Alexis pov:

Homeless shelter: 

I lay on the bed in my new, temporary home, surrounded by strangers of all races and ages, like sardines in a can, along with their belongings placed near their beds, my eyes glued to my phone. 

"Requirements for Symphony school of the arts for vocals: music theory, three contrasting pieces, either of different genres or tone..." I read out loud. 

Wait... What's music theory? 

Going for singing course is more complicated than I thought! Am I delusional? Am I unprepared?

Ding! 

My phone buzzed, informing me of a notification. 

I clicked on it to find a message from Mrs Johnson.

"Hello, Alexis. How are you?" 

"I'm doing great, thanks! So how did confronting Lily go?" I typed back, a smile forming on my face, shivers of excitement surging through my veins. 

"Hey Alex, I just want to say I'm so sorry for betraying and bullying you, will you forgive me?" Lily asked. 

"Of course!" I replied. 

"Thanks! Now let's work towards our dreams and prove those so called cool kids wrong!" She exclaimed. 

Ding! 

The buzz interrupted my thoughts, rendering me back to reality. 

"I'm sorry Alexis, but it didn't go as planned. Her father and I tried to discipline her, but she still kept that attitude. I hope you don't take your peers words to heart, you are beautiful in your own way. Lily admitted to us she bullied you out of jealousy of your looks and intelligence, not because she thinks you're unattractive or your family situation." 

Huh? Jealous? What? But I'm not even pretty...

"What? Is that true?" I typed back.

"Yes, we've grounded her for a year, confiscated her phone, and deleted all contacts of her friends. But before we deleted their contacts, they revealed they were just using Lily to turn against you." 

"I knew it." I typed back. "I knew they can't possibly offer her popularity out of actually liking her. I'm so sorry you have to go through this Mrs Johnson, having toxic parents and an even worse sibling is horrible, but discovering your own child you love is a bully is a whole new level. Don't worry, maybe she'll change overtime." 

"I hope so too. Bye Alexis, I'll have to leave now." Came the response. 

"Bye, Mrs Johnson." I replied before typing 'music theory'. 

As soon as I clicked on it, my mind instantly went blank. 

Harmony? Melody? What's that? 

Great. Now I'll never be a famous singer...

No. I'll get it overtime.

As the days passed by, finding myself in an endless maze of question marks as I went through music theory. 

"... Consonant harmony is a combination of pitches in a chord which are relatively Harsh and grating... No! That's dissonant harmony!" 

Eventually, I started to find things to refer to, allowing me to understand. 

Day of the entry test:

I walked into the room, with wooden tiles and white walls, in the middle of the room sat three auditionees, all in ironed, formal attire. 

You can do this, Alexis... I told myself, taking a deep breath. 

"Good morning, I am Alexis Walker, and I would like to audition for a place in this school. The three pieces I'll be singing are Melancholic melody by whistling bird, Bright times in the sun by Olivia Stone, and the Rage of fury by Queen." (Authors note: just some made up song names and artists)

"Those are beautiful pieces, take your time." One of the auditionees replied warmly. 

I opened my mouth, allowing the melody of the first piece to flow out like a calm river...