"The Inter-School Concert-1"

"I'll sit beside her. We're classmates," Matt told Lenoir in a serious tone. "We're going to talk about a lot of things."

Lenoir retorted, "But we're going to sing in the concert tomorrow, so isn't it natural that I'm going to sit beside her now? Plus, I need to discuss the song with her."

"Why do you need to discuss it now? You were always meeting her after class, don't tell me you haven't discussed it with her before?"

"I need to remind her of what we talked about. What about you? You're always in class sitting beside her. Give her a break from your presence sometimes, or else she'll get tired of you."

"Why would Sydney get tired of my awesome presence?"

"Who says you're awesome?"

"Is this seat taken?" Juana asked Sydney.

Sydney, seeing the heated discussion of the two boys, decided that it would be better if the seat beside her got taken, "No. Come, sit with me."

"Thanks," The class president said, then sat beside her. She glanced at Matt, who was still arguing with Lenoir. In her mind, it would be best if she was the one sitting beside Sydney rather than him.

When they had already finished dinner, they returned to their respective rooms.

"Sydney, rest well, okay? Relax, and be in your best condition tomorrow," Miss Elle told Sydney, "I'll just check on the other students. Olivet, since Juana is still in the bathroom, can you come with me?"

"Yes, Miss Elle! Sydney, see you later. Sleep now, 'kay?" Olivet uttered.

"Alright!" she exclaimed, then waved at the two.

When Miss Elle and Olivet had already left, Juana came out of the bathroom. "Where are they?"

"They checked on the other students," Sydney replied, then tucked herself in the blanket, "Goodnight-"

"Ahh, wait, Sydney. I want your opinion on something," Juana said then rummaged through her things. She pulled out a plastic pack of chocolate cookies and told her, "Can you please taste this, and tell me if it's good?"

"Huh? But…" It was hard having a sweet tooth. The chocolate cookies looked delectable, as as the pack was handed over to her, she could see the oozing chocolate on the surface!

Its appearance was enough to make Sydney crave for sweets. She knew it wasn't a good idea, especially that the concert was tomorrow, but she looked for an excuse within her.

Just one piece of cookie wouldn't affect her voice for tomorrow, right?

Juana looked at her like a puppy, which was weird because she had always glared at her as if she was an eyesore.

"Uhh… I'll take one, then," she replied, took a piece, and bit it.

Restricting herself to sweets these past few days, Sydney couldn't help but feel like she's ascending to heaven as she tasted the rich chocolate flavor of Juana's baked cookies.

She didn't realize she already had five of them.

"Oh shoot! Sorry, these were so good that I-"

"It's alright," Juana chuckled, "I was going to give them to Matt tomorrow, but before that, I think I should ask for your opinions first. Is it really good?"

"Yes, it is," Sydney noticed that her hand was holding another piece of cookie. "Oops. Sorry, my hand moved on its own."

"You can have two more, and I'll give the leftovers to Matt tomorrow."

"Wow, you're finally kind to me," she laughed, "Thank you!"

Sydney did not notice the suspicious grin on Juana's face since she was very focused on eating more cookies.

The next day, Sydney's voice had become hoarse.

"Are you going to be okay later?" Miss Elle asked her.

"Yes… Perhaps it's morning, so my voice is like this…" Sydney drank a cup of warm water. She felt a subtle pain in her throat, making her worried.

If only she stopped herself from eating more cookies last night.

"You'll be better at the concert, I'm sure," Juana responded, "Here, take this." She handed over a bottle of liquid.

"This is?"

"Ginger tea. It's good for sore throats."

"Thank you so much, Juana," She said, placing it on her backpack.

After lunch, the group went to Kasumi Stadium. While Matt, Olivet and the others proceeded to the audience area, Miss Elle, Lenoir and Sydney, as well as Juana as the teacher's assistant, went to the backstage to get ready for the performance.

"Lenoir will perform first. But in the last chorus, you will start to walk towards the stage," one of the organizers told Sydney. "Right after his song, the intro to your song will start playing."

Sydney nodded at the organizer. When he went to assist the other performers, she told Miss Elle, "My voice is still hoarse. What should I do?" It was as if panic and fear were eating up her confidence.

"Drink the ginger tea. It will help soothe your throat," Juana suggested, and so Sydney quickly pulled out the bottle of ginger tea from her backpack.

She quickly gulped it without any break, hoping it would ease the pain.

But only after she drank half of the bottle did she realize that the ginger tea was oddly very sweet!

"How was it?" Juana asked, "I bought it from an old lady yesterday. Is it effective?"

"Uhh… No, it's very sweet…"

"Oh no, really? Maybe the lady mixed something in it. It is supposed to have a minty and relaxing effect in your throat."

Someone called Lenoir to go to the stage and start his performance.

"It'll be alright, Syd. Don't be nervous," Lenoir assured Sydney, who was about to cry, "I'll go now. See you at the stage."

As Sydney gazed at Lenoir's back, she was unsure if she's going to continue her performance or not.