nervous, and whatever you do, if you mess up, keep going and don't let it look like an accident. And Kai? Remember to—"
"To stop after the first chorus, I know, I know," he said, fiddling with his stiff collar. "We only practiced it, like, a million times."

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