They all had a gut-wrenching feeling that there would be no knock at the door - from the very beginning.

Shade was twisting and wrinkling her শার্ট in an effort to release her dread and pass time. She had relaxed on a chair located in the corner of the room, but now she felt stiff in her position. She never felt আরো blameworthy than she was now.

Looking around for her comrades, Shade noticed Elliot was dozing off on the floor, leaning against her বিছানা with গিটার in hand. He was plucking the strings as if it were a habit of his, and the tips of his fingers weren’t having the best experience. The Smilodon had a look of dismay, but he wasn’t the one to bring attention onto himself, so he remained quiet.

Maddox, a linsang, situated himself on the পালঙ্ক near the door, contemplating his own thoughts. When Shade arrived, she wasn’t প্রদত্ত much time to ask প্রশ্ন before she eagerly introduced to him দ্বারা Elliot, who proudly declared that Maddox was his brother. At first, this seemed highly unlikely to her considering their difference in species, so Shade could only shoot Maddox a puzzled look as her reply.

“He’s the adopted one,” he ব্যক্ত bluntly, jerking his thumb over to Elliot.

“You’re still pretty different personality-wise.”

Maddox shrugged. “I don’t know what happened to him when we grew up.” So far, he seemed like a negative and sarcastic person, but Shade had no choice to accept him if Dante was alright with it.

After the excitement died down, they gathered around and discussed the important issues. They first answered Shade’s questions, with Elliot being the one giving her the answers. While she was gone, Elliot performed “Communication Breakdown” alongside Maddox, but the song was practically unknown to Shade so she could only uneasily nod as he explained things to her. When he suggested he could play again, they all declined the offer in sync.

According the Dante, Elliot had the strangest behavior and weirdest questions, and he was tempted to chase Shade down and ask if she was serious about the guy. Maddox eventually saved them from being kicked out, much to Shade’s relief, even if she would have loved to see what Elliot had done. He was a strange one, no doubt, but a humorous individual.

After the stories were finished, Shade was able to explain the situation with the letter, and her eyes flickered over to Dante as if he would have a look of disproval. His expression was unreadable, but he nodded his head to imply that he understood.

“So, we just sit tight?” Elliot asked, controlling his jittery movements.

“I suppose so,” Dante replied, then gazed over to Shade. “How long do আপনি think we should wait?”

“I’ll give it some time, but that’s for আপনি to decide.”

Dante chose to give the শিয়াল twenty মিনিট as a maximum, and their anticipation drained along with the time. The room was bustling with conversations as they waited, but the words faded off when the realization came upon them: she wasn’t coming. No one, however, was আরো upset with the truth than Dante.

Shade gradually raised her head and set her eyes onto the aardwolf seated at the রান্নাঘর table. He had propped himself up on the surface with his arms, and his head hid between two hands with fingers ট্যাঙ্গেল্ড in curls. Shade knew grief when she saw it.

Maintaining slow movements, Shade made her way over to Dante and took the আসন across from him. She wasn’t about to offer a hand, something that he could not bring himself to take, so only her presence was necessary. To her relief, he acknowledge her দ্বারা raising his head and easing up from his slumped posture, but a lump caught in her throat when he stared directly up at her with a bleak gaze. He was quiet, letting the silence stretch until Shade began to squirm under the weight of his stare.

Finally, his head fell again. “I don’t know what went wrong. I thought I gave her enough মহাকাশ and time-” He was shuddering দ্বারা now, something that truly terrified Shade. He was becoming unnaturally unstable and nerve-wrecking.

She held back the urge to reach towards him, reassuring him and giving him permission to put the blame on her. She wanted to remind him that it wasn’t the end, there were আরো chances, and he could continue without her messing up again.

But at the same time, she wondering if it was completely her fault, yet she couldn’t help but believe it was.

Her ears dropped as she stumbled over words. “I’m so-” her apology was cut short দ্বারা the shrill friction between chair and floor.

The sound of her heartbeat immediately began to পাম্প within her ears, and Maddox and Elliot got to their feet as if they were prepared for this moment. Dante had arose from his chair, and when he did not utter a word অথবা make eye contact, Shade instantly assumed rejection.

No one else moved after his sudden outburst, almost certain that their actions অথবা words would drive him off the edge. However, he seemed to be composing himself while he stood in the attention, as if his words were being considered. The tension in the air was becoming unbearable before Dante finally lifted his eyes to Shade, and although the emotion in them betrayed the smile he pulled from thin air, he did not look away.

