It was just another day for Xandia, until a shiny gold-coloured letter was pushed through her letter box, that was. The little green Kacheek picked up the glossy piece of parchment and gazed down at the writing. It was an advertisement for an upcoming talent show. She had entered talent shows before, but never got anywhere close to first place. This time would be different though. She would make it different. This time, she would succeed.
She found out later that day that all of her friends had received one too. They all decided to enter together. Xandia was excited but also a little nervous. What if the judges shunned her again? What if she didn't even make it past the initial auditions like last year and year before that? No. She mentally scolded herself for being so negative. Not this time.
Xandia rushed up the stairs to her bedroom, the advertisement held firmly in her paw. She grabbed the notebook that was gathering dust from her chester drawers and her favourite lucky pen and started to jot down her talents. It was harder than she thought.
"Hmm," she thought aloud. "My talents…" She sucked the top of the pen like she always did when she was thinking about something. "I can sing. Well at least I think I can. I can draw. What good will that do in a talent show though? I would bore everyone to death."
She had at last managed to write down five talents that would be suitable for a talent show. Singing, dancing, reading one of her best poems, acting and telling a few jokes. Nothing much but it was about all she was good at. After pouring over the five she managed to whittle it down to three talents, then two and finally, was left with one. She would sing. She thought she was brilliant at it and if she practiced from now until three days time when the auditions took place, she would have a chance at being entered.
She started to practice as soon as she could. First of all, she would write her own lyrics to a song. She figured that the judges would approve of this more than singing a well known song. It told them that she could be creative as well as just sing, she thought.
Words ran through her mind; lovely meaningful words, moving words, ones that would captivate the hearts of those listening to Xandia's song. It was about family. Family to Xandia was the most important thing in life. Without family she would get nowhere. Her family were the ones that told her to push that little bit harder and they made her feel happy. They gave her the strength to carry on if she didn't succeed the first time and she wanted others to share her feelings. This song would win, she knew it would.
It took her hours but, as she read through the lyrics, she was happy with the final result. Now all she had to do was put a tune to those words sitting neatly on the paper and practice it; and she'd practice until she knew she couldn't practice anymore.
It was already nearing nightfall. Xandia had made a wonderful little tune, one which she felt was as heart-warming and touching as the lyrics themselves, and had been practicing all day.
"Xandia," shouted a voice from downstairs, "your dinner is ready now."
It was her owner, Harriet, a bright young girl with black, sleek hair down to her waist and olive coloured skin. She was only 16 but she felt like a mother to Xandia. She cared for her, made sure she was well fed and made her feel special in every way possible.
"You have an astounding voice Xandia," she said as they ate at the kitchen table. "You're definitely in with a chance at the talent show. You're good now but practice even more and you'll be even better!" she smiled and it made Xandia feel so special and wanted. Harriet gave Xandia the confidence that the little Kacheek knew she wouldn't find by herself.
Two days had passed and every hour of those two days Xandia had practiced her song. She was now so pleased with her own performance that she was sure she would please the judges and be able to enter the talent show, maybe even win the talent show. The auditions would start in an hour's time and Xandia was looking at herself in the mirror, her fur comb held in one paw.
"Magnificent," she said to herself. "My fur is glistening. I look lovely! I'll show everyone just how good I am."
Xandia met her friends outside the hall where the auditions were taking place. There was Bella, a cloud Aisha, who was going to sing and dance, Seria, the Maraquan Draik who was going to show off her wonderful aquatic dance moves and Renao, the yellow Shoyru who was going to show the judges just how fast she could fly around the hall.
"So then, Xandia," said Seria. "What are you going to do?"
"I've written my own song and I'm going to sing it," she replied confidently.
"Cool! Well I hope that we all get entered for the talent show." Seria sighed. "I'll bet you a pencil that Cornelia will get entered. I can remember last year at that song contest when she won. She wouldn't stop talking about it for at least a month afterwards. She wasn't even that good, either."
