Chapter 13: Have Mercy

"Straighten those legs!"

Elphaba watched the two girls and boy perform their jazz piece while Madame Morrible yelled her corrections. It was the final rehearsal before the first competition tomorrow.

She was very nervous. They had two duets and two trios. Elphaba was in a contemporary trio with two other girls, Jessy and Leiha, and they had just finished their choreography yesterday. She watched the three dancers in front of her, but at the same time, she went over her own dance in her head.

The three dancers hit their final positions and the other seven clapped.

"Other than what I've said, any critiques?" Morrible addressed the dancers sitting at the front of the room.

They all turned to look at each other, shaking their heads softly. A hand went up.

"Jorel?"

"Penelope," he addressed the taller of the two girls, "you tend to sing the song while you're dancing. Just try not to do that."

Everyone nodded and the group received one final applause. "Good job ladies and gentleman. Final group please," Morrible motioned to Fiyero to switch the music CD's.

Elphaba stood up and helped her partners move their prop, a gray couch, to the center. Looking at the other girls, she wondered if they were put in a trio on purpose; Leiha had very pale skin while Jessy had a caramel complexion and she, well, was green.

They sat down and waited for the music.

It was a bit hard for all three of them when they were first learning the choreography. The song that had been chosen for their routine was acapella, which had made it a bit hard to find accents in the music to match the dance moves. Eventually after practicing for hours last night, they'd finally found their musicality and all three girls were more comfortable in doing the dance.

Elphaba was a bit intimidated, if she was honest. She was dancing with two veterans. These girls had been on the team before, had danced together, and knew more about what was expected in a competition. She feared looking out of place next to them. Well, even more than she already did with her green skin. All she could do was dance as best as she could, after all, she'd gotten on the team for a reason.

The music faded and all three of them were once again sitting on the couch with Leiha laying across both their laps. Claps resonated in the room and Elphaba steadied her breathing, standing up along with her partners.

"Very good ladies." Morrible clapped. "Any notes?"

She hadn't heard her dance teacher yell anything during their routine so she guessed for the most part they performed well.

"Elphaba?" One of the new guys, Kaiden maybe, called her. She nodded.

"You're a beat ahead on the head spring, it's probably because you're so much taller than Leiha and Jes. Just make sure to lift yourself up in the air more and go a little slower."

Elphaba nodded again, a small smile on her face at how nice he'd been about it.

"That'll be all for tonight. Rest well, we have a big day tomorrow. You're dismissed."

Everyone left the room while Elphaba stayed behind, waiting for Fiyero. He always made sure the room was clean and organized after they'd used it.

"Hey," she sighed once he walked to her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She shrugged, her eyes wide. "I don't know if I can do this every week."

"It's not as bad as it sounds." He rubbed her shoulder.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Was it hard for you? Your first competition season?"

"It was the scariest one that's for sure." Elphaba chuckled. "But ultimately, you're doing something you love. It starts to feel less like a competition and more like a fun workshop," he reassured.

"I'm just really scared." She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Of?" Fiyero rubbed her back soothingly.

"So much: hurting myself, forgetting my dance, letting everyone down."

"Well, let me give you some advice." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and they walked towards their rooms. "As far as injuring yourself, you'll be fine. You have great technique, and you stretch everyday. If you're worried about forgetting your dance, here's something that helped me. Don't stress about it too much; if you keep telling yourself you're going to forget the dance, trust me, you will. Just listen to your music a couple times a day, close your eyes, and imagine the choreography in your head. It'll enhance your muscle memory. If you blank out on stage, your body will respond to the music."

She cut in out of curiosity. "Have you ever forgotten a dance on stage?"

"Oh yes." They shared a soft laugh. "If worst comes to worst, improvise. You're good at that. And your last worry, on letting everyone down, you're not going to do that. About half the people in this group have been in your shoes and know what it's like to go into competition without any prior experience. They'll probably be more understanding than you think if something does go wrong." Elphaba knocked in the wooden wall three times and Fiyero chuckled. "You're all a team and have each other's back. Everything will be ok."

Elphaba hugged his waist. "If you say so," she instantly felt so much better. She was so grateful to have him. "Alright, we better go to sleep."

Fiyero nodded. "See you in the morning." He squeezed her shoulders one more time.

"Mhm, I love you." She smiled at him.

"I love you too."

"I like how you did it. Elphaba, would you mind doing theirs too?"

