Page 3 of Kissing the Debutant
Dance
Instruments
Vocals
Acting
She heard Rose laugh behind her and turned around to glare. She was trying to listen here. Or she would be when they got to the singing part of the competition—the only one that mattered.
Rose held up her handout and pointed to the categories. “Check it out,” she said in a stage whisper that had every student sitting in a three row radius looking over at her. “The first letters of the categories spell out DIVA.” She laughed again. “How perfect is that?”
Lola tipped her head back with a loud laugh. “So perfect.” When she straightened her head, she met Jenna’s gaze head-on. “Especially for some people.”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “Please. Do you think diva is an insult? It’s not. It just means I’m driven.”
To their surprise, Lillian nodded in agreement. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being driven.”
“Or in wanting to be famous,” Rose added.
Lola laughed. “So what are we saying? We should be proud to be divas?”
“Absolutely,” Jenna said.
Layne wrinkled her nose. “Isn’t the term a little chauvinistic?”
Rose shook her head. “Not if we’re claiming the name for ourselves.”
Lola arched a brow at Rose’s utter certainty. “Well I’ve always claimed I was a diva, but I guess you have a point.”
“Think about it,” Lillian said. “People who are driven are strong and determined…”
“They’re intimidating,” Rose added, pursing her lips in a fake scowl that made Lola laugh.
“True,” Layne said, her tone thoughtful. “Maybe being called a diva isn’t such a bad thing.”
“Shhh,” Jenna hissed, turning to face forward as the speaker began to read the section about requirements and judging criteria for vocals.
“If she thinks she’s going to win this one, she has another thing coming,” Lola hissed.
Layne patted her arm.
Lillian arched her brows as she met Rose’s gaze. “I’m really glad I’m not a singer.”
Rose laughed. “You think the dancers will be any less fierce? Think again.”
When they paid attention to the speaker again, she was wrapping up the guidelines and talking about their website where they’d be posting updates before the big competition in April.
“And this year, we’ve added something new,” the organizer said. “Along with adding a Facebook popular vote element to the applicable categories I addressed earlier, we’ve started a Facebook page specifically for the event where you can post your questions and concerns for quick answers. We encourage you all to join to stay in touch in the months leading up to the event.”
“Yeah, because that’s what I want,” Lola murmured. “To be psyched out by my competition for the next seven months.”
“Seriously,” Rose said.
“I don’t know, I think it’s kind of nice to have a place where we can ask questions about the rules,” Lillian said.
“Oh please.” Jenna sounded weary when she turned around. “Social media is just another form of distraction.”
“She has a point,” Layne said as the speaker finished and they grabbed their belongings, heading back out to drop off their official entry forms.
