Chapter 3: Diva , Tae

03 ] Diva , Tae

The last time Tae had been to visit her parents, they had just got a dog to replace her. Apparently, wealthy people owning poodles was officially ‘out of fashion’. Their new West Highland White Terrier looked mightily comfortable sleeping in her bed. Yes. I said in.

The worst part about it was that Tae had begged them for a pink poodle for years. Now, of course, she shared her current lodgings with the Kiss Kiss Bandits and our docile Bombay cat Sierra, whose vacant copper eyes bore into her with every movement she made, watching and judging. What a kick in the face – to want a dog for so long, end up with a cat, and discover that the place she’d just left now has a dog.

Queenie, the new princess of the household, haughtily trotted out of her special kennel to meet her with its little nose in the air. To be honest, why they let it sleep in Tae’s bed if it had a kennel, I have no idea. The small canine sniffed her with suspicion, and then proceeded to ignore her.

“Mutt.” Tae muttered, fiddling with the ends of her hair uneasily. In her family, reunions were never pleasant. For her.

Suddenly, her mother flung open the front door wearing a dress too fancy for indoors and shrieked, “Chaaaaawntaaaae!” for the whole road to hear, rushing across too-perfect-to-be-real grass in pink fluffy slippers. Tae no longer tried to escape the bone-crushing hug, instead she stood stiffly and accepted it. As infuriating as her mother was, she had that special, comforting smell of home-baked cookies, the type that were warm and gooey in texture.

“Sweetheart.” came her father’s calm voice.

He stood on the doorstep with a hand outstretched, motioning impatiently for them to come inside. His hug was lumbering and awkward; Tae was used to this. She once told me her parents were too up their own asses to behave like proper parents. At the time, I’d just exchanged a quiet look with Carmela and said nothing. Coming from generally loving families, we always felt awkward when other people dissed their parents.

“We obviously have a lot to talk about,” her father continued, leading her into the enormous sitting room. “Come on then, don’t be so glum. Sit down.” he urged, sitting down himself and pulling her mother to sit beside him.

Anyone who saw the state of Tae’s house would think she was completely insane to leave at all. A large, cream coloured manor with a mint green roof and a front yard the size of a football pitch. Even Queenie’s kennel was one of those custom-made things that was an exact replica of the house. I didn’t know people still bought those.

“Look, I’m not here to kiss and cuddle, sorry to burst your bubble.” Tae told them, struggling to keep her irritation under control, which was always ten times harder in the face of her prudish parents. “Why did you cut off my allowance?”

Her mother and father looked shocked, as if they couldn’t remember doing such a thing. Just their reaction made her ears steam.

“What sort of question is that?” her father said coldly. “We spoke about this before. We forbade you from flat-sharing and you did it anyway. When you decide to come back home, we’ll give you back your allowance.”

Tae couldn’t stop fidgeting; her hand moved from her hips, to being folded, and back to her hips. “I really don’t see what the problem is. Why aren’t I allowed to have a bit of independence? I’m not an idiot. I can take care of myself. I don’t misbehave. I’ve always worked hard. Why can’t you just accept this one thing I want?” Her parents did their whole sighing and rolling their eyes routine, which made Tae clench her fists and raise her voice, “I didn’t say I want to get married in Vegas! I just want to learn how to take care of myself, you act like that’s so wrong. And I’m with friends!”

“We’ve never met these friends.” her mother sniffed, leaning back into a recliner. Queenie appeared out of nowhere and leapt onto her lap, insisting to be petted.

“Regardless, these friends of yours will only be distractions from your work. We’re your parents, we know what you’re like – don’t tut at me. Your performance at school is slipping, exactly what I thought would happen. I was so disappointed when I heard that you failed your theatre exam Chawntae.”

For a moment Tae was to stunned to speak, she just stood there looking down on them until it clicked, and her Pisstivity Scale leapt from four to ten.