Madame Morrible hadn't been exactly precise on what kind of stage makeup she wanted for their routine. When she asked to see all three girls, they were all slightly different. Elphaba had chosen a slightly sparkling pink lipstick with an eyeshadow that matched her emerald green skin tone and darkened towards her outer eyes. It really brought out her eyes.

The green girl nodded and all of them headed back to their chairs and mirrors. She started with Jessy first. After blending a couple colors, she finally found something close to her skin tone. "Close your eyes."

Leiha had managed to style her hair and place her hair piece when Elphaba switched to do her makeup.

"Five minutes everyone!"

"Crap," Elphaba muttered under her breath. She still needed to style her hair. "Ok, you're good." She snapped the palette shut and went to her own mirror.

"You need help?" Jessy and Leiha appeared in the mirror.

"Um…" She really did. "Yes please."

Leiha nodded and turned to Jessy. "Go get her hairpiece."

She brushed Elphaba's hair quickly so that it was smooth when she placed it in a ponytail. She quickly made a braid from it. "Your hair is gorgeous."

"Thanks."

Jessy came back with her hairpiece. "Ok, just tell me if I'm pushing too deep."

She dug the clip into the front left side of her head while her braid was being wrapped in a bun. "Ow." She lightly touched Jessy's wrist.

"Sorry!" Jessy clipped the hairpiece, secured with a couple bobby pins. "Shake your head a bit."

"Not yet! I need to secure her braid. And…one last pin…done!"

Elphaba shook her head. Everything stayed in.

"Dancers, let's go!"

"Yay, we did it!"

Elphaba was caught off guard when Jessy hugged her shoulders from behind, but she managed to squeeze her forearms.

"Let's go."

She wouldn't say she was friends yet with her teammates, but so far, everyone seemed to treat her just like any other person. After all, they really needed to trust each other if they were going to spend the next four months doing so many routines. If they had already insulted her skin, she hadn't heard them say anything out loud or to her directly yet.

Elphaba was going over their routine backstage. "Right, up, head down," Elphaba muttered, moving her arms and legs. "Arch back, développé, down."

"We're next." Jessy went up to Elphaba, and Leiha followed.

"Ok, we got this." Leiha bounced. "It's our first time dancing together, we just learned this dance. But we work so well together, we're all talented."

"Let's have fun." Elphaba smiled.

"And let's beat the crap out of them," Jessy pointed to their teammates on the stage and all three girls laughed.

Elphaba felt both her hands get grabbed. "Breathe in, breathe out." She felt her heartbeat slow down.

The audience's applause snapped them out of their small trance. Backstage workers placed their couch on the stage. "Here we go."

Their studio, dance number, and names were announced. The three girls stepped out on the stage and sat.

The music played. "When I count" right "all" up "my blessings" down.

Elphaba was shaking slightly, but a look at her partners, seeing that she wasn't alone. It calmed her down. The audience faded and it was just the three of them. She let the music drive her movements and facials. Her adrenaline rose.

"Sinking down under the water, slipping down under.'' Left, right, up, down, kneel, roll. Straightening her legs and pointing her toes were second nature. She slowly slid into her middle split then got on her knees. Her body rose to her toes and turned backwards to roll on the ground.

"Tell me what is it you care for? Is there even a care at all?" Kick, up, reach right, turn, drop to the ground.

"The world that I know. The world that I know." Grab, step step, lift, drop, down.

It went by quick. Soon, the last few vocals of their song played, found her spot on the edge of the couch, and felt Leiha's arms draped across her lap. The euphoria she felt when the audience clapped was indescribable.

"In second place, 'Break My Heart' Meadows Dance Academy!" All the dancers on stage, and the audience clapped as the duo went up to accept their award from the host.

Elphaba fidgeted. So far, all the dances the team had done have placed in the top ten. But her trio hadn't been called yet. Either they're first or not even in the top ten. The latter thought made her nauseous.

"And the overall top scoring duo/trio is…'Have Mercy' Shiz Dance Studio!"

Elphaba's eyes widened and her teammates hugged her. She got pulled to the front of the stage and along with Jessy and she knew, a medal was in her hand, and Jessy held their trophy.

All the dancers took a bow and sat down in their designated area. There were still more awards to be handed out, so it was a while before they could finally head back to the dressing room. Once they did, the ten dancers exchanged hugs all around, and Elphaba was actually shocked at how willing everyone was to give her one as well.

