Aiden sat at the back of the car as his chauffeur drove him to school. He had his headset on and watched with great interest the crew that was dancing and their reviews on his device.
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They were pretty average if he was asked. Then, a masked guy began to dance and a satisfied smile crept up his face when he saw the reviews and ratings.
The car stopped at the parking lot and he came down after putting his headset back into his bag. His friend Noah was already in class by the time he got there.
"Hey Aiden, you are here," Noah said as a form of greeting
"Of course, I'm here," Aiden replied.
"Alright, but I meant you came so early today. It must be a good day, huh?" Noah said with a nudge.
"I think it'll be better if you just mind your business and allow me to read. We have a test around the corner," Aiden said and brought out a big book.
Noah gently brushed the book aside and replaced it with a pamphlet.
"I want you to check this out," he said.
"Hmmm," Aiden breathed in annoyance.
He picked up the pamphlet which read,
DANCE TO FAME
It was the annual dance battle the school hosted for students who have a knack for dancing. It was originally called 'the dance festival'. But over the years, some lucky students have been spotted by celebrities and have carved a name for themselves as teen dancers, hence the title dance to fame.
Aiden zoned out for a moment.
"I'm not interested," he said and pushed the pamphlet aside nervously.
"Well, your hard luck. I heard Celine would be gracing us with her presence. I just wish I could dance so she'll get to notice me," Noah said, intentionally provoking Aiden.
Celine was one of the lucky students that was spotted by a famous rapper and she has appeared in almost all his videos since then. But long before she became famous, she was Aiden's crush.
They never spoke to each other except when Celine said 'hi' first to Aiden. Aiden would be considered a famous athlete by his looks but is actually a nerd or genius.
He is the opposite of Jack because Aiden is a master of many trades. Although no one knew about this except for Noah, his best friend.
"Is Celine really coming?," Aiden asked, becoming interested
"Yes, and she promised to dance with the winner and treat whoever it is to a meal. Just imagine you could use that opportunity to charm her and finally shoot your shot," Noah said, very excited.
"Not to kill your excitement but it seems like you have forgotten about Craig, Jacob, and Annie," Aiden said
"You know, the dance show is not all about how good you dance but your fan base," He added further and he was right.
Annie and Celine were a team and still do dance collaboration online which made Annie some sort of celebrity. Craig was the most popular guy in school while Jacob was the son of the principal.
They were all really talented and popular.
"Then let's start building you a fan base," Noah said.
"But, I'm too shy to......,'
"Don't worry, we can solve that with a mask," he said as if reading his mind.
He wanted to say no but wanted to impress Celine even more, so for the next couple of weeks that followed, he practiced his dance steps and how he would perform.
He danced in front of the class and got a few people cheering. He also posted on social media but got backlash for wearing a mask.
"Just ignore the comments," Noah advised.
They danced and danced till it was time for the audition. The other kids were cool and got loads of flowers, and encouragement but he had Noah by his side.
He also did not let dancing affect his grades at school.
There were various dance performances, salsa, hip-hop, ballet, soul dance, breakdance, and many more.
Twenty people were selected to the next round which was in a week from which ten people would make it to the finals with three winners emerging alongside two runner-ups.
Aiden was among the twenty selected to move to the next round and he was very glad. The backlashing online had eased a little bit and people had begun to notice him
He practiced the most and made it to the top ten. On the day of the finals, he came fifth. He was devastated by the turn of events and very discouraged.
Celine had come to watch the dance and was thrilled when she saw Aiden dance. She invited him to join her team and soon became famous after appearing in the music videos of several famous artists.
He was known as the masked dancer and Noah became his manager.