The ride to Maryland was longer than I thought it would be. It was dark but I could see the snow hitting the car windshield. I was very tired. I was doing something I really enjoy: going to a dance competition. I have been dong this since I was six years old. The competition would not be easy; that’s the thing with dance competitions. They are not all the same. Some competitions attract great dance schools and dancers who are home schooled.  Other competitions are less competitive. The competition in Maryland would be a tough one for sure.
    

We pulled into the hotel and quickly got to our room. The hotel was enormous and I saw girls of all ages wearing their dance team jackets. I am proud of my jacket. It is turquoise and has blue and clear crystals all over it. My dance studio is connected to a famous dance studio from Minnesota. I had to get to bed because I had to perform my solo at 8:06 am the following morning.
    

The next morning after a few bites of breakfast – I don’t like to eat when I am performing. I put my solo costume on. It was difficult to put on because it had straps connecting the top to the bottom and it would get tangled easily. It had countless amethyst rhinestones on the top. It really sparkled on stage. It had jewel tones of purple and sapphire blue, and patches of blue lace along the top and bottom. I wore a matching
blue flower in my hair. The flower petals also had matching rhinestones. My mother was nagging me to stretch. I stretched trying not to notice other girls who I would be competing against.
    

Then I saw my friend Rachel. We would be competing our solos against each other.  Rachel seemed nervous and a bit different that morning. I asked her what her room number was and she answered curtly that she did not know.  I talked about getting breakfast with her after our performances but she said she already had eaten. Rachel is a great dancer and she has a different choreographer than I do. My solo would be performing immediately after hers.
    

I do not like to watch my competitors. It is just something I never do. After Rachel performed her solo she seemed really happy with her performance. She said she would meet me for lunch after awards. I went on stage to do my solo and I could tell I was “on.” My turns were clean and in high releve. My jumps landed quietly. All the stretching I did beforehand made my lines look great. I was performing to the music “My Immortal” and telling a story, the way my choreographer told me to do. The song is about losing someone whom you love. It is a really pretty song and the lyrics go like this, “this pain is just too real, there’s just too much that time cannot erase.” After my performance my choreographer told me I did a good job, which is something I never, ever hear from her. Anyway, I knew the competition was fierce at this venue in Maryland. I was very satisfied that I performed well.
    

I found Rachel and she told me how difficult the competition was in Maryland. She said that a girl from Virginia would probably win, or maybe another girl from a famous
choreographer’s dance studio. I admit, this hurt my feelings a bit. She said the costumes from our studio were not right for the competition because they had too many rhinestones on them. As I listened to Rachel I shifted my position and one of my rhinestones from my costume fell to the floor. I tried to find it because they are expensive and it would need to be glued back to my costume. It was hard to see the rhinestone on the patterned floor. I glanced at my costume to see if the missing rhinestone looked obvious. I hate when rhinestones fall off my costume. They have to be glued on individually and it takes so much time.
    

Soon, it was time for awards. For awards, all the dancers sit on stage with their studios. The top ten dancers would be called out for the teen solo division with the highest scoring solos.  My stomach was in knots. I thought it would be amazing if I placed in the top ten, but it would be really difficult. I never expect anything at dance competitions. I do well and have won competitions before, but I never expect to win. The names were called out starting with 10th place. I was not sitting with Rachel for awards for some reason and this felt strange. She was sitting with some older girls from our studio. The names continued to be called out, one by one. No one from our studio had been called and they were up to fourth place already. Then third, then second, and then first overall was called. I heard my name!  My solo won first place!  My solo was the highest scoring teen solo of the competition! All of my hard work had paid off. All of the sacrifices I had made. The long practices, the late nights. I was asked to announce the name of my choreographer and the name of my studio. I was given a jacket with the name of the dance competition embroidered on the back and a trophy with silver and gold stars all over it.  I was absolutely thrilled. I saw my teammates smiling at me and my name being cheered by the dance teachers. What a great morning! I loved Maryland!
    

After the award ceremony, I went to find Rachel so we could have lunch together. I could not find her at first. Then I saw her over by the elevators. I greeted Rachel warmly. Rachel glanced at me with a cold look in her eye, as if she did not know me.  Was she mad at me? I purposely made my mother hold my trophy, so I was not parading around with it. I am sensitive to other people’s feelings when I do well at a competition. I’ve won a few times but I don’t ever brag about it. Okay, I had the winning jacket on, but maybe I should have taken it off? Maybe it was obnoxious to wear my winning jacket around? I asked Rachel about having lunch and Rachel said she was not feeling well. I said that maybe we could meet for ice cream later in the day.  Rachel mumbled something and then got on the elevator.
    

It looked like I was stuck having lunch with my mother that afternoon. My mother was so happy for me. She bought the video of my solo and all the pictures of my solo that were for sale. We entered the restaurant at the hotel and I could not believe my eyes. Rachel was sitting there at the restaurant with two other girls from my studio having lunch. They were giggling and laughing. I was not sure why Rachel was there. I guess she was feeling better?  Could it be that Rachel did not want to have lunch with me? She was supposed to be my friend. Why was she acting this way? Why wasn’t she happy for me? I walked over to Rachel and watched her as she chewed on her straw. I asked Rachel how she was feeling. She could not look me in the eye as she told me she was feeling better. I was so happy to win the competition, but Rachel made the whole experience less special for me. I wanted her to be my friend and be happy for me. This was not to be. I returned to the table where my mother was sitting. I checked my hair and my hand got caught on the flower clip that was in my hair. Several rhinestones fell from the clip onto the restaurant floor. I watched them bounce and roll under tables. This time, I did not try to find them.