Talented Me! 12

With nothing to stop here, Avina agreed.

"Then okay," Wilona relented. Her voice sounded a little defeated, but her eyes were hinted with excitement. She was finally going to be like other highschoolers and be in a club! Never had she been in a club before!

The homeroom teacher sighed relievingly and looked at Mr. Greene. His face asked, "Is this satisfactory to you?"

Mr. Greene gave a small satisfied nod and handed Wilona the signup sheet. His smile reached to his ears and his eyes twinkled in delight. It was obvious he was satisfied with Wilona's response.

"I hope to see you soon," he said giving a gentle nod to her. He then proceeded to walk out of the office with lithe footsteps.

Avina looked baffled at his walking back. What is up with this guy!?

She finished the form and gave it to her homeroom teacher. Upon confirming everything was alright, she walked back to her class. She sighed, but it has already been decided.

Gardening? She only liked to look at gardens, not do it herself! Become a star, defeat the witch, and now begin gardening - so many things to do.

'Add another monitor to Mr. Greene.' At the word monitor, 5025 started preparing a new monitor for her. It reached out its imaginary popcorn bucket and prepared to eat. Any time there was a monitor, it was free entertainment!

The figure of Mr. Greene was walking to the greenhouse. His footsteps had a small bounce to them and he hummed along the way. The moment she arrived at her classroom. he arrived at the flowerbeds. She paused and carefully watched his movements, trying to decipher any hidden clues.

He reached out to a Calendula picking off a petal and eating it. He chewed slowly enjoying the unique taste. His face was intrigued, puzzled but curious. Finally, a smile blossomed on his face. He continued to stare at the wonderful greenhouse with joy radiating.

Avina wrinkled her brows at this sight. She couldn't understand why he wanted Wilona to be in the club so badly. But there was nothing she could do; she already joined. For now, she could only ignore the club and pray he doesn't reveal news about the show, not until filming has ended. Mentioning that, Avina remembered the snake of the pit - Adi.

'What's Adi doing right now?'

Mr. Greene's monitor shrunk and soon her vision was covered with the twisted face of Adi. Adi had her head lowered staring at her phone. On it, was a row of numbers. Making sure it was properly saved, she turned it off and looked up. Her eyes held a deep sense of resolution. It was dark with hatred with a hint of determination. She clutched her phone tightly in her palms and gritted her teeth.

It didn't take much for Avina to know Adi's goal was to sabotage Wilona. Avina remembered the number on her phone and knew it had something to do with Adi's next plan. Luckily, before the number disappeared, Avina memorized it.

'Look up what XXX-XXXX is,' Avina knew that number was anything but good. It was better to avoid it than wait for it to harm her. Nothing Adi did was ever good.

'It will take a while,' 5025 said. Avina nodded and said it was fine.

The rest of the day went without a hitch. No one asked her to join any clubs or came to bully her. At the sound of the final bell, Avina let her body relax.

Her body felt stiff from the long hours of learning. It cracked at every turn earning a groan of pain from her. She gave herself a nice stretch up and to the side and finally gave one last good turn making her back give a satisfying crack. Only then could she lazily lay on her table letting the cold cool her cheeks. Her day has only just begun, but she was already exhausted.

The door opened, but Avina continued to lie down. It was probably just another student or the janitor. Nothing to look at.

"Wilona!" Daisy's voice sounded in the empty classroom. Avina quickly sat up and stared at her friends piled up at the door. "Are you ready to become a star!"

Daisy twirled around and gave her a pair of jazz hands. Her hands shook a few more times before being posing. Everyone looked at Daisy's little performance and gave a little clap. Ben whistled and Gina cheered.

Eli focused on Wilona and her every expression. Since this morning, he was worried about her. Despite her saying she was fine, he didn't know whether to trust her words or not. The letter was full of spite and mockery. What if Wilona was hiding her pain behind a smiling mask?

Wilona let out a small chuckle before smiling at her friends. "I'm ready."

"Then break a leg!" Gina gave a hearty pat on Wilona's back and a thumbs up. Her bright smile encouraged Wilona to do her best and cheered her on.

"Break what leg!" Ben jabbed Gina at her side. "Good luck, Wilona!"

He gave a high-five and rubbed Wilona's head.

"Figure of speech!" Gina shouted and jabbed Ben. "It's a figure of speech!"