Cornelia was a Faerie Usul with an extremely high attitude of herself. She and Xandia had crossed each other too many times in Xandia's opinion and every time they did Cornelia would throw some insult her way. Only a few weeks ago had the stuck up Usul called her fur shabby.
"Wouldn't you just love to have fur as beautiful as mine?" Xandia could remember her saying as she walked passed her with her nose in the air.
Xandia became unaware that she was clenching her fists and was digging her nails into her palms. It was only when the stinging spread through her palms when she realised and unclenched them again.
"I was hoping Cornelia wouldn't be here," spat Xandia angrily.
"You must be joking right?" replied Bella. "This is a talent show; Cornelia wouldn't miss this for the world. Anyway, we'd better be going inside. The auditions should be starting any minute."
The four friends entered through the large double doors into a big hall. Empty seats surrounded them and each row lifted higher and higher the farther back they went so that the top rows were nearly ceiling height. Four judges, a Grarrl, a petite Aisha, a Blumaroo and a Lenny were sat on four seats at the very back of the stadium. A queue of Neopets of all shapes and sizes were waiting eagerly at the left of the hall. Cornelia was at the front. Xandia had visions of her pushing her way past the others.
They got into the queue and before long about two dozen more Neopets took their places in the queue behind them. Xandia was overwhelmed by how many Neopets had turned up and for a moment didn't think she had a chance at all.
No she thought. I'm not going to give up now. I'll do this.
"Cornelia," boomed the Grarrl. "Please step this way." He motioned to the centre of the hall with a large swish of his gigantic paw. Cornelia walked confidently to the designated area and curtseyed before the judges.
"I have a lot of talents," she said in a humble but unmistakable snobby tone, "but the one I will be showing for the world to see is my ability to sing."
"Great," muttered Xandia. "She would pick the same one as me."
When Cornelia had finished the judges lifted white cards with numbers on them to show the final score. The Grarrl lifted his up. It showed 100. The Aisha lifted hers up which also showed 100. And then it came the turn of the remaining too. Both gave the same score. 100.
She grinned at the stunned queue before turning towards the empty seats at the right of the hall where the lucky ten to enter in the talent show would be picked. She caught Xandia's eye and mouthed "Prepare to lose" to her.
"I'll show her," Xandia whispered to herself.
Slowly the length of the queue died down and there were only a few more Neopets in front of her. Her stomach was beginning to churn as the nerves started to kick in. She looked towards the gathering of Neopets who had finished and had sat down in their seats. A young Lupe sat with his head in his arms and a few others seemed to be offering him words of comfort. He had told a few jokes, none of which got a single snicker from either the contestants or the judges. The judges had only given him a total of 35 points between them. Xandia shuddered. She hoped she didn't do as bad as he did.
"Xandia," called the Grarrl.
This was it. This was the moment she had been eagerly awaiting, the moment where she would find out if she had succeeded or failed. She puffed out her chest bravely and began to breathe in and then out. In and out. In and out. Her owner had advised her to do this whenever she was nervous. It seemed to be having a desired effect. Xandia could already feel the muscles, tense from nervous strain, easing.
She confidently walked into the centre of the hall and stood in front of the Grarrl. It looked so different standing before them and the Grarrl looked even fiercer than before. He began to eye her, reasons unknown to Xandia, and then he gave her the signs that she could start.
Xandia started well; she could tell by the looks of astonishment on the judges faces. She thought that she did well throughout, making sure not to lose her nerve and especially emotion. She knew that a lot of famous singers, even those who were credited as having the most wonderful voices in Neopia often lost the emotion in their voice towards the end.
Everyone clapped, all except Cornelia, but Xandia expected that. She felt so proud and knew that she had done her very best. Would the judges think that? The Grarrl lifted the white piece of cardboard into the air. It read 97. The Aisha lifted hers up. 100. Xandia felt a spark shoot up her spine and through every inch of her body. 100 was the very best. The hall erupted into cheers as the other two judges held up their score boards to show that they too fully enjoyed Xandia's performance. She had a total of 397 points and that was definitely something to be proud of.
