Twisted Strings [MONSTER EDITING - Read at your own risk]

So long we walked

At this point I wasn’t sure what to think, I didn’t want them to get good marks because I was being selfish about that challenge. Especially whatever Melissa had been doing, it drove me to edge and my thoughts towards that challenge had grown serious than before.

On the other hand was Oliver. Oliver godamned Parker…the boy I had fell badly for. I didn’t want him to get low marks. And it wasn’t because of my feelings. It was because when I saw him, his eyes reflected the same dreams I had. Just like he wanted to gain back his self respect from his parents and make himself worth, I wanted to do something my mom couldn’t. We were different in many ways, but at the same time we were similar as well. These mixed and conflicted views kept revolving in my mind as I saw them perform.

They got good comments and no point of criticism unlike the previous performers, and their marks summed up to twenty six out of thirty, the highest yet.

‘’Don’t worry, we still have our chance,’’ Rhodes assured me grabbing my hand and squeezing it lightly.

It was our turn. I wondered if saying ‘finally’ would be the right thing to do.

We got up moving towards the stage and everyone took their position. I took in the faces of our judges and they had a scrutinizing gaze that studied you. I closed my eyes and take a deep breathe, ready to sing my heart out. In that brief moment the memory of my mother’s face flashed in my mind, when she was sitting by me talking about my love for music and that was more than enough to set me on fire. Not literally though…

The moment I started singing, I was highly aware of the thunderous beating of my heart, of the hateful glares I was getting, of the proud and wondrous stares I was getting and the piercing gaze of the boy I loved.

I kept going on and on thinking about the things Aunt Grace had told me about mom, about her unfinished dreams, and the fact that my dream was connected with four other people who despite being different from me completely had faith in me.

Claps echoed around us when we finished our performance, I breathed out a sigh of relief that I was able to pin it down and exchanged a grin with Rhodes who gave me thumbs up.

‘’Who wrote that song?’’ The first judge asked,

‘’I did, sir.’’

He didn’t say anything else just bent his head down and the three of them began discussing our scores. I silently prayed for the best, my anxiety shooting up at the highest level.

‘’Nine’’ Okay that was cool. So far…

‘’Nine’’

‘’Nine’’

I didn’t know which one of us was the first to let out a wild squeal but the next thing I knew we were all hugging each other and whooping like wild seals. But that was the first time in my life, I was completely proud of my self, not a single ounce of doubt. I pulled it off and I did it! We all did it and we got highest scores. We got of the stage in excitement and I got a good look on our fellows faces, despite that some were displeased, others did gave us thumps on the back and ‘nice one guys’ comments.

‘’I am surprised by the song you guys wrote; actually I am surprised with everyone’s performance. I thought you guys won’t pull this off. But every band did well. I am glad.’’ Mr. Flynn addressed us as the judges shook hands with him and left. It was true, we weren’t the only ones, everyone did their best and according to Lars, everyone got better marks than the first round. But that too was surprising because the first one had been easier.

‘’So c’mon guys I have a treat for you in the cafeteria, c’mon.’’ Mr. Flynn’s compliments were followed by more cheers and everyone began walking to the café with big grins on their faces.