by Jen Calonita
“That Ed Sheeran song is on our list,” said Sydney. “I already submitted it to Mr. Wickey for approval.”
Dave stepped forward. “So did I. When did you hand it in?”
Sydney waved her arms wildly. “Today.”
“So did I,” said Dave. “What time?”
“Two p.m. You?”
“Two p.m.”
They glared at each other as the entire stage went “Ooh.”
“What’s happening?” Julianna whispered to the other girls as Dave and Sydney stared each other down.
“It’s an a cappella showdown,” said Whitney excitedly. “No two groups can submit the same song for the same season. If they both want it, it goes to the team that submitted it first, but if they both submitted it at the same time then there is a sing-off to see who sings it better.” She looked around. “Mr. Wickey is usually the tiebreaker and he’s not here.”
Julianna’s heart started to pound. She was going to have to sing this afternoon? In front of both a cappella groups? She thought of Amy’s reaction again and the fact that the Nightingales barely had enough girls to form a team, and her old insecurities started to creep up on her. Did she even belong up on that stage?
Dave opened his arms wide. “Let’s do this, Nightingales. Tell you what? We’re gentlemen. We’ll even let you go first.” The guys started to cheer.
“Fine!” Sydney declared and looked defiantly at her group. She called them over to a huddle. “We have to win this,” she told them. “It will be too hard to harmonize when we don’t all know the lyrics yet. Does everyone know the chorus?” The girls nodded.
“I can beatbox,” Pearl said.
“Great!” Sydney nodded.
“Whit and I sing this all the time in the car,” Micayla said. “We can handle the harmony.”
“Excellent!” Sydney said. “We just need a strong singer to anchor the rest of the song.”
They all looked at Viola.
“You know I don’t do singer-songwriter types.” Viola sounded insulted. “I don’t know this tune.”
“Neither does Ms. Heel,” said Donna. “She prefers hard rock.”
“Same,” said Gabby.
Sydney’s eyes landed on Julianna. Her heart did another flip and her throat suddenly felt like it was on fire.
“Do you know the lyrics?” Sydney asked.
“Kind of,” Julianna said, “but …”
“Thank God.” Sydney yanked her onto the stage. “Let’s go.”
“Sing it, Nightingales!” one of the guys teased.
Julianna suddenly felt dizzy. The lights onstage felt too bright, the air too warm. Everyone’s voices were magnifying. Oh no. It was happening again. She was getting stage fright!
“Sydney, I’m not feeling that great,” Julianna tried to tell her, but her voice came out muffled.
Sydney grabbed her by the shoulders and smiled. “You’re going to do great! Your voice is insane! Get us this song! We need this!” She pushed Julianna toward the front of the stage.
She could see the guys lined up in front, whistling and shouting taunts.
Julianna was certain. She was going to pass out on the stage and fall off. Would anyone catch her? Her mouth was so dry. What was happening? Keep it together, Julianna. You can do this! Sing!
Pearl started beatboxing. Whitney and Micayla added in a harmony. Finally, it was Julianna’s turn. Sing! she told herself. She looked at Dave, who was laughing. Julianna opened her mouth, but suddenly she felt like she was going to throw up. She glanced worriedly back at Sydney, who was wildly motioning for her to start.
“You’ve got this, Julianna!” Gabby cheered.
Julianna closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and something happened. Her phone was vibrating. She was saved!
“It’s my mom!” she said, looking at the screen. Her eyes were so blurry she had no clue who the message was from, but it didn’t matter. “I need to … some sort of emergency … can’t stay … I’ve got to take this!” Julianna stuttered, and hurried offstage to pretend to take the call.
“Julianna, wait!” Sydney tried.
Julianna could hear the Kingfishers cheering at her absence. She had definitely cost the Nightingales the song. Her face burned as she thought about the humiliation, but she tried not to make herself crazy. She moved far into the back of the stage area where she couldn’t be seen in the darkness and finally looked at her phone screen.
AMY: Sorry if I was weird before. Too much caffeine!
AMY: Congrats on getting in. With you in the group, I’m sure the Florida a cappella scene is going to go (Lady) gaga over the Nightingales!