“How dare you go through my mail! You have no right to do that – and I told you to redirect it!”

“Isn’t it a good thing we didn’t?” her mother said lightly, nuzzling her nose to Queenie’s. Watching that made her feel nauseous. “Silly girl. You seem to love going out into the world and embarrassing yourself. You obviously need private tutoring.”

“She doesn’t need private tutoring, she just needs to be able to focus!” her father said loudly. “When would it ever be a good idea to let your dumb friends mislead you? Now? At university? You should be glad that we care so much about you. Other parents would chuck you out of their house and tell you to get on with life, but we want you to succeed. Why would you want to worry about paying rent when we can take care of that so you can focus on your studies?”

“Dad, paying rent wouldn’t be a problem if I had my allowance!”

“Well, these are my conditions. You bring your stuff home, you’ll get it back.”

Suddenly her mother sat up, “Yes, and that’s another thing, why did you hit that girl? Like our reputation isn’t at stake already. I know that girl too, her mother’s a little snob. I have no doubt you had a good reason, but I thought we’d taught you better restraint. Thinks she’s the Queen of Torino, that awful woman. I can’t stand stuck-up women like that.” Tae’s mouth was open with disbelief at the hypocrisy.

“You two never have anything good to say about me every time I come over. Yes, I failed Theatre last year. You haven’t said anything about the fact that I passed every other one. I worked just as hard on those! But it’s like, every time I come back I remember why I left!”

“Watch your tone. And for the last time, sit down. We’ll talk this out.” her father said coolly.

She bit her tongue but she was shaking with anger to the point where she couldn’t speak; she’d either start yelling or her voice would crack. Tae smiled feebly, knowing it was totally the last time she was giving her parents second chances.

“We will not talk it out. I’m going now. If something happens to me, you’ll remember this day. You’re never see me inside this house again, and if you do it’s because I’m mad or dead.”

She had a talent for acting, singing, dancing, you just name it, she will outshine you at anything. She strives for perfection. She’ll train until she can match and then surpass the skill of her opponent. She can’t help it. Her name is Tae, and she’s a diva.

When I was in college, I classified ‘Divas’ as follows.

A female rooting for fame and-or attention. A controlling , talented and overly dramatic female. And of course, because Kaidyn, Tally and I were firm Beyoncé fans – the “female version of a hustler”. Okay, I’ll be honest – I only added Divas in because of that song. We only started using it because of this awful girl called Melissa... but that’s another story. It simply started with Tally rolling her eyes saying, “She’s such a diva,” but she actually meant, “I hate her, she’s a bitch.” Kaidyn wanted to change the ‘Diva’ classification to Stuck Up Bitches, Bossips (Bitchy Gossips), Eff-Bee’s (Fake Bitches) – you know, something like that, but she was outvoted by me and Tally. Because, you know, we didn’t really need a codeword for it.

to call a bitch a bitch

When we first met Tae, Tally was saying, “Oh, she’s such a diva,” all over again, and it was true. Tae was so determined to get her way that she’d say and do horrible things. But then she got powers, like us. Her started to drive her a bit crazy, and my power allowed me to find her, so she she ended up in our care. Kaidyn was saying NO in a thousand different ways and languages, but Carmela, Tally and I all overruled her and decided to bring her into the group because Tae needed the support.

Her attitude vastly improved – partly because Kaidyn made it clear that if she didn’t work on her faults, Kaidyn would personally throw her ass to Timbuktu. Ironically, Tae was much better at gratitude than Kaidyn anyway. We didn’t regret holding out a hand to her.

When she woke up, Shaire’s big round eyes were peering at her in the dark. Digital clock read 07:51 am.

“What.” Tae groaned.

“Did you... did you... ?” the girl whispered.

Tae sighed, rubbing her eyes, and eventually shaking her head. “I’m sorry. They’re not giving it to me unless I go back. I’d rather die than do that.”

