Anonymous reviews:
ika tako gamer: You had made two reviews since the last chapter, so I'll answer the questions in both. Yes, the Chaos vs. Order Splatfest will happen; it'll be the last thing happens in this story. It's still far, but it's closer now than it was two years ago! (And yes, I'm hyped for Splatoon 3!) Anywho, here's Alexis and Bonnie's gear:
Alexis: Bobble Hat, Pirate-Stripe Tee, FishFry Sandals (they're orange, but they use the socks from the red version of those sandals). As of "Inkopolis Bay," she wears White Seahorses instead. She wears shorts.
Bonnie: Retro Specs, Dark Urban Vest, Navy Enperrials. She wears sweatpants.
For the second question, the Rainbow Squids do not know about Agent 3 and the New Squidbeak Splatoon at the start of the story, but they do later on. Cap'n Cuttlefish has told the story of what happens in Splatoon 1's hero mode to squids, but most people don't believe him.
With that out of the way, time for the story.
Octavia's PoV
"The Senior Singing and Dancing Contest is next Tuesday, and it's now open for contestants!" rang Alexis's voice through the speakers. "Sign-ups end Friday."
"A dancing and singing contest?" Via mused. "Ooh, sounds fun."
"I don't know," remarked the sunfish that sat next to her. "We'll get a bunch of jellyfish entering, and they'll just sing with bubbles instead of words."
"But any other species is fair game, right...?" the wavy-haired girl pointed out.
"Yeah yeah, I guess," she muttered. "Don't know how much dancing an eel can do though."
"Everyone, you can sign up for the contest during lunch," the teacher then spoke up. The majority of the glass groaned at her remarks. "Now now, class must begin. Now, turn to page 84..."
Her first class of the day proceeded, though it was slow. It felt like forever before lunch finally arrived and Octavia got to sit down with her friends. After the Rainbow Squids gathered at the table, they immediately began their conversation.
"Have you heard? The Senior Dance Contest!" Via enthused. "I'm totally gonna enter!"
"Don't you have to sing, too?" Geneva pointed out.
"I can sing, too," she insisted.
"I'm not entering," Bonnie murmured. "I get nervous..."
"Fair," Yuri remarked. "As long as I don't have to sing, I'll enter it."
"I think you have to do both," Inigo pointed out.
"Dang..." he breathed.
Via heard someone from behind her, and she turned around to see Octa Prisma approaching them. She raised an eyebrow, curious. What could they possibly want?
"I see you all are entering that contest," Giovanni remarked as soon as the rest of the Rainbow Squids noticed them.
"Err, no we're not," Perry corrected. "I didn't sign up for it."
"Yeah, what are you talking 'bout?" Roy concurred. "I didn't even look at the sign-up thing."
"Your names on are the sheet of sign-ups," Yvonne revealed. "So, you signed up!"
"What?" The red-haired boy's eyes narrowed. "You have to be joking."
"She is not lie," Iris attested. "You can do the look for yourself."
He sighed and rose from his chair, gesturing his friends to do so as well. "Let's go look."
They walked out of the cafeteria together with Octa Prisma, approaching a small table where two members of the student council, a sea urchin with hair sticking out in all directions and a sturgeon who made everyone else seem like dwarves, were seated. Upon their arrival, Roy immediately took the sign-up sheet off the table and read it.
"Dear cod, our names really on here," he growled, his voice seething with anger. He slammed the sheet down on the table, making the urchin flinch and hide behind her sturgeon friend. "Did you guys sign us up?"
Via took the sheet to examine it for herself. Indeed, all of the Rainbow Squids' names were written down on it. What she found even more confusing was how their names were up towards the top of the list. She studied the handwriting for a few moments. She swore that she's seen it before, but she couldn't think of who might have written it. Regardless, it had to be someone she knew.
"No, we did not!" Oscar lifted his hands up, orange eyes wide. "I swear!"
Inigo took a step towards them, taking a paper out of his pocket and grabbing the pen off of the table. "Then prove it."
Iris stared at him. "...How?"
"Write my name." He glared at the group of octolings. "All of you."
"Alright, alright." Giovanni took the piece of paper and wrote something down on it. He passed it off to Iris, who wrote Inigo's name next. She took a while to write it, but when she finally finished, she handed it off to Yvonne, who proceeded to give it to Oscar. After Oscar finished, he gave it back to the indigo-haired boy.
