Now You See Me

one.

Just as I was about to jump off the stage, into the large, sweaty crowd to crowd surf, a siren went off.

Wait. Where are the red lights?

I paused on the edge of the stage. The heck? The lights dimmed, the irritating siren got louder, then...

...light? I slowly pushed my arm from underneath my warm blanket to find my phone and shut the darn alarm off.

I cracked open a crusty eye and looked at the bright screen. Ugh, it read 5:46AM, right on the forehead of Post Malone. I thought about sleeping for another five minutes more but decided against it as I remembered what today was- packing day!

Today was the day before I leave for dance camp, a junior high division camp that would be 8 weeks long of rigorous training to prepare for the biggest dance competition I have yet to experience in my life of 17 years- the All Star Competitive Dance Festival (ASCDF).

Every year the festival is held in a different city, last year it was held in Atlanta, Georgia, and this year it's going to be held in Anaheim, California! But, in order for you and your team to go, you must first compete in Districts, where dancers locally showcase their talent to win an invitation to the national festival. Once you have an invitation secured, it's time to start practicing for the real deal.

I sat on my bed thinking- no dreaming about the grand prize that would go to the first place winner(s) in each division. My team thankfully placed second in Districts last month and now we're headed to San Antonio, Texas, for camp that will sharpen our moves and make us Cali-ready.

Already my heart was jumping in my chest just thinking about the festival. Not only was $20,000 on the line for all first place merit winners, an internship to study under one of the world's greatest dancers was also at stake. Born and raised on Jeju Island, South Korea, Daebyeol Han is a renowned choreographer that has won hundreds of gold medals and awards for his craft, with his dances shown in shows and music videos worldwide. His name literally means "the One Shining Star," like how sick is that? Thus his stage name is "BoyBlueStar."

I've watched his broadcasted competitions on TV over a thousand times, trying to learn from his forms, facial expression, and body control. A master b-boy, he specializes in popping and locking, a form of dance that I have barely dabbled in.

Focusing on the task at hand and trying my best to not over pack, I spent a good chunk of my day packing everything I thought I would need for the next 8 weeks away from home. I was thoroughly excited. Ever since the beginning of the year I had been counting down the days til camp, as I knew it would be the highlight of my summer.

It was an important summer too, the summer before senior year. I wanted to start senior year off with $20,000 in my bank and a college internship under Daebyeol. I knew I was already going to be Captain of my high school's dance team- that was given.

I was a good student too. Pretty much straight A's all over my report cards as my aunt didn't take slack from me. Tía (aunt in spanish) Loida wanted the absolute best for me since I had no one else to look after me after my parents death when I was three.

My biggest dream was to become a professional dancer like Daebyeol and open my own dance academy, teach there for a few decades, then travel the world as a competitive dance judge. I wanted to buy Tía a small, comfortable house for her to stay in with a care giver so she can finally take a break from taking care of me all my life. She deserves it.

So, here I am, staring at myself in the mirror, mentally running over the list of things I packed already and figuring out the stuff I still needed to pack.

My airpods had been playing mindless music as I had been packing, so I switched to my "Vibey Vibes" playlist, a playlist I created from all my favorite songs that I could dance/sing along to when doing something. Joji immediately blasted in my ears and I finished up packing.

Heading out of my room, I walked into our living room and found Tía reading a book. I walked past her towards the door.

"Me voy (I'm leaving), I will be back in about an hour. Do you want me to buy anything?" I asked as I put on my filas.

"No bonita (pretty), just make sure to lock the door after you." Tía didn't look up from her book. I could see the beginnings of grey hair peeking from underneath her beautiful curly, black hair. I reminded myself to take her to get a massage.

Shoes crunching over the wet gravel of our driveway, I grabbed my bike that was pushed up against the side of our humble home and pedaled towards my favorite hot spot- Desmond's, a family owned coffeehouse.

My best friend, Sarai, would be meeting me there so we could drive in her car to the nearest walmart to stock up on snacks for tomorrow's trip.

As I was making the last turn onto the small street Desmond's was on, I was momentarily blinded by extremely bright lights. Bringing a hand up to shield my eyes, my bike skidded to a stop as the car in front of me swerved to their left. It barely missed me, by a mere foot.

The driver, clearly pissed off, pressed hard and long on their horn and flicked me off. As they angrily drove past me, I caught sight of blue hair. You were the one on the wrong side of the road anyway, jerk. I huffed, my blood rushing in my ears as I pedaled cautiously to the coffeehouse.

I needed a slice of lemon cake.

***
A/N:
First chapter- done! If yall (whoever reads this lol) see any edit errors, lmk pls. I'm still figuring out what my main characters look like lol, I'll figure out the cast soon.

Let me know what yall think! Comment and let your voice and ideas for this book be heard bc I don't really have a set outline for it, just rough ideas.
🥴