Shaire was taken aback. “That’s a bit dramatic, Tae.”

Tae gave her a long, cool look. “Yeah, maybe.” She said, rolling over and going back to sleep.

 

So, I’ve done a tour of the flat – let’s do a quick tour of the apartment block where we live!

So, the KKB live on the third floor. Upstairs lived Mishon, Shaire’s school friend, with the Dad who was never around, and their next-door neighbours were the two German dudes. I lived directly below the KKB apartment, and next to me was sweet Mrs Baker. And next door to the Bandits was the cheeky Nicolle, who was a Juliet nonetheless, and her uncle Nicholas, who was more like her big brother and a very interesting guy.

Well, you remember Seven, right? Mr ‘Don’t Hurt Me, I’m A Virgin’ Seven? Well, him and Nicholas are really good friends. So that made us wary of him.

But then, Nicolle is Shaire’s best friend and Nicholas has been nothing but a darling to both of them. He knows exactly who the Bandits are and everything, minus the powers of course. So that made us all quite like him.

Except Tae.

Now it gets more confusing. Nicholas seems to quite like Tae. I mean like like Tae. I’d go as far as to say he flirts with Tae. She hates it. Her best alarm clock was the subconscious urge to get up early enough to avoid him.

So this is where we join her story today – with Tae oversleeping.

“Did you see him?” Shaire darted around the kitchen stealing nibbles for a mismatched breakfast and giggling as she did; Kaidyn’s poptarts, Carmela’s toast, and Tae’s waffles. She’d had long given up brushing her hair in the bathroom mirror after Tae had burst out of her room trying to hog it, snapping ‘I need to use it now.’

Carmela slouched into the kitchen to make up lunches in plastic containers, casting a frown through the bathroom doorway at Tae’s frantic brushing. To Vixen Kai and Juliette Shai, she mumbled tiredly, “What’s up with her? She running late?”

“I think she’s trying not to run into Nicholas on her way out.” Shaire said conversationally. By now, she sat in the chair opposite Kaidyn, swinging one dainty leg, the other tucked underneath her. “Mellie, your boyfriend’s left a dozen messages on the –”

“The next one of you who refers to Din as my boyfriend will be a dead girl.”

Shaire had on that familiar hurt expression that said; ‘Why is everyone in a bad mood?’ “So... um, did you see him, Kaidyn?”

“Mr Christin Black?” Kaidyn reproachfully nudged her poptart with a finger. “Christin. Who the fuck names their child Christin.”

“I’m quite sure his name is not Christin.” Carmela murmured. “Christian, maybe.”

“Why do you look like that?” Shaire scolded Kaidyn, who was trying to ignore her. “It’s Chris Black! I have his CD!”

“There’s iTunes on Carmela’s laptop. What you buying CD’s for?” Tae said, finally making an appearance. As usual, everything shone. If it wasn’t glitter hair spray, it was diamante-studded accessories or clothes covered in sequins. Diva Tae knew how to do it big.

A glare stole the ‘cute’ from Shaire’s face. “I wanted the poster inside.”

“Well you’d better keep that in your room because I don’t want to see his face more than I need to.” Kaidyn snapped. Shaire folded her arms and went silent, sulking a little. It’s hard living in the Bandit apartment, I kid you not. Didn’t I say it can get like a warzone?

“Where’s Sierra?” Carmela said with a frown.

Kaidyn let out a disinterested sigh and bit into her poptart. Tae glanced at her a few times, wondering if something was bugging her.

“Yes, I met him Shaire. I told him he was uuuugly.”

Tae and Carmela chuckled quietly to themselves. Shaire looked at Kaidyn suspiciously as she decided whether to believe her. “Liar,” Shaire taunted, flicking crumbs at Kaidyn and Carmela who sat lifelessly at the kitchen table. When Kaidyn’s face didn’t change, Shaire began to look horrified. “Kai, why do you always –? Oh my God, you didn’t say that!”

