Emily (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
iluvroadrunner6) wrote2017-12-13 08:47 am
iluvroadrunner6) wrote2017-12-13 08:47 am
get your words out { 2018 } challenge tracking
Directory:
PERSONAL GOALS:Complete Requests 2018 Reading List GYWO Yahtzee
OFFICIAL CHALLENGES:01/21/18: Word Bowling COMPLETE 02/10-11/18: Roll the Dice Challenge COMPLETE 02/24/18: Cliches COMPLETE 3/10-16/18: Catch Up Challenge COMPLETE 4/13-14/18: Time Management Challenge COMPLETE 4/28/18: 5-4-3-2-1 Setting Challenge COMPLETE 5/20/18: May Challenge: Classified Information COMPLETE 5/21-27/18: 7 Days, 7 Stories COMPLETE June 2018: Mid-Year Marathon INCOMPLETE 6/8-9/18: Roll the Dice Challenge COMPLETE July 2018: Mid-Year Marathon INCOMPLETE 7/26/18: Dog Days of Summer Idiomatic Challenge COMPLETE 8/13/18: The 8d20 Challenge COMPLETE 9/14-15/18: Two Day Challenge COMPLETE 10/17-21/18: Nano Prep Challenge INCOMPLETE 11/30/18: Five Minutes Challenge COMPLETE 12/26/18: Stop, Drop, Write COMPLETE
8/18/18 | red-e or knot challenge | COMPLETE | 549
It’s not an easy thing, following in your family’s footsteps, but she knows that eventually she’s going to have to try. She stands at the entrance of the room, watching the various performers mill about and prepare for the evening’s performance while her stomach ties itself in knots. She can see them eye her, some with interest and some with disdain, knowing what she already knew – it’s nepotism, pure and simple. Her mother makes this look easy, she always has. There’s no way that Serena is going to be able to make this look quite as effortless.
She didn’t earn this place, as far as the rest of them are concerned. She’s just here because her mommy said so.
“Move it or lose it, honey,” Kara, the emcee, says from behind her, nudging her out of the way so she can get to one of the mirrors. The outfit she’s wearing on her large six-three frame manages to contain the essence of classic Hollywood elegance, and it’s something Serena’s always envied about her, ever since she was a little girl. She hopes that one day she can contain even half of the grace and poise she manages to portray.
Serena does as she’s told, however, making her way into the backstage area and launch herself into the ebb and flow in front of the various mirrors. She finds herself an empty mirror and sits down at the stool, taking a deep breath and taking a moment to make any last minute edits to both her make up and her song choices. She’s got a fairly versatile set planned – now she just hopes that she’ll be able to pull it off.
“Serena, baby?” Kara’s voice comes from over her shoulder again and she spins to face her. The anxiety must have been written on her face, because Kara’s face softens before placing a hand on her shoulder gently. “You’re up next, sweetie. You ready?”
“As ready as I’m going to be,” Serena admits, before getting to her feet and following Kara out towards the stage. The previous girl is just finishing her set, and her voice echoes off the acoustics of the club, before it’s replaced by a thunderous kind of applause. Kara swings up onto the stage to close out the performance and Serena feels like she must of blacked out the rest of her introduction because the next thing she knows, Kara is saying her name and sending her out onto stage.
The room goes silent from the applause, waiting for her to begin, and she takes a deep breath to steady herself, letting her focus drift for a moment as she tries to find her spot, her spot to sing to that isn’t a person and allows her to tune out the rest of the room. It’s a trick her mother taught her, for dealing with her stage freight, and at first there’s nowhere she can look that she doesn’t see people, until her eyes land on an eel tank lingering in the back of the club. It’s nothing fancy, but it will have to do.
She pauses, takes a deep breath, and sings. As far as she knows, there’s nowhere to go but up from here.