Second Chances At First Impressions

Chapter 1

"Today at bootcamp, we will be... dancing!" said louis Walsh from his spot at the judges table. "no one will be sent home today, but we want you to all try your best! Remember, stage presence is such an important part of being a true performer!"

A current of excitement surged through the crowd as people around me started screaming "woohoo" and "yes!" The atmosphere was lost on me, however, as i shrunk further back from the buzz surrounding me.

No, i thought, this isnt happening. of all the challenges that could have been announced, that one was the one i'd been most afraid of.

It wasn't that i wasnt a good dancer, I had barely made it on the x factor with my average voice, but it was that i physically couldnt dance. I would try, honestly i would, but i was fully expecting my time on the x factor to end today.

I had severe athritis in my left ankle, both knees, right wrist, and jaw. This condition made any hardcore exersize more painful than you'd imagine and i was only 15 years old.

My only hope was that Laurie Miller, my JRA specialist, would be able to up the dose of my prescription...

The remaining contestants had 50 minutes to get ready before we had to report back for rehersal. I left immediately after Simon finished the procedure run down to make a few calls. I entered the room I shared with my x factor roommate Isabella to find it empty. If there was one thing that Isabella was good for, it was privacy!

I dug my iPhone out of my pocket and sat on my bed to make my calls. First I called my mum to let her know what was happening. I told her that we were dancing and that I was going to need to call my doctor for the okay to double up my prescription. She calmed me down a bit when she told me that I was going to be fine. Just hearing her voice has always been a comfort and this was no exception.

When I finally mustered up the courage to call dr miller, about 20 minutes into the break, I was completely composed. As soon as she picked up the connection however, my composer completely broke.

In a hiccuped whisper I said, "dr. Miller, its marissa Oakley. We are supposed to be dancing today but I can't do this. I know that my arthritis has had a bad relapse and this is too much to handle without the pain killers. Is there any way I could double up, just for today?"

tears ran down my face as I tried to convince myself to tone it down.

When dr. Miller said a shaky, "I'm so sorry marissa..." I felt my heart sink.

She continued with, "you know how strong your new medication can be and since you've already increased you dose for your jaw to be able to sing without it cracking, I cant recommend anything else. If you were to increase the dosage, you could be facing some serious health problems. That includes both stomach issues and addiction."

the rest of the conversation was lost to me as I said a hurried goodbye and hung up. I slid down on my bed so my feet hung off the edge and crossed my hands over my face, momentarily blocking out the world.

Within a few minutes, I jumped up and ran in front of the full length mirror near the entrance of my room. The reflection that I saw was not one I welcomed. Before me stood as short, scrawny, pale skinned girl with crazy blonde curly hair and odd pale green/ blue eyes. She had tear trails down her face and a crooked frown as she bit her lip.

That girl is me, I thought, and she isn't giving up just yet

With a new found agenda, I fled the room. It was good luck to, as we only had 5 minutes left and people were already gathering on stage. I had decided to do this dancing thing because my disease shouldn't control me. If only I had known that it had other plans...