“Don’t worry about it.”

The statement was something none of them could accomplish. They were at their peaks of anxiety, and Dante was the main distress to them all.

Shade swallowed. “Please don’t push us aside.”

The aardwolf was taken back দ্বারা the comment, and although he wanted to oppose this, he did not direct his পরবর্তি words towards it, “This isn’t necessary anymore.”

“What do আপনি mean?”

“We don’t have to wait. Maybe…” He paused and turned away, running his hands through his hair in despair and vexation. “Maybe this is her response to the letter.”

Shade felt the words jabbing into her gut. He couldn’t be serious, right? “Don’t think like that.”

Dante looked back at her, his gestures and expressions becoming an example of panic. “But it’s possible.” His eyes darted to each of them. “The approach was probably a step too far, অথবা maybe-”

Shade was having trouble coming up with words, feeling as if it was her duty to remind him of his worth. “You don’t even know if those সেকেন্ড thoughts are true.”

“And I don’t know if they’re false, either,” he shot back.

His words struck her once more, and glancing toward Elliot and Maddox, she could see they too were effected. Their assumptions were beginning to dawn on them.

Mouth quivering, Shade faced Dante with a look of disappointment. “Do আপনি honestly believed she would do such a thing?”

Dante stood rigid and displayed no visible emotion. “I don’t know.”

Maddox’s brow lowered, and decided to add his own thoughts into the conversation. “How would আপনি not know? Didn’t আপনি say she was your friend?”

“Was,” Dante corrected. “I was trying to gain that শিরোনাম back.”

“That means আপনি knew her before all this, right?”

“Well, yes, but-

“You had also mentioned it was a bond that lasted for several years.”

Shade glanced between the two, wondering that they spoke of while she was gone.

Dante looked uncomfortable with the questions. “That’s correct, it’s just-”

“How come আপনি don’t know how her actions if you’ve been there half her life?”

“Listen-”

“Were those memories meaningless অথবা insignificant enough to be forgotten?”

When Dante’s hands clutched, Elliot stepped in behind Maddox, grabbing his shoulder. “Hey, man, don’t pester him.”

“I’m only curious,” Maddox innocently explained as he shrugged. Again, his eyes met Dante’s, who was already at his edge. “Now, where were we?”

“Maddox, I’m serious,” Elliot muttered in an almost begging-like manner. His grip on his brother’s shoulder tightened, but he was ignored. This proved who was the inferior one of the brothers.

“Oh, right, we were talking about how আপনি forgot everything about-”

Dante‘s fist collided with wood instead of the flesh he imagined. “It’s because she’s changed!”

Three pairs of eyes widened, and the room fell silent. No one, including Shade, had heard him raise his voice, অথবা let out his anger with violence. They glanced at the table, which had splintered wood jutting out, then their eyes landed on his scabbed knuckles. At this point, Dante inspired fear অথবা sympathy - it was an indecisive choice.

Maddox’s eyes narrowed and Shade attempted to step forward, but Dante backed away, either for her অথবা himself. His expression was dark enough to be unsettling, but not dark enough to imply an anger towards them. Frankly, the only person he had a legitimate reason to hate was himself. He would not announce this strong dislike, however.

When there was no response, Dante wordlessly held his trembling, injured hand, which was numb দ্বারা now. He then steered his direction towards the door, beginning his painful departure.

His chest heaved before he paused to exchange a glance with the two string-players. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help pursue your goals. Maybe you’ll have better luck in another event.” He then cast Shade a look. “I don’t blame আপনি for anything.”

Guilt consuming him, he disappeared behind the door without a সেকেন্ড glance, and closed it in silence.

The silence engulfed the room once more. When they remembered they had voices, Elliot spun toward Maddox, his teeth grinding and eyes flaming. “What’s your problem, man?!”

While Maddox was sputtering something about tests and methods of interrogators, Shade fell back on the couch, at হারিয়ে গেছে on what to do. The emotion of the moment had rendered her speechless. She wasn’t sure how this would effect their bond, অথবা just him in general. The bat noticed he was straining when it came to his personality, as if he was trying to be someone else. She wouldn’t have guessed he hiding something behind the calm and friendly demeanor, and she only wished she realized it sooner.

