8 PM...
At Catherine's house...
Catherine is writing in her notebook some things she needs to finish this week. From having a science task to working at the hat store on the weekends, and not to mention she needs to find spare time to practice violin for the talent show. Her mom taught her to play the violin since she was 7, and she often performs at her relatives birthday parties and weddings back in Melbourne. As Catherine continues to let her vision get lost in her writings, her phone rings showing a familiar guy's name on her phone. Liam Brown.
"Hello," says Catherine as she picks up the phone.
"Hey, Lovely! What's up? Are you studying?" Liam asks with his usual flirty tone. Catherine wished she didn't need to hear what she just heard before. She didn't need a player flirting with her right now, and not at anytime.
"Since when did my name was Lovely?" Catherine asks sarcastically. "And FYI, yes I was studying."
"Woah, sorry to disturb your quality time! I know too well how much you love getting straight As," says Liam.
"Who doesn't, Brown? We have goals and if we want to reach them, we're gonna have to work for it," says Catherine.
"I like your style, Paddington! Say, how about if we go out for late dinner?" Liam asks.
"No, thank you. I already finished mine," says Catherine.
"Ah, ok with that. So are you participating in the talent show?" Liam asks.
"Every student was asked to participate by Mrs. Steward. So, it's not like I have any other choice," says Catherine as she continues to write her notes.
"Yeah, she can be a real pain at times. But anyway, what will you be doing? Dancing? Singing?" Liam asks.
"I'll be playing the violin, for your information," says Catherine.
"Cool. I'll be in a band together with Alexis and George. Damn, George's been giving us some hard time in practice," says Liam as he rubs his head at the thought of his sarcastic friend.
"What about him?" Catherine asks.
"George been singing the wrong lyrics almost all the time, mainly because he thought it was a funny thing. Damn, will that dude ever be serious?" Liam says.
"Well I feel sorry for you guys. But just keep practicing, like that's the only way. Work hard, play hard," says Catherine.
"Hahaha, I love the way you think, Cathy," says Liam with a sarcastic tone.
Cathy? What the hell... Catherine thought.
11:15 PM...
Scott is lying down on his bed with the lights all off. He was suppose to be asleep at this hour, but instead, he's stressing about his complicated relationship with his step-sister, Tiffany. Though the two had been living under the same roof for some times now, and are also attending the same school, he hated the fact that they are nothing more than step-siblings, and that Tiffany doesn't want anything more with him. He assumed that she's dating Vincent at first, but now he hates seeing her gets close with George. He wanted Tiffany all to himself, but she just keeps running away.
Everything about Tiffany just gets him more and more attracted every time. Deep down, he knew Tiffany was still hurt about losing her late mother, but she always tries to hide the fact. Pretty much same thing with him, who also has a story of his own about his dad, before he left both him and his mother. Scott's dad was an abusive man since he was a kid, who would often abused him and his mother.
FLASHBACK
Boston, USA...
"Stop it! I beg you to stop," screams a sobbing woman with long brown hair and pale skin.
"I don't want anything to do with you!"
The man who screamed at his words gave the woman a big slap, before walking out of the room and slamming the door. The woman breaks down crying on the floor, with her 5 year old son sitting on the corner, watching everything. Tears filled his eyes as he watch his mother breaks down on the floor. This was the last time they'll ever see that man.
END OF FLASHBACK...
The thought of his abusive father still filled Scott in fury. He hated that man more than anyone in the universe. Since the day he left them, he never even bothered to check up on him. He didn't even bother to support the family, and his mother had to struggle alone for years. That is, until she meets Peter and the two got married. Now, happy to say that his mom is happy, but for him, he still felt something was missing. Since the day he met Tiffany, he knew that he has found what's been missing all this time...love.
The next day...
Alyson is walking down the hallway, where she spot Sam solving out his books in his locker.
Hello, Sam. Alyson thought as the sight of her friend (and secret crush). Though Aly really liked Sam since first sight, since he started dating Liana, she thought about trying to turn her feelings into pure friendship, since she didn't want to be the one to ruin their relationship. Yet, after the two broke up, Aly couldn't help but feel a slight of hope that she could finally approach him, though she's hoping that Liana wouldn't feel awkward about it.
"Hi Sam! So we're ready to practice after school?" Alyson asks as she stands beside Sam who still has his eyes on his books.
"You bet! We're getting better and better! Next time we should audition for the circus," says Sam as he pulls out his English text book.
"Haha, you bet! Cameron said he'll be ordering pizza after school, so it's basically practice before pizza," says Alyson.
