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It was a fifteen-minute walk under the midday sun.

The hardest part to deal with was the sunlight, something that no one could control. But when you were performing for a competition, it was like opening a parallel portal. The only thing that could get in your way would be other things, never the sun.

“Hey… are you lost there?” Veronica came out of the bathroom, still running the towel through her hair. I had already taken a shower before her.

“A little… I guess I'm just anxious about what's going to happen. It wasn't like that in Belinda, but here… I don't know, it's more real and more terrifying.”

Roni came over and sat next to me.

Her pajamas were simpler than mine, consisting of a Belinda jersey and looser knitted shorts.

“It’s more real…” Roni mocked, making me grimace. “But we practiced for this. I feel very safe here, because I have you and I know that everything will be as it should be.”

I laughed a little.

“You should say you know we're going to win.”

“I don't know, but I hope so!”

I looked at her a little more worried.

“I don't know if this chat is helping…”

She got out of bed and combed her ebony locks. I went back to my phone, but the mood didn't get bad or anything. In fact, the mood got a lot better because she went back to bed as soon as she was done with her hair.

Her fingers grabbed my phone, placing it under the nightstand as she crawled on top of me.

“What are you doing?” I asked, curious.

“Isn't it obvious,mami? I'm distracting you.”

Her face was aligned with mine.

Veronica's deep brown eyes drew me in completely, making me forget how to breathe or even think about what existed beyond the two of us. Because in that moment, it was just her and me. Her kiss tasted of mint, and her still-damp hair tickled my fingers. Even so, it was the best distraction I could have asked for.

The first day of competitions started early. I woke up to the alarm on my cell phone and then was forced to get out of bed when they came to knock on the bedroom door, checking if everyone was standing up.

We went downstairs for a quick, simple breakfast. Before I could think straight, Troian, Jaz, and Sidney were in our room as we got ready for the competition.

I did my makeup and sat down to let Kendra curl my hair.

“Start on the right side, please.” I asked, a little nervously.

“Why?”

“Because I always start from that side and I don't want to give it the chance to get in our way.”

“Superstitious?” Ken joked, going to my right side, taking the first strand to wrap around the hot cable.

“A little.”

Kendra did all my hair and I pinned my green bow on top of my head. Then we switched roles, I did her curls while the girls also did their own hair and makeup.

The room was full of anxiety. We were all a little too nervous.

At nine o'clock, Karlee came to call us. We needed to gather on the lawn and start warming up for the performance.

Kendra grabbed my hand and we slung our bags over our shoulders. We followed the girls down to the lobby and found most of the team already assembled. Colleen gave us an encouraging smile, but it didn’t seem to be enough to calm our nerves.