AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Before she could help herself—before she could thinkanythingthrough—she went to the water dispenser. Lifting the lid, she dumped the bloody rat into the water supply before anyone could move or say anything.
And as she turned around, she found everyone speechless.
"Well, too bad now," she smiled sweetly. "Enjoy," she said as she made to leave, not even bothering to take her bag with her.
On her way out, though, she stopped by Ann Marie's side. The girl was still giving her a smug look.
Noelle lifted a brow as she regarded her, and before the girl could move, Noelle brought her bloodied palm to her face, wiping all the rat fluids on her face before pushing her fingers into Ann Marie's mouth.
"Oops," Noelle gave a fake cry of alarm. "Does that make you a cannibal now, Annie dear? Since you've tasted your own species and all that."
Shock, then outrage appeared on Ann Marie's face, but before she could give in to her outburst, Noelle was already gone, finding the nearest bathroom and locking herself inside to scrub everything from her body.
Disgust rolled inside her stomach, and she gagged a few times before she got herself under control.
She wouldn't let them.
She couldn't let them bully her into quitting the competition.
Noelle stayed in the bathroom until close to her designated time. Still shaken from the encounter, she didn't know how she made herself presentable enough to go backstage and wait for her turn.
She barely stepped inside the room when the sound of the piano from the stage enveloped her, the familiarity of the melody startling.
Noelle blinked.
There were a few other people around, but they didn't seem to pay her any attention. Not as she wobbly made her way to a chair and certainly not as she plopped herself rather ungraciously in that seat.
She knew the schedule well enough—she'd made sure to memorize it so she would be right on time. As such, she was more than aware that the one currently playing was Ann Marie.
But the piece… There weren't just a few similar notes. It was an entire succession of them.
Her body froze, her eyes wide as she stared at the wall in front of her.
It was her piece. She was sure of it. But how…
How the hell had Ann Marie gotten her piece?
Worst of all? It was the one Noelle had been most proud—the one who'd squeezed every bit of emotion she was capable of. It had been a struggle to put the last notes on to the paper—one that had haunted her for days on end unlike ever before.
And now… It was all in vain.
Though Ann Marie was playing the unfinished version of the play, Noelle knew she could never play it herself again, nor could she explain that it had beenherpiece Ann Marie had stolen. Besides a few undated manuscript sheets, what proof did she have?
Her heart in her throat, she felt panic swell inside of her.
She didn't know what to do. It was as simple as that.
From the outside, she looked eerily still, sitting in her chair and simply staring up ahead. Yet inside, her entire being was weeping.
Not only for the sweat and tears she'd put into that melody, but also for the fact that it had been so intrinsicallyherthat she felt her own personality had been stolen and modified into a mockery of a replica.
She noted the slight changes Ann Marie had added to it, and that only served to enrage Noelle further.
What the hell was she going to do?
She didn't know how long she spent so utterly still and deep in thought. She heard the audience clapping after which her name was called out loud.
Her head whipped up, panic welling inside of her. Her limbs felt like mush, her core trembling in fear, anger and sadness.
