The Life of Crystal White

The Finals - Part One

Rachel guided Crystal straight into the music room before she changed her mind altogether.

"I managed to get her here," Rachel blurted out the second they entered.

"Yes, I see!"

Crystal turns towards the person who spoke to find a girl with short brunette hair who was smiling sweetly.

"You must be Crystal; the one with the voice of an angel," the girl continued to say.

A wide grin suddenly appeared on Crystal"s face and it took all her willpower to hold back the laughter that was ready to come forth. "Yes, I"m Crystal. But you got the angel part wrong." She corrected the girl.

The smile on the girl"s face instantly disappeared before saying."That"s for me to decide."

The girl had sounded so seriously that it wiped the smirk clearly off Crystal"s face. She truly wasn"t sure how to take this girl and wondered if once again if she had made a huge mistake coming here in the first place.

"I"m Kelly," The girl introduced herself. "I"m in year 11."

Crystal felt her smile slowly returning. "Nice to meet you." She hoped that would encourage the girl to cheer up a bit.

"Likewise!" The girl slowly nodded her head. "Well, I"ve heard your tape and it was a pleasure to listen to." A small smile returned to the girl"s lips.

"Crystal has done another tape for you." Rachel quickly interrupted, sensing Crystal"s nerves.

Crystal was glad for the interruption, it gave her the excuse to take her eyes from Kelly, hoping for that reassuring look from her friend.

She certainly was disappointed to see the back of Rachel"s head, to find her digging through her school bag instead.

"Crystal has done different types of songs this time." Rachel continued saying as she finally located the tape and handed it over to Kelly.

Crystal was truly grateful for the smile that appeared and the side look that Rachel managed to produce as she did this.

"Thanks, I"ll look forward to hearing that, but Crystal..." Kelly started to say but instantly paused for a moment as if aware that she didn"t quite have Crystal"s full attention. "I need to hear you sing, right now."

That instantly got Crystal"s attention and she stared back at Kelly with a frightened look on her face. "You do?"

"Come on Crystal, I"m right here..." Rachel started her usual encouragement. "You can do it."

Crystal couldn"t help looking at Rachel completely, hoping her friend could somehow talk Kelly out of this. But deep down she knew that wouldn"t help her. After a reassuring nod from her friend she slowly turned back to face Kelly."Does it matter what song?" Crystal asked.

Suddenly that bright smile appeared back on Kelly"s face with a reassuring look of her own. "No, you choose a song that you feel comfortable with."

One thing Crystal noticed straight away was the encouragement that Kelly was sending through that look alone; it was if she could magically make her sing. And before Crystal knew what was happening, there were words coming out of her month.

One thing Crystal couldn"t understand was how the rest of her wasn"t following suit – truly was close to bolting out of the door, what with all thoughts following through her mind; of how this moment could ruin her life forever.

Suddenly, Kelly"s hand shot up and the words instantly stopped flowing.

She knew this would happen – Kelly hated it! Crystal couldn"t believe her friend even talked her into this; her dream was over before it even got started.

"That was really good but..." Kelly started to say with a serious look on her face.

Crystal wasn"t ready for this and was truly frightened of what Kelly would say next.

Suddenly, as if sensing her friend was close to breaking down – Rachel reached her arm around Crystal; reminded her that she was there.

"...I have to be honest with you. Your eyes were everywhere; you looked like you wanted to be anywhere but here." Kelly finally added with no change in her expression.

Crystal knew Kelly was speaking the truth. She had always shown her emotions like an open book. "I felt that way." She found herself admitting aloud.

"Even if you do, you must not look nervous." Kelly started to explain. "My advice to you is to work on your eyes."

Easy said than done Crystal thought but instead added. "I"ll try my best."

That reassuring smile slowly appeared on Kelly"s face, once again. "I really want you to win this, so I"m giving you until next Monday to try and get over the look of being nervous. If you can do that, then you will become part of the band."

Does this mean what Crystal thinks it means? Had she truly impressed Kelly that much, that she had given her another chance? "Thank you. I"ll try!" How did that come out so calm when she was surely ready to bust?

"I know you can do it, you just need practice." Kelly continued to reassure her.

"I will practice."

"Can you make it here just after 8 on Monday?" Kelly asked.

"I"ll make sure she is here." Rachel interrupted.

"Then if you do make it through, we start rehearsing Monday after school. So check you can stay here till 6 every evening."

"Yes, I will do." Crystal continued to acknowledge Kelly. Waiting as patiently as she could but was so ready to scream her head off; Kelly was the first person besides Rachel to praise her for her singing.

"See you next Monday." Kelly smiled sweetly towards Crystal. "...And good luck!"

"Yes, I"ll see you then." Could she leave yet? Crystal kept chanting to herself as she slowly turned towards the door, holding her breath.