Shaky প্রতিমূর্তি bounced around her skull, tormenting her. Shade forced her attention onto those faded scenes, and a rough outline of Dante gradually took form. He had that sheepish grin of his, with silver eyes displaying genuine bliss, an emotion only existing in memories.

Grace wasn’t the only one who had changed.

Speaking of Grace, she was about finished up with her practicing, as were Dave and Spyro, whom she was now practicing with. It took thirty-eight মিনিট and twelve সেকেন্ড for Spyro to master the song, অথবা at least master it enough, and while Grace would have preferred to practice more, Dave merely pointed at the clock and she grumbled in agreement.

Time was short; they had ten মিনিট left before the event started. This meant ten মিনিট to get ready, get to the Theater room, and find out what time they started.

“Do we… need outfits অথবা something?” Spyro asked, cringing at an image of him with a spiked choker-caller and tattoos.

“I have… earrings somewhere if আপনি guys want to use those.” This was Dave speaking not Grace. Both mobians looked at him oddly. “Okay no earrings. Let’s go.”

They took a মিনিট to clean up at least. Dave put his hands in warm water to keep his fingers from getting sore from the guitar-playing, and brushed his hair, Spyro, who was one such mobian who did not wear normal clothing and did not need to cover anything thankfully, simply got the পিয়ানো prepared. Grace brushed her hair and considered using some form of makeup but suppressed the somewhat gag-causing urge, and followed her partners to the theaters.

In all honesty, Grace never really cared to explore the theater. It was true that she, among every single other student, found the school gigantic and very intriguing, but the various little adventures she had with Rynk, who she soon realized she barely saw that দিন if at all, and Craiger, who she barely saw normally, added on with her own school work, and personal time to think over life, the multiverse, everything, and so on (though mostly pertaining to relationships of past and present, with প্রশ্ন অনুত্তরিত about the future) left her, utterly unable to remember every detail about the classes.

Speaking of the large-eared friend, and the sort of frenemy-title she was using as a temporary for Craiger, she wondered what they were doing at the moment. Not as much Craiger as he did not sound as though he was taking part in the actual event, but what was Rynk’s secret act?

She was put out of her thought briefly when she turned a corner suddenly, and remembered the two boys walking just in front of her. She had… befriended them, অথবা আরো so they befriended her. From how they acted, neither seemed to think oddly of her, and if they did they kept it to themselves. There were two reasons for this, if it were true; One was that they needed her help and had no time to speak their minds, and two… they enjoyed her company.

She was beginning to go further into this thought, thinking about why Spyro ব্যক্ত “Hi again”, forgetting their collision when she first signed up for the Talent Show, however since this sentence began with “She was beginning to”, she was doomed to stop.

The reason for this; the Theater door opening, her eyes focusing on the hundreds of faces, lights, and colors, and her ears piercing from the commotion and occasional scream. “This feels like a giant rock party.” She murmured. Dave and Spyro would not hear her over the noise. She briefly recalled Sara’s surprise concert, but even that was small compared to this. “Sara will probably be doing a rock band thing too.” She ব্যক্ত disappointingly. She had forgotten that she had an almost Zero Percent chance of actually winning this. Not for lack of skill, but because of just how many students would be entering.

They walked towards… Geisel from the looks of it, passing out rundowns, lists, profiles, of the event. Each pamphlet seemed nearly seven pages long; factoring in that the font was most likely Ariel অথবা Times New Roman, the size being eleven অথবা twelve, and the pages themselves looking to be a foot in height, and half a foot in width… that would be… fifteen names a page? Twenty? Who knew? They would as soon as they got a pamphlet.

“Oh good, you’re here.” Geisel quickly handed them all the chapter-book-like papers, and moved them to a sectioned-off seating area, painted red, where the acts were sitting; well those who were not preparing yet.

“When are we on?” Dave asked as they all sat down.

“… Wait…” Geisel flipped through the pages, “Who are আপনি with?”

“… Grace and Spyro.” He replied, feeling a bit uneasy that he was not listed possibly.

“Gr- Oh! All of আপনি with Grace?” She pointed to them back and forth.

“Yep, can আপনি tell us now?” Grace snapped. She did not mean to sound mean, she was simply becoming nervous and a tad annoyed দ্বারা the loudness.

“Sorry, um…” Geisel continued through the pages, “looks liiiiiiiiike… you’re number Thirteen… wow আপনি got it good.”

“Why’s that?”

“There’s Two-hundred and Thirty-one acts.”

