How it All Began

Chapter 1

It was the Spring of 2011, and an all-female acapella group known as the Barden Bellas were set to go onstage at Lincoln Center after a performance from their male rivals known as the Treblemakers. While the Bellas were backstage, their leader Alice was tying a scarf on the neck of Chloe Beale, who was panting and out of breath after running from the Bellas dressing room to the backstage area.

"Chloe. Look at you; you're a mess, you're unreliable, and your breath smells like egg," Alice snarled. "I can't believe the Bellas are being passed on to you two after we graduate," she continued, glaring at the younger woman. "Just don't mess up your solo," she said, firmly to blonde Aubrey Posen.

"I won't disappoint you," Aubrey said. "My dad always said, 'If you can't take the heat, get out of Kuwait."

"Did your dad ever tell you to shut up?" Alice snarked, to which Aubrey made no comment.

At that point, the Treblemakers finished their set and were headed backstage.

"Alright, ladies. It's now or never. HANDS IN!"

"ONE... TWO... Ahhhh!" The Bellas sang in perfect harmony.

As they took the stage for their rendition of Ace of Base's "The Sign," everything was going well right up until Aubrey's solo. During her solo, she wound up projectile vomiting on stage, costing the Bellas the coveted ICCAs.

Aubrey was absolutely mortified and felt sure this was the worst thing that had ever happened to her, quite unaware that this was merely a taste of things to come.

When the Bellas returned to campus, things took a turn for the worse for Aubrey. Anytime she'd set foot in public on campus, people would make fun of her. She began to feel helpless, suicidal, and clueless about what to even do at this point.

It could have been much worse. Aubrey's saving graces were the safety of her dorm room and her best friend, Chloe. They were the only things that helped the future seem brighter for her. The two pals spent their time after the ICCA's studying for finals. Aubrey decided to stay off the internet as much as possible while the duo was studying unless she needed it. When she went back and forth to class, Aubrey either stayed undercover or walked with Chloe.

Thankfully all she had to do was tough it out for a few weeks until finals were over, then she'd be going home for the summer.

When Aubrey returned home, she checked her social media and found multiple comments on her Facebook and Twitter accounts that made her realize that people were still making fun of her over what happened at the ICCAs.

When the number of comments in her News Feed got to be way too much, Aubrey decided that she couldn't take much more taunting from random trolls, so she decided to delete any social media accounts she may have had at the time. Once deleted, most of the stress she felt began to die down. Unfortunately, she knew that there was a chance that someone may have uploaded the whole thing to YouTube. So, she made a habit of staying off YouTube at all costs.

The whole summer following the incident was a rough one for Aubrey. She rarely left her house, and when she did, it was to hang out with Chloe or drive to Starbucks for her morning coffee.

Two weeks before the Fall Semester started, Aubrey had finally begun to stop worrying about what had happened four months earlier. Since the Senior Bellas, who had graduated after the Spring Semester, weren't around anymore, it was now up to her and Chloe as the only two Bellas left to hold auditions for recruits.