Born to Perform

Chapter 12

Sam and I are not talking again. I can’t believe that it only took one day of speaking for me to mess up both our lives. If we hadn’t met up behind those bleachers then Sam never would have caught Elisha cheating. But that would have been a bad thing, right…?

I just feel so confused and disorientated. I finally felt like I was okay about not dating Sam and that actually being friends was the best thing for us but now everything has turned upside down again. Now that he’s technically single, I can’t work out if I still have feelings for him or whether I managed to crush them all. 

Of course, Cassie and Sienna are both madly in love with their new boyfriends and are in ‘the honeymoon phase’, where everything is apparently fantastic. I’m so happy for them but seeing them so infatuated makes me feel kind of jealous. It just reminds me that the only guy I ever loved is not even speaking to me. 

They seem to sense that I’m slipping away into hopelessness and have even offered to set me up on blind dates - I’d just like to say that I’m not that desperate! - but I obviously turned them down and told them I was fine. 

As we’re walking to lunch together, though, they decide they have to say something. 

“You’re sad again,” Cassie says sympathetically. I shrug and tell her I’m fine but I can see out of the corner of my eye that she and Sienna are exchanging a look. 

“Melody, please can you tell us what this is about because we want you to be happy again,” Sienna pleads, “We hate to see you like this. You’re usually so driven and active.” I know I can’t keep telling them nothing’s wrong - they always see right through me. I sigh and we all sit together on a bench. 

“I just feel like I blew it,” I admit, “While Sam was dating Elisha, although I liked him, I knew he was off limits. Now, I feel like I’ve ruined everything. I was fine just being friends! That was ok but I can’t stand not talking to him, not seeing him, not even texting him! I feel like my life has no meaning when he’s not in it.” 

“God, it’s like Romeo and Juliet over here,” says a sneering voice that can only belong to one select person. “Can we skip to the bit where you stab yourself, though?” 

Ariel and Lyla cackle at Elisha’s frankly quite poor joke. They’re like a couple of hyenas. Cassie and Sienna bristle at her presence. It’s like a full-on Western stand-off - except without the guns. 

“What do you want, Elisha?” Cassie demands icily. 

“Oh, there’s no need to be so rude, Señorita,” she mocks. “After all, we wouldn’t want anything to happen to your little boyfriend, would we? I could get him kicked off the football team before you can say ‘adios’” she threatens. 

“If you mess with Cassie or Melody I will kill you!” Sienna says menacingly. Elisha just laughs. 

“Now, let’s not let this get out of hand!” she warns, “I could just as easily tear your little lover away from you too.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Sienna counters.

“Oh, I would,” she replies with a smirk. “Did you know we used to date?” Sienna tenses but tries to keep her cool. “We dated for nearly a year,” she continues, “He told me he loved me but I dumped him for getting too clingy. I doubt he’d pass up the chance to come running back to me.” The hate in Sienna’s eyes is so strong it is obviously taking her physical restraint not to just punch Elisha. 

Watching my two friends get threatened by the very person to blame for all my unhappiness is enough to snap me out of my self-pitying bubble and I stand up face to face with her. 

“What do you want?” I say slowly and deliberately. She smiles a little. 

“I want everything you took away from me,” she snarls. 

“You cheated on Sam. You brought all this on yourself,” I point out. How could I bring Sam back to her?

“No, not that. I want Maria.” Those three words cut straight through me like a blade. I can’t give up my part. That’s the only thing that’s keeping me going through all this - and she knows that. 

“Or what?” I say as bravely as I can. I don’t want her to see how much she’s getting to me. 

“You don’t want to know,” Ariel threatens. 

“We could take away everything you have,” Lyla jeers. 

“Cassie and Sienna will lose their boyfriends if you don’t give up your part,” Elisha announces. I’m torn. If it were only down to me, I wouldn’t give up that part for anything. But it’s not me they’re warning, it’s my two best friends.

I look at them. They look at each other. Then they turn back to the three witches with a determined look. 

“Bring it,” they say together. I smile at how bold they are and that they would sacrifice their love lives for me. I can barely believe it. Elisha looks a little taken aback but quickly recovers. 

“Fine, then. We can get you both kicked out of the musical,” she retorts. They just shrug. 

“I only have about six lines, no big deal,” Cassie brushes it off. 

“Good luck finding someone else to take the dance lead,” Sienna says sarcastically. I love my friends. Elisha gets more and more annoyed. 

“Well, it seems you have made you’re decision. Let’s go girls,” she clicks her fingers and starts to walk away but then stops and turns back. “You know, I don’t think you know what you’re getting into. I’d been playing nice for my little boyfriend up to now but don’t expect me to show any mercy anymore. You just watch, Melody Rose Pointer, I’m gonna make you pay.” They swish round in unison and stalk away. My heart is still thumping from the confrontation. Sienna lets out a frustrated groan. 

“How can she just blackmail us like that and think we’re going to give her anything?” she rages. Cassie looks more anxious than angry. 

“You guys were so brave just then,” I thank them, “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I mean, you know better than anyone the sorts of things she does to people!” 

“We would do anything for you to keep that part, Melody,” Cassie says, giving me a hug. “It’s just that I really don’t want to lose Diego. I don’t know what she’s going to do but we were lucky that people didn’t give us hell when we went public. I just don’t know what sort of trouble she’s going to stir up…” she explains with a shudder. I think over how Elisha might try to break them up and how we could prevent it but my thoughts are interrupted by Sienna shrieking into her phone. 

“Scott? Scott, where are you at the moment?!” she screams. “In the hallway? But she could find you there! Elisha! Don’t let her- Scott? SCOTT!” She looks at us in panic and switches on speakerphone. There is the noise of rustling and unidentifiable voices, then my blood almost goes cold when we hear:

“Yeah, I just kissed your man, Sienna. Better watch out.” I can barely believe my ears. Sienna is practically trembling with anger. Then she hangs up and Sienna goes mental. She starts screaming in Spanish (or maybe Mexican?) and charges down the hallway, yelling Scott’s name over and over again and threatening Elisha. Cassie and I chase after her but, boy that girl can run. 

Finally, she finds Scott trying to push Elisha away from him while she tries to kiss him. Sienna stops in her tracks, allowing me and Cassie to catch up to her and take in the scene. Then, she strides up to Elisha, pulls her off her boyfriend, slaps her really hard across the face and then kisses Scott herself. She spins round to face her enemy, who is now sitting on the floor, cradling her cheek and looking shocked. 

“And that’s why you don’t mess with me or my girls,” Sienna announces, asserting her authority. For a second, I wonder if Elisha will back down but I am proved wrong as she gets up and slaps Sienna back. Sienna slaps her again and she slaps back and, before we know it, the two of them are screaming and hitting each other and pushing each other on the floor. Cassie and I try to break up the fight but it is impossible to tear them apart. Well, I can see that the next couple of weeks before the performance are going to be pretty tricky. I just hope that I can hold onto my part without letting go of everything else I have.