Grace gulped accidentally, not even paying attention to Dave’s sigh and cynical chuckle, অথবা Spyro’s gaping. “How… how long until we are up? L-like time?”

“Oh… well we don’t have a timer really.” Geisel giggled weakly and nervously while she began rounding the amount of time each act before them would normally take. She mumbled her thoughts allowed while going through the lists “Comedia tn mnts n th with yeah, then there’s singing, আরো singing… so that’s… খাবার consu… wow,” From what they could make out from the mumbles, অথবা Grace anyway, after the food… consumption (or at least that is what she thought it was), there were two kids dueling, a mage, a shapeshifter, singers again, another comedian, gymnastics, the “Amazing Non-super-powered Voice-impersonator”, and a trained Chao.

Then Grace noticed… Geisel was gone. She was আরো paying attention to the mumbling than the actual person and hadn’t noticed that Geisel vanished out of thin air. She found out where she was when-

“LADIIIES AAAAAAAAAAND GENTLEMEEEEEEEEEEEEEN…” She was on the stage now wearing something… shiny, holding a microphone and making large arm gestures to the audience. “We’ve got TOOOOOOOOOOONS of acts to go through, but before we start, remember that everything IS being recorded, and if আপনি need the restroom, well, I’m sure SOMEONE has an act for that.” The crowd chuckled a bit, though some of the students felt weary about that notion.

“In celebration of the VERY, FIRST, YEAR, of this school, we’re doing no more, no less, than TWO-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-ONE ACTS! No no-shows, no cancelations, aside from, y’know,” She added a sort of cowardly voice “stage-fright!” then went back to normal chipper, “but either way, I’m sure we’ll have a good time… Oh and in case of a আগুন exits Stage le- only kidding, let’s hear it for The Kai-mae-dai-en!!” She went off stage.

“What kind of an act name is that?!” Dave covered his ears. Grace chuckled at the lynx’s reaction; she honestly was about to think the same thing. “Hurts don’t it?” She chuckled to him.

“Not as much as some things, but yes.” He admitted.

“Uh guys…” Spyro tapped them on the shoulders, “What’s our act’s name?”

“It- oh crud crud cru-“ Dave interrupted himself দ্বারা smacking his head repeatedly.

“Do… we… need one?” Grace asked, hoping the answer was no, but knowing the answer was yes.

“What are gonna call ourselves!?” Dave panicked, “better yet how do we tell Geisel what we are in time? Where is she?”

Grace was unamused দ্বারা his stressing, “backstage… like normal প্রদর্শনী people are…” She pointed out, making it sound overly obvious.

“Right right…” He had his hand in his hair holding tightly with his face down and his ears laid back, “Okay name ideas?”

“… Rockets?” Spyro shrugged, “The Amazinies? I don’t know.”

Dave had a very good imitation of the thinker going on, though his suggestion of “Grace and the Gracets” was interrupted দ্বারা a no halfway through.

“Um… Graceful? Gracious?” Spyro added on.

“I don’t see why আপনি two are using my name for this.” She did not want an extreme amount of attention, and while she did feel a little like she was the leader of the group, they did as much as she did. Even then the thought of her name being the main শিরোনাম felt… embarrassing and unnerving; she could not pinpoint why at the moment, with no help from the loud laughing, but they were still her feelings.

“Why would we have a name anyway?” She asked with a hiss in her tone. She just wanted to get on stage, get it over with, and see how far she got in the places. Why did it have to be complicated. And why WOULD there be a name? They weren’t a group, অথবা a band, yet. They were just three যেভাবে খুশী people that thought “Hey I need your help, let’s do this just once”… that is if they did do it just once. … No just once. It took enough to get the nerve to do this event, and even if normal school, and her personal life were dumb excuses, which they were not, she did not want this… at least not completely. She could never get the possibility out of her head.

“What do আপনি mean?” Dave questioned, looking actually confused, not condescending.

“We aren’t a band yet, we’re just doing this for the show. What after that? We have no reason to have a name if nothing happens after this.”

“Well we could keep being a band.” Dave grinned, tilting his head to the side then back in a suggestive motion.

“No thanks… at least not yet.” She looked to the performer than back, “I’m going to go talk to Geisel about all the introduction.” She got up from her আসন and left the boys alone. Dave looked the most offended, with his ears drooped, but it was only mildly so. It was not like she meant to offend them.