"Cool. So after school at Cam's place?" Sam asks.
"Yup! Don't be late," says Alyson with a cheerful smile.
Recess time...
At the cafeteria...
"The talent show is next week! And we haven't prepare our killer moves yet," says Scarlett before she takes a sip of her cream soup.
"We can do this, Scar! We just have to work hard, and don't think about Mrs. Steward while doing it," says Aria as she sips on her orange juice.
"By the way, have you girls heard about Alexis' band? Damn, they should have offered that singing position to me. I'm a much better singer than my brother," says Gina as she scrolls through her phone.
"Well, your brother also has a cute voice though," says Aria with flirty eyes.
"What the hell, Ri?" Scarlett asks as she drops her jaw. "He sounds like the devil."
"In a good way though," says Aria.
"I have J.Lo potential! People just couldn't see it," says Gina.
"Then why didn't you just sing for the talent show?" Aria asks.
"Because dancing is first passion, well, still close to singing. Second would be tennis and third would be hiking," says Gina.
"Ghost and angels...wow," says Scarlett in her usual seductive tone.
Recess past and as soon as the bell rang, all the students starts going back to class, waiting for Mrs. Steward to again give unreasonable reasons to yell at them.
Back in class...
"Just so you all know, I've change the date for the talent show to be tomorrow! So for those who had entered, please start practicing unless you want to humilate yourself on stage. And for those who haven't participate, well you better get yourself on that list before it's another F," says Mrs. Steward as she reads the list of participants for the talent show.
"What? But Mrs. Steward, how are we suppose to have enough time to practice?" Cameron asks as his eyes got wider at the sight of their annoying teacher.
"That's for you kids to think about. This gives you enough time to not slack off. Oh well, good luck," says Mrs. Steward as she walks out of the class while applying her hot pink lipstick.
"What? Damn, what the heck was that?" George asks as he stands up from his chair.
"This means we only have limited time to practice, so we better get started," says Carter.
OMG..this is insane! Vincent thought.
After school...
At the stage room....
Leonard is sitting on the stage strumming his guitar slowly. He was pissed when Mrs. Steward only gave them literally 24 hours to practice for the talent show. But again, it's not like they have any other choice. He's definetly gonna ask his parents to fire that insane teacher after this.
Damn it Steward! Leonard thought.
Just as Leonard continues to strum on his guitar, he heard the door open. He was ready to throw his guitar at Mrs. Steward (if it was even her who entered). However, instead of the grumpy 55 year old woman with plump lips and curly short blonde hair, it was a girl with long brown straight hair, nude lipstick, and is wearing a black mini skirt and a white long sleeve shirt that shows her slim waist. Leo could swear he almost got lost in her tiny waist. Lindsay Blake, cheerleader, fashion queen, and also drama queen.
"Hey you! Are you practicing?" Lindsay asks with her usual sweet tone.
"Yeah. Man, I was ready to shout at Mrs. Steward if she entered the door," says Leonard.
Lindsay walks closer and sits beside Leo on the stage. She was actually looking for him, since she also wanted to practice for the show.
"Well, it's a good thing I'm not her. I could break a bone if you shout at me. Hahaha," says Lindsay as the two eventually enter a big laughter.
"Ok, but I actually wanted to ask if you would like to practice together? I mean, we are performing together," says Lindsay.
"Sure. Let's do it," says Leonard before standing up on stage, followed by Lindsay.
Leonard starts playing his guitar as he sings to "If I Can't Have You" by Shawn Mendes. Lindsay starts practicing classic ballet, but eventually also mix her moves with modern dance. As Lindsay dance around the stage, Leonard couldn't help but stare at how gracefully she dances. Lindsay performs every step with determination and poise, which Leonard found attractive.
Lindsay, on the other hand, was also getting lost by Leonard's amazing voice. She found his voice to be charming and charismatic, which she thought was beautiful. She couldn't help but admire the guy singing to her, knowing that he has also got her enchanted by his magical hands on his guitar. She starts to wonder...how would it felt if those magical hands touch her?
Leonard finally finished his song as Lindsay ends her dance with a twirl. The two sits down on stage where they get their water bottles, ready to open them for a drink.
"Man, you tired?" Leonard asks as he opens his water bottle.
"Yes. I just drained my batteries," says Lindsay before she takes a drink from her bottle. "Now Mrs. Steward doesn't have any reasons to give us an F."
"Yup. And if she does, I'll ask my parents to fire her faster, I don't even care if they haven't found a replacement," says Leonard before the two share a good laugh at the thought of Mrs. Steward getting fired.