"See ya, Kelly." Rachel said her farewells as she opened the door for Crystal after seeing that eager look on her face.

"Help her, Rachel." Kelly finally added as the two of them started walking out the room.

Rachel took one last look towards Kelly, "I will!" before following Crystal down the corridor.

The moment the door closed Crystal jumped around to face Rachel with a very wide grin on her face. And suddenly she felt herself being shoved up against the wall...

"Get out of my way" Came a demanding voice.

Once Crystal recovered from that moment, she noticed a girl with light blonde hair marching straight past her.

This girl walked straight up to Rachel, who was determined not to move out of her way. Crystal watched as they both stood face to face, with neither of them moving out the way.

"Move it!" The girl demanded.

"No!" Rachel refused her. "There is plenty of room for you to pass, without violence."

"I don"t have time for this you amateur." The girl lashed out before moving around Rachel but not without knocking against her on the way into the room they had just vacated.

Rachel didn"t even bother turning around, she just walked right over to Crystal with a concerned look on her face. "Are you alright?" She asked her.

"I"m fine, but you didn"t have to do that." Crystal reassured her.

A small grin appeared on Rachel"s face, "That girl needed to be taken down a peg or two." Rachel started to say before a small grin appeared on her face, "And it was a pleasure to do."

Crystal smiled back. "Yeah, you certainly enjoyed that."

Suddenly, a sad thought came to Crystal making that smile disappear right off her face as she looked over Rachel"s shoulder. "She sure did look very pretty, I don"t think I can compare with that." She voiced aloud.

"Kelly isn"t looking for prettiest one."

"Her voice might be better than mine." Crystal refused to back down.

"You don"t know that for sure. Anyway, Kelly says you have won that part, it"s just your eyes to work on." Rachel continued to reassure her.

Crystal looked down towards the floor before saying, "I know, but how?"

"We"ll find a way." Rachel placed her hand against Crystal"s back. "Come on, let"s give Jeff the good news." And started guiding Crystal outside where Jeff was still waiting.

"So did you win?" Jeff asked with enthusiasm as soon as the door opened.

Crystal looked up at Jeff with a sad look on her face. "Not yet." She answered.

"Well, she has kind of won." Rachel re-corrected her.

Jeff looks to Rachel then back to Crystal with a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Kelly said her voice is very good, but she looks too nervous when she is singing. If we improve on that by next week, then Crystal wins."

"Oh, great news!" That wide smile suddenly appeared on his face, once again.

Rachel moved her hand up to Crystal"s shoulder, "Crystal did really well in there, she sang to someone else besides me." Rachel stated with enthusiasm of her own.

"Well done, you are already making progress."

Crystal truly didn"t feel up to be happy about it, she realised that it wasn"t that much of a big deal, especially, since there was no chance of getting over her nervous in a matter of days. "Thanks, but I there is no way I will be able to control my nerves by next week." She admitted aloud, wanting them both to drop it.

Jeff moved his face closer to crystal"s "You never know... You might just surprise yourself."

Crystal found her staring right into Jeff"s eyes who was staring right back. "Well, I better get going, " she announced as she slowly moved her face back a little.

Jeff quickly took a couple steps back as if realising he was making crystal uncomfortable. "Yeah, me too. But don"t worry too much, you can do it."

Crystal slowly stepped around him."I hope so." Then another thought suddenly came to her. "Oh. good luck, tomorrow!"

"Thanks!" Jeff starts to walk away. "See you tomorrow then. Bye Rachel."

"Bye Jeff."

"See ya."

Jeff turns his head back around and smiled as he continued walking away before turning back to face that way he was going.

"He definitely likes you," Rachel whispered into Crystal"s ear.

Crystal continued to watch as Jeff walked away, not being able to take her eyes off him. "Yeah, I know." She answered, not really paying attention.

"You do? ...Oh, at last!"

"What?" Crystal turned back to face Rachel with a confusing look on her face. "What did you say?"

Rachel"s face had suddenly brightened up as a wide grin slowly appeared. "You just admitted that Jeff likes you, and it looks like you"re crazy about him too." She confronted Crystal.

"No, I"m not." Crystal quickly corrected her.

"You couldn"t take your eyes off him."

"Yes I could, I"m not watching him now, am I?" Crystal tried to defend herself.

Rachel"s face got closer to Crystal"s, "No, because he just went around that corner."

"Did he?" Crystal quickly turned back around, hoping to catch at least another glimpse of him.

Rachel placed her arm around Crystal"s shoulders and started pulling her away. "Oh, come on. Let"s go, before you go after him."

"Who said I"m going after him?" But she let her friend drag her away.

"Your face did. You looked so lost when he walked away."

Crystal couldn"t help the laughter that came from her. "Oh don"t be silly." She laughed it off.