Grace found stairs on the side of the theater that led backstage. The curtain, followed দ্বারা a দেওয়াল with a door in it, minimized the loudness of the audience, and the ear-pierced শিবা could do little to not sigh in relief, relaxing into a slouch for a brief set of seconds.

When she straightened again she looked about, seeing the various contraptions for the later entertainment. Some of the mobians were in the lot-like area of the backstage, either sitting around, অথবা tweaking with their equipment to make sure it was working correctly. She noticed the boy that shot a আগুন ball at Rynk in Gym messing around with some kind of arm-brace. “Fire show, no doubt.” She thought.

But enough distractions, Grace quickly fixed her eyes on Geisel who waved to her as she got closer. “I wanted to know about the presentation.”

“Mm… ‘kay what about em?” Geisel asked, removing her eyes from her lists for a moment.

“How will আপনি be introducing us since we don’t have a name?” She wanted a quick and direct answer.

“Oh… well if someone doesn’t have a name for the act, I just call it দ্বারা the act’s… name… let me rephrase that.” Grace rolled her eyes impatiently, but kept it from being noticed as Geisel corrected herself “If someone doesn’t have a শিরোনাম that they made for the act, I just announce it দ্বারা its Genre অথবা Category. Like ‘AND NOW THIS PERSON WILL DANCE FOR YOU’ অথবা something. … Is that it?”

Grace could tell that while Geisel seemed relaxed, she did have a lot to take care of, and if she delayed the mobian girl too long the entire event might actually be at risk. Who could know? She nodded and walked back to her act-partners.

The events prior to their own performance passed দ্বারা with utmost ease thanks to Geisel holding the প্রদর্শনী together. Pushing aside the doubts and sheer amount of work contributed, she handled the time professionally despite her behavior implying a laid-back nature, and the contestants might have helped দ্বারা being aware of the tight schedule.

Grace was tempted to মতামত on how fast-paced it seemed, but her fellow companions ব্যক্ত nothing against it, so she reluctantly decided to hold back her tongue. In addition, Grace knew how guilty she was of dozing off and skimming through the pamphlet during the acts, and for this reason she realized why the period was apparently short in her perspective.

Her loss of concentration would have lasted if the last performance hadn’t been followed দ্বারা abrupt applause - whether the শিবা liked the sudden shock অথবা not, it signaled their awaiting turn. Reviving from a হৃদয় attack, Grace collected her thoughts and asked the duo what she had missed, to which they replied with bewildered expressions, but reluctantly answered with a summary.

“About two acts were pretty embarrassing,” Dave wrapped up, sitting up from his posture. “Hopefully that won't happen to us.”

Spyro, whose eyes remained fixed on the stage, chuckled to himself. “You're only going to jinx it দ্বারা saying that.”

Grace glanced between the two, not sharing their calm demeanors due to the panic creeping up her spine. In reality, she wished a miracle of a disastrous performance had held the প্রদর্শনী back, just to avoid stepping onto stage. However, the two weren't aware of her near fit of terror because of her ability to emit an unsentimental aura. Unfortunately, much like her detached trait, the act was temporary.

When there was no response from Grace, Spyro’s brows furrowed. “You alright? You've been kind of distant.” He spoke slowly, as if his life depended on his word choice.

The vixen’s lips pursed then twitched into a crooked smile, attempting to soothe the tension. “It’s normal to be nervous, right?”

Both Dave and Spyro gave her skeptical looks, her reply unable to deceive them. Dave edged forward, planning to pop another question, but the feedback of a microphone cut his interrogation short. At the same instant, their hands flew up to cover their ears in anguish.

Nervous laughter followed as the screech subsided. “Sorry about that, folks!”

Just as Geisel had informed last-minute, their entrance was announced as “a band performing a song.” Although it was vague, and addressed them as a group as if they were official, Grace kept her opinions to herself. On the other hand, she was thankful that the questioning was put aside, though she had a gut feeling that it would unravel later on. The trio rose to their feet simultaneously, but Dave and Spyro were the first to exit with Grace in tow.

Inaudibly, the শিবা was murmuring reassuring মতামত to herself, though she kept her eyes raised in case the two boys looked back. অভিনয় withdrawn would only raise their suspicion of something being awry, and Grace did not want to give in to her fears and sacrifice all their work in the progress. Clutching her hands, she held her chin up high and took stiff steps forward, mimicking their pace.