By now, every Neopet had auditioned and were eagerly awaiting the final results. The four judges had been pouring over a sheet of paper and were huddled together whispering. Xandia would often see the nod or the shake of a head and, even though it was quite off putting, she still had high hopes.
The judges came over and the group of Neopets started to fidget in their seats. Together they each read the names of the ten contestants who had been chosen to be entered in the talent show. Cornelia was the first one to be read off the list and then, to Xandia's amazement, her name was next. Unfortunately her other friends didn't qualify, but they didn't mind. As long as Xandia was in it that was all that mattered to them. They were good friends. They would all root for her in a week's time when the final show would be held.
The week passed quickly and on the day of the talent show Xandia was peering out of the bedroom window admiring the sun in all its glory. It was a deep orange and the sky was light blue with a tint of a haze. It was going to be a fine day. She thought of Cornelia and expected to feel a surge of jealousy course through her body but there was no such emotion. Instead she didn't care at Cornelia at all. Xandia was just as good as her, maybe even better.
She combed her fur so that it shimmered just like the morning before the auditions and held the piece of paper firmly in her hands. She knew the words off by heart but she felt safer practicing them just once more. When she felt confident enough she placed the paper into her top drawer and headed downstairs where her owner and sisters were waiting for her.
"Are you ready?" asked Harriet.
"Yep!" Xandia replied confidently.
They reached the hall early but even at this time there were hundreds of Neopians standing outside talking to one another. Xandia didn't want to know how many were actually inside.
In the corner Xandia could see Cornelia with a bunch of friends. They were all sparkling as if they had applied some sort of cosmetic to their fur and wore make up as if they were queens. And Cornelia looked the grandest. Dressed in a red glittery dress, diamond ear rings dangling graciously from her ears, she looked like a famous singer, not a stuck up Usul in a talent show. And then Xandia knew. Looking at her, she realised that Cornelia wasn't only a stuck up Usul; she was Xandia's rival. She had to win now; she had to teach that Usul a lesson; that vanity and snobbery will get you nowhere.
Xandia stepped into the hall and was immediately overcome with shock. Tens and thousands of Neopians were surrounding a huge stage that had been decorated with glittery paper decorations and the four seats where the judges sat were at the front. They were empty. Behind the stage sat the contestants. There were only six actually seated and the judges were talking to them, probably offering them words of support.
Xandia said goodbye to her family as they made their way to their places and Xandia walked over to the rest of the contestants to her seat.
"Hello Xandia," said one of the judges in a welcoming voice. "Pretty frightening isn't with all these people who have come to watch."
"I guess so," replied Xandia trying to keep calm.
"Don't worry though. Remember, they're all here to see how good you are so just try and relax and do your best."
"Thanks."
She sat in her seat as Cornelia strutted up the hall to hers.
"Shut up!" she yelled a few seconds later to the female Aisha judge. "I don't need you telling me how good I am! I already KNOW I'm good! I'm the BEST actually!"
The Aisha stuttered her apologies but Xandia could tell by the look of anger upon her face seconds later that her hasty apologies were only through shock.
"What are you looking at?" Cornelia snapped at Xandia. "Jealous?"
"Of you? Nah," she replied coolly.
Cornelia fell silent.
The talent show had started and was now nearing the sixth contestant. None of the judges had given the last five brilliant scores and it took the edge off Xandia's nervousness and filled her with more confidence.
The sixth contestant had finished and, when the applause had gradually died down, her name was called. Her heart felt like it had entered her mouth and every part of her body pulsated. She got up and made her way to the stage but everything around her seemed fake like she was in a dream and would wake up at any second.
She heard shouts; familiar shouts. She looked up at the crowd and could see Harriet and her friends cheering for her.