Kaidyn groaned loudly and lay her head on the table, throwing her arms over her ears.

“Where’s that damn cat?” Carmela muttered.

Tae stood in the kitchen doorway, finally ready to go. She tossed a flippant remark Kaidyn’s way, “If you refuse to get a steady job then you need to stop fucking up your opportunities, Kai.”

Immediately Kaidyn was on her feet and fuming. “Hey! Who said I fucked them up? He was really into me. I don’t think I could’ve fucked it up if I tried. Don’t you berate me.” As she spoke, Kaidyn made a series of small gestures with her right hand and her phone, resting on the table, began dialling. “Plus, I’m appearing in his music video which will be filmed next week, soo, um, maybe you should shut your big mouth, little girl.”

“Maybe you should shut your mouth because my parents aren’t giving me back my allowance.”

Kaidyn’s jerk made Tae’s forgotten plate of waffles CLANGGG against Carmela’s glass of orange juice. Shaire’s eyes dropped to the table. Carmela stared at Tae, not realising her mouth hung open. They all stared at her in the silence.

Carmela pressed a hand to her forehead. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry – what?”

Kaidyn burst out laughing, a disbelieving look on her face. “Oh shit. We are screeeewed now.”

“Are you serious?” Carmela said, ignoring Kaidyn, “Why?”

Tae and Shaire’s eyes met for the briefest of moments. “They just aren’t. They won’t. So... so...”

“Sooo, Riches-to-Rags bitch, how are we gonna pay the rent?” Kaidyn said, raising her eyebrow in a way that was too sharp to be friendly.

“I need to get a job.” Shaire said quietly.

“NO.” Kaidyn, Carmela and Tae said loudly. I would’ve joined in too; Shaire was sixteen and so carefree. We’d all had jobs before, and we knew it had the power to suck out your soul.

“We’ll figure it out.” Kaidyn said firmly, “But Tae –”

“Dammit. I really have to go. Later everyone.” she panicked, heaving her big bag over her shoulder and bundling herself out the door. To her dismay, the delay in getting out of there meant that when she got out of the apartment block, Nicholas was standing there waving goodbye to his niece Nicolle.

“Hi Tae!” the girl called, wearing a eye-catching red coat that looked thick enough to shut out that sometimes-bitter spring breeze. “Is Shai coming?”

“She’s still eating. I guess she’ll catch you up. Have a good day at school.” she said calmly, walking past Nicholas without looking at him. A smirk raised on Nicolle’s lips, and she waved over her shoulder as she walked away, not glancing back.

“What, no hi or nothing? That’s cold.”

“Yup.” she said under her breath.

This whole situation is really bizarre to me. Me and Kaidyn’s theory is that Nicholas ditched his girlfriend Melissa – evil incarnate, remember? – because he had his eyes on Tae, who had her eye on somebody else, who had a girlfriend. If it proves true, then the whole affair is a sad, never ending cycle.

Kaidyn’s older sister was sitting in a ruby red car parked across the road. Tae bit back a smile when she spotted Aidryn. The sisters never got on but always had unresolved issues, usually to do with money. If Aidryn called in advance, Kaidyn would make sure she wasn’t there, so Aidryn would turn up and all hours to catch her little sister out. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and hear them screaming at each other outside, like the vixens they are.

“You know what’s funny?” Nicholas laughed, and it sounded to Tae as if he was following her, “How you’re so high and mighty with me. You know what I think? I think that you think you’re so all slick when you frontin’ and acting like you have a problem with me. Be honest. Stop attention seeking.”

“Why don’t you stop giving me attention?!” Tae exclaimed. “Damn, I feel sorry for Nicolle, having a delusional uncle and all.”

He just laughed. Man, I tell you. Nothing hurts this guy. “Aww, stop fooling about. C’mon, I’ll drive you to Upstate Arts.”

