A few days passed since Moy began her transfer stay at Coch Draig Academy, and she used her time well. At her new friend and guide, Angharad's, suggestion, Moy decided to participate in the school's upcoming Eisteddfod, and show her Irish step dancing skills. It was a good thing Moy decided to pack her club's dancing outfit as a precaution. Also luckily for Moy, the school's auditorium, where the Eisteddfod was to be held, had a couple of large practice halls right next to it, with nice wooden floors that were perfect for her special tap shoes.
So she spent most of her time rehearsing a routine she thought of for the Eisteddfod, still wearing the Coch Draig uniform, but using the required tap shoes. Angharad often came by to see Moy practice, full of curiosity and amazement at her dancing. She even brought her tankery teammates to watch one time. Moy immediately clicked with Harrie's friends; Bronwyn (commander of an A13 mk2), Lynn (commander of a Vickers mk2), Megan (commander of a Tetrarch light tank), and Gwendolyn (commander of the Churchill mk1). They even went out and had drinks together at the White Hazel, to get to know each other better.
Eventually, the night of the Eisteddfod arrived. Moy sat in her dorm room, thinking about the up-and-coming performance. She was feeling both excited and nervous that she was performing in unfamiliar territory, but she told herself to be confident; she was proud of her dancing ability, and the people at this school would be fascinated by it, she was sure. Moy packed her dancing outfit in a bag and headed off to the auditorium.
Angharad and her friends were standing outside the door to the dressing rooms, waiting for Moy to arrive. The foyer was bustling with people talking and wandering around, eager for the Eisteddfod to begin.
"Do you guys think Moy is gonna be alright?" Lynn asked the group curiously.
"I don't know. There's quite a lot of talent here this prynhawn, she might be eaten alive," Megan responded.
"Yeah, I agree. We all had trouble when we tried to do some acts. I'm surprised we haven't been served on a silver platter yet." Bronwyn added.
Angharad was quick to reply. "She'll be fine. We all saw her practising, she will at least make it to the 'highly commended' spot, I'm sure of it". The others nodded in agreement.
Eventually, they saw Moy approaching them. "Prynhawn da Moy!" they all said in unison, waving at her.
"Evening cailini," Moy replied. "There's a lot more people here than I expected."
"Well, the Eisteddfod is one of the more popular events at this school, second only to the Rugby World Cup," Gwendolyn chirped. "How are you feeling?"
"Not gonna lie, I'm always nervous before a dance. I should be used to it but it always happens." Moy admitted with an equally nervous look on her face. "Well, if you girls don't mind, I'm going to get changed then head backstage."
"Alright then, we'll see you on stage," Angharad replied faithfully. They each gave Moy a pat on the shoulder as they started walking to the seating area, Moy felt a bit relaxed after that as she herself headed straight to the dressing rooms.
Later, Moy was fully dressed in her Irish Dance outfit, which was a bright teal top and short skirt with a white Celtic pattern, black stockings and the special heeled tap shoes. The top itself was very figure-hugging, but she was used to it. She looked at herself in one of the dressing room mirrors, took a deep breath for confidence, then headed off to the off-stage area.
As soon as Moy arrived off-stage with all the other student acts, there was an announcement from the host, signalling the start of the eisteddfod, followed by lots of applause. Moy sat by and watched all other performances by other Coch Draig students as she waited for her turn. There were mostly singing and instrument solos, poem recitals and group music acts, all of which Moy thought were interesting in one way or another, but nothing to really surprise her.
Eventually, her time had come. The announcer said: "And now, next up is a very special guest, a transfer student all the way from Shamrock School for Girls, here with her Irish step-dance routine, please welcome, Maiya Kodama!" Moy jumped up to her feet as the big applause broke out, and nervously but confidently walked onto the stage. She could see Angharad and the others amongst the big audience, which calmed her nerves a bit more. She gave a nod to a stagehand standing off-stage, signalling him to start playing her chosen background music.
"This is very exciting. I wonder what's going to happen," Bronwyn whispered to the others.
"Something better than those boring wannabe poets I'll wager," Megan whispered back.
Moy got her feet into the starting position, took a few short breaths to let herself become in sync with the music, stood up straight, giving way to her height and away she went. A short and snappy heel tap brought everyone's attention to her, her pose now spoke of elegance and grace as she placed her hand on her hip. This was soon followed by a few more taps as she side to side, her bosoms jiggling around despite their containment. Moy faced the crowd once again and began tapping her feet at a rhythmic pace, in line with the musical piece being played in the background.
This finally gave way to the iconic tap dance, each leg tapping one after the other. It started quite shyly, with barely a leg raise and a bent knee but as the music picked up the pace, the tapping increased in fervour, as the Shamrock girl was seen hopping around, snapping her feet with amazing speed and flailing her legs back and forth seamlessly. She began to move and leap around the stage, kicking legs high up without her feet tripping on landing and while still managing to keep her upper body stiff and straight. Angharad and the others were absolutely amazed by Moy's skill and coordination. The music began to intensify, and so did Moy's movements. Her feet were like a blur with the way they were snapping and tapping on the stage. Applause slowly began to break out, everyone's eyes couldn't keep up with her majestic steps. In and out, back and forth, side to side, Moy continued to wow the audience as she near the climax of her dance. She felt in her gut the end of the music coming close, so she mentally prepared herself. Eventually, with a final jump, Moy landed in a proud pose with her arms outstretched and her smoking feet in a cross-stance, exactly when the music gave its final 'boom'. Deafening applause broke out, with Angharad and her friends cheering the loudest. A big joyous smile spread across Moy's sweaty face as she looked at the audience and gave a gentle bow.
At the end of the day, Moy got second place, behind a Coch Draig girl who did a traditional singing solo, but she was still proud of herself and her new silver medal, and so were Angharad and the rest of the group. Even the other contestants were amazed by her dancing, and they applauded her from off-stage when she finished her routine. After all of that, Moy, feeling a bit flustered by that point, decided to head to the White Hazel to celebrate, and of course, the others agreed.