On Your Toes| Ongoing

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨 - 𝐍𝐨 𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬

Carina nods her head. "Yeah, I definitely want to do a Latin duet, maybe go for a trio, and... I think since this is my last showcase I'm going to audition for the Madame Danvers solo."

Ivy pauses for a second before speaking again. "Oh really? I'm auditioning for the Madame Danvers solo too."

"Why?"

Jude tenses and pauses the movie they just put on. Pressing their lips into a line, Jude mumbles under their breath, "Welp, I guess we're not watching this anymore."

"What do you mean 'why'?" Ivy inquires, raising her eyebrow.

Jude releases Carina as she moves to stand up, the blanket falling to the floor. She stands in front of Ivy, towering over her. "What I mean is why can't you try out for the solo next year? This is my last chance to qualify for it."

The NYSD Summer Charity Showcase is such a spectacular event which is why space is extremely limited. Only junior and senior students are eligible to try out and in the last week of May, just two months from now, auditions would begin and friendships would turn into a competition.

Kinda like right now.

"So... what you're saying, Carina is that you don't want me to try out because you feel threatened by me," Ivy says slowly while standing up, not liking the way Carina was towering over her. It's Ivy who stands taller now, her 5'8 to Carina's 5'5.

"I never said I was threatened by you!"

Jude crawls over to the middle of the couch to get in between them. With a false smile on their lips, they try to get their friends to calm down. "Guys, guys, can we relax and go back to watching the movie?"

Carina and Ivy tensely stare at one another. Crossing her arms, she looks away from both Jude and Ivy, toward where the tv is. "I never said I was threatened by you," she says lower this time. "What I've been trying to say is that this is my last year at NYSD, my last chance to go for this solo, so why can't you audition next year? You're a junior! You have time!"

Ivy looks at her blankly, face void of all emotion. She raised her younger sister, Manny, for the majority of her life. She knew how to deal with tantrums, even if they came from a twenty-two-year-old.

"One," she starts, "I don't want to audition next year. Two, you keep telling us how this is your last year, but whose fault is it that you weren't good enough to get into the showcase last year. Nobody but your own."

Carina's nose flares and she looks to Jude for support, however, their eyes glance to the floor when her sight falls on them. Carina makes a move to walk away but Jude grabs her hand before she could. "Rina, Ivy's kinda right. You can't force her not to try out because you're scared you might not get it. Plus, if she does, isn't it better to go up against the best of the best?" they try, resulting in Carina rolling her eyes but not pulling away. "Also, there's no guarantee that either of you will get the Madame Danvers solo, so is fighting really necessary?"

Carina throws her hands up, letting go of Jude's hand. She marches over to her bedroom door to the far left of the couch. Just as Carina is about to slam the door close, Ivy shouts, "For someone who wants to be taken seriously, you sure do act like a child!"

"Was that necessary?" Jude asks with an irritable tone.

Ivy looks down at her friend, nodding her head. Glancing at the paused television screen, she gestures to it, asking, "You wanna finish watching?"

To be honest, Ivy didn't really care about watching the movie anymore. She just wanted the air surrounding her to stop being so unsettling. Jude shakes their head, getting up from their seat. "There's no point. It's past midnight anyway we have to be up at eight."