Tae was stunned at his nerve. Giving her a ride? She knew his first name was Nicholas and that was about it. I bet she was wishing to death that they weren’t neighbours. “Nope. Sorry boo. I already got a ride.” She tried to hide her glee as she rushed across the road, only remembering to look both ways when she was halfway across. Opening the passenger side, she bundled herself in as Aidryn inhaled and threw herself against the driver’s door.

“What– ?! Girl you scared the shit, out of me, the holy living shit. Oh man.” she said, her hand on her heart.

“Please please please drive me to school I’ll give you anything.” Tae pleaded.

Gave her a curious smile. “I thought I warned you about asking people for favours in return for ‘anything’. That’s setting yourself up to be screwed over.” With a sigh, she started up the car. “Fine. But you owe me, Bandit.”

I don’t think you can get any more upper class than Upstate Arts.

It’s a performing arts school where the classes are decided not by age, but by skill. Tae once explained to me at length how precisely that worked, but to be completely honest with you, I’ve forgotten most of it. I do know, however, that it includes doing a lot of exams, every year, all year round.

The school unfolded like a pop-up book as Aidryn drove closer, then all of a sudden she was pulling up outside. The three grades of the school – Novices at beginner level, Juniors at advanced level, and the highly respected Seniors at intermediate level – all mingled together in the courtyard, appreciating their brief freedom off-timetable before the gruelling work started.

Tae’s squinted eyes moved rapidly to find Patricio. Er, brief note – us Bandits know more about Patricio Parker than we do about our own grandparents. Tae goes on about him all, the, time.

She eventually spotted him with some of his level-headed senior friends, talking to a small gaggle of Novice girls. She could tell they were Novices by their inability to go three seconds without giggling.

Aidryn leaned her arm against the window. “Mmm-hmm! I see! So you’re battling bitches now?” She peered at them. “Hang on. Which guy is it you keep going on about? Which one is it?”

“The one with the curly hair and the hat and glasses. He has a small beard. he one that looks different to the rest, basically. Yeah, he’s Italian. But his surname is Parker because his Dad –”

“- was Spiderman.” Aidryn rolled her eyes. “My God. You do go nuts about this guy, don’t you? Fucking hell.” Tae watched him for a while, growing uneasy. “What’s that face for? You’re a Bandit, Tae. You guys got that whole... ‘Boyhunter’ thing going on, right?” Actually, that’s Kaidyn. Primarily Kaidyn. “You want it, go get it!” she added, “Preferably now, so you can, you know, get out of my car.”

Tae sighed, but opened the passenger door. “Gee, thanks.”

“What? You think this car runs on air? Get the fuck out, chick!” Aidryn laughed. “Don’t forget, you owe me. And stay away from those boys, they probably have gonorrhoea. As for the girls, if you need to pull some hair and knock some heads, mind your nails.”

“Please don’t become a motivational speaker.” Tae told her, a smile still on her face as she jogged across the courtyard, lugging her heavy bag full of dance gear. When she caught up with Patricio, he’d shaken off the girls and his friends, and was heading up the steps to the school. she hastily jogged over until she was behind him, then began to walk swiftly past him as if her intention was to be the first to class. She feigned surprise when she saw him. “Hey, you.”

“Oh, hello.” he smiled at her. His eyes twinkled in a way that made a bubble of happiness rise in her stomach. “Early start?”

“Nine o’clock sharp. Dance. I have Sofia.”

“Sofia’s a good teacher. ”

He held the non-automatic door open for her, but instead of walking through, she stopped so that he would have to wait. He gave her a look of confusion. “Before you rush off, I wanted to ask. Would you be my mentor?”

Patricio didn’t show one flicker of surprise in the sudden change of subject, or by her directness. He just bit his lip thoughtfully. “A girl like you probably doesn’t even need a mentor.”

