That's My Spotlight | ✔

xxiii. choral lgpe

THE GLACIAL SEASON OF WINTER is gradually coming to an end, and the Meadowbrook High School choir's grand performance was here — LGPE. It was an unusually warm March Saturday afternoon, so most choir students were comfortably dressed in their choir suits and dresses without feeling the bulkiness of their heavy coats or light jackets.

After every student was situated into the large, twenty-four seat school bus, Dr. Terry went over simple rules and regulations before she would allow the bus driver to pull out of the school's bus lane. "The day is here," she announced as she clasped her hands together from the front of the bus. "We will undergo your most important performance of the year, and we've been over this tons of times, but don't be scared. We've prepared for this for months, and we are Meadowbrook High's Advanced Mixed Choir — you guys are going to do great!"

A series of cheers erupted from the choir students, who were all revved up for their upcoming performance. Even if they were jittery, scared if the judges would give them an unsatisfactory score, they were also excited. On top of all the seriousness, the choir experience was supposed to be fun.

"Having that said, I want you all to do the best you can. As your choir director, it isn't about me. It's all about you, and what you can do," Dr. Terry encouraged as she planted a hand on the rim of one of the front-row seats. "I've been a choir director for years. Throughout all those years, I've won awards, gotten a lot of my choirs from beginning to advanced superior ratings, and the list goes on — but it doesn't matter to me. What matters to you is you all have the skill to do the best you can because this is for you."

She is as serious as a heart attack based on the determined look on her face. In a situation like this, who wouldn't be? It wasn't a time for fun and games. It was a time to put the choir into a friendly reality check.

"I believe in each and every single one of you. So . . ." Dr. Terry hummed as her lips grew into a smile. "Can we do this?"

A series of "yes" and "yeah" erupted from the choir all at once. The energy in the bus was lively and filled with excitement. As the choir director told the bus driver that the choir was ready to go, the bus driver obeyed, closed the bus doors, and pulled out of the bus lane.

Exhilaration was filled amongst every corner of the bus, including Alexander and Inez. The two-week old couple were seated next to each other, accompanied by the breeze that flowed through the window beside them, which hit their cheeks every now and then. Because of the wind, Alexander's hair was constantly blown out of place every few moments. Every time he tried to soften down his hair, it always ended up sticking back up afterwards. It was frustrating to have to adjust his brushed hair so often, but Inez couldn't help but giggle.

"The wind is not giving you a chance."

Alexander chuckled as he brushed his hair down. "Tell me about it. I spent so much time and effort brushing my hair for this."

"You still look great," Inez reasoned as she brushed her natural curls down so she could lean her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. She took out her braids last week, mainly so she could look better for LGPE because her braids were beginning to look old. Frankly, there wasn't anything wrong with going to the performance in the natural hair look. It was beautiful and more than presentable.

"I can say the same for you," the Korean boy mused as he sniffed. The nostrils of his nose picked up the warm, welcoming scent of shea butter, which was all over his girlfriend's hair and scalp. It smelled so good, and he's always admired the scent. It was something he never had. "Your hair smells so good. I could smell it forever and ever."

"I'm glad you think so," Inez pondered with a smile. "I honestly thought you'd have a lot of questions about it because—"

"I don't have any questions, Nezzie. I really like your hair," Alexander wrapped an arm around the girl so he could massage the girl's arm, which was clothed in the uniform of her choir dress.