Not what I expected ...

Preparation is key

Usually it would be classed too early in our house, but with me going to public school, 7.30 became quite a normal time. With Devon and Kylie out of town I had all the time in the world to get ready for these dance tryouts. All I really knew was that it is an annual program where you dance instead of doing normal classes all day. Even with the limited info, my mum still allowed my to try it and supported me. She is also the one to take me to school today.
I'm not gonna lie it was pretty awkward walking past everyone to the dance hall in my dance clothes, which mind you are pretty casual, nothing too stand-out-ish.
As I got closer to the studio doors I realised that I may have been a tad early seeing as no one was there. Not a second later a hand     swung across my shoulders scaring the life out of me and of course making me jump, in reply to which I simply received laughter. Looking up I saw it was Josh standing there, having the time of his life laughing at me.
"Didn't mean to scare you!" He managed to wheeze out.
"Riiight"
After a second or two of laughing Josh pulled himself together and proceeded to guide me towards what he called 'the kings' hideout', which mind you sounds pretty impressive when in reality is simply a corner by the window full of cushions and chairs. It had a sign on it so I guess that counts as impressive?
The boys were lounging around and welcomed me with open arms and a facefull of cushions.
"How long have you lot been here?" I asked the group who all just shrugged. Well they are helpfull I thought.
"Ready for auditions?" Will asked, making all eyes turn to me. I fell back into the cushions with a groan " I don't even know what I'm doing!" I exclaimed looking at the boys for help. Sean placed a hand on my shoulder "Believe me, nobody does" the boys broke down in laughter , the only thing I could do was place my hands over my face and laugh at their imaturity. Suddenly I remembered the talk I had with the girls yesterday "Hey guys? I wanted to ask , why are all the girls calling you 'the kings'?" I rolled my eyes at the nickname.
Will was the first to respond, "Basically anyone who gets into the dance program becomes sort of a celebrity" he shrugged and Gabe was quick to add with a wink" So get ready Kace"
1 hour later....
We entered the dance studio where Tricia stood at the front with an older dark skinned boy. There were at least 50 girls all excited and bouncing around the packed studio. I spotted Tati and Bailey along with Tahani in the middle of the floor, so I waved goodbye to the boys who, surprisingly, went off to the side unnoticed. On my way towards the girls I must admitt, I began to feel nervous seeing how many girls I will be up against. Just as I reached out to tap Tahani on the shoulder I heard someone shout my name, attracting everyones attention to either me or the front of the room.
"KC is that you?" my eyes widened when I saw the person from earlier was the one and only " Rich!" I ran over to give him a hug to which he replied with a laugh and a ruffle of my hair. " Haven't seen you in a while sis" he said smiling down at me.
"Ok girls, silence!" I quickly went back to the girls who looked more nervous than I felt.
"Today I will begin by teaching a piece which you will perform all together and will be eliminated as we go along" Tahani and I exchanged wide eyed looks, smiling nevertheless.
"You all have your candidate numbers?" I looked down at my number '27' and back to Tricia. "Yes? Ok, lets get started!".
After a little over an hour we learned a combo to 16 shots, which I saw quite a few girls struggle with. My only guess can be that they didn't expect the choreography to be hip hop like I did. Anyways, it was time for us to perform in groups of 10. I stood off to the side and watched group one, which both Bailey and Tahani were in. Around seven girls were eliminated, some leaving in tears and other angry, although I was happy that neither of my new friends were those girls. Second group went up with Tati in it and I'm not gonna lie, she killed it and stayed in along with another girl. Now it was my turn.
"Yes KC!", I didn't need to turn around to understand that it was Gabe that called out to me. While I was dancing I noticed the dance choreographer throw side glances at me and often she would look at me before picking someone to be eliminated. In the end I stayed in, which the boys were quite excited about, with a couple more girls, one of which was Charlize from my science class.
After about ten minutes all the groups have been separated, leaving 15 of us on the floor.
"Now girls, you will do the same dance but I would like you to add a little freestyle at the end." She then motioned for the boys to move over and sit in front of the mirror " The boys will be helping me pick". And the music started, I was so into the dance that I didn't even notice 5 girls leave and the fact that I was the last one on the floor. When I looked up from my arch walk I saw everyone clapping and will admitt that I may have felt a bit of heat rising in my cheeks.
"And then there were 10..." said Will attempting to make ghostly noises , which honestly weren' t that great, but with one sentence he both managed to lighten the mood and stress us all out even further.
"Solo time" Tricia announced in a sing song voice. "Perform a solo in any style you want, you have 5 minutes to get ready " and with a clap of her hands she set the room into a hustele. I ran up to Tati and the girls asking what style they were doing " I wanted to do my Questions dance but I don't think I have the song on my phone" Tati's voice radiated stress which I assume Bailey noticed as she began frantically scrolling through her playlist. "Got it!" We all turned to Bailey who had a smile plastered on her face " I have questions downloaded" Tati enveloped her in tight hug thanking her as she did so.
When she finally let go of Bailey we went around each telling the rest what solo they would do. Now all eyes fell on me "Guys I don't know, I was thinking of doing one to Og Bobby Johnson or to How Long, but I can't pick" looking up at the girls for help I noticed that all their enlarged eyes were diverted somewhere behind me. Before I got a chance to turn around my neck was grazed with warm breath. It took all my self control to prevent myself from shivering.
"Good luck girls!" Sean's voice was way too happy for the situation. The three girls before me mumbled quick thanks and went off to practice their solos which was really just an excuse to hide their blushing faces.
I finally turned around, still having the nervous look on my face. "You okay Kaycee?" Josh asked, both his voice and face etched with worry. "Ye, just can' t pick a dance to do" I shrugged and told the boys my options. Suddenly Gabe's face lit up in a way that spoke 'he is up to no good'.
"You know what you should do? Your Anaconda dance!" My eyes widened and I was about to puch his arm but the hilarious looks on the rest of the boys' faces saved him.
"Before you ask I was eleven when I did that dance and it's a mess"
"Time's up" oh no, I still haven't picked my song. The boys were called over by Tricia but Sean stayed behind them for a second. "Do Og Bobby Johnson, show Kenny how it's done " his smile immediately lifted my mood.
"Lets have..."