Gina and Ben continued to tease other giving rounds of jabs. They bickered like kids tussling each other. What was supposed to be a peaceful encouragement circle soon became rowdy very quickly.

"Ok, ok, break it up, kindergarteners," Daisy stepped in stopping their roughhousing. "We're supposed to cheer for Wilona and her show, not be the show."

Daisy stepped forward and gave Wilona a tight hug. Her deepest congratulations and well wishes embedded all in this one lovely hug.

Wilona could feel the warmth in the hug and her throat tightened up. Her heart felt warm and soon her eyes watered. These were her friends, and they supported her - wholeheartedly.

"Thank you," Wilona's small voice escaped from Wilona's tight embrace. She reached her arms out and hugged Daisy back.

At the sound of her voice disappearing in the waves of friendship, everyone came in for a group hug. They all knew how important today was for Wilona, and what it ultimately meant for her.

"Now go! Go change clothes!" Daisy pushed Wilona out the door and waved bye-bye! The rest also cheered and waved at her giving her warm smiles, pats, and final hugs.

Wilona could only wave bye to her friends before heading down the flight of stairs. Her body felt light like a feather and each step felt like nothing. Skipping one step at a time, she reached the bottom.

A confident smile adorned her face, and she glowed with radiant hope. Today was the day! The day to change all days! Fame and fortune were just a few minutes away!

At the final step to exit the school gates, a figure stepped out and blocked her. Wilona stopped and stared at the person who wouldn't budge. It was obvious they were waiting for her to arrive. And who was exactly waiting for Wilona? Of course, Adi.

"Well, well, well. Look here, the beggar has finally come out," Adi crossed her arms and sneered.

"Where are you going?" Adi tilted her head and laughed. "To the show?"

Her voice flew straight to Wilona's ear, and she sucked in a breath of cold air. First, the letter, and now, this. Adi, she never thought Adi would hate her so much.

Adi had her arms crossed and her eyes were full of mocking and mean words to bully Wilona. She didn't contain her hate, instead, she let it all out. Wilona wasn't supposed to be the star, she was. Wilona was nothing; there was no way she could be a star!

"Can you please not block the gates?" Wilona wasn't backing down. Outside these gates was a better future for herself! She kneeled on her knees for so long, and today, she was going to stand up for herself.

"Some people have places to be."

Adi unfolded her arms and clenched them at her sides. She looked at Wilona with furious eyes and her breathing became harsh. First, she lied to her. Second, she quitted being her servant. And now, third, she was talking back! The nerves!

"Places to be?" Adi said slowly. "Places to be! I'm supposed to be the one who should have places to be! Give me that invite! You have no need for it!!"

"No! I'm done bowing down to you!" Wilona yelled.

She held her bag tightly to her chest protecting it from the greedy claws of Adi. She couldn't let Adi take away the invite! Her future depended on this!

"I'm not giving you the invite you greedy witch!"

"Why you-!" Adi screamed. She walked towards Wilona looking like a mad bull. Each of her steps was laced with anger, and it was clear this wasn't going to end without a few bruises.

Wilona stepped back in fear and began to look for escape routes. She regretted going against Adi right now, maybe later, but not now. Anytime better than today; she couldn't be late.

'Can you please help me escape, 5025?' Avina calmly assessed her situation. The gate was there, just a few feet away, but how was she going to escape the claws of Adi.

'To the left!'

At the sound of 5025's voice, Avina rushed to the left. At the nick of a second, Adi's hand slid past her head. Adi had pounced on her, but her timely dodge let Adi kiss the ground.

She got up with scratches on her face and her fiery eyes shot bullets at Wilona. Her anger exploded, and she rushed towards Wilona. Her hands spread out ready to nab Wilona.

Avina could only hope Wilona had enough stamina to run away. She sprinted to the gates as quickly as she could rushing to her bike. She scrambled for her keys as she watched the figure of Adi coming closer to her. Hurry!! Come on! Where are those blasted keys! At last, she found her keys!

She held them up and put them in the lock, but her hands, jittery, dropped them. She reached for them, but a pain shot through her head. Adi had reached her and grabbed her hair pulling it back.

The pain rushed through her scalp, and she couldn't help but let out a wretched scream.

At the sound of her pain, Adi let out a maniacal laugh and yanked one more time.

"You sound like a pig!" Adi smiled at Wilona and her spit sprayed across her face.