Fight Song

Chapter 20

Caspar's PoV
"Next to take the stage are South Africa!" the voice over announced. We were before Canada. At least we wouldn't have to watch the calibre of dance we were up against.

"Good luck," I smiled at my team.

"Good luck," Oti nodded back.

"We're gonna smash it," Byron smiled.

"We're gonna go out there and have the most fun we've ever had," Josh nodded.

We took the stage, and our music began. We flipped, we pirouetted, we jumped, we lifted...we danced. We danced because we loved it. And at the end, when we were all out of breath, I could tell we'd done our job. Everyone was smiling.

Briar's PoV
I wasn't going to lie, Caspar's team had worried me. Was our choreography more advanced? Yes. But it definitely didn't look as graceful, as in time and as professional as the routine South Africa just put on stage. I couldn't say I wasn't worried. I looked at my team, and I could tell they felt the same.

"It's fine, our choreography is more advanced guys," I tried laughing it off. It was my job as dance captain to make sure the team spirit was high at all times.

One of the girls, Lucy, nodded, but I could tell she wasn't so sure we'd win our round anymore. Our routine was dangerous and we'd taken some big risks. If those risks paid off it would be great, but so many things could go wrong...

"Would Canada take the stage!" the voiceover said. I took a deep breath and smiled at my team as we took the stage.

It was going well, all of it. We were mostly in time. It didn't look as polished as South Africa's, but the choreography was more advanced. It was all going so well. But then it all collapsed.
I don't know how it happened. Everything kind of went in slow motion. All I remember is looking out to the front to start my fouettés on pointe, and my shoe breaking. I fell forward, and whacked my knee on the hard surface. I fell on an Internationals stage. I got up, and tried to make it look purposeful, but catching one of the judge's eyes I knew she saw right through me. We were out. We were done. I kept trying to go with the choreography, but doing ballet with a broken pointe shoe was near impossible and incredibly dangerous. I couldn't keep going. I did a split leap to the side of the stage and walked into the wings. Lucy noticed this and copied me in a way that looked purposeful at least.

I burst into tears, and Lucy rushed to my side.

"Briar what happened?!" she said. "You just suddenly fell out of nowhere!"

"My shoe broke," I cried. "The sole just snapped and it couldn't support my foot. I don't know how it happened, these were bought new only two weeks ago!"

Lucy looked as shocked as I felt. Pointe shoes didn't just break. Not while dancing anyway.

"How the hell?" she looked bewildered.

"I don't know, but it just cost us Internationals!" I sobbed.

Our music ended, and then Milo, Devon and Rosie (our fifth dancer) came and rushed to my side.

"What the hell Bri?!" Rosie looked mad. "You just cost us Internationals! You just fucking fell at Internationals! Are you kidding me?!"

"I'm sorry," I sobbed, holding my head in my hands.

"It's not her fault," Lucy snapped at Rosie. "Her pointe shoe broke. In fact, Bri, take it off. I refuse to believe they just break like that."

I took off my shoe and handed it to her. She examined it as I took off my other shoe, and then her face went very hard.

"Someone's tampered with it," Lucy said gravely. "Come on, we're going to report this."