“Wait! Where are you going?” Sydney watched in horror as her group’s newest star ran offstage to take a phone call. Sydney knew stage fright when she saw it. How had she not seen the signs before? Julianna hadn’t missed the original audition. She had panicked then too. She could go after her, but there was no way she was getting her on that stage to sing Sheeran right now.
“Who takes a phone call in the middle of a performance?” Whitney asked, clearly annoyed as she watched Dave and Pasqual high-five.
“You owe me ten bucks,” Dave told Pasqual. “Told you that girl would choke again.”
“She didn’t choke!” Sydney covered for her. “She just had an important call.”
“She kind of choked,” Gabby whispered just to Sydney and Viola. “She made an excuse during the auditions too. I thought you knew that.”
Sydney looked at the spot Julianna had originally been standing in and sighed. “Well, I do now.”
“Poor girl,” said Viola. “Someone should go talk to her. I’ll find her.”
“No, give her space,” Sydney said. “I don’t want to scare her off completely.” They needed warm bodies.
The most talented girl on the squad couldn’t handle singing in public. This was just great! Sydney closed her eyes and tried to breathe. Everything will be fine.
“Syd? You okay?” Griffin asked.
Griffin. She couldn’t do this right now. “Can we start from the top with a new soloist?” Sydney asked, not looking in his direction.
“Do-over?” Dave sputtered. “No way. You had your shot. Now it’s our turn.”
Sydney bit her lip.
“Great work, leader.” Micayla patted Sydney on the shoulder as they filed off the stage.
The guys stood in their classic triangle formation with Dave at the front. Griffin was to his right and Pasqual to his left. They bowed their heads, pressed their palms together like they were praying, and waited. They had two beatboxers who kicked the song off before Griffin’s voice came roaring in followed by Dave, who rapped. They performed the tune as if they had done it a hundred times before.
“No fair,” Gabby whined. “They’ve definitely practiced this already.”
“Of course, they’ve rehearsed already,” Whitney said, hitting Sydney where it hurt.
Gabby shook her head. “The Nightingales’ curse strikes again.”
By the end of the song, Sydney knew there was no contest. The Kingfishers were the clear victors, but she still wasn’t willing to give up her shot. She begged for another chance to perform, promising at the end of the song they’d agree to pick one winner even without Mr. Wickey’s presence.
She huddled with her teammates—minus one—again. “We’re going to be okay,” she said, even if she didn’t feel that way. Her eyes were as wild as her curly hair, which had lost its taming headband. “We can beat them without Julianna.” She looked at the group and pulled them in tight. “Whitney and Micayla, you kick off the first stanza; Gabby and Viola, you do the melody; Pearl, you beatbox; and …” She hesitated when she came to Mercedes and Donna. “You two can join me on the chorus. Keep your voices low so we don’t overpower the others.” Mercedes, Donna, and Ms. Heel nodded.
“I’m not sure of the lyrics,” Gabby said. “Can I hold up my phone and read them?”
“We can’t hold our phones during a performan
ce,” Micayla protested.
“Do we have a choice?” Viola asked.
“WHY DON’T WE SING THE SONG IN A ROUND! I’LL START!” said Mercedes in the only volume she seemed to have—extra-loud.
“A round? Those are lame!” Whitney exclaimed.
“Real a cappella groups don’t do them anymore,” Micayla added. “Unless you’re talking about the Tonal Teens. They do them, but they can do anything because they’re state champs.”
“Instead of the chorus, can Ms. Heel have her own part?” Donna asked.
“Let’s stick with the plan,” said Sydney, trying to get their attention back. The girls turned to the stage to perform.
Sydney quickly regretted that decision.
Pearl started beatboxing but kept getting drowned out by Mercedes, who sang at the top of her lungs. Donna’s puppet hit Gabby in the face when she attempted a spin. Sydney looked at the Kingfishers. One was videoing the Nightingales’ epic fail on his phone. Others were laughing. This was humiliating. Sydney had to end this.
“You guys win,” Sydney said, even though they still had half a song left to sing.
