The Urban Princesses: Ariel

Chapter 3

"And fifth place goes to..... San Francisco Public High school!!!" The announcer's voice echoed over the auditorium speakers. There was a light applause from the crowd. San Francisco bowed and walked off stage.

I am biting my nails. I can't help it, I'm so nervous. If we lose, Seemal will be devastated, and then he will blame himself and not come to work for a week. If we don't make it to finals, that kiss would've been for nothing.

Why did he have to kiss me! The holding hand part was weird enough. He could've at least given me some warning. I didn't get a chance to talk to Seemal before we had to go onstage for the results.

If I hear our name called for fourth place, we are done in the competition.

"Fourth place goes to.... Baywater Academy!!!"
I was so relieved. My team waited until Baywater went off stage until we hugged and jumped and congratulated each other.

"Congratulations to our finalists!"

Seemal was bawling on the ground. This is the best thing that he could've hoped for. If he is happy, I am happy.

Third place went to Kingston High School. We were in the top two! We have never made it this far.

"This is it, the moment you have all been waiting for, the winner of the Junior Chorus semifinal competition is...."

Why won't he say it?! I hate when announcers do that! Poor Seemal is going to have a heart attack if he doesn't announce it in the next thirty sec-

"Palm Bay High school!!!"

I fell to the floor. I was so happy. Seemal was laying on the floor sobbing. We got first place in semi finals! and are going to finals!! This is a dream come true for our team.

After the applause died down we went back stage and cried some more. They gave us a two foot tall trophy with a microphone on top. Seemal would not let it go.

While everyone was congratulating me, I noticed the woman with the tight black bun walking around talking to people and giving them slips. The talent agent. I can't imagine how many people must of been chosen for the talent search.

She came over to me.
"Hello, my name is Gretchen Parks. Are you Ariel Ross?"

"Yes. How can I help you?" I replied.

"I am from Parks & Jameson talent agency and I noticed you up there. You were amazing. I especially loved the part where you two kissed. It showed that music isn't just memorizing lyrics and practicing them over and over, it shows the true thought that goes into making a performance like that happen. It showed me your love for music." She smiled and shook my hand.

I guess the kiss wasn't for nothing.

"I wanted to give you this." She handed me a slip with Parks & Jameson logo on the top and places for a name, birthday, mailing address, and so forth. It was a registration form.

"I do hope you accept." And with that she walked away to the next person.

I held the slip in my hand for a moment and stared at it. I was just chosen by a talent agent. I could get famous. I'm not sure if I can accept. If I do it would mean leaving my dad and "Tritan's Castle". He has my sisters but I don't know how I could live without him. What about Fallon? The ocean?

I shoved the note into my purse. I can't decide yet.

"You are going to finals!!!" Fallon was jumping up and down screaming, her golden hair bouncing with her. She hugged me so hard, I thought I was going to lose my voice.

After a multitude of congratulations and a group picture, I finally went home.

My dad, Abigail, Avery, and Amy were waiting for me when I got home. The moment I walked through the door, streamers popped out from the doorways.

"Congratulations!" My dad, Avery, and Amy yelled.

They shoved cupcakes in our faces with microphone decals on them.

Finally, I went up to bed. The best part about being the youngest, I get my own room. My room is the one facing the backyard. I have a huge window overlooking outside.

My dad put in a small pond because I used to cry when I was little because I wanted to see water without turning on the faucet. There are two big trees that hang over the pond. There is also a hammock under the trees. I go there when I need to think. Right now would be a good time to go there.

I laid down on my bed, my scarlet hair fanning out around me. I closed my eyes for a moment and rested my brain. All of the stress, emotions, pressure, and decisions escaped my mind. Right now the only thing I thought of was the sand, the waves, and the sun.

There was a soft knock on my door. I groaned.

"Come in." I said as a pulled a pillow to my face.

I heard the door creak open and someone step inside. I didn't recognize the smell.

Everybody in my house has a smell. My dad smells like oysters from the hours in the kitchen. Abigail smells like her overpowering Justin Bieber perfume. And Aly smells like salt.

But this smell was different. Kind of like the smell of clean laundry.

I peeked out from under my pillow and saw Will standing there, a sad look on his face. He still had his blue polo shirt and jeans on from the chorus competition. He came straight here from the competition

"Why are you here?!" I yelled, getting up from my bed.

"I had to talk to you." He answered.

"You have five minutes." I crossed arms.

"That's all I need."

I sat down on my bed.

"I will tell you the truth why I did that. My parents were so excited I got a solo. They were even more excited when they heard I had a duet with you. My parents have been trying to get me a girlfriend for the last six months. Dad thought this would be a good opportunity to ask you out, but he said I had to do it in a big way. He said you can't say no if you do it in front of a lot of people. He also said the judges will love it. Two birds with one stone if you know what I mean." He smiled.

"So you understand why I did it now? I'm sorry. I really am. I can tell now you're not interested in me. Great job today. You rocked it." He turned around and started to walk out of the room.

"Will, wait." I said.

He stopped and turned around. I could see tears forming in his hazel eyes.

"I don't want you to think I don't like you. I don't like you like you like that. I like you as a friend and I'm just not ready for a boyfriend. But I don't want to ruin our friendship. Are we ok?" I tried to say calmly.
Even though he apologized, I was still mad.

He ran his fingers through his hair and walked over to the window seat. He sat there for a moment, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

Finally, he said something, "I know you think of me as a friend, and I don't want this to ruin our friendship either. I just look at you sometimes and ask myself what I did wrong-"

"You didn't do anything wro-"

"There is a reason you don't like me. There is obviously something wrong."

"It's not that I don't like you, I do like you. In fact, I love you but more like a brother-"

"I love you. Not like a sister." He stood up. "You don't know how happy I was when I kissed you. It felt like I won the lottery. I want that all the time." He sighed. "I know I can't force you to love me. So I won't."

He really walked out of the room this time and slammed the door shut behind him.

I laid down and cried into my pillow. It's never going to be the same between us. I really do love him like a brother. I feel horrible for not loving him. But I can't love him! Not like that!

Soon, I was fast asleep and forgot everything.