“We’re living in the same room, and we needed sleep!” Beth was so pissed off, “Have you no respect for other people’s rights?”
“Yeah? Who’s gonna respect me then?” Tiffany rolled her eyes, “I NEED to talk to my boyfriend. I have the right to do so.”
“But you can’t do that at the expense of our sleep!” Beth was not happy.
“I can do whatever I want,” Tiffany tossed a brush into her makeup kit, “And you need to deal with it!”
“Well… I have talked to the committee of the show. I’d like to see how they’re gonna deal with it,” Beth snapped.
“How dare you?” Tiffany shot up from her seat.
“Come on, Tiffany,” Jessica jumped off her bed to stop Tiffany from lunging at Beth, “Don’t be mad. The cameras are still on. They’re gonna see us.” The last sentence was whispered into Tiffany’s ear.
Tiffany faltered and slumped back again. She forgot that they were still on a show. To act friendly and nice, Tiffany took out an expensive lipstick from her purse and gave it to Jessica, “Do you wanna try this on, Jess? It’s a limited edition. But I have plenty. You can have this one if you want.”
“Wow. Thank you,” Jessica took the lipstick and beamed, “You’re so generous, Tiffany.”
Tiffany smiled quickly before turning to face the mirror again.
Beth was still annoyed. Thea went forth and squeezed Beth’s elbow. Beth turned to look at her, and Thea smiled. Beth smiled back.
****
After the morning routine, the girls went to the studio, where the first round of the official competition was shot.
There were 101 competitors, and all of them got their new dresses and uniforms for the next day’s shooting. Thea and Beth walked around the building together, getting familiar with the locations of the gym, dance studios, recording rooms, canteens, and other facilities.
The director suddenly showed up when they went to the shooting studio, asking them to hand in their phones.
“What?” Tiffany hissed, “But I need my phone! You have no right to take it away!”
“Well… You have every right to walk away and quit the competition if you don’t like our rules, young lady,” the director said.
Other girls giggled.
Tiffany was suddenly enraged. She threw her phone into the box in the end. Thea and Beth exchanged a look and smiled at each other.
Jessica went to comfort Tiffany, “It’s okay, Tiff. They will give your phone back when the show is over.”
Tiffany sneered. Jessica was secretly happy because she finally could sleep well tonight.
The next day, they almost woke up at the same time. And then, they went to the canteen for breakfast. Jessica left with Tiffany. Thea went there with Beth. Thea didn’t think this was a bad thing. She started to realize what kind of person Tiffany was. She felt bad to think this way, but she was glad that she didn’t need to get involved with that spoiled girl. Besides, Beth was a great friend. Thea was happy that she could hang out with Beth often.
When they went to the studio to record the show, Thea heard girls screaming excitedly.
“Look! It’s Dylan!”
“Ohmigod! He’s so hot! I can’t believe he’s the judge in the official competition!
Dylan Makovsky was Thea’s favorite singer. She gasped as she heard the name, Dylan. Was it really who she thought it was?
Thea couldn’t believe her ears. Dylan Makovsky was the brightest star in the music industry.
Was the show really inviting him to be the judge?
Thea forgot how to breathe as she saw Dylan’s perfect side profile under the light of the hall. He was in a dark shirt, and he was sitting among other judges. He looked as beautiful as a Greek god. Thea couldn’t believe how lucky she was. Only the sight of this man makes her knees weak.
“It’s really Dylan.” Beth gasped, covering her mouth, “I love him so much!”
****
Dylan was the hottest singer in the country right now. He had debuted when he was just a teenager, and he had been famous for a whole decade, becoming the national treasure of the country.
Thea didn’t expect the sponsor of the show to have the money to invite Dylan to be the judge. She saw him from backstage, and everything felt like a dream.
This was probably a way to make the show popular. With a big star like Dylan, the hotness of the show would only climb.
Most of the girls felt so lucky. They felt all their efforts were worth it. If they couldn’t make it to the end, having Dylan as their judge and giving them advice was also a luxury.
Apart from Dylan, there were other famous judges as well.
Adam Evans is a famous music producer and songwriter in the industry. He had received countless awards before coming to the show. No one knew music better than he did. Wendy Mendes is a famous female singer in the industry. She had won countless international awards, making her the diva of the country. She was good at both singing and dancing. Paris Dunn, the young and popular actress, has countless fans following her social media accounts.
“Quiet! Quiet!” The hall was chaotic currently, and the director had to yell through a speaker, “Please go back to the seat with your name tag on, competitors. The shooting has begun!”
“What?! It has begun?! Did they get my face on camera?”
“Shit! I need to fix my makeup!”
“No… I was literally drooling over Dylan. I hope the camera didn’t get me.”
“I heard they have started the shooting since the moment we stepped into the studio.”
“Shoot! I hate this!”
The girls couldn’t stop discussing. Thea pulled Beth’s hand and led her to the seats on stage. Thea couldn’t help sneaking glances at Dylan even after she sat down.
Dylan looked so good. She couldn’t believe she could see him one day in person and this close!
The opening of the show started with the performance of the judges apart from scoring the girls’ performances on stage.
The performance was significant. Thea couldn’t believe how amazing Dylan’s vocals sounded when he was doing this live. Paris couldn’t sing, but she also went on the stage, closely dancing to Dylan and grinding her body against his.