“What? We didn’t even finish yet!” Whitney complained.
“We didn’t have an arrangement,” Sydney said. “They clearly already had one. They should get the Sheeran song.” Dave hopped up onstage and shook her hand. Sydney wouldn’t let go. She looked him straight in the eyes. “You get the arrangement, but we get the theater.” Dave’s face fell. “I know I booked Tuesdays. Stop trying to mess with us.”
“Fine. Better luck next time.” Dave winked. “I’m sure there’s a lot of great songs out there that we haven’t claimed yet. Not.” He and some of the others laughed.
She waited till the guys were gone to collapse onto the stage. The others plopped down next to her.
She’d had such big dreams for the Nightingales and they included that Sheeran song. She’d been working on an arrangement already, but that arrangement hinged on Lidia, who was going to tackle a tricky solo. Just the thought of Lidia made her blood boil. How could she do this to her? Dropping out of the group because of a boy? How could she do this to the group?
“So when are you going to pick a new co-captain?” Micayla asked, playing with her chunky beaded necklace. “Because the Nightingales and Kingfishers have always had two.”
Whitney sat up on her knees. Her blue eyes were gleaming. “Do we apply to Mr. Wickey? If so, I want to go now so I can get my name in first.”
“Whit! I just said I was applying!” Micayla pouted.
“We can both apply!” Whitney told her and the two of them looked at each other as if a new thought had occurred to them. It was one Sydney was already worried about.
She was not getting ousted! She would make this team work! She’d teach Mercedes to sing softer and Donna to lose the puppet. She’d duct-tape Julianna’s feet to the stage floor so she couldn’t run. She’d find another member if they needed one. Sydney stood up. “I don’t need another co-captain,” she declared.
“What?” everyone said.
Sydney’s voice was firm. “I am telling Mr. Wickey I don’t need another co-captain.”
“He’s not going to listen,” Whitney said, but Sydney didn’t care.
“Syd, it’s a lot of work,” Viola said. “Don’t you need help?”
Sydney ran her hand through her hair again, making it wild, and blinked as she stared off at the theater lights. Lidia may have been more organized, and the calmer of the two of them, but Sydney had one captain trait that Lidia didn’t: She wasn’t a quitter.
“I’ll be fine,” Sydney told them, her eyes blazing. “We’re going to be the best Nightingales team Bradley has ever had! It’s going to be an amazing season!” She threw her fist in the air and cheered. No one joined her.
“What should we do about Julianna?” Gabby asked.
“I’ll talk to her tomorrow. For now—” She patted her notebook. “We have plenty of songs to choose from. Great songs!” Sydney looked at the girls. “Text your parents and tell them you’re not making the late bus. We are holding a three-hour meeting to pick songs and then we’re going to submit them to Mr. Wickey tonight!”
Viola stood up and put an arm around Sydney. “That seems like a lot to do in one day. Why don’t we concentrate on one song and try to figure out harmonies? Didn’t you bring a box of pink stuff you wanted to show us?”
“Ah! My magic!” Sydney squealed, running over to the box forgotten about on the floor. “The Kingfishers made me forget. I downloaded a montage of winning a cappella group videos to show you guys as inspiration. Then I thought we’d kick off the practice with a fun improv a cappella number set to someone we’d normally never cover like the Fidget Femmes. That’s why I brought these pink wigs, boas, and light-up sunglasses.”
“Is this an a cappella group or did we join the circus?” Micayla asked.
Sydney put on a pair of glasses and lit them up. “An a cappella group. Now come on.”
The girls all reached into the box and came out with wigs, boas, and sunglasses.
“Mine doesn’t fit right.”
“My glasses are broken!”
“I think I’m allergic to this boa.”
“Why do we have to sing with props? The Nightingales never use props!”
They were talking over one another again and it was hard to concentrate with so much noise. “Come on, guys!” Sydney tried. “Just go with it! It’s time to face the music!”
Everyone looked at one another. Then they burst out in song.
“Turn up the music, turn it up now! Let it move you, move you now!” they sang to one another. Pearl came in and beatboxed while the group continued singing through a second and third verse of the popular Fidget Femmes song before finally stopping.