Octavia gave the sign-up sheet to Inigo, where he proceeded to compare the two pieces of paper. The entire time, she hovered over his shoulder, examining them as well. She could tell right away that the octolings were telling the truth—all of them had rather curly handwriting, while the person who signed the Rainbow Squids up barely had any curls to their characters. She supposed it made sense, based on the Octarian texts she sometimes saw her dad studying. The octolings' handwriting did have their unique quirks, though. Giovanni wrote in all capital letters, making his handwriting stand out. Oscar's handwriting was sloppy, the characters all close together. Yvonne had neat handwriting in comparison, hers being extra curly. Iris had the neatest handwriting, all characters thoughtfully spaced out. The mystery person, on the other hand, seemed to write fast, the sizing of the characters inconsistent. At least theirs wasn't as bad as Oscar's.
Inigo set down the sign-up sheet. "Well, you passed," he said. "You definitely didn't write this."
"Told ya!" Yvonne jeered.
"Oh..." Bonnie frowned, closing her eyes as she brought her hands up to her chin. She took a deep breath and turned towards the student council members. "Can we drop out?"
"No," replied the sturgeon. "Sign-ups are final."
"Dang it... Now I have to do it."
"Eh, I would've signed up anyways," Perry commented. "Maybe my SplatCloud will get more popularity if I sign up."
"Me too," Via agreed. "But for the dancing. I don't think I'm a good singer. I mean, people say they like my singing, but I'm not super good like the choir squids. They're amazing, aren't they?"
"Fable's in choir, right?" Yuri inquired. "That reminds me, I haven't seen her in a while."
"I think she had to get surgery," Bonnie chimed in. "I remember hearing someone talk about it."
"Geez, surgery?" Inigo yelped. "I'm not even going to ask what happened."
"Anyways, because you were forced to sign up..." Giovanni began, crossing his arms and putting on a smirk. "...We, Octa Prisma, will sign up as well!"
The Rainbow Squids merely stared at him.
Gio's face fell as he lowered his arms. "Seriously? You have no reaction?"
"Maybe Alexis would've had a reaction," Via started, "but we don't really care." I don't think, at least.
The boy with the mohawk sighed. "Well then. We will still try to win."
"Mhm! We will be kicking butts!" Yvonne enthused.
Roy took a step forward and held out his hand. "Then may the best team win."
Gio took it, clenching the other boy's hand. "Same goes to you."
The Rainbow Squids and Octa Prisma parted ways, the inklings returning to their table in the cafeteria.
Well, there was no way out of it now.
Come the following Tuesday, Via found it relieving to go to the gym instead of her first class that morning. She didn't have to deal with her classmates, and she got to see her friends more that day, too. The first bell rung, and the Rainbow Squids were warming up in the corner.
The outfit the wavy-haired girl was wearing was perhaps not the most convenient, but it did make her look fashionable. She forgone wearing a hat in favorite of two simple, pearly earrings, which she thought made her eyes stand out more. Additionally, she wore a pink easy-stripe shirt, a skirt, and her orca hi-tops. She would've picked different shoes, but she was in a hurry to get out the door earlier, and those were the first pair of shoes she saw. She didn't want to be late.
Bonnie stretched her arms, a few beads of sweat rolling down her face. Her outfit was rather similar to her everyday outfit, with a few differences. She opted for contacts instead of her usual retro specs today, giving her an elegance she rarely saw in her blue-haired friend. Additionally, she wore a squid hairclip in her hair. She wore the same jacket that came with the dark urban vest, but she wore a simple grey t-shirt under it. Otherwise, her outfit was the same—she wore sweatpants and navy enperrials.
Geneva wasn't stretching at all, instead talking to someone, Eight she assumed, on her phone. She still wore the sneaky beanie, the mask covering her right eye. Additionally, she wore a white tank-top and jean shorts, an outfit that seemed rare on her. On her feet were athletic arrows. She glanced over at Inigo, who talked to Perry. Their eyes met for a few moments before looking away from each other, Inigo's expression turning into one of shame.
Speaking of Inigo, his outfit was not one she expected out of him. He wore a hothouse hoodie, but the sleeves were cut off. Because of the lack of sleeves, she could also see the black undershirt he wore underneath. But as usual, he wore shorts and a pair of N-pacer Ag. She supposed that he didn't deviate that much from his normal outfit.