"I"m not. But everyone can see Jeff is crazy about you, as much as you are about him." Rachel smiled back.

Crystal"s laughter started to die down. "No, they don"t. Jeff and I are only good friends!"

"Who are you trying to convince here?"

Crystal knew Rachel wouldn"t give up, especially when it came to Jeff. But she had to find a way or she might never get him off her mind. "Oh, that"s enough of me and Jeff." But as usual, Rachel never did let it go.

On Tuesday afternoon after the final bell; Crystal and Rachel were walking out of class.

"I think I should wait and see how Jeff does; as he did for me," Crystal announced.

"I can"t stay long; I have to the City with my mum," Rachel stated.

Crystal really wanted to know if Jeff would make it through."He might not be that long." She tried to reason with her.

Rachel slowly grinned at Crystal. "O.K, let"s go see."

Crystal starts walking and Rachel follows on beside her.

"So what do you have to shop for?" Crystal asked.

A small grin appeared on Rachel"s face as she looked across at Crystal. "I think you know the answer to that one."

Crystal took a quick at Rachel, "How would I know that?" before looking quickly away again as the edge of her lips starting quivering.

Crystal knew that Rachel"s mum only took her to the City when she had buy presents for the family. Except, in September she had no family birthdays, only her best friend"s birthday.

"Don"t start acting all coy either."

Crystal"s smile got wider before she suddenly turned and grabbed hold of Rachel"s arm. "So what do I get for my 12th birthday?" She asked with excitement.

Crystal also knew they aways had a tradition when it came to each year; They never buy the same thing twice and it had to have something to do with their friendship that had had since they were toddlers.

Rachel smiled back as she continued walking with Crystal hanging onto her arm, " You will have to wait and see."

Crystal started looking sad; making her eyes smaller and her lips wider, hoping Rachel couldn"t resist her puppy look and would give in. "I don"t like surprises."

"Liar!" Rachel snapped back as she opened the door that would lead them to the music block.

"There"s Jeff." Crystal stated with enthusiasm and quickly let go of Rachel and rushed away.

"Oh, hi Crystal," Jeff acknowledged Crystal with a bright smile.

"Hi," Crystal caught up to him before adding, "Haven"t you gone in yet?"

Jeff shakes his head, "No, someone else is in there at the moment."

"I"ll wait for you and see if you win."

Rachel eventual caught up and took a look at her watch."I can"t really stay." Rachel confirmed.

"I"ll walk you home if you would like me to?" Jeff asked Crystal with enthusiasm.

Suddenly Crystal could feel her cheeks heating up and quickly added. "You don"t have to walk me home; I can easily get home on my own." She lied. Not that she didn"t mind walking alone, there was just one route Crystal hated to take; the back alley that leads straight to her house.

"I"d really like to walk you home." Jeff continued to show his interest on the subject.

Crystal smiled back at Jeff. "If you would like to." At least she wouldn"t have to take the extra long route home.

"Since you"re taken care of I really must get going," Rachel added with a quick grin in Crystal"s direction.

"I"ll see you in the morning, Rachel." Crystal added, trying to avoid her friends look which she knew meant "don"t do anything I wouldn"t do". Although, to Rachel that wasn"t very limited.

"Yeah see ya then," Rachel turned back to Jeff, "Bye, Jeff." Before she turned around completely.

"See ya."

Crystal watched as Rachel walked back in the same direction they had just come from and suddenly realised this was the first time she had been left alone with Jeff. Crystal slowly turned back to face Jeff who was still smiling at her. "Aren"t you nervous? She asked him the first thing that popped into her head.

"Very!"

"You don"t look nervous." Crystal wished she could look as calm as Jeff did at this moment. If it had been her waiting here alone, she would have bolted as quick as lighting.

"Believe me, I"m nervous," Jeff answered in a calm manner as he leant back against the wall, behind him.

"How do you hide the impression on your face?" Crystal asked, hoping Jeff could pass whatever it was onto herself.

"I think of other things."

"Like what exactly?"

Jeff suddenly started leaning his face towards Crystal"s, "I think about you; the first day I met you."

Crystal found herself staring right into his bright blue eyes. "Do you, why?" She heard herself ask, not quite believing how quite her voice had become.

"I remember your face; you looked so lost when you looked at me and very cute too." Jeff quickly added.

Crystal could now feel every breath Jeff took as he said this and suddenly wondered how he got so close, without her realising... Not that she was complaining though.

"I just wanted to reach out and…" Jeff continued to say.

Crystal suddenly felt a light pressure against her left cheek and then it was instantly gone again, making her wonder if she had really felt it in the first place.

Jeff instantly removed his hand as soon he saw a shadow go flying past his vision and realised it was the person that went in before him."I better go in." He quickly turned away from Crystal. "I shouldn"t be long." he quickly added before disappearing into the building.