"You can do it!" Harriet shouted. "Do it for all of us!"
Xandia grinned and her heart felt lighter and warmer. Her legs felt stronger and stopped shaking. She didn't feel nervous anymore and felt that she could do anything now.
She walked onto the stage, her head held up high and the grin unfading. She sang. It was loud to her ears, consistent in tone and brimming of emotion. She thought of Harriet and her friends and how lucky she was to have them. As if spurred on by positive emotions, her voice grew stronger. Suddenly, she felt like she was on top of the world. When she had finished the whole audience erupted into cheers and applause.
The Grarrl lifted the score card up. It read 90. That didn't matter. He had been dubbed the 'mean' judge. Then it was the petite Aisha's turn. She had given Xandia 100 points and so did the other two judges. This time the audience erupted into even more cheers. She looked up at Harriet and her friends. Harriet had tears of happiness rolling down her dark cheeks and her chocolate eyes were shiny. She was smiling from ear to ear.
Cornelia was next. As expected the Usul did not falter once and was extremely confident with herself. The crowd seemed to erupt into a bigger applause for the Usul's performance but Xandia guessed it was probably just her imagination. Xandia was dreading what was so come next. Cornelia was sure to get top points.
The Grarrl had given her 92 points, taking points off for who knows what. No one really ever knew the reasons why. Now it was the Aisha's turn. She held up her card. The crowd gasped with shock and Xandia could hear the Usul's friends shouting abuse at the poor Aisha. She had given Cornelia a big fat nought on her scorecard. The other judge gave Cornelia a 10 while the other judge gave her five.
Cornelia erupted into fits of rage and stormed up to the Aisha, her eyes like slits.
"What is the meaning of this? I am the BEST! How DARE you give me no points? I'll get you for this! I have a gang of friends, you know! We'll come for you! Mark my word! And don't think you two are going to get away with only giving me such low points either!" she yelled pointing aggressively at the two other judges.
The Aisha jumped to her feet and stood face to face with Cornelia. Her expression was a stern one.
"Unlike you, I'm not going to raise my voice. I'm going to say this once and once only. I didn't give you any points because of your attitude. Shouting at people and thinking you are the best will get you nowhere. You have no one to blame for this but yourself. Now get out of this hall and stay out."
The Aisha slowly backed away and sat down in her seat. Cornelia stood there, her face numb. And then, throwing a dirty glance at Xandia, she turned on her heel and left, muttering words like "I'll get you!" and "How dare they?" under her breath. Xandia could only sigh in relief and she couldn't wipe the huge smile that began to creep onto her face.
The last contestant had performed and at last it was the moment everyone had been waiting for. The judges explained what was going to happen to the audience. The winner would be called out first to collect their gold trophy from the Grarrl. Then the runner-up would be called up to collect their silver trophy and finally the third place winner would collect their bronze trophy.
The judges stood before the contestants for what seemed like hours. The tension was so high you could practically cut it with a knife. Xandia dared not move her head. She looked straight at the judges and at the piece of paper that the petite Aisha was holding in her paws. From the corner of her eye, Xandia could see that everyone else was still and she could hear no sounds. It was like time had stopped. Her heart was beating so much it hurt and the throbbing could be felt in her head. She could taste iron in her mouth. It was as if she had been sucking on a Neopoint coin. And she sat, like the others, waiting…
"And the winner of the talent contest is…Xandia!" shouted the Aisha joyously. "Come on up Xandia to claim your prize!"
Xandia couldn't believe it. She had won! After all her hard work and devotion it finally paid off. If she thought the audiences applauds and cheers were loud when she had sung it was nothing compared to what they were like now. Arms were flailing upwards, screams were echoing throughout the hall, people were whistling and clapping and all for one little Kacheek, one who didn't let vanity get in the way of achieving what she wanted, one that thought she wouldn't she would never get noticed and one with the voice of an angel. With the devotion and hard work, she had done it.
The End