No Guidelines

Chapter 12-6

13, Nov. 2015 Fri
Talent Show

  Audrey clasped her mouth, attempting to hold in her sickness. Tears welled up in her eyes. She felt faint. She was pacing in a circle trying to breathe.

  "Audie, calm down, don't cry, you're going to ruin your makeup," Natalie said, holding her in place. Audrey was trembling. All the pressure was hitting her now. Singing in front of the school was no longer a fun "what if" idea, it was happening. It was real.

  "I can't do this Nat, I really can't." she stammered her words. "I swear to god I don't remember getting here, everythings a blur i don't feel ready."

  Natalie cleared her throat. "What do you mean?" she asked, "I didn't get out of bed to watch you give up."

  "Everything is going too fast, i don't think i'm ready to do this, I'm not you." her mascara started to run. Natalie quickly dried it, trying to remove any stain.

  "Not me?" she asked, "Audrey, i could have never done a talent show like you," she said. Laughing at the idea. She held Audrey tight, Hugging her close. Audrey embraced her.

  "Thats supposed to make me want to go out there now? If you couldn't, I definitely can't,"she said.

  "Of course you can Audie!" Natalie said. "You've come so far! If you can do this you can do anything!" Natalie rubbed her back. When they finally released each other, Audrey was calmer than before.

  "But what if I just turn it down, leave before I even go up?"

  "What would that do Audie? You think this is the only hard thing you'll have to do in your life? What about your first boyfriend or first kiss? First time... You know." Natalie gave a suggestive nod. Audrey looked away. She was right but why was this something she had to face? Couldn't she just take this loss and try again another time.

  Natalie gently grabbed her cheek and turned her head to meet eye to eye. "I know you're scared, but Right now is the only time we have, don't worry about what you missed yesterday or earlier. Don't worry what people will think tomorrow. Just focus on right now."

  Audrey wiped her nose, sniffling. "You really think I can do it?"

  "I know you can! And I'll be right here behind the curtains."

  Audrey smiled and gave her another hug, squeezing her tight. Natalie held her hand the whole time as they waited for Audrey's turn, the Finale.

  Fara came by with Mr. Song.

  "You ready?" he asked.

  Her grip on Natalie's hand tightened as she trembled. She couldn't speak, only nodding her head to confirm.

  "You got this!" Natalie said. Mr. Song also gave encouragement.

  "You'll be amazing!"

  Natalie stood beside her at the edge of the curtain. They watched as Fara introduced the act.

  "And for our final performance, Andy Perrin."

  The audience clapped, but Audrey was sure it was just out of habit and not for her in particular. Everything slowed as she walked on stage, bright lights blinded her, making it so she could hardly see the audience. She covered her eyes a bit to scan for her friends. It was easy enough to find them as Sam and Adrian and Danielle could be heard cheering her name. She even thought she heard her mom there.

  They were barely visible in the sea of seated silhouettes. They had a huge sign that they made saying Go Audrey! Near them was Looz, who appeared to be cheering but was inaudible to her.

  The music started, but Audrey could only hear her heart—pounding away at her eardrums. The mic shook in her clammy hands. She noticed in the front Emma was recording her. The two made eye contact. Emma gave a mischievous smile with a wink towards her.

    She looked back at Natalie who was indeed by her side out of view, just behind the curtains. she pulled off her mask to reveal her smile, giving her two thumbs up. It was funny, but she reminded her of Jacob at that moment.

  The music continued but she stood frozen. Everything silenced under the pressure she felt. Nothing but the beat of the song remained. The crowd, the light, it all vanished. Never had she been so happy to be away from it all.  All she had to do was skip it.

  I don't wanna know, you're driving me crazy.

  Audrey knew that raspy voice. She didn't!, she thought. There's no way Natalie do something so outlandish.

  Reality came back, and Audrey looked to her side. It was Natalie and her stuffed up Nostrils full of tissue. She sounded hoarse! But the crowd cheered nonetheless. What is she doing!?

  "Say it again, my memory's hazy," Natalie continued. She motioned for Audrey to join and continue. Audrey wanted to cry so bad, but not from sadness. Now wasn't the time. She cleared her throat and focused solely on Natalie.

  "I'm falling down the rabbit hole again, yeah." Audrey's voice shook ever so slightly. She remained concentrated on Natalie. The light around them made it easy to block out the faces of everyone else.

  Natalie covered her mic and mouthed the words "you're doing great!"

  Audrey continued the song, as if they were the only two in the room. Just like she rehearsed the day before. Just like the sleepover. The cheering from the crowd became a distant noise, drowned out by the two girls having fun. Living in their moment.

  The whole time Audrey could only think about how much Natalie meant to her. To think someone who didn't even know she existed would go this far for her. It was another thought that made her want to cry. But she held it all in. For her.

  The song was over and the two stared at each other. Natalie fashioned a grin. For a sick girl, she seemed so alive and bursting with excitement. Natalie turned her gaze away from Audrey to the crowd, extending her arms to present Audrey.

  That's right! I was on stage! She thought.  She turned to face the crowd, immediately turning to see her friends. They were cheering. Audrey gave it her best to smile, still holding back her tears.

  "By the way! Her Name is Not Andy! It's Audrey!" Natalie said, coughing right after.

  This garnered a loud cheer from their friends. Even Looz was more Audible at that statement. To Audreys' surprise, other students were cheering her on, not just her but Natalie as well. Audrey hugged Natalie tight.

  Audrey whispered in her ears, finally releasing some tears. "Thank you so much."

Authors note
  Hey! I'm a little bit late on this one! But I hope you liked it! There's one more small part that I'll upload later in the week that will cap off the chapter. What did you think of this part? What do you think of Natalie?

Editors
Elem
naomi14

Songs
Name: Artist
Apollo: Last Dinosaurs

Next chapter
The after math of the talent show, as seen from Natalie. Emma has a word with her about Audrey. What could she want? What did Audrey do? Find out this Friday! (3/31/23)