Roy also didn't change his outfit too much. He had unbuttoned his varsity jacket, revealing the black tee underneath, and he wrapped his skull bandana around the top of his head, reminding her of the FishFry bandanas, but otherwise, his outfit was the same, too. The award for the most uncreative outfit would be Perry, though—he didn't even change his outfit at all!
Finally, there was Yuri, who was playing a workout routine on his phone, doing sit-ups alongside Roy. His studio headphones hung around his neck, and he wore a white King tank alongside some shorts and yellow-mesh sneakers.
Ten minutes later, the announcements played, and after they were done, the president of the student council, a blue-eyed inkling girl with tan skin and long, pink hair, stepped up to the microphone on stage, adjusting the tie on her baby-jelly shirt and clearing her throat. Then, she began to speak.
"Hey guys, welcome to the third-annual Senior Singing and Dancing Contest," she started. "My name, as you hopefully all know, is Ariel Aurata, and I'll be your host today, as well as a judge alongside three of our lovely teachers."
From the shadows, some familiar faces emerged, consisting of a blue sea slug, a rose-gold betta fish, and a scowling manatee. She recognized the manatee—it was Ms. Gong, her old physics teacher. Via soon found herself scowling as well.
"Ms. Gong!" she hissed through her teeth, looking over at Bonnie. The blue-haired girl lowered her arms, raising an eyebrow. "The physics teacher! She's gonna give everyone a bad score; I just know it!"
Bonnie frowned. "I hope not..." She looked back up to the stage. "Mr. Nema's there too. At least he'll give me a good score."
Via examined the teachers again. Who was the betta fish...?
"Yo, it's Miss Rosetail," she overheard Perry saying. "She's pretty, isn't she?"
"Eh," Inigo replied with a shrug. "I prefer inklings."
"Now, all contestants, please stand behind the judging table," Ariel continued. She pointed to an area behind a plastic table and chairs that was marked with blue tape, some other members of the student council waving their hands around at the perimeter of the rectangle. Everyone slowly shuffled towards it, fitting into the box neatly. It was crowded, but not too crowded.
A few minutes later, other people began pouring into the room. The student council members sat in their own section of the bleachers, but soon enough, she saw people she knew were not in student council enter the room, too. Quickly, the bleachers filled up, and Octavia came to a realization—the entire school was here to watch.
Via gulped. Normally, she wouldn't get nervous in these kinds of situations, but with people she knew watching her? It was enough to make anyone nervous.
"With everything settled..." Ariel's lips turned upward in a smirk. "Let the Senior Singing and Dancing Contest begin!"
Everyone in the room cheered. Ariel and the teachers bowed and walked off the stage, sitting down at the judging table. The tan-skinned girl had her own microphone, tapping on it for a few moments before speaking into it again.
Looking at a list, she announced, "Jellio Aequorea."
A jellyfish with stubby tentacles waddled onto stage, staring at the judges with beady eyes. After a few moments, they started to do...some kind of dance, shuffling their feet tentacles, pointing at the ground, and clapping before finishing it off by crossing their arms.
"Ah, I recognize that dance!" Mr. Nema commented after they finished. "I've seen squids in my class do that dance. They said it was from...Keeplier, I think it's called? Anyways, that gets a ten out of ten from me!"
"Contrary to Mr. Nema, I hate that dance," Ms. Gong followed up. "One out of ten."
"It's...something," added Miss Rosetail. "...Five out of ten?"
"As for me, I think it's funny. Seven out of ten," Ariel concluded. Looking up at the jellyfish again, she said, "You can go now."
The jellyfish merely nodded and walked off the stage.
"Now, next." The inkling girl looked at her list again. "Roy Blacktip."
"Roy already?" Octavia muttered. "Then I think I'll be after him..."
Roy pushed his way out of the crowd, walking up onto the stage. He planted his feet into the wooden ground, taking a deep breath and puffing up his chest.
"...Dance," Ms. Gong directed.
The red-haired boy exhaled and began to dance. He stepped to the side, clapping his hands before stepping to the other side. She recognized the dance as a fairly popular one, but she didn't see him winning the contest if he didn't change it up some. Luckily, he did. He spun around once, clapping his hands. He stepped to the side and spun around again. Then, he went back to the first pattern. At the end of his dance, he jumped up into the air and struck a victory sign as soon as he landed, lowering his head and closing his eyes as a smile appeared on his face.
Ariel clapped. "Wow, an unique take on that dance!" she exclaimed. "Ten out of ten!"