দ্বারা the time the three arrived at their destination backstage, led দ্বারা a student, the appropriate instruments had been arranged behind the curtain দ্বারা volunteers. The three inspected their bustling surroundings, then took their place at the designated spots. Spyro had strolled over to the পিয়ানো before him, experimenting with the keys. “They took care of everything, huh?”

“Yup. Now all we got to do is perform.” Dave was at the edge of the stage, fidgeting with the cables alongside the speakers and attempting to plug in his instrument.

While the two were arranging and testing out a few notes, Grace stood in the middle of the commotion with arms tightly folded over her thumping chest.


“Nice choice.” A recognizable accent complimented. Craiger walked up to Grace. “In band-members I mean… I’m not being sarcastic অথবা anything.” She was going to reply to him, nervously, angrily, অথবা simply casually, but she did not get the chance before he decided to continue for her.

“I know আপনি probably don’t want me to be here right now, stress and all that, but I just wanted to wish ya luck. I don’t say break-a-leg, so hopefully good luck will do?”

He was asking her now? The male শিয়াল wasn’t talking particularly quickly but his sentences rushed past Grace before she could comprehend. She did want to say something, perhaps have a small conversation before things started, but the nervous শিবা had to concentrate on her nerves, the crowds, and her voice. This would just be a distraction.

To end things quickly she replied “Thanks.” Nodding accordingly. Craiger nodded back with a smile and waved to her as he made his departure.

Tuning her voice wasn’t mandatory, since she was aware that it’ll crack under the pressure of a thousand eyes and ears no matter the preparation. Her eyes fixated onto her surroundings as a way to focus her thoughts, but the interior of the stage only distorted and revolved around her. The শিবা stumbled back as she was filled with a sudden loss of perception.

“Grace?”

At her name, Grace grasped the shift of reality and met the speaker’s gaze. A blurred image of Geisel appeared before her. She seemed rather worried with her clipboard clutched to her chest. Beside her, Dave and Spyro also shared troubled expressions.

Grace’s throat felt dry, and she had to গেলা her nausea before replying, “Yeah?”

“I was just mentioning to the boys that the curtains will open momentarily,” Geisel murmured, her brows lowering.

Another swallow. “Oh, alright. Thanks for the notice.”

Geisel turned to depart the stage, but immediately caught her eye. There was a moment of silence before she spoke. “If something is wrong, this is your last chance to turn back. It’s not too late to step out of the show.”

The room seemed to enclose around the শিয়াল at her words. A string of nerves tightened in her ribs, having began in her stomach and creeping up her spine.

“I’m fine,” she retorted, the emphasis coming off as an exasperation.

“I won’t push you, but I wish আপনি luck.” Her eyes switched over to Dave and Spyro. They too felt the pressure weighing them down. “Every one of আপনি - I wish আপনি the best.”

Geisel walked away as her words sunk in. The শিয়াল glanced over to Dave and Spyro, but they were avoiding discussion. She could tell they were uncomfortable with stating whose side they agreed with. However, they all knew who was fair in the matter, and Grace had no reason to complain - after all, she could not declare that she was being ethical. Much to her dislike, Grace knew she didn’t have the authority to defend herself অথবা রচনা an elaborate excuse for her behavior.

On the overhead speakers, Geisel’s voice discharged and echoed within the auditorium. “Sorry about the মিনিট delay, but we are happy to inform আপনি that the curtains will rise.”

Almost instantaneously, people sprinted across the stage, in and out, until the three of them were the only ones left. Spyro was about to make a witty comment, but the lights went out and the drapes began to move. They all stumbled to their positions and made a last মিনিট mental check.

Dave adjusted his গিটার strap. “You guys ready?”

Spyro responded with a thumbs up, and Grace was only able to nod her head.

The moment the curtains disappeared, the room became larger and desolate, and Grace felt insignificant in the small world.

“Please welcome the band, performing a কোল্ডপ্লে favorite, Clocks!”

Grace had to give it to her for not taking a spin on an official name. Applause shook the stage, and a headache settled in. They either had an abundance of enthusiasm অথবা they were অনুরাগী of the song. Nevertheless, Grace hoped she wouldn’t butcher their spirit.

The lights flooded the stage and they became the center of attention. She could almost detect individual faces in the mass of black. Standing before the vast audience, Grace হারিয়ে গেছে her ability to breath. The sea-change of faces and voices marred her confidence and a nauseous feeling twisted her stomach.

A momentary hush. All eyes fixed on her.

