Friday
Christina stood back stage in her white poofy dress, wringing her hands, nervously. She was on second, had one costume change to a really slutty outfit, then went on with Raphael. She looked out on stage and watched Carla perform. Truth be told, the girl wasn't all that great. When she went up high, it hurt the ears.
"Are you all right, Chris?" Raphael asked as he came behind her. He put a hand on her shoulder for comfort, but it didn't help. They had practiced and practiced, but Christina couldn't get the bad feeling out of her body.
"I don't know. I'm really nervous. And I have a really bad feeling," she answered. As if right on command, Carla hit a bad note. Everyone heard something snap up above, by the fly. One of the backdrops for the end of the year school play was falling and coming straight for Carla's back. The audience stared and pointed in horror. Carla took note of this and turned around. Before one of the stagehands could push her out of the way, the large, heavy backdrop hit her and pushed her to the floor. There was a crack when she hit the floor. The whole auditorium was silent. Audience, Backstage, everyone. They were all staring.
Finally, a stagehand rushed out to her. Two others ran out and pushed the backdrop off of her, then helped her up.
"Ouch!" Carla yelled when one of them grabbed her left arm. "Don't touch that!" When she was up on her feet, the music teacher came out on stage.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, ladies and gentlemen. We'll take a short break and be back with Christina Daaylen." She helped Carla off stage and called for an ambulance. The stagehands fixed the backdrop and made sure it wasn't going to fall again. About ten to fifteen minutes later, the curtains opened again. Raphael had to almost push Christina on to the stage, she was so nervous.
"What is your name?" one of the judges sitting in front of the stage asked.
"Christina Daaylen," she answered. She spelled out her last name for them as well.
"And your song?" the same judge asked.
"'Think of Me', from the Opera 'Hannibal'," she answered. They thanked her and she went on singing. When she was done, she had a standing ovation and the judges were nodding to each other. She took a bow, then walked off stage and was greeted by Raphael. He gave her a kiss.
"Great job, baby," he said. "Now go change. We go on soon." She smiled then ran off to the girl's dressing room. Melody was already there, to help her get into her costume.
"You were great out there, Chris!" Melody exclaimed as she helped her friend get out of the white dress. Melody handed Christina her black dress and hung up the white one. Christina slipped the dress on. It was a tube dress, asymmetrical around the bottom, where it ended around the knees, and a red flower on the top by her right arm. She put black eyeliner around her eyes, and dark red lipstick. Then, she turned to Melody.
"Thanks, Mel. Get back to your seat. We're going on soon," Christina said to her best friend, who hurried out of the dressing room. A minute later, there was a knock on the door, while Christina was fastening her black high-heeled shoes. "Come in!" Raphael entered, wearing his costume, to match hers. Black pants and a red shirt.
"It's time, Chris. Let's go," he said, and hurried her out of the room. They got out onstage. They went through the same process Christina had gone through. Then, they sang the song. When they ended, they were both breathing hard and they didn't move. Everyone stared for a while, then started to clap wildly. Even the judges seemed to enjoy it. They both bowed and ran off stage, really excited.
"That was so great!" Christina exclaimed backstage. "I think it was the best we've ever done it." Raphael had to agree with her. There was a lot of passion flowing between them by the end of the song, and the judges knew it. While the others were performing, Raphael and Christina went to the vending machines just outside the auditorium to get some water.
"I believe we stand a chance, my dear," Raphael said between gulps of water. Christina took a sip of it. "But let's get back in there. There were only two performances after ours and they should be just about over." The pair went backstage again, just as the second performance was ending. When the stage was clear, the judge who had asked for Christina's name and song got up on the stage.
"Thank you all for attending this wonderful performance. We've seen a lot of talent here tonight, no doubt. If you don't know why we are here, I'll explain. We're here tonight to single out the best singers here, one male, one female, and give them a full tuition to a University is Paris, plus a chance to compete against people all over the world in the famous Paris Opera House." There were all kinds of 'Oooo'ing coming from the audience. "Alright, alright, settle down everyone. Let's get down to business. We judges have all agreed." All the singers who were standing backstage were full of anticipation. Christina was wringing her hands again, and Raphael was trying to stop her. "The male we have chosen is Raphael Chase. And the female is Christina Daaylen. Let's here it for them!"
Christina couldn't believe it. She stood there, frozen in her place. She won? And Raphael, too? The voice teacher pushed the two out on stage, where they were greeted with thunderous applause. Melody, Christina's family, and Raphael's family were screaming for them. They were also all sitting together. Raphael grabbed Christina around the waist and kissed her, on the lips, which warmed her up.
"We won, Raphael," she said, quietly, breaking away from the kiss.
"I know, Hon," he said. Finally, the crowd died down, and Christina accepted the microphone from the judge. She grabbed Raphael's hand as she spoke.
"Thank you all so much. Both of us would like to thank our families, who have encouraged and helped us all the way through our singing careers. I'd also like to thank Melody Gifford, my best friend. She's been to every concert we've been in, and she helps me backstage with my costume changes. I couldn't ask for a better friend and I hope she is successful in Paris, where she will also be going to college." She handed the microphone to Raphael.
"And, I think that the love of my life, Christina, here, has said about everything that needs to be said. Thank you all, very much," Raphael said into the microphone before handing it back to the lady.
"Thank you for coming and have a safe trip home!"