Although there was no judging or awarding of first, second, or third places, I’d received a ton of compliments for my piano-playing and singing-performance of “Let it Go” from Disney’s “Frozen”. People had said to me, “You were really great, Aliana,” despite the pause in the middle of the song. I’d blanked out for a few seconds due to my live-performance anxiety. But everyone experienced them, even the greatest and bravest performers—of anything.
I sat on my bed and looked at my laptop. People posted pictures of me performing at Spotlight Night. Someone even tagged me.
I’d thanked my mom for forcing me to practice my piano and voice performance for weeks straight rather than focusing on trying to get my anime comic published. I was only a high school junior after all. My birthday wasn’t for five months. In fact, I’d started attending the public high school in September. Before that, I’d attended private school—the same one since kindergarten.
A message came up in my Facebook messenger. It was my best friend, Veronica. She said, “Aliana, I just came back from the hospital for a few weeks. I saw that you performed ‘Let it Go’ at Spotlight Night. Well, tell you what? That was my idea. You stole it from me.”
I replied back. “Veronica, I am sorry you feel this way. However, I wasn’t able to contact you. I’ve visited you a few times and not once have you said that you had that song in mind first. You should’ve said something.”
Veronica replied. “Maybe we should part our ways.”
I lowered my jaw. No. She did not just say that. Or she didn’t mean it—she couldn’t have.
I responded. “Veronica, you don’t have to do this.”
But she did nothing. I waited a few minutes and surfed other parts of the web instead.
I returned to Facebook. Veronica had still not answered me. Okay, maybe she had to get offline for something.
I looked at my digital clock. It was nearly 11 P.M. Tomorrow was Friday. I turned off the computer and got ready for bed.
I went on my phone to see if Veronica had gotten back to me. Nope. She couldn’t have unfriended me, right.
I went to the “Who Deleted Me” app on my phone. And guess who was listed… Veronica Button. What? No. She couldn’t have.
My energy drained. I looked down. My eyes watered. That girl had been my best friend since the first day. And now she was no more.
I contacted my old friend, Lorenza from my previous school. But she didn’t answer.
The tears streamed down my cheeks. I sat on my bed. There had to be some way to reciprocate.
Wait, tomorrow was a gym day. Perhaps, I could talk to Veronica before or after our activity. She should listen. Maybe she’d had a bad day. So she should understand.