"Look Gardener." At the sound of her surname, Tea balled her fists. She felt like Kaiba was mocking her, by continually, stubbornly using her surname despite her specific request to call her Tea. She had thought the previous days' events had brought them closer. But obviously it hadn't.
She barely listened to Kaiba talk about his independence. She had truly believed they had become friends. She had thought perhaps that he liked her. But she had been wrong. He never had and it seemed he never will.
On a sudden impulse she blurted out, asking why he had chose her at the very beginning. Kaiba knew, if only just a little, what she would be like as a companion. So if he was so 'independent' why did he choose her, the ultimate teamplayer.
"Do you really think I would have chosen you at of all my options? I was going to choose Yugi. But my time run out and that damn computer randomly chose you. And I've been suffering for my hesitation ever since." The tone, his words knocked the wind out of her. There it was. He hadn't wanted her at all. What had she been thinking? Kaiba like her? She almost laughed out loud at her stupidity.
Interrupting her inner monologue she became aware of heavy footfalls and looked up to see Kaiba walking away from her. She hated being alone and knew that being alone wasn't a good idea for either of them. The stubborn part of herself chipped in, telling her to grow up. She had to become more like Kaiba: strong, independent, care less. Who needs a stuck up jerk like him anyway? She thought watching Kaiba walk further and further away. With this she turned away from the retreating boy and began to walk down the unknown corridor.
Walking down the corridor Tea began to notice voices whispering from behind the doors that lined the corridor. The more she paid attention to them, the more frightened she felt. This was seriously spooky. This, together with the ceilings appearing higher and the corridor narrower than before, was making her feel extremely uneasy. She slowly increased her walking speed with the whisperings becoming more and more intense. She had almost broken into a run when she heard her name being whispered behind one of the doors. She abruptly came to a halt and reached for the doorknob, curious despite her uneasiness.
As she cautiously opened the door she heard a loud cheer and a spotlight suddenly trained on her. The room was huge and she recognised it as a stage, the cheering originating from a huge audience she could just make out. She looked down at the floor, almost blinded by the light, and her lack of apparel caught her eye – she was no longer wearing her everyday clothes but a leotard and leg warmers; her dancewear. A voice sounded startling her and quietening the crowd.
"And now, the auditionee you've all been waiting for, the one, the only Tea Gardener!" The cheers erupted again, even louder than before.
Tea hesitated, something in her mind was telling her this wasn't real. But a larger part of her was saying that this was very important. However, both sides of her agreed that it was important that she danced.
The crowd fell silent as the music began. Tea sighed. It was Swan Lake. She had been practising this routine for so long. It was going to be her audition piece for Julliard Academy. This would be an excellent trial run. She waited until the introduction was finished then tiptoed on point gracefully across the stage. Ignoring the whoops of the crowd she began to dance, remembering the routine perfectly and letting each movement flow freely and fluidly into the next. She heard noon send noticed nothing, giving herself completely to the music. She pirouetted, reached and spun with ease.
The music swelled, the climax and finale of the piece almost at hand. Tea took a deep breath – this was the part of her routine that she had practiced the most. Suddenly the music stopped and Tea teetered on a move, steadying herself after the sudden shock. She looked around, confused. The crowd had started to mutter
The music swelled to a climax and Tea prepared herself for her finale; she had worked long and hard at this particular section, just as she was about to finish the music stopped and a voice on a microphone said in a bored voice.
"We have seen enough, thank you. Move forward to the centre of the stage please." Tea stopped immediately and looked around confused. She was covered in sweat and panting from the exertion of her dance. It was obvious that she was about to enter her final sequence – why had they stopped her? Not wanting to be impertinent, she gracefully stepped to the centre stage and looked placidly toward the judges' desk which was situated in the centre of the crowd.
The original microphoned voice began once again, "Thank you Tea for that-" he paused, "performance." Tea knitted her eyebrows together. She had thought it had gone well, perfectly even. But the tone and words of the person suggested they had thought otherwise.
"Over to you Julliard judges, has Tea impressed you enough? Will you accept her into your dance school?" Tea's breath caught in her throat. This was her audition? She looked back at the judges her eyes wide as they talked quietly. Whispers carried through the auditorium form the crowd. Tea felt self-conscious standing in the spotlight doing nothing. She chewed nervously at her lip, hoping, praying that the judges gave a favourable outcome.
