“Unbelievable. That is so rude!” I pointed out.

“Yes, I agree. I understand that she is not crazy about the idea of having to teach you dancing, singing, and acting. She could at least be professional about it.” Mary added to our weird little discussion.

“Absolutely true! She may feel frustrated about having to work with Riley but without Riley being willing to take the part of backup Belle there wouldn’t be a musical.” Alice pointed out.

“Oh, Alice I have a question. I wanted to ask you for a while but I kept forgetting. Who will play the beast in the musical?”

Alice laughed.

“Actually, since we rather are an unconventional school, us being an all-girls school, we changed the role and therefore the beast is a female character as well. Played by a girl of course.”

“Who is she?¨ I wanted to know.

“Oh, her name is Maria. She is an international student from Spain. You will meet her during the next musical meeting after school. She is very friendly and sweet.”

Maria from Spain?! Wow! I was excited about meeting her. I had to think about my friend Angela. I made a mental note to text her later.

The three of us discussed this further and we came to the conclusion that I simply had to make the best out of this situation and work hard to solve this problem. Easier said than done but I will give it my best shot.

When we left the cafeteria, I remembered something.

“Wait a minute. I am supposed to meet Liliana right after school in the library. I can’t meet with both of them at the same time.” I pointed out.

“Seems like an easy decision even though I understand that hanging out with the cute little redhead seems more attractive. You got to learn singing and dancing and of course, acting and you got to learn it quickly.” Mary told me once again.

“Alright, big sis! I know this by now. I will talk to Liliana before this afternoon. I am sure that she and I can find another time. Hopefully, she won’t be too disappointed.”

“I think she’ll be okay. I got to get my last day of hanging out with 12th graders started. I hope you two cuties will have a great day of classes.” Mary wished us.

Mary was right. We needed to get moving. Alice and I made it to homeroom. We sat ourselves down and got comfortable. My morning classes went by quickly. Soon it was time for my favorite class, Philosophy.

As soon as I walked into the classroom, my new and super cute friend was already sitting at her desk, bubbly as ever.

“Hey, girl! Are you ready for exploring the exciting and fascinating time of ancient Philosophy?” Liliana asked me when I was approaching her.

“Oh yes! I sure am ready. I love your enthusiasm. You should do public relations for this class.” I said, jokingly.

This made Liliana laugh.

“Well, thank you, Miss Riley! By the way, I am so excited about our meeting after school in the library.” Lilly said enthusiastically.

“Oh, about that. I am sorry, Liliana but I don’t think I’ll be able to meet you today. I was accepted as backup Belle for the musical and I have to work with this girl named Madison who is our star. She asked me to meet her in the library right after school. Could we meet another time?”

“Yeah, sure! I understand. How do you feel about tomorrow? Oh, and I think it is great that you are going to be back up Belle. You have to tell me all about that, okay?” Lilly wanted to know.

“I most certainly will. Thanks for being so flexible. I hope that I didn’t disappoint you.”

“Oh no! Not at all! I guess we have to pay attention to class now or we will get in trouble.” Lilly told me, smiling.

I was relieved she didn’t get upset. Maybe people are not as fragile as I think they are sometimes. Including myself.

Philosophy class was so interesting again. Today I learned a bit about Aristotle. After class, I met with my new bestie Alice and my big sis in the cafeteria for lunch.

“Hey girls!” Alice said to me and Mary.

“How is everyone?” Mary asked.

“Fantastic. How was your morning, big sis?”

“Great. I met with some of the 12th-grade girls again and they have a proposal for you, babe!”

“Some of them were the basketball players at the game we played when we first visited. They want another basketball game with you and me. It would be kind of like a “goodbye present” for me. I felt that I connected with them and vice versa.”

“Do they want me to play again? I mean, I didn’t do too bad but are they sure they want me to play?”

“I think you should do it. I heard about the basketball game with the two pretty visitors. I want to see you in action.” Alice almost demanded.

