B5 vouchers
Tessa hade to check in on Grace at the studio, tagging along with a few fans who had been waiting outside. She was hoping to show everyone how close she was with her teacher.
To her surprise, she saw Xyliaing in together with Grace.
Xylia had her arm linked with Grace’s, the twoughing and chatting like best friends–their bond looked closer than ever.
Tessa’s fists clenched.
‘Xylia’s running her own studio now, so what’s with all this sucking up to Grace?‘ Tessa thought, jealousy ring in her chest.
‘Seriously? With her health, she actually thinks she’s got a shot back on stage?‘ Tessa scoffed inwardly.
Even though she was feeling bitter inside, Tessa didn’t let it show on her face. She slipped on her best smile and strutted over to Grace like it was second nature.
“Ms. Chase, I came to visit you!” Tessa chimed sweetly, her expression perfectly bright.
Tessa was also one of Grace’s students.
But since Tessa became the principal dancer, she stopped showing Grace the respect she used to, so Grace naturally grew less close to her.
“You’ve been working hard,” Grace said, her voice polite but a little distant.
Tessa shed a sweet smile, stepped right up to Grace, and took hold of her hand, putting on her cutest, most
affectionate act.
“Oh Ms. Chase, what are you saying? It’s never a hassle for your student to drop by and see you!” Tessa gushed, shing her brightest smile. “I brought some fruit for you and the girls. I almost got bubble tea since it’s so popr these days, but I figured none of us want those extra calories messing with our dance figures–so I went with something lighter.”
Grace smiled. “That’s thoughtful of you.”
Tessa took the opportunity to subtly edge Xylia aside, sliding her own arm through Grace’s and walking forward with her as if she belonged there.
“Let me join you, Ms. Chase. I’d love to see how the girls are doing,” Tessa chimed in cheerfully.
Grace nodded, then looked back at Xylia. “Xylia,e join us–I’m sure you can give the girls some pointers.”
Xylia stepped up to Grace’s other side, copying Tessa’s move, acting like Tessa didn’t even exist.
“Ms. Chase, honestly, it’s been ages since Ist danced. There’s no way I could keep up with these girls,” Xylia said humbly.
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“Oh,e on, Grace sighed. “You’re the most gifted student I’ve ever had. If you hadn’t married so early, you’d be shining on stage right now. These girls still have plenty to learn–give them some guidance, will you?”
Xylia smiled. “Got it, Ms. Chase.”
Beside them, Tessa clenched her jaw.
She’d held the principal dancer spot for years and had never once heard Grace call her gifted. And now she was actually saying Xylia was the most talented of them all.
‘A cripple? What kind of talent could she possibly have?‘ Tessa thought, bitterness twisting inside her.
Not far away, Tessa’s fans who hade in with her watched as Tessa and Grace strolled up arm–in–arm, looking cozy and close. People started whispering about how great their teacher–student rtionship seemed.
But just as they were soaking it in, another girl suddenly came over and struck up a lively conversation with Grace, looking like they were best friends.
Even though the fans couldn’t catch the whole exchange, they definitely heard Grace say, “You’re the most gifted student I’ve ever had.”
That one line made the fans instantly lose their cool.
‘If she’s the most gifted student Ms. Chase has ever seen, then what about Tessa? She’s been our principal dancer for years!‘ one fan whispered, a mix of confusion and indignation in her voice.
‘So, is it all about talent now? Does hard work even count?‘ another fan muttered, annoyed at the implication.
Tessa had already reminded her fans not to cause any drama when they came in.
So, they kept their irritation to themselves and started secretly googling on their phones, desperate to figure out who this girl was.
What they found made their jaws drop.
Turns out she’s Xylia Schultz–the ssic “imposter heiress” from that family drama, the one who used to be Tessa’s older <b>sis</b>.
But now, she was going by Xylia, and rumor had it she was dating Joshua.
‘No wonder Ms. Chase is praising her so much, one fan muttered. ‘Joshua’s basically Garcia Group royalty. Now that Xylia’s with him, of course she’s getting all this attention.’
‘What else is Grace supposed to do? Of course she has to hype her up,‘ one fan scoffed.
The fans put their phones away, still shooting dirty looks at Grace and her group,pletely annoyed.
