The audience was screaming when it was Thea’s part. Even all the competitors in their seats were cheering for Thea as she sang the part where she made a little change.
“They picked the right song. I thought this song would be difficult to present on stage.”
“Yeah… Singing and dancing at the same time could be difficult. But they did it so well.”
“I wish I had chosen this song at the beginning.”
“I guess they will all make it to the next round.”
Other girls were pretty jealous.
Thea left the stage nervously after the performance. She didn’t remember making any big mistakes when she did the choreography.
She believed she could make it to the second round as long as Paris wouldn’t find any weird excuses to fail her.
So when Dylan announced that she ranked second place among all the girls, Thea couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
Did she rank second place? Thea was so thrilled that she didn’t even notice that Tiffany won first place, according to the judges.
She closed her eyes to prevent her tears from coming out. She had tried so hard to practice the choreography, and she finally made it!
She won the highest score on her team among all the other girls who danced better than her.
Thea was still so thrilled as she went backstage, letting the makeup artists take off her makeup.
When the makeup room went empty, Thea still didn’t have the strength to stand up. She couldn’t stop recalling all the moments when she fought for her dream during the last two days.
And then, the burp of messages sounded in the empty dressing room. Thea opened her eyes and saw a pink cell phone on the vanity next to hers.
Who was sitting next to her just a minute ago? Jesica or Tiffany? Wait… Hadn’t their phones been taken away? Whose phone was this? Thea frowned as she leaned forward to take a peek.
It was a message. And it was about the five songs they were gonna perform at the next stage.
Thea’s mouth fell open.
Who leaked the song titles? If someone got these songs, they could start to train their vocals and plan their presentations instantly.
This was cheating!
Thea thought for a pause and left the dressing room without taking the phone with her.
Someone was leaking the songs. It was not fair to other competitors at all!
****
The shooting was gonna take a two-day break.
Thea was still bothered by that phone. But she knew there was nothing she could do right now. She needed to go back home, take a good rest, and think about the whole thing.
Thea threw herself in bed the moment she went back home. She only wanted to sleep two days straight, and she didn’t even have the strength to move her fingers after trying so hard to complete that choreography.
She ordered pizza and fried chicken, grabbing her iPad as she ate them. The official cut of their show was out. However, her fans seemed to love her parts. And they were sending her love in the comment section.
A call suddenly came in as Thea watched the show.
It was Mom.
“Hey, Mom!” Thea was happy that her Mom called.
“Hey, sweetie! Your grandma and I saw you on TV. We’re so proud of you, baby. But you look too skinny. Are you eating your meals well? Honey, you can’t lose too much weight. Health is the first, okay?”
“Mom, I’m not losing weight. This is a competition, and I still need strength to fight it. I won’t starve myself. Are you and Granny great?” Thea asked worriedly.
“Granny and I are fine. We all voted for you. I’m so sorry we can’t be there for you. If only we could come and cheer for you, that would be the best.”
“Come on, Mom, don’t say that,” Thea smiled at the speaker, “I’m a big girl now. I can handle this myself. You and Granny can just wait for my good news. I will win this competition for you guys.”
“Okay, baby, take care of yourself. Granny and I love you very much.”
“I love you both too!”
Thea felt so full of strength after hanging up the phone. She was still smiling as another call came in.
It was from Candace.
Candace?
Why was she calling? Did Cody Bradley finally decide to make her pay? She was not even intentionally trying to lie to him.
He was the one who thought she had a crush on him. He couldn’t blame everything on her.
Thea swallowed and picked up the phone, “H-Hello?”
Candace was currently sitting in her brother’s office. She was frowning as Thea finally picked up the phone. “Where are you right now, Thea? I tried so hard to find you.”
Thea threw herself in bed, “I’m in my apartment. What’s wrong? We just have a break from the shooting. What can I help you with?”
“Are you kidding me, Thea?” Candace sounded somewhat worried, “Don’t tell me you don’t know anything about what they’re saying on the Internet right now.”
Thea frowned, “I have no clue. What’s the issue all about?”
Candace sounded pretty serious, and she seldom was so serious. That fact made Thea worried.
Were those people badmouthing her on the Internet again? She always saw bad comments, and she had gotten used to that. That was a side effect of becoming famous. Thea wouldn’t mind that.
But if it were just usual badmouthing, Candace wouldn’t be so nervous.
“Go on your Twitter account and take a look at yourself.” Candace urged her.
Thea flipped her laptop open immediately after scrolling down the page for a couple of minutes. Finally, Thea snapped the laptop close, “This is bullshit!”
Some people on Twitter accused Thea, saying that she was getting famous because some secret sugar daddy was spending money on her. And she was acting spoiled and arrogant by not showing up during the team rehearsal. That her behavior almost made her teammates fail during the last round.