I felt a little overwhelmed. I am going to get started to work with Madison today. I am sure I am going to need all the help I can get to become a somewhat decent actor and singer. Would I have time for this?

“Well, I am going to need to think about that for a little while. Until when do they need my decision?” I asked Mary.

“Rather sooner than later. I will tell them that you need some time.” Mary assured me.

“Great. Thanks! I need to focus on my “date” with Madison.”

“Oh, how did Liliana react when you told her that the two of you won’t be able to meet today?” Alice inquired.

“She seemed a bit disappointed but I am sure she was fine. Anyways, I am nervous about meeting Madison but I will try to be strong. I mean, she’s not going to bite me, right?”

“Probably only if you want and if you ask her nicely.” Alice stated sounding sassy.

All three of us laughed.

Soon enough my afternoon classes started and my “date” with Madison was about to happen. I walked over to the library right after school trying to hurry because I did not want to be late. I entered Cherry Blossom Hill’s beautiful library and found myself a place to sit. Sure enough, I didn’t have to wait for a long time because a determined-looking Madison walked right up to me.

“Hey, Princess! Let’s go to one of the study rooms so we can have a little chat about expectations.” Madison ordered me.

I followed her into the first empty study room feeling anxious about how this will turn out. We got ourselves comfortable and Madison did not waste a second.

“Listen, Princess! Only because you are new, cute, and pretty doesn’t mean you will be treated like a little Princess. I need to teach you how to act, sing and dance halfway decently. This will be a long shot but we got to try. You need to work hard so that the musical crew and I can rest easy about having at least a somewhat good backup. I hope you understand what a commitment this is. If you are going to be a snowflake, you might as well leave. Have I made myself clear?” Madison barked at me.

I started feeling dizzy. Her words hit me like icicles. A part of me wanted to cry and hide somewhere and have Mary right next to me whispering soothing things in my ear.

However, there was this other feeling inside of me which was anger. How dare she talk to me like that? Why not try something else for a change?

“Look, darling! While I understand that you are trying to watch out for your musical crew, I want you to treat me with courtesy and respect! Throwing a note at me while I’m having breakfast is unacceptable and just flat-out rude. I know that without me being back up Belle, there will be no musical. I suggest that we better start working together or else I will not be back up Belle. Is that understood? Oh, and one more thing. You can call me Riley for now.” I asked her feeling brave.

Madison looked shocked and her face was turning red. For a minute, time seemed to have frozen.

After what seemed like an eternity, she slowly seemed to recover.

“Okay. Why don’t we take a ten-minute break and then start again? I will go to the bathroom and freshen up. Is that okay, Riley?”

I nodded. Madison left the room and I felt weird but also proud of myself. I stood up to being bullied. Our musical star had it coming.

I got myself comfortable and waited for Belle numero uno to return. Sure enough, Madison returned soon.

“Hey, Riley. I wanted to apologize to you for my unacceptable behavior. I went way overboard. I was prejudiced and didn’t even give you a chance. I sincerely hope that you will accept my apology.”

I felt shocked that Madison said this. I slowly nodded. The tall blonde girl in front of me actually showed me a little smile.

“Apology accepted. Thanks for considering my words. I hope that I wasn’t too harsh.”

“Oh no! I was way too harsh. There are a lot of things going on in my life now. Things that I have to sort out. I just let that influence my mood and I let it out on you. Not fair at all.” Madison assured me.

“Thanks for explaining. I think we should start working on making me Belle numero dos.”

“Totally agree. I thought we could start with some singing lessons. I brought some handouts and other reading material. There are also some great videos on YouTube I would like you to watch.”

“That sounds good. I will most definitely start working on that. Are we going to actually practice singing in the library?”

“Oh no! We should go to my dorm. We would have some privacy there.” Madison suggested.

I agreed and soon we made our way to her dorm. It felt good that we have made up but I also felt a little weird being invited to her dorm after our yelling at each other and apology session. However, I was curious to learn more about Madison.