A tap on the microphone indicated that the judges were ready. The judge's voice that had stopped her rang out through the auditorium. "We have discussed and have come to a unanimous decision." Tea held her breath, crossing her fingers behind her back. Her dreams were about to ...
"And we do not want you." The voice continued unaffected by Tea's sudden trembling. "You are sloppy, uneducated and unbalanced. Julliard only accepts the best. And you Miss Gardener are most certainly not the best. You are dismissed."
Tears streamed down her cheeks as Tea left the stage. She had failed. She hadn't got into Julliard. Her one and only dream had been shattered. As soon as she had reached the curtains she put her head down and ran, not caring in which direction. She brushed past people standing in the wings, she heard some of them laugh but she didn't stop. She had to escape.
After a while she came to notice there were no longer people on either side of her. She slowed down to a halt and looked in front of her. She jumped backwards in surprise; a lady was standing a few feet in front of her. Her mother.
"Mummy…?" Tea asked hesitantly before running at her mother, throwing her arms around her and sobbing hard into her chest. "I didn't get into Julliard." She managed to hiccup out. Meanwhile Tea's mother had remained passive, standing still, not even bothering to hug her back. Her first flicker of movement was to untangle Tea's grip and push her gently back.
Tea looked into her mother's face and saw her wearing a grim expression.
"Your father is waiting for you." She said, "You must go and see him." She gestured to a door that looked like the entrance to a dressing room. A spark of fear lighted within Tea. She had not seen her father in almost a month but he still struck fear into her heart. Flashbacks of what had happened to her in the past by his hand flitted through her brain and she thought about fleeing, dreading what he would do to her now.
She heard his cold voice say her name, ordering her to go to him. She threw one wild look to her mother who did not return her gaze. She would have to go to her father. She took a deep breath and trying to steady her racing heart she entered the room. She had been right about it being a dressing room. There were clothes rails on which hung many different costumes. One of the walls was lined with mirrors and dressing tables, with bulbs framing the mirrors, like Tea had seen in the old movies. She looked around, she couldn't see her father anywhere. She was just going to call out for him when she heard his deep voice and shivered.
"So it appears that you aren't as good as dancing as you thought you were." He said darkly from behind her. She turned around quickly but not before she felt something make contact with her head and she fell backwards. She knew this was going to happen. She scrambled away from her father as he walked towards her with his muscles flexing. "Get up you pathetic creature," He said spitting at her. She obeyed, not wanting to get kicked. "No daughter of mine should crawl like some beggar. You disgust me." He turned her around, grabbing her shoulders tightly pushing her further into the room. She let out a cry as she felt his nails dig into her delicate shoulder skin. He chuckled, but let go slightly and just pushed her with his hand. Eventually they walked into a more open space and her father through Tea to the ground and she hit her head hard on the ground.
Groaning she looked around. There seemed to be more than one of her father and they all had the same sadistic grin that plagued her nightmares. She backed away but could not move further before he kicked her in the stomach. She flipped over onto her front, clutching her stomach.
"Don't you see Tea, this is all your fault." He said, "You deserve to be in pain for what you have done. You have disappointed me and your mother. Again." At this point Tea had began to cough, blood coating the floor in front of her. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." He stopped down and wrenched her hair, pulling her neck back to face him. Tea whimpered. "But don't worry, I am going to put your mother and I out of our misery. You have disappointed us for the last time. Soon we won't have a daughter to be disappointed by." He pulled Tea to her feet by her hair and punched her in the face laughing as she feel to the ground, once again hitting her head.
Tea's world flickered and she knew she was going to die. She was used to death threats, but this time it was different, her father had a wicked gleam in his eye and this time she knew he was serious. She helplessly tried to roll into a ball to cover her vital organs but her arms and legs didn't seem to want to move. Her father laughed mercilessly and Tea knew it was over. But before her world completely blacked out she heard a deep voice which she at once recognised.
"Leave her alone." The voice said, his voice ringing with power.
The shadow hovering over her appeared to retreat slightly before laughing. "And what are you going to do about it, wise guy? What is she to you?"
"She is my friend. Now leave her alone or face the consequences." The voice said menacingly. That voice. The voice Tea knew so well, the voice of… Yami...