Leonard stops his laughter to catch his breath and stare at Lindsay who is still laughting. Though her ponytail is a mess after a sweaty performance, she still looks breath-takingly beautiful. Her eyes sparkles like the night stars, and her nude lips are just as beautiful as Instagram models promoting lipsticks.
Lindsay caught Leonard staring at her, in which she also got lost in his eyes. His eyes are filled with ambition and hope, which Lindsay thought was positive vibes. His hair is messy, but at the same time, Lindsay thought it looked super sexy. She starts imagining if she could run her hands all over his hair, just to know the feeling.
"Uh..wow, practice really got me hungry. Let's grab something to eat! What would you like?" Leonard asks as he tries to change the moment from awkward to normal.
"Hmm..up to you," says Lindsay as she finds a hard time choosing what to eat, though there is one thing, she doesn't go for food with high carbs too often. She can't stand to lose her model figure.
"Hmm..I could really go with pasta now! What do you think?" Leonard asks.
"Sure. Let's go," says Lindsay.
The two gets up from their sitting position and start packing all their things, before leaving the school to go to the nearest pasta restaurant.
At Vincent's House...
"I'm surprised you're not practicing your singing," says Vincent as he continues to practice his sketching.
"I've been singing since I was a toddler, Vincent! I need to focus on other things," says Tiffany as she continues to do her history homework.
"I see. And by the way, thanks for the dumplings," says Vincent as he keeps his vision on his drawing book.
"No problem! You have to try them, they're zhen de hao chi (really delicious)," says Tiffany as she continues to do her homework.
Just as she continues to do her homework, her phone rings blasting out "Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin" by Teresa Teng. Despite living in the 21 century, Tiffany has a soft spot in her heart for classic tunes, especially since this song was a favorite of her late mother, Lin Xia Le.
Tiffany gets up from her seat to pick up her phone. It was Patrick, which made her wonder though. Why did he called her at this point? She really thought that with Lindsay around, it was gonna be hard for the poor dude to communicate with anyone (not only women, but men too, but MOSTLY women).
"Hi Patrick," says Tiffany with a chill tone.
"Hello Tiff! Are you busy?" Patrick asks.
"Almost finished my homework at Vincent's house. Why?" Tiffany asks.
"I was wondering if I could come over to your house. You know, it's about the talent show. I was wondering if we could enter together as a duo? I heard from Candy that you'll be singing," says Patrick.
"And what will you being doing?" Tiffany asks.
"I'll be playing the guitar. You see, Lindsay already entered with Leo, and since we don't have much time, I was just wondering if you wanted to help me out on this. Well, if you don't mind," says Patrick.
"Umm..sure, Pat! But I think it's better if I come to your place. I wouldn't want Scott to distract us," says Tiffany as she rolled her eyes at the thought of her possesive step-brother.
"Cool, thanks Tiff! I'll prepare the practice room first! Bye," says Patrick with a big smile.
"Yeah, bye Pat," says Tiffany before she ends the call. "I'm gonna meet Patrick after this."
"And Lindsay isn't gonna kill you for doing that?" Vincent asks.
"First of all, we're just friends. Second, I don't see why I have to listen to that freak! What? She's afraid I'm gonna seduce her boyfriend? Oh so now she finally realize how I had always been more prettier than her?" Tiffany asks in a sarcastic and deep tone.
"That wasn't what I meant though," says Vincent awkwardly.
"Whatever! I gotta finish my homework and head to Pat's place," says Tiffany as she continues with her homework.
At Cameron's place...
"How's the pizza, guys?" Cameron asks to his two friends sitting in front of him, Alyson and Sam.
"It's good, but I kinda wanna mix it with pho (Vietnamenese noodle soup). I should try it next time," says Alyson as she takes another bite of her cheese pizza.
"Pizza and pho? That's a savage combo," says Sam as he takes another piece of pizza.
"Well, sounds interesting in a way. You guys want more drinks?" Cameron asks.
"Sure," Coincidentally, Sam and Aly says at the same time.
"I'll go get some first," says Cameron as he walks out of his room to get more sodas, leaving Aly and Sam in the room, alone.
"Damn, Sam. Though the show is tomorrow, I'm actually sure we're gonna do a pretty awesome job," says Alyson as she smiles at his direction.
"You bet, Al! It was fun," says Sam as he takes another bite of his pizza.
Alyson slowly watches his lips as he chew on his pizza. Though it seem weird, she still can't let her eyes off of his cheesy lips.
"You're pretty cute, Aly," says Sam in a flirty tone.
And just by that, Alyson could feel her heart almost drop at his statement.
To be continue...