"It's good," Miss Rosetail muttered. "Seven out of ten."
"Fantastic!" enthused Mr. Nema. "Nine out of ten!"
Roy lifted his head and blinked. "Nine?"
"I have my reasons," ensured the sea slug.
"I'm giving you a two," Ms. Gong grumbled. "You're trying too hard to be fresh."
"OK..." Ariel wrote something down, and she called, "Next!"
The red-haired inkling grumbled and crossed his arms, lumbering off the stage and taking his spot in the crowd near the Rainbow Squids once more. Octavia opened her mouth to speak to him, but the irritation in his red eyes made her feel like he would scorch her with fire if she tried to cheer him up.
"Octavia Bobatal," the student council president then called.
A smile tugged at the bronze-skinned girl's lips. It's my turn now!
"Good luck," Bonnie whispered to her as she left.
Via looked back at her friend and nodded before she went up to the stage. Standing in the middle, she turned around to face the judges. Hopefully, her apparent dancing skills will help her. Before the judges could say a word, she began.
She lifted her heels off the ground, now standing on the tips of her toes. She brought her arms up so that her fingers touched, trying to keep herself balanced. She slowly rose her leg so that it was behind her, leaning forward as she spread her arms out. She took a glance at the judges, a nervous smile on her face. Ariel merely looked puzzled, and Ms. Gong looked as mean as ever, but the other two teachers watched with interest.
She stood up straight again, spinning around. Closing her eyes, she bent her knees and jumped as high as she could into the air, kicking her legs out and bringing them back together before she landed on the ground. She spun around some more, jumping up in the air again. After she landed once more, she tip-toed her way to the edge of the stage, lowering her feet as soon as she reached it and bowed, spreading her arms out and bringing an end to the dance.
After it was apparent that she was done, the room erupted in applause. She lifted her head, seeing the smiles of everyone as they clapped. Except Ms. Gong. She can't remember the last time Ms. Gong genuinely smiled. At least still clapped, if slowly.
"Well done, Octavia," the manatee commented.
The wavy-haired girl stood up straight. A compliment? From Ms. Gong? That's rare.
"Five out of ten," she concluded.
Via's face fell. She wasn't surprised in the slightest.
"I thought it was good," remarked Ariel. "I don't like ballet, though, so nine out of ten."
"You did beautifully," noted Miss Rosetail, placing a hand on her chest as she smiled. "Ten out of ten."
"Not my style, but it's good," Mr. Nema added. "Seven out of ten."
"Thank you," the tan-skinned girl finished. "Next."
"Thank you," she emphasized, and then she walked off the stage and rejoined the crowd, her heart beating fast in her chest. The judges liked her dance. Would anyone surpass her? She figured someone would, but even then, it would take a lot to impress Ms. Gong.
"Giovanni Briareus," Ariel then read.
The green-haired octoling stepped onto the stage, confident as ever. "You will like this," he proclaimed.
"Will we?" she tested.
"Yes," he affirmed. After that, Gio began to dance. He merely stepped to some sort of beat she couldn't hear, raising his shoulders up and down as he held his hands close to his sides. Via raised an eyebrow. This was just a dance from Squid Beatz 2! Why would he think he would win any medals for this?
After a minute of dancing, he clapped and spread his arms out, finishing. "What do you think?" he asked the judges.
"Terrible; one out of ten," Ms. Gong immediately answered.
"What? You are joking, right?" he perplexed.
"Why would I joke?" she challenged.
Giovanni thinned his lips, and then he inquired, "W-What about the other judges?" His eyes drifted over to them. "You liked my dance, right?"
"Nothing special," Ariel remarked. "Five out of ten."
"You made an effort, and making an effort is good," Mr. Nema told him. "Seven out of ten."
"It's eh," Miss Rosetail mused. "Four out of ten."
Gio let out an exasperated sigh and walked off the stage, saying nothing more as he returned to the crowd of people. Ariel continued going through the list of people, and Octavia watched as numerous people walked on stage, doing their dances. One squid fainted in the middle of the dance, so she had to be carried off-stage to the nurse's room, which unfortunately disqualified her.
Eventually, Yuri's name was called, and he walked up on stage, giving himself words of encouragement. After a few seconds, he got down to the floor and started breakdancing. Ariel leaned forward in her seat, curious. Everyone seemed memorized by his movements. Who knew Yuri could be so good at breakdancing?
