Page 139 of Tell No Lies

By the end, I was out of breath. Slowly, my mind allowed in my surroundings. The volume of the cheers was almost deafening, and it wasn’t just coming from my friends’ section.

I enjoyed the moment for only a few seconds before running offstage and sprinting to our room. I peeled off my coral costume and pulled on my tights and nude leotard at record speed. Luckily, our team was wearing zippered flapper dresses that I could slip on.

As I reached down to grab my jazz shoes, the door slammed shut, and the lights went black. With no windows in the room, I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. Panic rushed through my body.

I didn’t have time for this. Not only did I have to get to my team before they started, but I was not in the mood for a stupid prank. If I found out this was some other team trying to sabotage us, they were in for a rude awakening.

I stumbled around the room, tripping over bags and clothing. If only I knew where my phone was, I could use it as a flashlight. I thought I was heading in the right direction of the door when I felt hands grip my shoulders and shove me hard to the tile. Gasping and kicking the air around me, I waited to hear movement to know where my attacker was.

Silence surrounded me until suddenly the door was opened, and light flooded in. My gaze flew to the source, where Cassie reached in and turned on the lights. “What are you doing? We’re going on!”

Before I could look around the room or ask her if she saw anyone, I was being pulled down the hall and onto the dark stage. “Get in formation!” The girl next to me gave me an exasperated look before turning forward again.

The music started, but I stood frozen. What had just happened? Was my stalker here? Two counts into the routine, I snapped back into reality and caught up. I hoped no one noticed my late start since I was in the back, but judges could be tricky. My usual superpower of pushing out everything else seemed to have disappeared in the few minutes that separated my solo from now.

Had I really just been onstage? It felt like I had been stuck in the blacked-out room for hours, but it was likely only a few seconds.

Once our music ended, I ran offstage and directly to our room. Maybe there had been a clue or something left behind.

After quickly scanning the area, I could see nothing that looked out of place. My shoulders fell in defeat. There was no way I imagined being shoved. Competitions were stressful, but I wasn’t out of it enough to have tripped myself or made this up.

I sat next to my bag and took out my water bottle. When I reached in for my black jazz shoes, I noticed something shoved to the side. My heartbeat started to pick up when I recognized an envelope. Biting down on my lip, I debated waiting to open it after the competition. My mind was already a mess, and if it was what I thought it was … I couldn’t handle more drama.

Throwing the envelope back into my bag, I pushed it out of my mind for later. I had one team routine left, and I wasn’t going to let some psycho ruin it for me.

Our second team costume was my favorite. It had a high collar, and it was gray on top, with ruffles starting at the waist. Each layer of ruffles got darker until they turned black at mid-thigh. The transformation in each girl was entertaining to watch as they put on the dress. We couldn’t help but become sassy, which was a definite bonus when we were on stage.

We had a few minutes before we were on, so hairspray and makeup suddenly appeared from every direction. Cassie and I took turns touching up each other’s makeup and hair up until it was time to head backstage.

There was a definite energy among the team. We were all excited that this was the last dance and that we were almost done. Everyone had done so well today, and we wanted the results now.

In our opening formation, Cassie whispered an encouragement to the team. I smiled as the lights and music turned up. The lighting was different this time, and I could make out more of the audience. I smiled and winked in the direction of my friends and heard the cheers increase.

Something caught my attention in the middle of the routine. Standing next to the exit doors, a person in a hooded jacket stared directly at me. I tried to look as often as possible, hoping Brandon or Mike might notice my gaze and look at the figure.

After we hit our final pose, I looked back to the doors. No one was there. Freaky.

Relief set in as I changed back into my team warmups and walked with the girls out to the stage for the scores. There was nothing more we could do except wait.

Once all the teams were present, they began with the small groups. Cassie’s group placed second in their category and mine placed first in ours. I looked over to our coaches and saw them smiling and cheering. It was one of the first times they’d been openly proud of us. Too bad it would only last for the day; by Monday we would be back to running the same eight-count twelve times before they would let us move on.

When the judges announced the solo category, my heart jumped to my throat. I grabbed hands with Cassie and squeezed. She laughed, but let me crush her.

They read off third place then second, so either I didn’t place, or I’d gotten first. I could only consider this for a few quick seconds before I heard my name. Cassie yanked me into a hug then pushed me forward to accept the trophy. I held it up and smiled at my coaches before looking up for my brother.

First, my eyes found Carter, who was cheering like a fan at the Super Bowl. I blushed then looked down the row to Brandon. He looked like a proud papa and was hugging Liv. I waved and stepped back to my team.

Next were the overall scores, which included our team routines. If we placed here, we would move on to regional competitions.

We all held our breath as they announced the third-place team. I didn’t expect us to get first, but I really needed us to place. The judge took her sweet time to make the announcement for second place, and it wasn’t us. After the cheers for the other team settled, silence spread through the auditorium.

When the words “Dance Academy” hit my ears, tears filled my eyes instantly. We’d done it! We were first place in the competition.

Our team surged forward to collect the trophy, and the audience flowed down and mixed with the teams. Suddenly, I was in the air. I looked down to see Mike smiling up at me, chanting my name. Brandon handed me a beautiful bouquet of red roses. Cassie was lifted up by Caleb, and we grabbed hands and laughed. I couldn’t remember a time I’d been this blissfully happy. If only it would last.

Eighteen

“I’m not worthy.” I giggled as two strong arms slid around my waist. “You were absolutely breathtaking, babe.”