Shadows to Stages

6 Feburary 2016

Dear diary,

Today is semi finals. It's really exciting but also nerve racking. There are 4 teams left and we are one of them. We've been through so much preparing for internationals and now we're at semi finals. This is a win no matter what.

Today I'm so excited to perform our routine. It's based on puppets so it's going to be insane. Each team got 2 hours on stage to practice, so we're just sitting down taking a break. We've been working really hard on this routine and it seems to be going incredibly well. The crowd will hopefully love it. I said 'Okay guys, you ready to go over it a bit more?' I was stretching with Maya and I said 'I think something's wrong with Abigail, she's not herself.' Maya said 'I totally agree. I wonder what though?' I said 'Well yesterday, she seemed really guilty and suspicious. Then when she was about to perform I went to try hug her but she just walked on stage.' Maya said 'Definitely there's something up. Should we ask?' I said 'We'll wait until after semi finals.' We joined the rest of the team and started practicing. The dance is going really well. Everyone is giving so much energy and power and I know each of them will give more on stage.

Our time was up on stage but we could still practice in the practice rooms before you go on. Abigail said she had to go for a while but promised she'd be back in time for us to get in a bit more practice before semi finals. So me and Maya were sitting in the cafe just talking about internationals when we saw the dance crew we battled the first day we came to L.A. But I don't know why they're here. Benjamin came over and said 'Well, if it isn't Oatfield Talent School. We meet again.' I asked 'What are you doing here.' He said 'We're competing at internationals and as I can see, we are against each other in semi finals. So this is our chance to get revenge on you winning that dance battle we had.' I said 'And we will beat you again.' Him and his team walked off. We already beat them and we can easily do it again.

Me and Maya decided to go shopping as tonight there was a small party for all 56 teams who competed at internationals. I was really excited. We went into a street and it was full of shops so we had a whole day full of shopping. We went into shop and Maya found this gorgeous dress for the party. It suited her so well. I found nothing. We went to a thousand shops and found nothing. I was about to give up hope of finding anything for the party. Maya said 'Bella, don't worry. We'll find something. I know you want to look good for Nathan.' I blushed and she punched my arm. It sort of gave me hope of finding something for the party. So we went to the last shop on the street, this was my only hope. We went in and it was huge. There were so many employees and the place was flooded with customers. Loads of employees ran over to us and said 'Hello gals. Can we help you today.' They were so enthusiastic and it was hilarious. They dragged us into dressing rooms and threw in loads of clothes to try on. Maya was okay with it all and I was not okay with this, but it's the only way to find something for the party.

I kept coming out with all the employees and Maya judging all the outfits. I don't know how many outfits I tried on,but I started to lose hope. Then I came out in a dress that was totally my style. It was blue, turquoise and green. It was easy to dance in so it was perfect for the party. All the employees were gawking at it and Maya was nodding her head.  We bought the dress and went walking in this park near the street of shops. We were just talking and saw Nathan, Daniel and Luke walking as well. They came over and said 'Hey guys. What are you doing here?' I said 'Well we're shopping for the party tonight. What about you.?' Daniel said 'Same here.' Nathan then said 'Where's Abigail? Wasn't she meant to be here with you two?' I said 'She had to go somewhere. I'm not sure where though.' Maya said 'Guys look at the time. We gotta get back for our extra practice time.' I said 'I'll text Abigail.' We all ran back to the stadium and were just in time. Abigail hadn't replied yet and I started to get worried, but as many people say the show must go on. So we all headed to the practice room. We were running out of time and we couldn't wait any longer for Abigail. We needed to replace her. I asked Amelia to step in for Abigail. She's a really good dancer and picked up the choreography fast. She really blended into the dance and fitted in. She was giving so much energy. I was really proud of her.