When I entered her dorm, I was amazed at how neatly it was set up and decorated. She had a beautiful big bed, a lot of pictures on the wall which displayed her and friends I assumed. Some of the walls had LED lights. The room felt open, friendly, and inviting. The windows had some cute Creme-colored curtains.

Madison and I made ourselves comfortable and got to work right away. We practiced mostly singing by starting to try to sing some basic notes. According to Madison, I didn’t do too badly. I tried hard because I wanted to master this challenge.

We stopped practicing after thirty minutes. Madison and I thanked one another. She reminded me that in two days will be the next after-school musical meeting when I will get to know the entire cast and crew. I walked back to my dorm with a smile on my face.

I could not wait to tell Mary and Alice about my encounter with Madison. After a few more minutes I entered my dorm and saw Alice and Mary hanging out on the couch while having what seemed like a nice conversation.

“How did it go?” both asked me at the same time.

We all laughed.

“Oh, it was fine. I felt nervous and a bit intimidated at first. It was quite a bit uncomfortable. Madison thought she could continue to boss me around.”

Alice and Mary looked at me confused.

“What happened next?” Alice pressed on.

“Madison got really mean and started saying bad things to me. She expressed her skepticism about my little to non existent skills in regards to singing, acting, and dancing.”

“What did you do, babe? How did you respond?” Mary was dying to know.

“Well, my first thought was to hide in a corner but I quickly realized that I can’t hide from this. So I told myself to be strong and let her have it. I raised my voice and told her that I am to be treated with courtesy and respect and that without me, there wouldn’t even be a musical. So, I told her she better get her stuff together.” I said with a big smile on my face.

Mary and Alice looked shocked. I saw their jaws drop in slow motion. They seemed speechless. I enjoyed this moment.

“Respect, girl!” Alice said to me.

“Yes, go Riley!” my big sister cheered me on.

“How did Madison react?” Alice wanted to know.

“She seemed frazzled. She took a five-minute break and came back and apologized to me. It sounded very sincere.”

“You are kidding me! Looks like you tamed the beast.” Alice proudly announced.

“Well, will see about that. We are off to a good start though. Let’s hope it stays that way.”

“You are just amazing. I knew you would be able to solve problems like this on your own.” Mary added, also seeming proud.

“Thanks, sis!”

“Oh, before I forget it. You have to make a decision regarding the basketball game.”

“Sure, why not. I know I don’t have a lot of time available right now but I think I can manage.” I assured my two girls.

Mary promised to let the 12th-grade girls know. In the meantime, Mary and I decided to go to the bookstore. We still haven’t gotten a chance to explore the local town nearby. The weather definitely played its part with the cold and gloominess. I looked out the window and I thought I couldn’t wait to see all the cherry trees in full bloom.

The bookstore had a decent size, considering it was inside the school building. Mary and I had fun browsing. I looked for science fiction books and I saw Mary carrying a huge pile of all kinds of books to one of the tables next to the cozy armchairs that were provided for reading.

We both got comfortable and started reading. I got lost in my book quickly until a soft voice woke me up.

“Hi, Miss Riley! Sorry to interrupt your deep reading session but I thought I talk to you anyways.” Liliana, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, said to me with a big smile on her face.

“Oh, hey girl! How nice to see you.” I replied.

“Same here. Whatcha doing tomorrow after school?” Lilly wanted to know.

“I will play at a basketball game with some twelfth-grade girls. Once I got my shower and after changing, I have nothing else planned.” I said with a big smile on my face.

“Alright. Maybe I can take you out for a victory coffee after your shower?” Lilly asked me with an even bigger smile.

“That sounds good. How about five o’clock right here at the bookstore? We can get some coffee here at the Cafe and sit on one of those cozy couches.” Lilliana suggested.

“That sounds good to me.”

“Okay, sweetie. I will see you tomorrow.” Lilly responded and slowly walked away.

I simply couldn’t stop smiling. I turned around to get back to my book when suddenly Mary was standing there with a serious look on her face.