Shooting Star

Chapter 25

"You have exactly one hour to complete your exams," the examiner announced. "Your time begins now."

I flipped the cover page over and began to write. The essay question wasn't that hard, actually. We had to explain the symbolism of either to skull or the conch shell in Lord of the Flies, and also write about the significance of the officer showing up on the island, and what literary device it was.

2 hours later...

"Entry number 348, from Studio F, please welcome Jazz Extended Line, Where Have You Been!"

There was a round of applause and the music began to play. The little Juniors began their part, followed by us, the Intermediates, and then the Seniors. At the end, we all joined together for the final chorus.

When it was over, I ran off the stage, grabbed my dance bag and out to the parking lot where Mom was waiting in the car.

"All done?" she asked, pulling out of the parking lot.

I didn't reply, I was too busy pulling my hair out and taking my make-up off, then scrambling out of my costume and pulling on my equipment. 

When I was done, my cell phone buzzed. I pulled it out, seeing it was from Natalie:

Hey gurl we came didn't come 1st Overall, er we didn't even place. kind of sucks. IDK y. Well anyways, Luv ya have funn at ur game and good luck!! Luv, Natalie janelle and aly-g.

I bit my lip, my heart sinking, and texted back: great... well, ily2.

Then I slid my phone into my bag and put my seatbelt on. I had still half an hour of waiting left.

"How'd you do?" Mom asked me.

"We didn't even place," I said, struggling to keep the tears from spilling over. "I can't believe it."

"Oh, Bree, it's all right, you're not going to place at every competition," Mom consoled me.

I just couldn't believe it. "But..." I whispered.

Just then, the car lurched to a halt.

"What happened?" I gasped anxiously.

"Humongous traffic jam," Mom said grimly.

"Are you serious?"

I was in the back seat, so I craned my neck to see past the driver's seat. 

Holy crap, was the highway jam-packed. "What the hell?" I gasped.

"Language," Mom said warningly.

"But I HAVE to get to the game!" I wailed. "The first period ends in 5 minutes!"

"Text someone and tell them about our situation," Mom said.

"I can't," I sighed. "None of the girls bring their cells with them to games, and Coach Hiller is banned from using a cell phone during the game, even in the locker room. All coaches are."

We finally started moving, although it was at a snail-like pace. "Car crash?" I asked.

"Looks like it," Mom confirmed as a police car came speeding down the highway, followed by another one and a fire truck. "I think the car is a few paces ahead of us."

"This sucks so bad," I groaned.

Knowing it was a lost cause, I dug out my cell phone and sent a message to Kylie, Alyssa, and Ruby, anyways, because there was always a chance one of them would've brought their phones with them: