A few weeks passed and it was now a week until Christmas. Everyone in town was excited because that was the time the annual Christmas talent show was coming around.
One afternoon, Ella was in the backyard by herself while listening to some beautiful ballet music. As she listened, she closed her eyes and started to dance. As she glided across the lawn, she gently took a breath and smiled before she heard Megs cry out,
"Hey, Ellie! Come here! I want to show you something!"
Ella was startled, but she shuffled back into the house to see what Megs wanted to show her. When she made it inside, Megs was holding a poster and smiling excitedly.
"Look at this!" Megs cried.
"What is it?" Ella asked.
"They're holding auditions for the annual Christmas Talent Show! It's a big thing where a bunch of people around town show off their talents to the rest of the town." Megs explained. "And I think you should sign up! With your raw talent and your popularity, you'll win for sure."
"Win?" Ella asked.
"Of course! But I'm sure that'll be a snap with your skills. Hey, I have an idea. Maybe you should perform a dance! I saw you dancing earlier and you are phenomenal; I had no idea you were so graceful! If you do it, I know you'll win. Come on, what do you say?"
Ella heard about the talent show many times before, but she felt extremely nervous about it. She didn't really like the idea of standing on a stage all by herself with an enormous group of people watching her. She didn't want to participate at all.
"No." Ella said, shaking her head.
"What do you mean 'no'?" Megs asked.
"I don't want to do it."
"Why not? …Don't tell me you're scared."
Ella was silent and a blush formed on her cheeks.
"What's going on in here?" Ian asked as he walked into the living room.
"Ian…" Ella quietly exclaimed, turning around to look at her friend.
"Nothing, bro. It's just Ella over here doesn't want to be part of the Talent Show this year… even though I think she'll totally crush the competition… Not literally." Megs answered.
"Oh. Well, it's okay if she doesn't want to do it." Ian said reassuringly.
"Are you sure it isn't because she has stage fright?" The little girl said.
Ella cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"Stage fright that means that you're scared to do anything in front of a huge crowd of people." Ian replied.
"That's exactly how I feel." Ella said bluntly.
Megs paused and looked at Ella, then at her brother. She sighed in defeat.
"Okay, okay, fine. If Ella feels too uncomfortable about performing, I should respect that." Megs said, nodding her head in defeat before walking out of the living room. "But it was only a suggestion."
"Thank you." Ella said as she looked at Ian.
"No problem." Ian replied. "You know between you and me, I kinda thought you would sign up for the show. But it's totally okay if you don't want to do anything like that. You could watch safely from the audience just like everyone else."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Should I do anything else like the show?"
"No… I mean, not if you don't want to… Wait, why do you keep asking me these things?"
"But because I would do the show if you ask me to."
Ian was surprised; he knew Ella cared for him very much, but he didn't know that she would practically do anything for him if he asked her to do it… especially if it was something she didn't want to do. Before he could respond, he was suddenly interrupted by a familiar female voice.
"Hey, Ian!" Amanda called from outside. "I wanna talk to you!"
As Ian walked out the back door to speak with Amanda, Ella felt something inside of her… and it wasn't happy at all. It felt like… envy. As she watched Amanda wrap her arms around Ian's neck, Ella squinted her eyes and she angrily scratched her scissors against the wall. And with that, she walked off in a huff.
"Amanda? Would you mind letting go?" Ian asked, struggling to get himself free from Amanda's grasp. "You're hurting me."
"Ooh, sorry." Amanda said as she let go. "Hey, did you hear about the talent show this year?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I just got back from an audition in town… and I think I nailed it. With the routine I have planned, I'm gonna win for sure."
"Oh? Uh… cool, cool."
"That reminds me… is Ella going to try out?"
"What? Oh, no. No, no, no. She doesn't want to do it and I respect her decision."
"You know, I just don't get why you're around her so much. What about me? Don't you ever have any time for me anymore?"
"Amanda? What are you talking about? I spend time with you."
"Not lately. You've always been around that little freak ever since she came here."
"Hey! She is not a freak; she's a good person and you shouldn't talk that way about her… especially not behind her back."
"A good person? Oh please, she's barely a person!"
"Hey! Would you please stop saying bad things about her?!"
"Come on, when are you gonna ditch her? Dump her? Kick her to the curb?"
"Ditch her? Amanda, are you crazy? We're not even—"
"Oh, I'm the crazy one? Pfft! C'mon, don't act so innocent around me, Ian! I've seen the way she looks at you… and I've seen how you look at her! You never look at me like that! What about me, huh?! What about my needs?!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"Don't give me that shit! All you've been doing was spending time with that scar-faced, no-style Ella! You never see me anymore! And I'm supposed to be your goddamn girlfriend!"
"You know something, Amanda? You're not the only thing in my life. I have my parents and my sister, and now I have Ella! And right now, what I don't need is some overbearing, overreacting, overzealous, control freak like you taking over my social life!"
"Wait… what are you saying?"
"I guess… I'm saying that I'm breaking up with you, okay?!"
Amanda was shocked at what Ian had just told her; the boy she thought she loved more than anything had actually fallen out of love with her. She realized something; Ella had replaced her in her lover's heart. Her face scrunched up into a grotesque, enraged sneer as she looked up at him, her eyes like burning embers.
"You know what? Fine!" Amanda huffed. "You know something? I was going to break up with you anyway, that's why I'm even here! But I still don't get why you care about that little bitch so much. She's a monster."
"Amanda, I think you should leave." Ian said sternly.
"Okay, I'll go. But first…"
And with that, Amanda raised her hand, brutally slapped Ian across the face, quickly turned on her heels, and angrily walked off. Ian angrily sneered as he watched her walked away. After she left, he stormed back into the house and slammed the door shut behind him only to find Ella gone.
"Ella?" He called.
"Are you okay?" Ella asked, peeking her head out from behind the wall.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Ian answered, trying to hide the red hand-shaped mark on his cheek.
"Where did Amanda go?"
"Don't worry about her, she just left."
"…Do you want me to be a part of the show?"
"No, I don't. If Amanda is in the show, I don't want you to be in it."
"Why?"
"Because… I just don't want her to bully you any more than she already has this past while. Do you understand?"
She slowly nodded her head and smiled before he put a hand on her shoulder and smiled back. But Ella already had an idea.
