by C. Fennessy
Chapter Eight: The Competition Stiffens
The next morning, they awoke later than usual because Joey decided to let them sleep in and have a late breakfast. Leisha said she felt better and wanted to go to rehearsal.
"We only have three days until the final competition, and I can still play guitar sitting down," she said. She picked up her crutches and hobbled into bathroom to get ready.
The other girls were all grateful that Leisha was so brave and willing to try to stay in the competition. At the rehearsal studio, Joey set up a mic in front of a chair and made sure she was comfortable. The girls rehearsed all afternoon, including the dance number they would play. Taylor was cautious not to bump into anyone, but her caution caused her to dance with less feeling than she had the night before. If anyone noticed, they didn’t say anything to her about it. When they finished, Joey and Leisha told them that even with just two dancers, it was still an entertaining performance.
During a break, the girls went to the soda machine just down the hall. As they arrived, Rock Solid was just coming down the hall to rehearse in another room. A couple of them merely nodded at the girls and the others ignored them, including Susan.
Danny saw Taylor and smiled. She smiled back and looked nervously at the others. They waited until the hallway cleared and then he came up to her.
“I had fun last night,” He said, taking her hands in his. He continued,
“Once this competition is over, maybe we can-“
The door to the studio opened and Ashley came out, calling to the others behind her, “I’ll be right back! Hey, Taylor, where’s the restroom?”
Danny let go of her hands and gave her a wave and a smile as he left.
Taylor smiled and waved goodbye.
“Come on, I’ll show you where it is,” she told Ashley.
Ashley and Taylor found the restroom and went inside. While they were in there, Susan came in looking surprised.
"Oh, I didn't know anyone was in here," she said, turning to leave.
"We were just leaving," Ashley replied with an icy stare.
Susan crossed her arms over her chest and stood in front of her, blocking the doorway.
"You may think you have a chance at winning this thing, but you don't. We're going to amaze everybody. We're playing all original songs," Susan boasted.
Taylor and Ashley were surprised.
"Originals? Who wrote them?"
Susan hesitated, wondering if she should tell them.
Ashley spoke up.
"Well, if you wrote them, then I'm certainly not worried about losing."
Susan shook her head, "I didn't. They're by a professional songwriter. He's already had several hits that he wrote for other bands. This is going to put us over the top, you just wait and see!"
Taylor and Ashley looked at each other warily, then Ashley spat,
"You don’t scare us, Susan! We're going to win on Friday, just wait and see!"
"Ha!" Susan laughed, "I doubt that! I'm just glad I'm not going to be seen on the stage with a bunch of losers!"
Ashley made a sudden move toward Susan and Taylor held her back.
"Ashley, don't!" she warned, knowing Ashley’s anger.
Taylor pulled Ashley out of the restroom.
“That’s just what she wants you to do—attack her. Then we’ll be kicked out of the competition!” Taylor declared fiercely. Ashley sighed deeply and said,
“Yeah, you’re right. But once this thing is over-“
“Don’t waste your time with her,” Taylor said, shaking her head, “You’ll only get into trouble and she’ll be the victim. Everyone will feel sorry for her and you’ll look like the bad one instead of her. It’s not worth it.”
Ashley stared at her friend, unwilling to let go of the anger she felt against Susan. Taylor was right. No matter what she did to get even with Susan, she would be regarded as the one who was wrong. Ashley shook her head and said,
“Come on, let’s go.”
They went back to the rehearsal studio.
"What's wrong?" Leisha asked, seeing the looks on their faces.
Ashley told them what had happened.
"And Rock Solid hired a professional songwriter? Who?" asked Kelly.
"She didn't say. But this will give them higher points for originality, won't it?"
Joey looked concerned, but waved a hand.
"Aw, don't worry about it! You wrote your own songs and they're great. The judges will be more impressed by that than some other songwriter doing them. Come on, let's go out for dinner. I don't want that other group hearing any of your tunes."
Friday morning they awoke early, and Joey met them in the hotel restaurant. Ashley and Kelly were already sitting at a table, and Taylor and Leisha arrived soon after. The girls were stunned to see that Leisha was not using crutches.
"Wow! Look at you! How's the ankle?" asked Kelly.
"It's fine! I can move it and put weight on it without any pain," she said brightly.
Joey insisted on looking at it, and when she showed it to him he admitted,
"Well, it's not swollen anymore and the bruise has faded."
"I'm going to try dancing today," Leisha declared, taking a sip of orange juice.
"Are you sure you should do that?" asked Taylor.
Leisha nodded, "I'm sure gonna try. If it's too painful, I'll just stand and watch you two dance."
The girls all hoped Leisha would be able to perform, but warned her not to overdo it.
They rehearsed until early afternoon. Leisha made it through the dance routine several times and was pleased that she remembered the moves. She was careful not to put too much weight on her right foot and not to twist it suddenly. It was a little sore, but not so much that she couldn't dance.
Joey told them to take the rest of the afternoon off to rest and relax. He drove them back to the hotel. Leisha decided to rest on her bed, but the others were too restless to lie around. They decided to go shopping.
They spent three hours going to clothing stores and boutiques in the shopping district. Several times they were stopped by people who recognized them and wished them luck on the show. As they were passing a shop window, Ashley suddenly yelled,
"Oh, Wow! Look at that!"
The girls stopped and looked into the shop window where she was pointing. There was a mannequin wearing a beautiful gold lamé top that showed one bare shoulder and a bare midriff on the opposite side. Snug black pants with large gold belts complemented the outfit.
"Wow! That's gorgeous!" Taylor agreed.
All of them hurried inside to see if they could try on the outfit. A salesgirl was happy to help them find their sizes.
"We just got these in this morning so I think I have everyone’s size. You're the first to try them on," she told them. The girls slipped into the dressing rooms and tried on the outfits. As they came out to parade in front of the mirror, the salesgirl gushed with compliments. The tops and pants were both made of a stretchy material that reflected light. All three girls loved the outfit.
"You all look so beautiful!" complimented the sales girl.
"But what kind of shoes should we get?" Taylor wondered.
"Shoes? I think high boots would be awesome!" Kelly suggested and they all agreed.
"Let's send Leisha a photo!" said Ashley, and two of the girls posed while Ashley took their photo and sent her the picture.
"What do you think?" she asked in a text.
"They're great! Get me some, too!" Leisha said, "and some boots in my size. Send me some photos when you find the boots!"
They soon found the right boots that made the outfits totally cool and sent Leisha the photos. She agreed and the girls bought a pair for her and then left the shop chattering with excitement about their new outfits for the evening's performance. Tonight would be the final competition, and they intended to do their very best. They knew that there was a good chance they might not win. But each girl agreed that they had had a fantastic time in
L.A. and being in the competition.
“Even if we don’t win the finals, we had a blast doing this competition, haven’t we?” Kelly asked.
They all hollered and slapped hands shouting, “Go Nightingales!”
