Catch Me

Kyla: The Challenge Presentation

As soon as Mia goes back into the room, Ariel and I head back into ours.

"Why would you record it?" I asked.

"Who knows? What if someday I'll need it?" Ariel says.

"What, do you keep secret files on everyone?" I ask.

"It's not like that. Imagine someone was hurting someone and just in case someone went too far, you could expose them," Ariel says quickly.

"I just lost brain cells because of that. Let's just forget we ever saw that," I said. Drama is messy. And I don't want to get my hands dirty. 

"Good idea," Ariel says. We practice for about 3 more minutes when the teacher came in and told us it was time to present. 

We went into the room and took our seats. Sofia was talking to some girl named Isabella. I didn't pay much attention. 

"Alright class, I've got your little groupings in order. First Tayler and Dean...." the teacher said. I tuned out for most of it until the teacher said, "Lastly, Kyla and Ariel."

As soon as he finished, Tayler and Dean took the stage. Tayler was in the Rap Category, I'm pretty sure. I was sure I had seen him in Rap class before. He had really tan skin, permed brownish-reddish hair, and really really green eyes. So green they were almost blue.

Dean looked absolutely calm. He seemed relaxed and ready. Was this a thing of CeCe's group? The world could be set on fire and they could all look annoyingly calm like nothing was going on. Hm, or maybe breaking Mia's heart was his way to curb any remorse.

"Hey, we're Dean and Tayler. We're going to sing Heather by Conan Gray," Dean says into the microphone.

"Just to make this clear, Dean chose the song," Tayler joked. I smirked. He seemed to be the funny guy. It's a surprise I haven't noticed him much before. To be fair, we've only had 2 challenge days this entire year and the last time I didn't pay attention to any of it. I don't pay much attention to human beings in general. 

When they started, I was pleasantly surprised. Dean's voice was on the lower side, but not the lowest. It was very stable. Not bad for someone in the Dance category. Tayler's voice was on the higher scale. It was soothing and very very sweet. If he sang to you, he'd probably make you feel like the luckiest girl in the world. When their voices blended together, it was one of the nicest things I've ever heard. At the end, I enthusiastically clapped my hands then stopped abruptly. I put more effort into that clapping than I did to my math homework last night. But hey, they deserved it.

Two more groups later, Mia and Faith were up. Mia looked dead inside. That's the only way to describe it. She looked as if someone had taken a gun and shot her. I knew firsthand what that looked like. Her usually smiling face was blank of emotion. Her eyes were slightly red as if she had been crying but had hastily dried her tears. It was painful to look at her. I saw Dean visibly flinch.

"Hi, I'm Faith!" Faith said a little too brightly.

"And I'm Mia," she said in a deadpan voice. The contrast between Mia and Faith's voice was slightly hilarious, but I couldn't even smirk. Not with Mia looking like someone took her heart out and put it into a blender. 

"We're going to sing You Broke Me First by Tate McRae," Faith said. I internally flinched. Those lyrics of that song, spicy. Especially for the occasion. I could tell a lot of people were going to do a Tate McRae song or even You Broke Me First because some of the class groaned. She's a popular artist here.

They started off.

"MaYbE YoU DoNt lIkE TaLkInG ToO MuCh AbOuT yourself," Faith sang. Her voice wobbled more than Donald Duck. Only the last note came out smooth.

"But you should've told me when you were thinking about someone else," Mia sang looking right at Dean. Like I said, spicy.

I have to admit, Mia was pretty good. Her voice was soft and smooth, like she was singing a lullaby, her voice caressing over the words. Faith was........let's not even talk about Faith's voice. Last year there was a rumor that her dad had pulled some strings in order for her not to be labeled a newbie and got her into the Vocal category. Or else, no way. My brother sings better.

I didn't pay much attention to the performance, instead focusing mostly on Dean. Since he was right in front of me, I got the advantage of not looking like a stalker by watching him and getting the disadvantage of not being able to see his face. However, he couldn't help flinching every time Mia sang something that was clearly aimed at him. Like when she sang, "But you moved on quicker than I could ever, you know that hurt."

I wasn't the only one watching. Almost half the class was either stealing glances at him and some people actually had the audacity to turn all the way around in their seats and watch him. I know, I know, drama is awesome, but seriously! That's so rude! At least try to be discreet about it. People these days! Distgusting, rude, selfish, I could go on.

When they finished, everyone politely clapped their hands. They went back to their seats. Faith flashed Dean a nasty glare.

A million groups later, it was finally our turn to go. The room was almost completely silent. I guess they were anxious to know if the new girl had any talent or not. They were in for a big surprise. 

Ariel and I adjusted our microphones. I was on the right and she was on the left.

"Hey, I'm Kyla," I said.

"Hi, I'm Ariel," Ariel said.

"We're going to sing One Day by Tate McRae," I said. Luckily, nobody else had thought to use that song. Most people will only sing her more recent hits. The teacher nodded and started the music. I began. 

"She stares at her ceiling once again, with a hundred thoughts. Maybe he knows who I am? Actually, probably not," I sang. 

"She walks down the hall with her head down low, scared to meet his eyes. Even when she hears his voice, she's swarmed with butterflies," Ariel sang back. It was just as expected. Every single person's jaw dropped with an audible snap at the first note. Even the teacher, who I'm sure he's heard her voice before since he was a judge in picking her category. Even Faith, who was glaring at her with a face as cold as ice, couldn't suppress her shocked face. 

When we sang the chorus, I made sure to slip into the lower harmony. Usually I would sing the high notes, but Ariel's voice even higher than mine. Our voices twisted together, caressing each other in softer melodies and blending together all the lower ones. Especially on the, "Oh it's impossible to get you off my mind," part, she went up super high and I backed her up. It was amazing. 

When we finished, it was silent for a beat, but then the room erupted into applause. Even Mia, who I'm pretty sure knew that I was best friends with Winter, grudgingly gave us applause. 

"Great job Ariel and Kyla!" Mr. Mauser congratulated us. 

"Thanks," I said.

"Thank you," Ariel said.

"Your very much welcome. Please head back to your seats. School will end in about 3 minutes," Mr. Mauser said. I hurried up the stairs, got all my things in order, and grabbed my backpack. I sat down and tapped my foot impatiently. This was it. The next 3-4 hours could change my life. I could finally help support my family if I could just succeed. 

Finally, the bell rang. Everyone practically ran out the door.

It was time to audition.