"Her or me?" A tear rolled down Michelle's puffy cheek, "You have to make a decision."
For Michelle, life has always been about control-control in the studio, in her friendships, and even in the secrets she hides. But with an unexpected pregnancy...
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"Sorry I'm late." Richelle rushes over to Michelle and me, breathlessly speaking, "I misread your text."
"Well, you're here now; that's all that matters." Michelle has an irritated look on her face.
Michelle sent the both of us an urgent text, telling us to meet her in the foyer as soon as possible. Today is the day that we compete in the duet competition, and after what happened last night, I don't know if Richelle and I can pull it off.
"What's going on?" Richelle asks, "I thought we weren't meeting until an hour before we go on stage."
"I think the two of you need to spend some time rehearsing before you go on stage. I mean, I haven't seen the dance full out yet, and in all honestly, I'm concerned about it."
She continues, "Look, I trust the two of you but I don't have faith in this duet."
If she was planning on motivating us with that speech, then it certainly didn't work. It's nice to know that she has zero faith that this duet can win today.
I look around, expecting Emily to join us, yet she doesn't show. I haven't heard from her since our argument last night, and I just want an opportunity to make things right with her.
I decide to ask Michelle about it. "Uhm, Michelle, where's Emily?"
Michelle tenses up when I say that, and then she reveals, "Emily isn't gonna be here today."
"What?! What do you mean she's not gonna be here?"
"I mean she's not gonna be here." Michelle repeats, furrowing her brows at me, "Don't look so panicked."
She says, "She packed her things and left. She got on the first flight home this morning. I think the competition got a bit too much for her. You know, some people just aren't made for the dance world. You have to be strong. Emily just cracks at the tiniest little inconvenience."
"She- she left?" I begin to panic.
"Uh-huh. What? You thinking about leaving too?"
"What?! No." I shake my head while feeling confused by her question.
"Seriously, if any of you want to go, then there's the door."
Richelle speaks, "No, none of us want to leave. I don't even know why we're having this conversation."
I agree with Richelle. "Yeah, aren't we supposed to be rehearsing for the competition? You were the one who said that you have no faith in our duet."
Michelle rolls her eyes. "Right, yeah. Meet me down in the rehearsal room in twenty minutes. I booked the room for the morning. We don't have long down there so I want the two of you to make the most of it."
"Okay." Richelle sighs.
I walk off, heading out of the building for some fresh air. I feel so anxious now that I know that Emily left this morning. The fact that she didn't tell me about it makes me concerned. I begin to wonder if what happened last night is the reason why she decided to leave.