Eventually, the dark-skinned inkling finished and got to his feet, panting. Once again, the audience began to clap, just like they did with Octavia. Yuri scanned the crowd, eyes wide. Eventually, he closed his eyes and smile, giving a nod.
He turned to the judges. "So, what's my score?"
"Ten out of ten!" Ariel declared, fanning herself. "Is it hot in here, or is it just me?"
"I think it's just you," Miss Rosetail deadpanned. She turned to Yuri and stated, "That was good, though. Nine out of ten."
"I thought it was spectacular," Mr. Nema revealed. "Ten out of ten!"
Ms. Gong adjusted her glasses, and she gave her score. "Four out of ten. It was too wild for me."
"Thank you," Yuri simply said, and then he walked off the stage.
Ariel took a deep breath and read the next name on her list. "Geneva Gonati."
Geneva pushed her way out of the crowd, onto the stage. After a few moments of silence, she began dancing like a robot, her movements stopping abruptly. Soon enough, Via realized that she was mimicking the movements of the Calamari Inkantation dance, though obviously she put a robot twist on it.
After she finished, she began to move more naturally again, crossing her arms and leaning to the side. "How was it?" she asked.
"Looks good," Mr. Nema remarked. "Nine out of ten."
"That was boring," Ms. Gong muttered. "Two out of ten."
"It's...unique," Ariel mused. "Six out of ten."
"Seven out of ten from me," concluded Miss Rosetail.
Geneva walked off the stage, and more contestants went, and soon enough, it was Bonnie's turn. Octavia mouthed good luck as she nervously emerged from the crowd, fiddling with her fingers as she walked to the top of the stage. She gulped, staring down at the judges.
"What's wrong, Largha?" the sea slug asked her.
"It's just..." She reached for her face, only to lower them soon after. "I just want to get this over with..."
"Then dance," Ariel informed her. "It's that simple."
"OK..." Bonnie extended an arm out, and then another one, flipping them over and placing them on her chest, then her head. Finally, she put them on her hips and spun around and did the dance again. After repeating it a second time, she spun around and spread her arms out, shaking her hands. "Ta da."
"That's a dance humans did, right?" Ariel questioned. Bonnie nodded in response. "You certainly brought something new here, that's for sure. Seven out of ten."
"That's a ten out of ten in my book," Mr. Nema declared. "Great job, Largha!"
"Six out of ten," Ms. Gong stated. "Nothing more, nothing less."
"Three out of ten," Miss Rosetail said. "I didn't like it."
"Oh..." Bonnie frowned and lowered her arms. "OK." Her head drooping, she walked off the stage and returned to the crowd. Once she came back, Octavia merely gave her a pat on the back and started to rub it. It was the best she could do.
Soon enough, it was Oscar's turn. He walked onto stage and started to play Calamari Inkantation on his phone. He set it down on the ground and danced along to the music, matching the movements the Squid Sisters did. Octavia found herself dancing to the Inkantation, too. After all, who wouldn't miss the opportunity to dance to this heavenly melody?
After he finished and the song faded out, the audience clapped. "Ten out of ten! I love Calamari Inkantation!" Ariel cheered, clapping her hands as fast as she could.
"And I hate it," Ms. Gong growled. "Two out of ten."
"The Calamari Inkantation is great in my opinion! Eight out of ten!" Mr. Nema scored.
"Seven out of ten," Miss Rosetail muttered, stifling a yawn. "Next."
"Yvonne Megale," Ariel read.
Yvonne skipped onto the stage, smiling. She simply twirled around and stomped on the ground before bringing her foot up to her knee, winking. After holding the pose for a few seconds, she placed her foot on the ground and proceeded to mimic Off the Hook's signature move, crossing her arms behind striking them outwards and wiggling her fingers.
"'Don't get cooked, stay off the hook!'" she recited. The octoling lowered her arms and asked, "Are you liking my dance?"
"It's simple, Yvonne. I like it," Ms. Gong commented. "Seven out of ten."
Via blinked, surprised. A high score from that sea cow? I can't believe it!
"Five out of ten," the student council president scored. "Nothing special."
"Seven out of ten from me," Miss Rosetail proclaimed. Mr. Nema had the same score, so they dismissed Yvonne and let the next contestant walk onto the stage.
Regarding the Rainbow Squids and Octa Prisma, the next one of them to go was Inigo. As soon as he got on the stage, he began flexing his arms, a smirk on his face.