Huh, exactly what I was thinking! But I had a feeling that Tae’s plan

went deeper than just mentoring. “Well obviously, yes.” she said, making him laugh, “But I want to be even better.”

He smiled softly. “Why me?”

“Why not?”

“I think I’ve already been assigned a Novice.”

Tae groaned. “No fucking kidding.” He started to laugh again, so hard that his eyes creased and his eyebrows drew inwards. “No but, c’mon. What if you get stuck with some lazy bitch? If you mentor me, you’re guaranteed an A. Guaranteed! Really!”

At that moment other students were passing them, taking advantage of Patricio holding open the door, so before the next gaggle of them came he said with a grin, “We’ll see, Tae.” and left. She took the grin as a good sign, at least. She put her hands on her hips, feeling strangely breathless. If I know Tae, I knew she was thinking up some way to find out who he’d been assigned and swap with them.

She noticed that same group of Novices about to pass her, giving her firm stares. “What the hell are you looking at?” she shot at them. They gave her dirty looks and one had the audacity to start to answer back, but before that girl could finish speaking, Tae tensed her shoulders and sent her Pulse through the floor.

Every student standing within five footsteps of Tae was hit by it; the whole group of Novice girls and a few innocent bystanders. They all gave out a screech, a scream, a yell, a gasp – every single one of them cowered or jerked or convulsed in some way. Why does nobody listen to me? None of my Bandits seem to get the importance of not using their powers in public. We’re not the freaking Justice League.

“Say what?” Tae demanded, bearing down on that girl like a bull. “Say that again!” That girl, still shaken by the Pulse, said nothing.

As a rare mid-grade student, which was a student between grades, she gathered up all her pride and rose herself to her full height, flickering her eyelashes, and drawling in the sort of distasteful voice that would have made her mother proud; “Jealousy is such an ugly emotion.”

Naturally, if you put more than one diva in a room, immediately they will try to outshine each other, and sometimes argue until they rip each other’s throats out. So we must take a brief moment to salute Rachel Yoto-Brown, the Director of the Upstate Arts School for media, theatre, literature, music and art.

Ten seconds silence...

Aaaand we proceed.

“Sorry I’m laaaate!” Tae said brightly as she burst into the studio exaggeratedly breathless. Heads turned, some eyes rolled, some mouths grinned. Her best friend Stephany-May silently raised her hand for a hi-five. Their instructor Sofia watched Tae, tongue between teeth, and said nothing.

“How are you late? I saw you in the courtyard, you were here early!” Stephany whispered.

Tae raised a finger to her lips and grinned. “Had a little chat with Rachel. Encouraged her to abuse her power as a headmistress to get me the mentor I want buuut... she wouldn’t do it. It’s a shame ‘cause I spent all that time showing her what a promising student I am. Sent her a Christmas present and everything. It really is no use if she can’t help me in these sorts of situations.” By now Sofia was talking again and her attention was no longer on Tae. “Oh, and I made sure that my results will be sent by email only. My parents are going through my mail. It’s so sad.”

Stephany-May grimaced. “They did what? That’s a bit...”

“Sad. Yeah.”

“Well, besides that, did you see the behind-the-scenes for Little Miss Star? I sent it to you.”

“Your cousin Kamaria was in it, right? She’s too good to be true.”

“Heck. Yes. I. Know!” Stephany-May whispered excitedly.

Only when Sofia stopped speaking and cleared her throat did the girls fall silent.

“Thank you. So, for the next four weeks, there are no compulsory classes. Your solo assessment is coming up, so you need all the time to practice. Keep checking the assessment criteria as you work on your piece, because if you don’t meet the terms then you’ll be marked down.”

She flipped open her register. “Right. As you know from last year, Seniors mentor a Novice at this time of year, so they’re not available to mentor you as well. In a few months you will mentor Novice students, and before we finish for the summer you will be mentored by Seniors. I hope you’re taking this in, I won’t keep repeating it. So, for this assignment you’ll be assigned another Junior student as a partner. It is required that both of you dance. If one person gets more performance time than the other, you’ll be marked down, so be fair. Here are the pairs, listen for your names, please.”