Grace’s racing হৃদয় thumped within her ears. She quickly looked back over her shoulder as a way to ease the triggers progressing through her অস্থি and veins. The two boys immediately understood her glance, and ব্যক্ত glance initiated a surge of concern. Behind her, the mass of students commenced a discussion amongst themselves.

Dave shifted his focus between the শিবা and the audience, then he caught her eyes and mouthed, “Are আপনি alright?”

Her হৃদয় stumbled in its offbeat rhythm, their eyes tugging the bated breaths from her lungs, but she nodded slowly, then halted to a stop as trembles overtook her. The mere caprice only spawned a quandary between the three of them.

Grace’s alternating emotions were unclear at this point - the fault lying in her vague understanding of her own visceral mosaic. She was হারিয়ে গেছে in the endless, spiraling complexity of the whispers.

The performance could have been dropped right then and there. She could have mouthed the words "I'm sorry" and departed the stage without looking back and without staying long enough to see their eyes convey disheartenment. Her power to do so was distinguishable in the flood of gossip and
under the weight of their stares.

Dave’s resistance was descending along with the time, and he quickly turned to Spyro for last মিনিট discussion. They learned to communicate with their eyes. “What should we do?”

The amateur pianist immediately held up his hands in defense, caught off guard. His only answer was shrugging his shoulders and darting his eyes frantically between Grace and Dace.

As the two exchanged hand signals and panicked gestures, Grace was able to perceive that she wasn’t the only one in the midst of burden. Her anxiety drifted toward regret. The performance wasn’t just about her, yet her emotions were pulling the strings. She continued to gaze until Spyro was the first to notice.

On the verge of incertitude, he motioned to the instruments and back to Grace, attempting to send a message. Dave also paused and shot her a glance, indicating that he too was seeking her response. The crowd’s murmurs accumulate during their implication, almost overpowering her focus on them.

Voices faded and it was only them in the silence. With the disturbance gone, she noted their firm but effective stares. They were willing to conjure the willpower to ease her emotions from across the stage- this sparked enough efficiency to advance.

In the thick of tumult, she decided her fate with a nod of her head, a cue for the two to begin. Grace couldn’t have been any আরো relieved দ্বারা their eager expressions.

She hadn't noticed the inversions of the chords until Dave pitched in with his composition. Grace inhaled sharply, gaining momentary control of her senses. Ostensibly, as the opening interval was nearing her vocals, Grace was not as prepared as she thought. Too late for that. Absentmindedly, she allowed the notes to continue several সেকেন্ড longer than usual, but no seemed to notice. At least, it wasn’t as obvious to her.

Another regret: walking away was a forgotten option - she was thinking she should have taken up Geisel’s offer. Drenched in the spotlight’s luminescence, her হৃদয় thumped against her ribcage and prevailed over the throbbing doubts. She would have never admitted it, but their unprofessional সঙ্গীত calmed her. Bit দ্বারা bit, she replaced the thoughts with stanzas and images.

Somewhere, Craiger had wedged himself into her thoughts. Out of all things, his appearance and nerve to encourage her with a few words almost stimulated something. Did he honestly manage to enter backstage just for that? Grace wasn’t bothered as to why, and although she made an effort to not let meager প্রতিমূর্তি to distract her, she felt okay with the thought of him- just a little. Although she wouldn't never confess it to a soul, but the যেভাবে খুশী act helped, too. The পিয়ানো halted and awaited her turn. Three, two, one…

In the lull of the pounding, Grace took the initiative to release her breath.

Lights go out and I can't be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
You've put me down upon my knees
Oh I beg, I beg and plead, singing

She took up the lyrics in a quavering modulation, her pitch defining itself till it reached the proper vocalism. No doubt her voice was trembling, including her body. Grace hadn't bothered to focus on Dave and Spyro’s reaction at this point, not wanting to lose concentration দ্বারা turning away from the microphone, and not wanting to see how they viewed her now. A sudden wave of nostalgia enveloped her and she managed to let go.

Come out of things unsaid
Shoot an আপেল off my head and a
Trouble that can't be named
A tiger's waiting to be tamed, singing

One again, Spyro set his arrangement of keys into motion, and Grace worked in the darkness দ্বারা closing her eyes. Only the সঙ্গীত and her presence continued to exist.

