3: How Far I'll Go

                                    

                                          
Chivy shot me a told-you-so look. To my surprise, Taitu spoke up. "Come back stronger tomorrow, Sparkles. You've never been to a Disney vocalist audition, right?" 
Chivy shook her head.
"You never know," Taitu continued, glancing at me. "Maybe this is the universe's way of making your vocalist victory even sweeter." 
Chivy attempted a smile. "Maybe. Good luck, girls." 
Once the people who didn't make it had left the studio, Camila did a quick headcount. "Alright. A hundred of you all left. We'll split you into groups of fifty again. When we call your number, please follow Faith into the next studio as we will commence the second round of auditions." 
We entered the studio we had our first round of auditions again, lined up in rows of five. Since Chivy was no longer next to me, I was made aware of Olivia who was right beside me in our line. Taitu and I exchanged another knowing look before Ricardas stepped forward and taught us the next dance sequence. 
This was definitely a higher level sequence, as it was much quicker, had more spins and required more energy, but it still wasn't too complicated. Some people were starting to struggle, though, and from the mirror, I could pick out who were trained in dance and who weren't as we practised the sequence multiple times. At that moment, I thanked the heavens that I knew Taitu, because if I didn't, I definitely would have been intimidated by her. Her kicks were so high, and her turns were so clean. I could only try my best, and ignore the nervous energy Olivia was giving out beside me. 
Dmitri came forward again, his entire persona reminding me of Caesar Flickerman. "Okay, people! You did the animation, but this is a more challenging round. I want all of you to pretend to be toymakers, but this time, I will throw you a surprise animation in the middle of it. The whole animation part will last about 30 seconds this time, and just like last time, I will count you in for the dance sequence. Once again, BIG movements and HUGE expressions! Okay, places, people!" 
I had no idea what I was doing throughout the entire two times we practiced the animation along with the dance sequence, which made me start to panic. Dmitri randomly calling out a switch in animation wasn't helping my anxiousness either. Then, somehow, an idea miraculously struck me right before my group was up, and I set to work. It wasn't my best performance, but I pictured myself attempting to fix a mechanical toy, so I added a lot of cranking and twisting movements, and didn't forget to dramatically wipe my forehead from exhaustion. The moment I was getting into it, however...
"And now, into the toy!"
Into the toy? My group hesitated a little, but I whipped out my party trick--robot dancing. The old trick came easily with muscle memory, and I made eye contact Camila, who was staring directly at me. 
Ooohkay then. Not unnerving at all. 
Dmitri counted us into the dance sequence quickly after, and a rush of adrenaline took over, and I forgot about the watching eyes, the dancing bodies, and the dream at stake. It was just me, the dance, and the enveloping music. 
Time passed really quickly, and before I knew it, it was the next group's turn. Taitu whispered into my ear, "Ooh girl, you were amazing!" 
I blushed. "So were you!" 
After this round, we were ushered back into the waiting room, as the casting directors had their discussion. The atmosphere was getting a little more tense, and I was getting restless, so I was really grateful when Taitu passed me a granola bar to munch on. 
"Food solves most things," she joked. 
"I feel like they're going to make another large cut," I voiced out my concern to her.