"Beca, you missed your entrance!" Beca Mitchell cringed at the shrill voice that rang through the air. The Bellas stopped singing, many of them groaning and crossing their arms over their chests. They'd been in rehearsal for the past hour and a half now, and they'd all heard enough Ace of Bass to last them a lifetime.
"I'm pretty sure I came in with everyone else," Beca said slowly, scowling at Aubrey.
"No, you were definitely a beat behind. Chloe heard it. Didn't you hear it, Chloe?" Chloe fidgeted nervously.
"Well… It sounded to me like everyone came in together?" Aubrey glared at her.
"Never mind. Let's take it from the top, shall we?" she said pointedly.
"Can't we have a break, Aubrey?" It was Fat Amy that spoke this time. She'd moved away from the group and was sprawled out across several folding chairs, hand placed dramatically over her forehead. "I'm starving. Did anyone bring food?"
"Amy, we're not taking a break," Aubrey hissed. "Get back up."
"Aubrey, maybe it is a good idea to take a break," Chloe said. "I think everyone's tired and a bit strung out." She folded her hands together.
"Chloe, we can't take a break! Regionals is right around the corner, and we have no idea what we're doing! Beca can't get the timing, Amy can't get the choreography, and Ashley keeps forgetting the words. Champions don't take breaks!" Aubrey's face had turned a slight shade of red.
Chloe made a time-out sign with her hand. "We'll take a short minute break, okay everyone? Meet back here in ten." She shrugged apologetically as Aubrey stared at her and then watched as her co-captain stormed out of the room.
"Man, is she always this uptight?" Cynthia Rose asked. "Girl needs to calm down a bit."
"She didn't used to be this bad," Chloe said softly. "She's… She's had it rough, okay? She's overcompensating."
"She's being a bitch is what she's being," Beca muttered.
"Hey, she's not that bad," Chloe interjected. "You've just got to get used to her." The redhead watched as some of the girls filed out of the room. She knew that Aubrey was a pain in the ass, but she also knew that her friend acted the way she did because she was terrified of failure. Ever since last year's disaster at finals, Aubrey had been out of control. Chloe had never seen her so tense before; her goal was perfection, and she was unable to accept anything short of that without losing it. Chloe had to stand up for Aubrey though; after all, Aubrey had been there for her when she needed it. It was up to her to do the same.