let's light up the sky ☆

Chapter 19

"All ready to go, Nousha?" Dad asked when he came back into the living room. I was mindlessly scrolling through Tumblr on my phone waiting for the cue to go to the car. Armen had already gone out to make sure he got his rightful seat on the right side. He's finally able to hobble around on one crutch without his boot.

I stretched and pulled myself from the couch. "Ready as I'll ever be."

I love competitions, but I'm still not used to leaving the house before 7 am for them. Dad promised me and Mom a Starbucks run before we hit the I-10 if we agreed to leave this early. I ran through my mental checklist of items, checking my backpack for my usual carry-on and giving the trunk a glance for my suitcase. I helped Maggie into the back seat and onto my lap for her trip to the puppy boarding center.

Desert Classic snuck up on me. I'd given my all to my practices. From the moment I step on stage, my fate will be in the hands of three people with more years of dance experience than I've been alive. It's actually a pretty terrifying thought. I spent a lot of time this summer thinking over all my performance choices. 

I hoped that I didn't make any serious miscalculations that would cost me the title or my dignity. They say to "have fun and be yourself," but I can only rely on one of those to come through for me when I need it.

I distracted myself by petting Maggie's soft ears. My heavy metal playlist blasted through my over-ear headphones. The sun rose over the horizon and the orange glow overwhelmed my still-exhausted eyes. For a brief moment, their aching made me regret not relying on melatonin to calm my anxious mind last night.

I watched the "Future Lover" ESC Grand Final a few too many times for my own comfort and peace of mind. Next thing I knew, it was 1:30 AM. I got lucky that my parents didn't walk by my room and see my laptop glow under the door.

Maggie fell asleep while I was holding her – good to know somebody can sleep whenever she feels like it. I had to push her awake when we arrived at the boarding center. "Magdalena," I scolded her using the government name that I made up for her when I was 12. "You gotta get up. Hailey's waiting for you."

The Hailey I mentioned walked out of the center to the pick-up line. "Is that our old girl?" the bubbly blonde cheered.

Dad rolled down his window. "She's being lazy this morning, but she'll get over it."

This boarding center adores Maggie. After the last one neglected to brush her at the peak of shedding season, we had to find a place that would give her the treatment she deserved. They tell us that Hailey's her favorite staffer. She'll sometimes slip her half an extra scoop of kibble at night before bed.

Dad opened my door to let Maggie realize where she was. She finally lifted her head once Hailey was in her line of sight. "Who's that, Mags?"

She jumped out of my lap like she was young again. She gave herself a quick shake and didn't even looked back at us when Olivia, the day shift manager, leashed her up and took her inside.

"Guess we're chopped liver to her now," Dad shrugged. Hailey reassured us that she would have a great weekend with them. We were off to the nearest Starbucks before spending our two hours in the purgatory known as Los Angeles County rush hour traffic on a Wednesday.

—

"Okay, I've got a suite for four people under the name Manikas, still planning to check out on Monday morning?"

The front desk receptionist ran through the checklist of items with Dad. Mom was at the vending machine while Armen and I were eyeing the network of pools behind the resort. "I'm getting my payback later," Armen teased.