"Like my muscles?" he asked the inkling girl sitting at the judging table.
"You don't have any," she pointed out.
"Huh? Still?" He rubbed the back of his head. "Even after all of that working out..." He shook his head and lowered his arms. "Enough of that. It's time for me to dance."
He began stepping forwards and backwards, much to Octavia's confusion. Eventually, he began snapping his fingers as he moved from place to place. He stopped halfway through a movement, and he paused before doing a clap. After that, he lowered his arms and stood up straight again.
"I don't remember the rest of that dance," he admitted. "I just saw it on the internet and thought it would work."
"An effort was made," Ariel assured him. "Seven out of ten."
"Seems snazzy," Mr. Nema mused. "Eight out of ten."
"I would've liked it better if you took the time to learn it," Miss Rosetail informed. "Five out of ten."
"You clearly didn't know it, I agree," Ms. Gong added. "One out of ten."
Inigo shrugged. "I least I tried." And with that, Inigo walked off the stage.
"Now... Perry Sculpin," Ariel called.
"Oh yeah!" Perry shouted from the crowd, turning the group's attention towards him. He super-jumped onto the stage, reforming into a kid as he landed and turned around to face the group. "Ya squids are gonna love this!" He pulled out his phone and started playing Color Pulse, but at the part where Pearl starts rapping.
He jumped up and down, mimicking the idol's movements as she sang her part. He even lip-synced the rap, something Octavia found impressive. After Marina began singing again, he stopped, picking up his phone and striking a pose.
After he finished, Ariel began to clap. "Interesting, interesting," she remarked. "Eight out of ten."
"Too wild," Ms. Gong chided, rolling her eyes. "One out of ten."
"Well, I think it's an accurate description of his personality," Miss Rosetail argued. She turned to face the purple-haired boy and informed him, "Your score is seven out of ten."
"And I give a seven out of ten," Mr. Nema concluded. "Done? Done. Now for the next person!"
"Joel Tetra," Ariel read. A clown triggerfish came onto the stage, though he was wearing actual clown make-up. "...What are you wearing?"
"What do you think?" he asked.
"Uh... Carry on."
Joel raised a hand to his forehead and the other to his stomach, making gestures as he quickly raised his legs into the air. Via knew the dance, but she usually saw little kids doing that dance. Soon enough, he finished, honking the plastic nose on him.
"Go ahead, judge me," he badgered. "My friends already made me wear this."
"Uh... I think you've been playing too much Keeplier," Ariel told him, raising an eyebrow. "Three out of ten."
"What? What's wrong with Keeplier?" Mr. Nema questioned, looking over at the inkling. "Oh, what gives. Six out of ten."
"You look ridiculous," Ms. Gong insisted. "One out of ten. Would've been a zero if I could give them..."
Miss Rosetail snorted. "I think it's silly. Five out of ten."
Joel rolled his eyes. "Just what I expected." He muttered curses to himself as he walked off the stage.
"Now... Iris Thaumo," Ariel proclaimed.
Iris walked onto the stage, putting her hands together. "I hope you score me good," she wished.
"We'll see," the tan-skinned girl challenged.
She pulled out her phone and began playing Tide Goes Out. Closing her eyes, the poufy-haired octoling began moving along to the beat, snapping her fingers and raising her arm, just as Marie would when she performed this song. Her moves lined up with the song almost perfectly, though some moves were clearly earlier or later than others. Iris didn't seem to care, though. Rarely did Octavia see her as calm as she is right now.
Soon enough, the song faded out, and Iris's indigo eyes opened. "What are you thinking?" she questioned.
"Beautiful, just beautiful!" Mr. Nema cheered, clapping with his stubby arms. "Ten out of ten!"
"Tide Goes Out is one of my favorite songs," Miss Rosetail revealed, placing a hand on her chest. "Ten out of ten."
"I like Bomb Rush Blush better," Ariel started, "but it was still very good. Nine out of ten."
"...Five out of ten," Ms. Gong concluded.
"Not perfect, but..." Iris crossed her arms. "It is good enough. Thank you."
Iris walked off the stage, and the dance contest raged on. Soon enough, the singing portion would come, and only then would they find the true winner.
A/N: Sorry that this is late. Again. :sob: If it wasn't obvious, part 2 will come next week. These chapters do bring up some interesting interactions and ideas, but they're not always my favorite to write. Well, regardless, see you next week for the conclusion of the contest, and Branchwing, out.