Her Last Piece

Piece Five

Clara, we're going to be late for your appointment. The hairstylist is waiting for us. By the way, we still have some shopping to do,” Ruby called out to her from her window.

“Ohh, today?” She rubbed her eyes lazily. Clara had cried her eyes out and slept off that day. She still worried about her poetry. She literally forgot about Ruby and the appointment

“No questions asked, now come on.”

“Okay, fine”

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Clara was not surprised her name was called finally, she had backed out at the last minute, but Atlas urged her to submit her piece. She took a deep long breath, as she stepped on stage.

The first thing Clara heard was grasp, followed by whispers from the crowd. Everyone was amazed at her transformation. She could not even believe she looked like that. Ruby did quite a number on her.

She wore cargo pants with a small crop top which showed her curves, she didn't wear her glasses and, for the first time, she wasn't ashamed of her freckles and then her hair? It was tinted red, she left a few strands in front of a fringe style, then the rest of it was packed up with a hair clip. Her hair complimented her eye color.

Clara felt more confident, but at the same time she was still scared of the crowd. Worse still, she was not prepared for her spoken poetry.

She heaved, her hands shook as she held the microphone.

“Uhm…good day everyone”, of course, Clara stuttered.

“Your poetry please”, one of the judges called

She opened her mouth to talk, but it seemed like her tongue was tied and she was helpless.

“A-a-”

Everyone laughed.

“Can't you speak?”

She was quiet for thirty seconds.

“Okay, even if you can't speak, let your silence speak, just say something, or you might get disqualified.”

Clara was surprised the judge had patience. The two other judges whispered between themselves.

“A minute please” Clara finally said.

“Which is your last chance”? The male judge said.

She closed her eyes, ‘let your silence speak’. She recalled the judge’s words," that's an oxymoron. Okay, I can work with that.

“Loud silence …” she started to say.

“What?”

“Let her speak Jeff”, the judge gestured to him.

“In my silence

There's an unseen battle

Which makes me feel less

I do not fight with arrows or swords.

The only thing that seems to be my foe are my words.

My pen dances happily on the page

On the paper? Yes, that's where I find a stage.

But then my voice, like a whisper in the dark, deserves to be heard.

But i shut it because only in silence is where it's head

Speaking of the head, mine's full of many unspoken words. I'm not ready to face

Yet, in silence, I take solace.

The only difference now is my silence speaks

Loud and heavy words it spills”

She started to breathe heavily, the crowd was silent, then they started clapping, she smiled to herself, she did it, she did not choke on her words after all.

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They were asked to take a break for about fifteen minutes while the judges decide on the final results. Clara went to grab a drink from the machine. When she got her drink, she walked away as she noticed other contestants were coming in her direction.

She could hear footsteps behind her, as if they were following closely, but she ignored it, she was so thirsty, that she focused on her drink.

Suddenly she felt a full force on her face, it was covered, she saw nothing but darkness, then she could feel herself being elated, as she was carried, she was so confused, she didn't make a noise, not even muffle. She struggled to break free. Her drink fell out of her hands, but there was more than one person carrying her.

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She removed the huge bag that was used to cover her face. She found herself in the cleaning room. Clara scoffed about what that was all about, she had to get back on stage. She looked at her watch. She had four minutes left. She proceeded to open the door, it wouldn't open, she twisted the door knob, it wouldn't budge, she'd been locked inside.

Oh no!

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The contestants were asked to assemble on the stage while they await the judges' decision. Clara was not there, Atlas whispered to Ruby.

“Where in the world is Clara?”

“ I don't know, Atlas, by the way, you're spitting right into my ears.”

“Sorry, call her line”

“Good idea”

Ruby dialed Clara's number, then she felt a vibration in her legs, she checked her bag, Clara's phone was inside, she then remembered Clara had given her the phone.

“Shoots, come on, we have to go find her.”

After walking for a while, the halls were empty, they couldn't find Clara, they could hear the voice of one of the judges.

Then they saw Clara, running towards them.

“Where were you?”

“Long story, I was locked in, thanks Mr James” she screamed to the cleaning staff, walking behind her.

“Locked in?” Ruby was confused, but Clara already ran off.

“I was passing when I heard a loud bang, so I opened it and found her” Mr James explained.

“Thanks”

“What was that all about?” Atlas asked.

“I don't know what really matters is we've found her. Now, let's get back.”

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Ruby did not notice Clara’s phone ringing over and over again, over the shouts of joy, when she was declared winner, she could not stop screaming at the top of her lungs, even Atlas could not contain his joy. She never really thought Clara could win, but she was wrong after all, those words ‘...and the winner of this competition is Clara Giles!’ still rang in her ears.

She reached out for the phone in her bag. As the house settled down, the phone still rang violently.

It was Mrs Giles on the phone. Ruby picked it up.

“Hello”, she said, pinning the phone to her ears, so she could hear clearly.

“Clara, I've been calling since. Your father has been arrested by Roland Randolph”