Secret Singing Superstar

Twenty-seven ~ ♫♪♫

Caitlin jerked awake. It took her two seconds to remember what had happened last night, and that she was actually sleeping in her sleeping bag at Leanne's house rather than being in her own bed at home.

She hoped her family were okay. And she also thought about Daniel. She had silently prayed for all of them to have a good sleep last night. She hadn't gotten to see Daniel at the singing concert, because she had left before Anna did.

She sat up and looked around. It took a moment for her eyes to focus. A thin ray of sunlight was coming through a gap in the curtains. Everyone was still sleeping peacefully - well, not everybody. She could hear murmurs. She glanced around.

She saw that Helina and Cailyn were chatting to each other quietly with their heads close. They were still lying down while talking. Caitlin wondered how long they'd been awake for. They both looked alert and energetic - unlike her. She felt exhausted and dreary and sleep-deprived. When had they all gone to sleep? Around midnight?

Seeing that they both hadn't noticed her staring at them, she slowly lay back down and stared at the ceiling for a long while. She didn't want to interrupt Helina's and Cailyn's conversation. It was obviously private.

Then she heard one of them let out a quiet sob. Not loud enough to wake anyone up, but loud enough so that Caitlin could hear it. She tensed. Who was it? And were they crying?

She waited a few more seconds, and then she couldn't take it anymore.

"Morning," she said out loud, just to let them know that she was awake. The voices immediately stopped. She felt guilty by trying to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help but wonder; what had they been talking about?

Both of the two girls hurriedly sat up and pretended that they hadn't been doing anything. If Caitlin hadn't been awake before, she would've probably believed them. She sat up quickly enough to catch Helina wiping her eyes. So Helina was the one who had been crying. But why?

She really wanted to ask, but maybe now wasn't the time. She beamed at both of them to pretend that she hadn't heard anything suspicious, and they seemed to buy it.

Cailyn grinned back at her and Helina smiled. It was as if they'd never had a conversation. The only giveaway was Helina's slightly red eyes to show that she had been crying.

"Are you still tired?" Helina asked Caitlin. Caitlin tried to stifle her yawn, but failed.

She smiled back at them. "Of course I am! We slept so late!"

Cailyn made a big show of rolling her eyes, prompting Helina to hit her lightly on the arm. "Well, that is the point of a slumber party."

"When did we even sleep?"

"Around 2 am," Helina replied. "I checked my phone before we went to sleep to see if I had any texts or missed calls from my over-protective mother."

"2 AM?" Caitlin screeched, and Helina hurriedly put her index finger to her lips to quieten her.

"Hey, if your mother is over-protective, it means she's caring," said Cailyn. "You should be grateful."

Caitlin sat up and ran a hand through her hair. It was okay - but Helina's hair looked like a messy bush. Did her hair get that messy and tangled when she slept? She unconsciously raked her hand through her hair. "Like you."

Cailyn raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Caitlin was wondering if she'd done something to offend the dark-haired girl somehow when Helina started to sing the song from playschool - quietly, so she wouldn't wake anyone. She stared at her.