আপনি are
আপনি are

Remarkably, her throat wasn’t scorching, but her shallow breaths tainted her lungs with raw air. It was pure luck that an instrumental followed suit. Opening her eyes only reminded her that there was a crowd, and small trails of wire emerged and prickled her skin when she set sights on faces she’s never met before. Shaking hands gripped the microphone tighter, inducing pain but mustering enough focus. She taught herself to engrave words against her skull for this reason. Count to three, close eyes, release.

Confusion never stops
Closing walls and ticking clocks
Gonna come back and take আপনি home
I could not stop that আপনি now know, singing

Grace felt as if she had been in this position previously. She could retrace her steps as if she knew the room and walked the floor. Back then, carrying a tune was not a talent she took seriously, yet it felt like a chunk of her past was recollected. With intensely unsettling realism, the সঙ্গীত made her think: When did গান গাওয়া become so sentimental?

Come out upon my seas
Cursed missed opportunities
Am I a part of the cure?
অথবা am I part of the disease? Singing

She relaxed her stiff body, becoming devoted to the সঙ্গীত and embracing the dark. She could relate to the lyrics, after all. Repeatedly, she emphasized to herself that no one was watching, but she was not alone, just the preserve the control.

আপনি are, আপনি are, আপনি are
আপনি are, আপনি are, আপনি are

The union of the melodic voices was comforting to say the least. Beating rhythmically, the echoing of গিটার and পিয়ানো whirled and twisted alongside vocables. To the nonexistent boundaries it reached, multiplying and expanding, and when perched high above limits, it erupted in flying colors.

And nothing else compares
Oh nothing else compares
And nothing else compares

Grace’s head throbbed, the manifestation in its purest and hardest-to-swallow form. It hurt to put energy and trust into a voice that restrained itself in her throat for so long. Even with cobwebs and dust, the voice was flawed but unbroken. The সঙ্গীত was inexpert but iridescent. They were separate individuals but not alone. সঙ্গীত couldn't possible be that powerful.

আপনি are
আপনি are

Home, প্রথমপাতা where I wanted to go
Home, প্রথমপাতা where I wanted to go
Home, প্রথমপাতা where I wanted to go
Home, প্রথমপাতা where I wanted to go

The সঙ্গীত replicated and overlapped, and the instruments and voice held their capacity as if they were a broken record. Grace didn’t have the breath অথবা stability for this, and she was near the edge of taking deep breaths when her part was over. Due to the lack of singing, she almost forgot what breathing in fresh air felt like. Practice in the future was inevitable.

In the end, Spyro’s harmony of the পিয়ানো finalized the melody, accumulating over the audience in interminable ripples before the walls absorbed and silenced it. Simultaneously, they thanked the heavens it was over.

A brief silence overtook the crowd, spellbound.

Grace felt even sicker as the dead air engulfed and chipped away at her dignity. The শিয়াল closed her eyes in regret, as if the surroundings would alternate into her room when one she opened them. However, although enclosed in the obscurity of her mind, her ears picked up a sound. In the distance, a single individual clapped assuredly, then another cheer complied upon another before the steady rhyme unleashed into a roar of ovation. However, it was no আরো impressive than the reactions to the other performances.

Grace raised her head and took in the sight, catching a glimpse of grins in the darkness. Her pessimistic view of life saw the praise as pity. Unsurprisingly, Grace stood rigid and displayed no visible emotion. Still, in the back of her mind, she hoped that whoever had the bravery to begin the applause was someone she knew. Grace didn’t care how close this person had to be with her, stranger অথবা friend, but it prompt a warm feeling. Maybe if she dug a bit deeper into her thoughts, she would have realized she wished the anonymous was Craiger. "Good luck" seemed incredibly cliche, but his accent might have made his words charming, অথবা maybe just him - no wonder it stuck with her. It didn't sound unreasonable for her to think so, did it?

Loosening her grip on the microphone, she hadn’t realize the intensity of her mental spasm until she glimpsed at the coil designs embed onto her palms. Her eyes were wide and vacant. A surge of relief should have overwhelm her, but she felt hollow.

Grace’s arm fell দ্বারা her side, and she managed to গেলা the lump within her throat. Suddenly, two forms joined her at her side. When recognizing Dave and Spyro’s presence, a tranquility overtook her. She felt smaller between them, but the weight of attention was balanced. Calming her shallow breaths and shaking hands, Grace turned her attention to them, her mouth agape with the intention of asking a question, but Dave answered before the words were released.

“It’s over. We've done it.”