Broken Guitar Strings

Chapter 47

(CHANYEOL'S POV)

Allie and Lay are supposed to be back by tomorrow at the latest. I don't know if they'll go to school or not, but knowing Lay, I know he'll show up. And knowing Allie's attitude towards Lay...she probably will too.

I have nothing to do after school today because my friends are busy with either their parents or out doing some hobby of theirs. I sit down on the couch, propping my feet up and flipping on the huge flatscreen TV. There seems to be nothing good on TV after school; it's only horse races, golf games, and kids' cartoons. The good shows like Arrow and Criminal Masterminds play later in the evening.

However, after channel surfing for five minutes, I finally found something interesting on Lifetime. Lifetime is known for its popular show Dance Moms, and so it's been taking care of all the stuff relating to the arts and dance. At first I flipped past it, but then I went back because...I saw Lay.

The competition should've been yesterday, so I guess this is a replay. I only watched him do this weird dance for about twenty seconds before he ended and the crowd went wild. I don't know much about dance and how the competitions work, but he was actually really good.

After all, he did go to nationals.

I kind of just sat there staring at the screen, finding it hard to believe that Lay was onstage. In New York City. At nationals. I watched the little kid awards, and when they moved to kids who looked like they were in middle school, I went and got myself a bowl of ice cream. There was no point in watching them when I just wanted to know if Lay won anything or not.

When I got back with a bowl of cookies and cream flavored ice cream, they were announcing the people who got fourth, fifth, and sixth place. Since I didn't watch them dance, I have no idea who deserved what, so I didn't really care. What I did notice though, is that Lay didn't place in any of those three spots, which means that he either didn't place at all in the top six, or...he placed in the top three. I wait, and they move on to the top three. The MC stated that the top three finalists receive medals and cash rewards. Then the MC announced something that almost made me cough up my ice cream (if that's even possible).

"...Lay Zhang!!!"

Holy shit, this kid is so good at dancing, he earned third in the nation. I know I shouldn't be surprised because Lay is very hardworking and passionate about music and dance, but still, I was not expecting him to be this good.

Maybe my mind was clouded with jealousy.

Anyway, I will be happy to see Allie again. I missed her voice and the smell of her hair.

I put in my small white earbuds and replay D.O's "Scream" OST from the movie "Cart" over and over again, turning off the TV just as Lay gets up to the mic to deliver his speech.