Page 63 of I Don't Need Your Love
Addie and I race to the stage.
Chapter Twenty-One
Carly
I’ve never performed in front of such a large audience before. I don’t think my heart has ever pounded this strongly or my knees have shaken so badly. I wish there were bright lights to block out everyone’s faces, but in a way, I’m glad I can see my family and friends. Because like I said before, they pump me with confidence.
I have no idea why the music isn’t playing yet. The team has been in our starting position for what feels like ages—though it’s probably only a minute—and with each passing nanosecond, I feel like my insides might explode. This wait is pure agony.
When I glance at Addie and Naya, I find that they, too, are beyond anxious. And then I allow my eyes to make their way to Ryder. I almost startle when I find his gaze glued to mine, as though he was waiting—and hoping?—for me to look at him. He gives me a reassuring smile and then mouths, “You’ll be awesome.”
I just gape at him, my stomach getting all squished. All these emotions coursing through my body right now? It’s way too much. I think I might actually explode.
The music finally starts and my legs move on their own. I push any thought of Ryder and those beautiful eyes and that lazy smile out of my head and focus on the routine. The energy the team is producing is so profound that it encases us in a bubble and makes the audience disappear. It doesn’t matter who or what is outside of our bubble. All that matters is what is happening inside. And from what I can tell? We’re on fire.
We move in nearly perfect synchronization, our movements sharp and precise, our jumps timed perfectly, our arms and legs swooshing through the air with the right amount of force. Thetwo minutes flash by in the blink of an eye, and then I find myself in my ending position with my chest huffing and puffing. The bubble disintegrates, and the audience claps, cheers, and whistles. My friends and family are on their feet, whooping and applauding, and it makes me feel like I’m on top of the world.
We wave and hurry off the stage, and then waste no time flinging our arms around each other and congratulating each other on an amazing job. I grab Naya and Addie, and a few other dancers I can fit in my arms, and squeal and jump along with them. There’s so much adrenaline in this room, I swear we can shoot to the moon.
“Amazing, amazing!” Coach Moreno says as she hugs each and every one of us. “I’m so proud of you. You worked so hard and deserve this.”
“You think we placed?” Naya asks with huge, hopeful, and excited eyes.
“How can we not?” I ask. “Your smile itself is sure to send us to first place.”
She laughs. “Thanks. It was so hard not to look at the audience to see my mom’s reaction. I hope she liked our routine.”
“You kidding?” Addie says. “Shelovedit.”
“I hope so! I just want her to be proud of me.”
I hug her again. “Of course she’s proud of you.”
I search around the area for a certain male dancer and find him surrounded by a group of girls, including a few from other teams. They’re all gushing how incredible he was, and it looks like the girls from the other teams want to snatch him away and put him on their team. Do I need to march over there and tell them to keep their paws off of him because the only place he belongs is on the Harrington Bay Academy dance team?
I want to slap myself. Seriously, am I really worried he’ll ditch us? He’d never do that. And even if he wanted to, he can’t. Unless he switches schools. Wait a sec, would he…?
Oh my gosh. What the heck is going on in my brain?
Naya, Addie, and I spend the rest of the competition watching funny videos on social media. One might think the anxiety is gone because our performance is over, but the hardest part is yet to come. If the team doesn’t qualify at this competition, we won’t be able to compete in any more this year. We’re late to the game and need to make up a lot of ground.
“We’ll make it,” Addie assures me as she wraps her arm around my shoulder. “That was a sick routine, Carly. There’s no way in heck the other teams beat us.”
Naya nods. “Agreed.”
The logical part of my brain knows that. But you really never know. I’m aware of some of the mistakes my teammates and I have made, and all those could be deductions…
Nope. I’m not going to drive myself crazy like this. The performance is over and I can’t change anything. I have no choice but to await our fate.
There aren’t that many teams after us, but it feels like we’re here for days. Finally, finally, the last team performs and then the scores are shown on the large screen.
My heart sinks when I don’t see our team’s name in the top three. And it sinks further and further as my eyes scan down the list. We’re not fourth, fifth, sixth, or even tenth. We’re fifteenth, the last team to qualify.
“What?” I whisper, shock freezing my blood flow. “We’re last?”
Addie frowns with creased brows as she stares at the screen. “There’s no way. We were much better than that.”
When I look at the rest of the team, I see all of them confused and dejected. Coach Moreno also seems confused, but she also appears to have some sort of understanding.
