All of those taking part in the competition had been allowed both second and third period off timetable to rehearse for their performances fourth period. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, now both in much better spirits due to Baekhyun’s rapid recovery, were both excited beyond words about the upcoming competition. In between practice Baekhyun told Kyungsoo in a hushed voice about how Chanyeol had carried him. Once the words had left Baekhyun’s mouth Kyungsoo’s mouth dropped open and if it were possible, his large, orb like eyes got even wider. “What?! What was it like?” Kyungsoo exclaimed.

Baekhyun’s face dropped slightly, “I don’t know…I was unconscious…” Kyungsoo raised one questioning eyebrow and Baekhyun stammered out,” Buy hey, it still happened all right?!” Kyungsoo laughed and ruffled Baekhyun’s straight, tousled, caramel streaked hair before they both returned to their individual practice.

In the lunch hall, when seeing Baekhyun and Kyungsoo laughing and joking around with their friend Suho you wouldn’t have expected them to be part of the group of people soon to be performing, as all others were scoffing down their food, looking over their lyrics or just plain pulling their hair out, out of nerves. Once they had all finished eating Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Suho all headed to the boys toilets to change for their performances. Baekhyun had decided not to wear anything too ostentatious or flashy for his performance, as he didn’t want anything to take the focus away from his voice. Having come to this reasoned conclusion he had carefully selected the night before a pair of black skinny jeans, black converses and a plain white top. He didn’t feel like he needed a jacket as the weather was unusually warm for March, he sighed, hoping that this early bout of sunshine wouldn’t mean that their summer would be bad.

He walked into the middle cubicle and began changing into his clothes, draping his school trousers, shirt and blazer over the cubicle door as he tugged on his skinny jeans. He grabbed his school clothes and unlocked the door, bundling them into the bag which had previously been occupied by his new attire. Neither Suho nor Kyungsoo were changed yet so Baekhyun hopped up onto the tile counter by the sink and began lacing up his converses. His two dearest friends came out of their cubicles at the same time and Baekhyun grinned at them, “Ya, you two look great.” He exclaimed, glad that he wasn’t the only one who had chosen not to wear conspicuous clothes.

 Kyungsoo was dressed head to toe in black, wearing similar jeans to Baekhyun and a plain black t-shirt. He strode to the mirror and began fixing his hair into a stylish sweep, a slight blush on his cheeks; Baekhyun could tell that Kyungsoo was happy with his outfit. Suho was like the angel to Kyungsoo’s devilish black look. Suho was wearing pale blue skinny jeans and a white t-shirt, topped with a light grey cardigan. The light colours fit well with his calm and kind personality and Baekhyun thought that the clothes suited him well. “You look great too Baekhyun-ah!” Suho remarked as Baekhyun began applying a little eyeliner.

“I know” Baekhyun giggled, jokingly at his friend, giving him a wink in the mirror. Suho gave him a light shove in the shoulder.

“Don’t be so up yourself, even if you know it you shouldn’t say it!” Suho remarked, slightly appalled at his friend. Kyungsoo just laughed and told Suho to lighten up, and that Baekhyun was only joking. A blush rose up Suho’s cheeks as Baekhyun grinned at his gullible friend. They finished off sorting their hair and made their way to the back stage room. There was a large crowd of nervous, jittery people milling about but in the corner the three boys could see that a desk had been set up and was full of paper and pens.

Baekhyun motioned to the desk and the trio headed toward it. They wrote down their names and were all told to select a slip of paper from a bowl; the number on the piece of paper would be their turn. Kyungsoo drew first, selecting a 12, Suho grabbing up a slip of paper revealed the number 11. The two boys high fived, looking over to Baekhyun, who was collecting his own number. Baekhyun’s hand grasped a piece of cold rough paper and he slid it out of the bowl. He opened up the folds and found himself looking down at the number 100.  He sighed and asked the lady behind the desk how many people were competing. She smiled and replied with “There should be 100 competitors today, as long as everyone shows up.” Kyungsoo and Suho took the piece of paper off him and when seeing that he was performing last gave him a reassuring slap on the back, “Don’t worry, even if you’re last, you’ll still nail it.” Suho encouraged, Kyungsoo nodded vigorously in agreement. Baekhyun shrugged and walked over to a cluster of chairs at the side of the room, sitting down, preparing for the long wait that he would have to endure.

His two friends joined him, chatting excitedly and soon Baekhyun was so enticed into the bubbling conversation that he was unable to stay in a grump about when he was performing. About 10 minutes later, the first name was called through a speaker and everybody went hushed. “It’s starting!” Kyungsoo exclaimed, flapping his arms in excitement. Suho and Baekhyun laughed at their bubbly friend, but both felt equally as eager as Kyungsoo, even if they didn’t show it so obviously. Silence fell again as the head teacher introduced the first competitor, and so began the auditions.