Stephany-May started to zone out, closely watching one of her classmates lazily lying on the studio floor, his chest steadily rising and falling. The stud in his ear glinted. He wore the same white tank top and black long shorts he did like, every single day – I’m not kidding, it’s like he has a wardrobe filled with a dozen of the same thing. His dark hair was shaved close to his head and he a look that wasn’t quite angry, more challenging. I say it’s the eyebrows.

Carnyll had been Stephany-May’s arch-nemesis since they started at that school. He was always better than her without trying, he seemed to have just one more skill up his sleeve. He’d entered the school through a scholarship, apparently the second scholarship ever given by the school, so assuming that’s not bullshit, it’s kind of a big deal.

But what drove Stephany-May wild was that he often didn’t show the full extent of his talents, which usually resulted in her getting a better mark than him. He was always nice to her about it, saying ‘well done’ and all that.

“…Tae and Charity… aaand Stephany-May and Carnyll.”

 “WWWHHH-AT?” Stephany-May and Tae bellowed together and scrambled to their feet, making their fellow students laugh. Carnyll was already holding his laughter in. “Let me see that paper!” Stephany-May demanded.

“Oh for the love of...” Sofia said wary but handed it over.

“Ummm, Sofe?” Tae said pointedly, “That is not a good idea. This term won’t end well.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Sofia laughed dismissively, her ponytail swinging as she took the form back and slipped it back inside the folder under her arm. “It has to, or you’ll fail. When you go out into the world, sometimes you’ll be forced to work with people you can’t stand. What will you do? Throw a strop? Or be mature and put your differences aside?”

“If that was the case, I wouldn’t let myself be in the situation in the first place.” Tae pointed out, “because I’d be mature enough to know what will cause the lead trouble. There’s no reason to go out of my way to work with someone I don’t get on with.”

“It’s okay. You can’t blame her for feeling like she can’t compete with me. She’s right.” Stephany-May turned to see Carnyll grinning. A few of the girls in their class were already laughing, some of the boys were joining in the tease. One of them called, “Don’t take that, Stephy. Kick his ass into orbit.”

The sound she made couldn’t be called anything but a growl. “Ohhhh you just went there Carnyll. Oh yes you did.”

“It’s not like you could do shit about it.” he teased.

“C’mon then. Here. Now.” Stephany-May declared, taking off her jacket. Already, their classmates were getting excited and forming a circle. Sofia sat on the table against the wall and ate a banana, not caring much. The dancers started to get excited and all stood.

“Come on then! Freestyle! What? Not man enough to take on a chick?”

Tae groaned inwardly. She hated it when Stephany-May got riled up. Even Sofia was shaking her head, although she wore a smile. “Stephy. Stephy. Chill out.” Tae said.

“It’s not that.” Carnyll said, leaning in to give her defiant face a good look. “You’re so cute. I’d feel bad at making you lose.” He began to walk away, then he stopped and said, “You’re also kind of clumsy, you might get kicked in the face by accident. I almost kicked you last time I practised my solo and you didn’t even realise I’d started dancing. You should probably stay out of the ring.” Then he gave them a sweet grin.

Stephany-May shouted, “I’m not clumsy! Where are you going?! Come back here!”

Tae’s dance class started shouting and laughing and calling and somebody at some point yelled out “Don’t take that, Stephy!”

Tae ignored the ‘Ohhh’s and ‘Oooh’s from some of the girls tugged at her best friend’s sleeve. “Stephy, he’s playing with you. Ignore him, he’s dumb.”

“I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU! How dare you! I won’t let you not let me battle you!”

Tae just shook her head. They were both dumb.

CHAPTER 4 (Juliet, Shaire) - Coming Soon