Love Symphony

Fighting for the place

Chapter 3
                            Vivian

I was out of breath. Again. I was beginning to think I had some serious breathing problems.

The last few days were more exhausting than usual. I went to dance practice earlier than everyone(it might or might not have to do anything with trying not to be in the same bus with Dariel).

Then the coach would make all of us practice to death, but I did all of this with happiness. The thought of winning(that might have or might not have to do anything with seeing Dariel Kesler's face when he loses) was pushing me forward and giving me motivation and energy to continue.

We had to do exercises, practice our dance combinations, with and without our partners, and then we even had even more exercises to do at home.

At home, I would spend all my free time listening to music and trying to sync with the notes, searching for the perfect balance of my moves.

But today - today would be even harder. And the sad thing was that I was already feeling burned out by all the energy I've wasted.

Still, I would do the best I've ever made, for today was the last day. The day when every pair would fight each other to the point when they just can't anymore, in order to win. The day when the coaches will make their final decision. When they'll make the choice of which one of us they'll send to the competition.

I wished with all that I am for me and Liam to win. This would change so many things in my life. I would finally be able to make my parents proud. My coach. I would become more and more talented and would show the world that I'm not just the quiet, a little antisocial, and aggressive girl that almost everyone from my school thought of me. I was talented and worthy, and I was going to prove it.

With this thought, I went to the main practice room where we all gathered and were separated into boys and girls, doing the intense exercises before starting with dancing. I tied my hair into a messy bun, though as much as I tried, I couldn't pick up my white-greenish bangs. They fell in front of my eyes as I leaned down to tighten the ties of my dancing shoes. And so the day began.

After we were done with the exercises, we paired with our partners to practice our dance symphonies. We all worked on the same ones - this month it was a slow one on the song "Little do you know". I liked the fast and energetic combinations, but sometimes the sad and beautiful compositions just hit differently. Every move would have a meaning and we had to move in absolute synchron and balance if we wanted it to turn out well. These types of dances were some of the hardest ones, but also the most amazing and emotional.

When dancing, everything else would disappear and I would dive into a whole other world. I would only move my body by instinct and by the notes that would direct all my steps.

This time though, it was different. I was sensing the coaches' judging looks that were inspecting every single move I made, in search of mistakes and imperfections.

Little drops of sweat were forming on the back of my neck. I took deep breaths, in an attempt to calm myself. If I didn't let myself relax and be guided by the music, the composition wouldn't be perfect. It would be missing the magic.

Just before the starting melodies would play, Liam seemed to notice my nervousness, because he slid his hand into mine and squeezed. I squeezed back. We would make it. It was just a regular practice.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes as the song started. I tried to concentrate my mind on the music, and nothing else. Nothing else mattered. I moved my body slowly as the first words echoed through the salon. My body angled the right way toward Liam and he took hold of my waist while I twirled myself in his hands. Slowly, my mind and senses started giving up to the music. I didn't feel the time as it passed.

When the song came to its end, I felt like waking up from a dream.

All of a sudden, I became aware of everyone's eyes staring at me and Liam's direction. Usually everyone just waited bored until their turn would come but now...now everyone's eyes were looking at us with awe.

Well...almost. Dariel and Anjela's gazes were filled with contempt and loathing. Not that I was surprised. But they were at least looking at us.

What did we just do? I looked up at Liam and saw the same question in his eyes. Glancing at the coaches, I caught them smiling approvingly at us. Joy and pride overflowed within me. I ignored the way most of our teammates' glances turned more into jealousy.

Liam's hand touched mine and he whispered:

"They're looking at you."

Looking around, I saw that he's right. All the glares, smiles, and glances were staring right at...me. I shook my head.

"That's not right, and besides, there isn't any point in thinking that. We both did the symphony equally great. No one would've been able to do it without the other." He didn't answer but seemed more thoughtful, which bothered me.

We made room for the other pair and moved aside toward the benches. Some of the people's eyes were still directed toward me, which made me uncomfortable.

The next few pairs did concerningly well, though no one's symphony made the reaction that mine and Liam's did.

When Dariel and Anjela's turn came, they did greater than I've ever seen them perform. It was obvious that they were trying more than hard... At the end they earned approving looks from the coaches and I felt a little bothered. Me and Liam looked at each other and I saw the same concern mirrored in his eyes. I definitely didn't want Dariel Kesler to ruin my only chance. And I definitely didn't want to bear his mockery afterwards.

When they were passing by us, he threw me a challenging look and I lifted my chin in return. This was our last move. Whatever we've done, everything would be in the hands of the coaches now. Tomorrow they were going to announce their choice, which drove me nuts...I'll have to survive another whole day until I could be able to find out.

On my way back home, I was thinking about each one of us and our auditions. I still believed that there was a big chance for me and Liam to win, judging by the weird but satisfying reaction we provoked.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to untie the knot in my stomach. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.