Sydney looked at the group in awe. “That sounded good!”
“It sounded hella amazing!” Viola said.
Sydney agreed. Who needed Lidia?
This was going to require serious work, but no one was taking the Nightingales away from her.
Her legs felt like they were on fire. Her brow was beaded with sweat, her pink leotard reeked, and they hadn’t had a water break in a half hour. To prepare for her competition team tryout, Lidia had been taking several classes every day that week. She was quickly learning Miss Pattie Ann showed no sign of quitting even if Lidia’s fitness tracker said there were only ten minutes left of class. Lidia breathed heavily. Shouldn’t they be cooling down instead of doing continuous fouetté turns in front of the wall-length mirror?
“People, you call that full-out?” Miss Pattie Ann asked as the last dancer finished her turns. Lidia had only managed four, but she hadn’t fallen or collapsed on the floor so she considered that a win. There were people in her class who had done ten continuous spins.
“Some of you looked like you were sleepwalking.” Miss Pattie Ann walked the line where the dancers held their finished poses until they were told not to. “Hmm … I know you need to get to your next class, but I’m thinking we need another turn across the floor.”
Across the floor again? Water, she needed water!
Miss Pattie Ann queued up a change of music on her iPhone. “Let’s try some a la seconde turns, followed by four pirouettes and a tour jeté jump.”
Tour jeté jumps were Lidia’s kryptonite. Miss Pattie Ann may have thought Lidia was ready to try out for the senior competition team, but Lidia was quickly realizing she had a lot of work to do if she was going to make it. The summer intensive classes were tough, but competition classes were grueling daily workouts that lasted hours. She’d been at the studio for two hours already and she had to work twice as hard as everyone else to keep up with simple routines they already knew.
The great thing about dance was, it kept her mind off everything going on at school.
That day in Mr. Wickey’s office had been the low point. Seeing Sydney and Griffin singing at the piano cemented her belief that Sydney and Griffin’s kiss was no a
ccident. Sydney liked him and he liked her, and Lidia couldn’t handle watching them fall for each other. She had to get away from it all, and the only place she could do that was at the studio. She’d thrown herself into classes this week, doing jeté turns and floor routines around the clock. Slowly, her mood started to change. She couldn’t wait to get off the bus and into the studio, which was buzzing with students. She loved wrapping up the ribbons on her pointe shoes, wearing hip-hop boots, or just dancing barefoot. And her favorite part was how no one knew she was part of an “a cappella scandal” because her best friend had fallen for the guy she liked. At dance, she was just Lidia, aspiring competition team member.
She loved that. Even if there were moments when she felt guilty.
Lidia may have been mad at Sydney, but she wasn’t mad at the Nightingales, and she was starting to see there was a difference. After Sydney told the group Lidia had quit, some of the Nightingales had been reaching out.
“Come back! Sydney needs you! The team can’t work without you!” Gabby and Viola said, filling her with stories about how the Kingfishers swiped Syd’s favorite Ed Sheeran song, how they weren’t sure they had enough members to compete, and how the infighting among Whitney, Sydney, and Micayla was ramping up. Lidia had been looking forward to singing that Sheeran song (especially since the arrangement they came up with gave her a great solo). Lidia could just picture Sydney unconsciously pushing her hair behind her ears and trying to sound upbeat like a cheerleader, trying to keep the group together. If the Nightingales crashed and burned, Sydney would be lost at Bradley and it would kind of be Lidia’s fault.
Miss Pattie Ann clapped in time to the rhythm, bringing Lidia back to the present. Sydney is not my problem anymore, she told herself. She was a terrible friend and karma caught up with her.
But if that’s true, why do I still feel so guilty about the Nightingales?
The music switched tempo again and the volume shot up. Lidia’s toes started tapping in time to the music.
She may not have known what to do about Sydney or the Nightingales, but she did know how to dance.
Twenty minutes later, she got her water break. If she hurried, she’d make the 5:50 p.m. bus home and be halfway through her precalculus homework before dinner. She made her way down the hall to grab her dance bag.
