Limelight

Chapter Twenty-Two

~~Bad Days~~

Aaliyah finally let herself slump into her seat with a deep breath once the last chord of Bohemian Rhapsody on the piano rung out through the music room by Addison. At that, everyone laughed, and even she couldn't help her smile. "I'm pretty sure there aren't any chairs on stage during the performance, Aaliyah," Link said with a snort over everyone's laughter. She craned her neck behind her to see Link with his bass guitar slung over his back now, looking at her amused, "If you pull something like that at the showcase tonight, you'll fall right on your ass."

          Aaliyah opened her mouth to reply with a smug smirk when Mrs. Brodeur cut in. "Language, Lincoln," She scolded in a firm voice before looking to Aaliyah with a tiny smirk, "But he does have a point, Aaliyah. The audience would definitely be able to detect your exhaustion by the end of the performance even without the theatrics, have you been practicing those breathing exercises? We can't afford you to have to take a breath halfway through the performance."

          Aaliyah nodded slowly suddenly feeling incredibly wary of tonight, the night of the Winter Showcase where audiences made up of some of the greatest agencies and talents in the art and media world today as well as the entire student body and their families. Suffice to say, she was under a lot of pressure. "Mrs. Brodeur, with the way we've been practicing if I still have a voice to perform with by tonight, it'll be an act of God himself."

          "Great work ethic," Madison muttered from behind her, though she was loud enough to make sure that Aaliyah could hear her, making Aaliyah clench her jaw tightly in irritation, "Mrs. Brodeur, do you really think it's wise to have someone who complains this much about practice front and center on your stage?"

          Aaliyah rolled her eyes, not even turning back to look at her. "Madison, remember that you're literally just background and that you still complain about practice."

          "No," Madison shot back sharply ringing in her ears, "I complain about your incompetency."

          "Is that why Mrs. Brodeur offered me the solo over you?"

          "Alright, girls," Mrs. Brodeur said clapping loudly to gain the class' attention who was busy snickering over yet another back and forth between her and Madison, "I don't have to remind both of you how serious of an event this is. Maybe not for the two of you, but for your peers—"

          Mrs. Brodeur was cut off by the sound of the last bell of the year, signaling the end of the semester and allowing them early leave for the day. Everyone immediately started cheering and giving each other high fives before packing away their stuff. Mrs. Brodeur sighed, "Okay well, I suppose that wraps up practice, and the end of the semester," She said, "Remember to get to the backstage of the auditorium at least two hours before curtain call. We're second in the lineup so it's important that you're all here early."

          Everyone droned their agreements before filing out of the music room saying their quick "Merry Christmases" and "happy new years," to Mrs. Brodeur. Aaliyah was last to leave, grabbing her bag from beside her seat and smiling at Mrs. Brodeur, who seemed surprised that she was still here. "Did you want something, Aaliyah?" She asked kindly.

          Aaliyah didn't know what she had actually planned to say so she ended up just settling with a hug, the smell of incense enveloping her. Mrs. Brodeur was planning to go on maternal leave from after Christmas, so this was officially her last lesson with her and her last private lesson would have been a week ago. When she heard the news a few months back that Mrs. Brodeur was pregnant, she knew that eventually she wasn't going to have her as a teacher for much longer so she put in so much work in her private lessons, and she was gracious that she had somewhat of a mentor to help her in the areas she was weak in. She could definitely say that thanks to Mrs. Brodeur she was a better singer and artist than she had been when she first got into the city.