Madame Morrible came in with Fiyero following behind her. Elphaba ran straight to Fiyero and hugged him tightly.

"I told you you'd be great." He whispered and squeezed her tighter.

"Thank you." For everything. That went without being said.

They pulled apart, and most of the girls on her team queued up to hug him as well. Elphaba went for her turn to give Madame Morrible a hug.

The small celebration settled down and all the dancers sat down in front of their mirrors to take off their makeup, costumes, and the girls, their hair.

"While you're doing that, listen up," Morrible said. "Great job out there today. Congratulations to all of you, especially Leiha, Elphaba, and Jessy for bringing home a win." Everyone clapped and Elphaba felt a small blush reach her cheeks. "However, there is always room for improvement. Check your schedules. At our next rehearsal I will talk more in depth about some mistakes and things that could have been better and you will be able to watch your performance as well. The medals are yours to keep; the trophies will go to the studio. This may not always be the case. I will let you know for the rest of our competitions. Anything to add Fiyero?"

"Don't get too comfortable. More will be expected from you each week if we want to accumulate enough points to go to nationals," he warned.

Elphaba let out a sigh of relief as she finally pulled out the laat bobby pin from her head.

"I'll see all of you back at the hotel for dinner. Until then, you may have some time for yourselves." She waved and stepped out of the room.

"Mr. Tiggular, how many points did we get for today?" One of the oldest dancers, Hunter, asked.

Fiyero glanced over his notes. "50. Five and five for eight and seventh place. 15 for third and 25 for first."

"And how many points do we need this year to qualify for nationals?" Another veteran, Tati, asked.

"900. If we stay with 50 points per competition, with the 18 we have left we'll be well past that number at the end of the season."

"If we were to put in more routines, would our chances of getting more points go up?" Penelope asked.

Jerol cut in to answer. "Well sure, but competitions are hard."

"It's not easy for all your routines to place, we got lucky this week," his twin brother, Jojo, finished.

"We just need to aim high every competition then. The stakes are high if 900 is the number to reach this year." Robin, who was almost as young as Elphaba voiced out.

Elphaba leaned back in her chair. Oz, she thought, it's uphill from here.

Once all costumes were returned and everyone was dressed in their own clothes again, Kaiden suggested they go have sundaes to celebrate.

"But not the food truck we went to last year. I get diarrhea just looking at it." Hunter said.

"There's a creamery near the hotel; we can just go there." Jessy recalled. "Fiyero, want to join us? It's ok if we call you that right?"

He smiled and nodded. "Sure. Of course it's ok."

"Then let's get out of here. I'm hungry as hell," Jojo exclaimed.

Robin arched a brow. "What'd you have for breakfast?"

Jerol snorted. "He skipped."

"Pff then that's on you!" Tati laughed.

As everyone left the room, Elphaba's eyes widened at Fiyero.

"Holy monkeys."

He chuckled. "What? The competition or your teammates?"

"Well, the competition itself wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. You were right: it was more thrilling than anything. And yes, them too. I didn't really expect to be included with them."

"I told you, you all have to be in this together. And you are. I'm glad."

Elphaba smiled widely and hugged him again, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hey." Jessy popped her head in. "Are you guys coming or not?" She disappeared again, and both Elphaba and Fiyero grabbed their backpacks and exited the dressing room.

After ordering their ice cream at the creamery, she couldn't help but be reminded of the time she'd gone to one of these with Fiyero. It was the same atmosphere, friendly and casual and fun. Elphaba couldn't help but lean into Fiyero's shoulder. To think at the time, she'd been internally lamenting herself that he would probably never even find her the slightest bit attractive. And now a couple weeks ago he'd said he loved her and she did too.

Now it was a matter of time and being patient. But that didn't mean she couldn't show him some sort of affection. Maybe even drop hints at what she felt as well. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel even a little smug at feeling his heartbeat increase when they were close.

That's a wrap on the first competition of the season! And just to keep track, here's all the team members as well as if they're New or a returning Veteran:

Girls

Elphaba (N)

Jessy (V)

Leiha (V)

Tati (V)

Penelope (N)

Boys

Kaiden (N)

Hunter (V)

Jojo (V)

Jerol (V)

Robin (N)

And Jojo and Jerol are twins.

Here is the trio I described. I pictured Elphaba being the girl that starts out at the very left, the tallest one: www . youtube watch?v=pScGVDHGuak&list=WL&index=15

Hope you liked it! R&R!