Go Deep

Last Shot

Oh, my, my, my
I'm feeling high
My money's gone
I'm all alone
Too much to see
The world keeps turnin'
Oh, what a day
What a day, what a day

The sounds of Erykah Badu's 'On and On' fills Imanis artsy loft as the smells of a tobacco bark candle burned through the air. It was almost time for Imani to complete her evening ritual of sipping on some green tea, stretching, and writing in her journal. Much of the time Imani manifested the life she wanted for herself and wrote down affirmations that she carried everywhere she went. Tonight was a little different. She had gone through 2 months of auditions and callbacks, and nothing had been working in her favor in the slightest. At the same time, she was on the verge of healing from a fresh break up that had left her broken. Money was tight. She couldn't see a light at the end of the tunnel. She was alone. She had no one to turn to. She was hopeless.

" Why am I such a fucking failure," she sighed and thought to herself. She reached over and turned the radio to a different station. Tears formed in her eyes. Her heart was full of disappointment.

" Whats up Oakland, California I hope y'all enjoying ya evening cause we sure are. Coming up next we got ' The Rain' by Missy Elliot so stick around. Before we cue that up we wanna remind y'all that tomorrow , May 15th, Janet Jackson is holding an open call for her upcoming Velvet Rope Tour at 8 am in Los Angeles. So all my dancers out there make sure you go show up and show out for Ms. Jackson, alright. You wouldn't want to miss this opportunity. "

Imanis heart began racing and those tears in her eyes almost magically disappeared. She hopped up immediately.

" Thats it! THATS IT!!!!! THATS IT!!!!," she screamed as she ran through her living room back and forth. " This is my opportunity. It gotta be I have no choice." The timing felt right and even through all the disappointment there was a strong will to push forward and prove herself. Imani began her night ritual and prepped for the morning.

It was around 2:00 a.m. when Imani's alarm went off. She yawned and rubbed her eyes before turning the alarm off. Her day started early because she knew taking the train would take about 5 hours from Oakland to Los Angeles. She headed to the kitchen and warmed some green tea while dancing to Sade's 'The Sweetest Taboo'. Imani surround herself with the music throughout the day, it kept her mind clear and her body moving. Soon she sat down and meditated for a while and then opened up her journal.

" Dear Universe, I want to thank you for already gifting me this opportunity to tour the world with the wonderful and talented JANET JACKSONNNNNNN!" she wrote. " It's already mine and I appreciate you for giving it to me." Imani looked over and seen it was now 2:45 am. She rushed over to her closet and pulled out a cropped white spaghetti strap t-shirt, some baggy black sweatpants, nike shoes, and a pullover grey hoodie. She pulled her locs back into a ponytail and started out the door to catch the train. The whole way there she couldn't help but to focus on the vision of what her life could be like if she was selected to tour with Janet. Those very thoughts made her even more eager to get there and dance like her life depended on it. Which it did. Hours had passed and Imani had finally started to see some of the staples of Los Angeles, California. She was near. Her body filled with nerves because she can only think that this could possibly be her last shot at getting a chance to build her career as a professional dancer. Which wasn't something she should have worried herself with because she was still young and had much time ahead of her.

After she stepped off the train, it was only a 10 minute walk to the small building in which the auditions were being held. Once, Imani turned the corner she seen a line almost a mile long full of eager young adults ready for a taste of the same life Imani craved so strongly. Doing what she love the most with someone she has looked up to for quite some time. It didn't feel real but she was here. She headed towards the back of the line before hearing a voice.