Crystal POV
Getting to the qualifiers with fifteen minutes to spare, I began doing some stretching. Noticing the same pairs of eyes staring at me as I loosened up, I started to grow suspicious. When I entered the room this morning, one of the pairs of eyes pushed pass me. I had written it off as a simple accident but seeing as their eyes hadn't moved off of me, I began to question whether that was the case. As I did a few standing stretches, the flock of women passed, and one intentionally hit into me, making me off-balance.
Crystal: "Excuse me." I exclaim, surprised at her audacity.
Looking back at me before scoffing, she kept walking to the other side of the room with four other girls who giggled at her little act of passive aggression.
Crystal: "Oh, I see what's going on here." I spitefully chuckled, to myself shaking my head. "Huh, well, here goes nothing," I said before walking over to the group.
Plastering the fakest smile I owned on my face, I straightened up my posture and walked into their circle.
Crystal: "Hey, girls," I said, smiling ear to ear. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" I said, singling out their ring leader. " It's only going to be a few seconds," I said, taking her hand. "We'll be right back," I said 'cheerfully' to the other girls as I walked away from them.
After getting out of earshot but still staying in view of the other girls, I turned to face the leader.
Crystal: "Hey, um, I think we may have gotten off to a bad start. How about we start over?" I asked, smiling. "I think we should be friends," I said, hoping she agreed.
Mika: "Why would I ever want to be friends with you?" She said, looking at me up and down.
Crystal: "Well, because we have things in common. For instance, we both love dancing. I bet you've been dancing from young." I said, smiling, assessing her. "You must have dance companies lining up to get you to sign with them, huh?" I said, still smiling. "But you know the funniest thing about dancing, most of the time you need a fully functioning body to do it. I paused, letting my words sink in. "Imagine with me for a bit, you're taking passive-aggressive jabs at me, all day and when you're leaving to go home, you misstep going down the stairs," I said no longer smiling. "Mishaps happen all the time, especially in crowded places like this." I paused, giving her time to imagine it. "Gosh, wouldn't it be a shame if one of us was laying at the bottom of the stairs, paralyzed from the waist down? Wouldn't it be tragic?" I said, losing all the amicability from my voice. "All that talent, gone in seconds," I said, pushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear.
Mika: "Are you threatening me?" She said, looking a bit shaken.
Crystal: "Oh, no, I wouldn't do that, but I would make you a promise." I said, smiling again. "If this high school grade, mean girl act continues, I promise you I'll be the first to sign your cast, 'Yours truly'," I said, watching all the blood drain from her face. "Oh, and I'd invest in a wheelchair if I were you. Physical therapy costs a lot of money," I said, dropping my diplomacy. "That's just some friendly advice." I smiled, taking her hands in mine. "So, since we are best friends now, you're going to laugh like we had a lovely conversation and hug me so that the little clowns in your circus over there can see." Following what I said, we laughed loud enough for her friends to hear and hugged. "Oh, I'm just so happy we talk," I said aloud, hugging her. "Remember, this conversation stays between us," I whispered, squeezing her just enough to bring my point across. After releasing her, I smiled and waved as she walked away.
Crystal: "Bitch." I said, dropping my smile after turning away from them. 'That should do the trick.' I thought getting in place to start group warm-ups.
I had dealt with enough catty women in my lifetime, especially at my old job, so I had years of experience. I wasn't trying to get into a fight today, but if push came to shove, I'd be more than happy to meet her out in the parking lot. At least this time, only words were needed.
I guess my little talk with her worked because she and her lackeys gave me the space I needed to focus on dancing. Everything that Layla's friends prepped me for happened. Warm-ups went well. The floor routines were ok. I picked up the choreography just fine, and during group showcases, I stayed low-key. One thing Layla's friend failed to mention was solo performances. One by one, dancers were called up in front of four judges to show-off. Waiting for my number to be called, I ran through all the choreos I knew as a former showgirl. All of them were too risque for me to perform in front of the judges, but I had no other choices right now. Recalling a dance that got cut from the show because it wasn't sexy enough, I gave the name of the song to the young man who was taking care of the sound and waited my turn.
"Number 91." One of the judges called.
'Here goes nothing.' I thought, walking up to perform.