“Xylia thinks she’s the real deal just because shended herself a rich boyfriend? Please! Typical gold digger vibes. Just coz she’s mooching off some big shot, now she thinks she’s some dance prodigy?” another fan
snarked.
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“Tessa’s the legit principal dancer year after year–she’s earned her spot fair and square! Compared to her, that imposter heiress <b>is </b>seriously out of her league. How does she have the nerve to im she’s talented?” someone else grumbled.
“Pfft! She’s got nothing on Tessa. Zero talent, honestly! We’ve got to win this back for Tessa and show everyone who really deserves the spotlight!” one fan scoffed, rallying the group.
The group huddled together, whispering and plotting their next move.
Out on stage, the dancers glided and spun, their movements light and elegant, captivating everyone in the
room.
Xylia hadn’t watched a performance up close in ages, and as she watched, she felt that old itch–a familiar longing to jump in and dance herself.
When the dance ended, the students gathered around, waiting for Grace’s feedback.
But instead of diving right in, Grace turned to Tessa and Xylia. “What do you two think? Did you notice anything?”
Tessa jumped in first. “Everyone did pretty well, and the whole routine felt really tight. Just a heads up–some of you girls might want to pay more attention to how you use your hands. Put a bit more energy in those
movements.”
While talking, Tessa pointed out a handful of the dancers on stage.
The girls she named were practically buzzing–getting tips from Tessa herself, the former principal dancer! They nodded eagerly, all saying they’d fix it for sure.
Grace didn’t give her own opinion right away–she just turned toward Xylia, a hint of anticipation in her eyes. “What about you, Xylia? Got any thoughts?”
“Xylia, what do you think?” Grace asked, her tone inviting.
Xylia nced at the lead dancer, then pointed casually. “Hey, is the lead dancer nursing an injury or something?”
”
The lead dancer’s face instantly paled, and she hurried to defend herself.
“I’m not hurt!” she blurted out, maybe a little too quickly.
But Xylia definitely caught the look of panic in her eyes.
“You messed up two moves<i>,</i>” Xylia said calmly. “It wasn’t just a memory slip–it’s because your leg is hurt. One of your moves was too slow<i>, </i>and the angle on the other one was way off.”
Grace’s eyes lit up with admiration as she looked at Xylia.
Tessa couldn’t keep quiet–she stepped up to defend the lead dancer.
“Isn’t this the first time you’ve seen this routine, Xylia? How can you be so sure her slower pace wasn’t
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intentional? And as for her angle–maybe that’s exactly what the choreography called for,” Tessa fired back, her tone sharp.
Xylia just shrugged. “Ms. Chase choreographed this piece herself, and I know her style inside out. The spots the lead dancer tripped up on stick out like a sore thumb. If you’re really that skeptical, why don’t you check if she’s actually injured?”
She was clearly rattled.
She dreaded anyone finding out about her injury–if they did, she knew she might get dumped for the understudy before the big performance.
After all these years, this was her only shot at the lead. No way she was giving it up now.
She looked at Grace, desperate to hold onto her ce. “Ms. Chase, I twisted my ankle right before going on. The mistakes were my fault, but I swear it won’t mess up the show two days from now.”
Xylia knew the lead dancer was just faking it about her ankle, but she kept quiet and let it slide for now.
The moment Tessa overheard the lead dancer’s excuse, she realized Xylia had guessed it spot on.
Tessa gritted her teeth, shooting the lead dancer a cold, pointed re.
“So, are you really hurt or not? If an injury’s going to drag down the whole show, maybe it’s time to let the understudy step up. We owe it to everyone on that stage,” Tessa said, not bothering to sugarcoat her words.
Her face set in a determined, no–nonsense look–the embodiment of someone who truly cared about the stage and took responsibility seriously.
Not far away, Tessa’s fans watched, absolutely fangirling over how cool andmanding she looked.
For all the sapiosexuals in the room, seeing her that sharp and meticulous was basically a dreame true.
No way were they missing out on this power move–her fans instantly whipped out their phones to record every second of Tessa owning the moment.
The fans already had their posts nned out.
“Tessa is so serious when she’s working! That’s our dedicated, ambitious principal dancer–no wonder we love her so much!‘
<b>10</b><b>:</b><b>5 </b>
<b>ved</b><b>, </b>Sep