Limitless: The Second Edition

Hannah

A week later, Ms. Dawson gathers us all onstage early. Courtney is late, she tells us, but she'll be here soon. According to Ms. Dawson, Courtney is out running an important errand before rehearsal. She should be here in the next fifteen to twenty minutes. I have her number, so I could easily contact her and ask her, but if she's already been in touch with Ms. Dawson, there's really no need.

Meanwhile, we rehearse singing "Winner". I'm sitting next to Oliver, listening to his amazing voice. His voice is strong and melodic. I could listen to him singing on repeat. I've streamed Chain Breaker at least five times since rehearsals started, and I have officially decided that I prefer Oliver's voice over Derek's. Derek's voice has always warmed my heart and cheered up my bad days. However, Oliver's voice doesn't just do that. It does so much more. Oliver Carowski's voice flat out melts my heart, annihilates the existence of bad days altogether, and sends supernatural shivers up my spine.

After we finish the song, Ms. Dawson calls Oliver and I up in front of the group. "These two have been working very hard on 'I'm Not Broken', and I want you to hear them sing it. Use this as an example of what I want to hear from the rest of you. Pay close attention to the emotion and dynamics of their voices."

She starts playing the song on the piano, and Oliver begins singing. Once again, I almost get lost in his incredible voice. Way too soon, his solo ends and mine begins. I do my best, hoping I'm setting a good example for the others like we're supposed to be doing. No doubt Oliver's already done that. He can sing, he can act, he's good looking, and he has a heart of gold. He's the whole package and more.

We finish, and the other actors applaud. While the world outside of the auditorium may be full of bullies and cruel people for Oliver, within this room are thirty-five people who love and care for him. We will cheer him on unanimously until the very end.

"Good job guys," David calls. Then he whistles like he's in a pop concert.

Oliver gives him a thumbs up, and we return to our seats. Just then, the door at the back of the auditorium opens. It's Courtney. I spring to my feet to hug her, but she holds out a hand to stop me in my tracks. I skid to a halt and wait for her to come to me. When she does, I give her a big hug.

"How is everyone today?" she asks as she arrives at the front of the group with me right on her heels. I swear, in twelve years, nothing has changed. Courtney is still my best friend, almost like my big sister, and I'm still her spunky little shadow that follows her around. "I'm sorry I'm late, but I hope you're all ready to dance now. I'm sure Ms. Dawson has already warmed up those voices. I don't expect you to be able to sing and dance at the same time yet, but it never hurts to be prepared."

We all gather onstage, ready for another day of working on "Winner". Sure, there are other songs with group choreography, but this one is the biggest, most important number. Of course we're going to be spending more time with this song than the others. It was used in all the promotion commercials, and scenes from the dance number were used on all the posters. It sets the mood for the entire musical with an excerpt at the beginning and rising to a huge boom of lively song and dance at the story's climax. This is the song where Enso comes into his own completely, where he transforms from the former weakling of the village to the strong, confident young man who just happens to use crutches. It's literally where the ugly duckling becomes the beautiful swan.

Oliver begins with his monologue at the beginning. Then he begins the rap verse that kicks off the song, accompanying it with some epic arm motions. He's using his stage crutches again, which makes it much easier for him. Once his arms are freed up instead of holding on to his arm crutches, he's able to totally rock the moves.

I join at the second verse, Sadie joins during the bridge, and everyone else has joined by the end of the song. The whole time, we're doing our dance. I can tell Courtney is impressed with our skill. At the end, we all strike a pose like we're supposed to.

"That was incredible!" shouts a voice from out of nowhere.

The voice is almost familiar, like I've heard it recently. Not like Oliver's voice, but more like the voice I hear when he gets a WorldChat notification. It's more like the voice I've heard almost every night for the past few weeks.

Could it be?

No. It couldn't be. That's impossible. Unless...

No way. Courtney wouldn't have. This definitely isn't happening.

Before we can process what is happening, the back door of the auditorium swings open, and a tall lanky boy with black hair wearing a red t-shirt strides into the room. And we all scream.