Morning came and the leader’s dorm house started off with a peaceful breakfast. The stark contrast between the leagues was evident as Ning Jing’s team showed up in their posh and cool dark toned outfits while Na Ying’s group appeared with a sunny disposition through their green themed ensemble.

In the other dorms, everyone was preparing for the league selection. Jessica had wondered how the event of the day will go about. She hoped to join a team that would be welcoming to her. When asked earlier in the morning by her roommate, Xiaolei, she had answered that she had no preference of which team to join at all. After all, she barely knew anyone here and everything was a clean slate for her.

“Jessie, the bus is here. Let’s head out!” Xiaolei called to her from outside their front door.

“On my way!” Jessica replied as she closed the door to their shared room.

“Hi. Jessica!” Tian’Ai greeted as soon as Jessica boarded the bus. Amber gave her a kind nod and smile as she walked past her down to the back of the bus where Xiaolei made room for her.

“So, you’re taking an extra class after the regular classes to learn to read Chinese?” Xiaolei asked as Jessica organized her belongings in the back seat.

“Yes, jiejie. I’m going to have to come in late for supper because of that.” Jessica replied.

“Don’t worry. I’ll save you some food in the fridge.” Xiaolei assured her. 

+++

The Celestial Street auditorium was packed with the talented cohort. Everyone was mingling freely with one another until the leaders and the mentors entered the scene.

“Whoa! You girls look so cool!” Some of the students gushed as they stared at Ning Jing and her team in chic getups.

Na Ying and her crew hesitated at the door when they heard the students’ interactions with Ning Jing’s team. “Should we go for cool or carefree?” Na Ying asked.

“Definitely carefree.” Momo and Lian chorused as they prepared to enter the venue.

“Mentor Na Ying! Welcome!” Xinling and the others who spotted her first, greeted.

“Ei, we’re all wearing green!” Tian’Ai noticed.

“Oh, we’re all wearing something green.” Na Ying smiled, her nerves relaxing as she noted how most of the students present were wearing a shade of green.

“What a coincidence! We seem to have team spirit here.” One of the students exclaimed.

The students all interacted between Ning Jing and Na Ying’s captains until Xie Na arrived and took her role as the facilitator.

“Greetings, dear students!” Xie Na motioned for everyone to settle down, “Last night, the mentors have finally chosen the core of their leagues by appointing their respective leaders and today, you will complete the two leagues each composed of 15 members. So, without further ado, I will give the floor to Mentor Na Ying to introduce her league’s captains.”

Everyone gave Na Ying a round of applause as she took to the stage. The three leaders followed her as she spoke to the crowd, “Our team believes in happiness. For only with having a happy atmosphere can we come up with many creative ideas and new learning. I’m going to be like your mom during your stay here in Phoenix Academy. I will take care of you while you’re here and you can count on me if you run into problems. Our team’s slogan is: Na is sure to win! We are sure to gain! Wanna challenge us? Yeah!”

The other students were impressed by the play on Na Ying’s name. It was as hilarious as it was clever, but Jessica, who never understood a word spoken by them, simply smiled, and clapped along.

“Thank you, Na Ying team! Now, let’s welcome Ning Jing and her captains.” Xie Na said as she motioned for Jing to take the stage.

Ning Jing stood proudly in her high heels, “Firstly, there is no hierarchy in my team. We take things as they come.” Her cool and aloof demeanor was palpable, “It’s either us or them who will end up becoming the winner. I believe none of you came here in this school to lose in life, right? You all wanted to be successful in your craft, in your art, and in your careers. That is our goal here in Phoenix Academy and why we have this competition among our students every year. It’s also why we covet to become champions. Do you wanna join us?”

Everyone was inspired by Jing’s words, but Aya noticed how Jessica simply gave them a neutral look, the same vacant smile she wore when she listened to Na Ying’s team campaign. And so, Aya took it upon her hands to appeal to the younger freshman, “Wait, Mentor Jing, I want to say it again in English. May I?”

Jing, realizing her clever captain’s intentions, nodded in approval. Aya nodded and turned to face the audience, eyes directed towards her lone target among the students, “Jessica…”

Jessica’s eyes widened when her attention was called.

“Our talent, our specialty is we can find everybody’s talent, let them be themselves and do their best. And we will support everybody in our team.” Aya explained in English while making direct eye contact with the foreign student, who straightened up in her seat and nodded in appreciation when someone finally acknowledged her presence and took her language barrier into consideration.

Wenwen took this opportunity to solidify their hold on Jessica by grabbing Jing’s microphone while adding, “And we want you.”

Jessica’s smile widened at Aya’s and Wenwen’s words. She formed a heart with her hands in response while trying to tone down the heat creeping up her cheeks after realizing that she was genuinely wanted to be a part of their team.

“Wait! We deserve you too!” Lian exclaimed.

“Right! We are… want you!” Na Ying attempted to convince the newcomer with her gestures and broken English.

Jessica bowed her head, flustered because now both teams are vying for her. She tried to pacify Na Ying’s team by nodding along and smiling at them too.

But deep down, she did not care which team to choose. The music and the stage were the most important to her.

+++

“All right, now it’s time for the students to choose their performance stages. Each practice room is designated to a stage performance that will later belong to each of the two leagues. Your goal is to choose which sample stage suits your talents. You will be given 30 minutes to choose before the captains from each of the two leagues will inspect the assigned rooms.” Xie Na explained before she stepped aside to allow the big screen to play a montage of the sample stages which were assigned to each practice room.

Everyone watched and carefully deliberated their choices among themselves. Ning Jing and Na Ying had picked their target performances based on the demos presented to them on the big screen. The captains also discussed potential performers that would best match each stage.

“I think I like the choreography of ‘My Move’.” Jing whispered to her captains, “it’s flashy but not that hard to follow.”

“That one suits Jessica well.” Wenwen said to Meng, “The demo’s dance moves would be perfect for her.”

“Quiet! The other team will hear you.” Jing hushed as she side-eyed the other team, sighing in relief when nobody from Na Ying’s league heard them.  “You should be discrete and not spoil our plans to the enemy, Wenwen.”

Wenwen gulped the lump in at Jing’s warning. She kept quiet through most of the discussions, only giving her two cents when necessary. This was her first time being a leader and it was already challenging given that she technically had no authority to lead those who were older, more experienced than her. But here, she was, in the seat among the more senior captains.

“The stages may or may not matter depending on which student chose it. Remember our list of people. We will choose the best stage, but we will also choose the best members.” Jing advised as they watched the students disperse into the different practice rooms.  

Aya managed to find Jessica seated with AhSa and the other students. “Hey, Jess. What are your thoughts about this song’s choreography?” Aya inquired, intent on grabbing the foreign student’s interest.

“It looks pretty easy, but I think you’ll need good dancers for this performance to work. I like the flow of the choreography though. It’s not too flashy but a bit complex too. With the timeframe given to us, I think this is the easier way to perform.” Jessica answered honestly.

“So, would you like this to become part of our setlist for the first competition?” Aya wanted to know, “Would you like to be part of our team?”

Jessica nodded enthusiastically, “That would be an honor.”

“Then, we’ll try to get you to perform this for us!” Aya assured although she wondered if Ning Jing would be able to successfully get their needed members and performances.

+++

A/N: Sorry for the long absence. Just dropping this randomly out of my hectic life. I've been travelling a lot lately, hence the lack of updates on this. T_T Hope everyone's well and thriving.