Partition-Beyonce
Waiting for the intro of the song to finish, I hit the first beat and every other beat after that. Pouring myself into the dance, I chose a judge to be my focus and fell back into my old ways. The dance was intense, playing heavily on all the sexual innuendoes in the song. I made sure my movements were clean and as powerful as the beat. Fully executing every split, pop, drop and slow sensual move, I put on a show. Using the small break in the song, I took off my sweatshirt, leaving my sports bra and a light tank top, and threw it off to the side before setting up for the second half. Giving as much energy as I did to the first half, I got into character mouthing the french words of the song as I danced. Finishing off my set strong, I stuck my last posed and took a small break to look around the room at the judges and the rest of the dancers. Everyone was frozen. It was like a walk down memory lane, watching them stare in awe. Walking closer to the judges, knowing this was not what they expected. I waited for their verdict. The first judges' reaction was what I expected. She thought it was overly sexual and distasteful. I couldn't disagree with her, it was too much for a setting like this, but it was all I had. The second and fourth judges blew me out of the water, though. The second judge said it was quite intense, but she enjoyed that I was able to pull her in and keep her in a suspension of disbelief for the whole performance. The third judge didn't have much to say. I assumed that was because he didn't have much room in his pants. After all, I was using him as a spot to focus my energy. The fourth judge said the performance wasn't particularly appropriate for the competition, but it was a welcomed change from the many urban and contemporary pieces he had seen today. He went on to say if I kept up the unpredictability of my choreo, I would be someone he'd have to keep his eye on for this competition. Thanking the judges, I bowed then clear the floor for the next performance.
On my way out of the building, a man who was standing behind the judges, staring while I was performing, caught up with me in the hallway. I recognized him. He was a member from J. Soul Brothers. I couldn't remember if his name was Naoto or Naoki, but I humored him in conversation.
Naoto: "Hey, nice job out there." He complimented me.
Crystal: "Thanks," I said, giving him the bare minimum in response.
Naoto: " You're welcome." He said, giving me a strange look. "So, aren't we supposed to practice our dance for qualifiers tomorrow, tonight?"
Crystal: "Yeah, we were supposed to, but I'm going to have to cancel." I said, trying to act like I knew what he meant.
Naoto: "Of course, you would have to." He said, before dragging me into a supply closet.
Crystal: "What the hell!" I yelled, ready to beat him into the ground.
Naoto: "Who are you?" He said, after turning on the light.
Crystal: "What?" I said, confused but still pissed.
Naoto: "Who. Are. You." He said, emphasizing his words.
Crystal: "What do you mean? I'm Layla." I said, answering his question.
Naoto: " No, your not. I know Layla, and you aren't her." He said sternly.
Crystal: If I'm not Layla, who else would I be." I said, trying to throw him off my scent.
Naoto: "I don't know who you are, and quite frankly, I don't care who you are, but I know for a fact, you're not Layla, and I need to know where she is." He said, convinced I wasn't Layla.
Crystal: "What about me makes you think I'm not the woman you know?" I asked, curious as to how he knew I wasn't her.
Naoto: "Everything. The way you dance, walk, talk, even when you smile. It doesn't reach your eyes the way Layla's smile does. Plus, Layla would never dance as you did just now unless she had a few drinks in her." He answered.
Shaking my head, I gave up the game.
Crystal: " Fine, I'm not her." I admitted." My name is Crystal. I'm Layla's twin sister." I said.
Naoto: "She has a sister? I thought she was an only child." He said, surprised.
Crystal: "Yeah, so did we. Anyways, she injured her ankle this morning and asked me to fill in as her so that her friends wouldn't have to forfeit." I said, explaining the situation.
Naoto: "She's hurt?" He said, worried. " Where is she now?" He asked.
Crystal: "She's at my house." I answered.
Naoto: "Where is that?" He asked.
Crystal: "You think I'm just going to give you my address. I don't even know you." I scoffed.
Naoto: "That makes two of us." He said, insinuating he didn't trust me with her. " Look, you can give me the address, or I'll find it myself, either way, I'll show up at your door to see her." He said, straight to the point.
Chuckling at his commitment, I grabbed his hand and took a pen out of my bag.
Crystal: "Here it is." I said, writing my address on his hand. "Come by at six, no sooner, no later. If you come at 5:58 or 6:02, I'll leave you standing outside all night. You understand me?" I said, putting my pen away.
Naoto: " I'll be there at 6." He said, looking at his hand.
Leaving the supply closet, I later rendezvoused with Layla's friends, and they asked me a million questions as they drove me home.