[VA] The Choir Room

Justin walked off stage somehow feeling a sense of pride he was off before Lucy. He changed out of his clothes and back into his everyday clothes. Lucy walked over to him. "Sure thing." he smiled back.

"Mmkay. Let's go." Lucy said, jumping off the stage. She slung her bag over her shoulder and started on her way out of the school, without a word.

Justin followed her, shocked by the silence. "You're awful quiet, usually you don't shut up." Justin half joked.

( I made a new post here so everything could stay organized. )

Dustin sighed. He sat in his chair, his elbow rested on the armrest, and his index and thumb fingers pressed to the bridge of his nose. Another practice. Perhaps, he wouldn't need to pull out the "DUNCE" caps he'd purchased. Kids usually stank like rotten meat. He was surprised when Justin and Lucy didn't. He knew they were going to be his most prized possessions after that. I mean, of course, there were some students who stood out more than others, but Dustin had to make these two top priority. When they competed, the lead singer was Justin, and the lead dancer was always Lucy. It was difficult sometimes, because he usually can not get them to cooperate. However, he saw a little bit of himself in the two of them. Justin's arrogance was marvelous, such a sight to see through Dustin's eyes. And all of Lucy's talent was utterly ridiculous, although, he knew she was a potential threat to his own team. He had indeed sent her on trips to McKinley to spy undercover, but whether she was giving correct information was something to ponder. She was definitely something-- something with a heart. Not that Dustin didn't have one. He took those two in like his own. That is, if he ever had children, they'd get only tough love and the occasional spanking for eating daddy's cookie stash, but still. That counted for something, didn't it? Goolsby stood up from his seat, and walked tall and proud over to the stage as he waited for the monsters to file in.

Justin sang out his heart, trying his hardest not to look at Goolsby for his reactions at each individual note.

Lucy danced around the stage as if she knew the routine by heart. She kept her eyes on the prize, and her head out of the clouds. She didn't say much during the practice; there was quite a bit on her mind.

Justin kept trying to outshine Lucy with his own choreography but he kept real focused on his vocals, knowing they'd probably impress Goolsby more than Lucy's dancing.

Lucy stared at Justin, getting a bit irritated. What was he doing? She rolled her eyes, but kept smiling, hoping Goolsby wouldn't catch her shift in demeanor. She noticed he was trying a lot harder than he usually did with his vocals. She belted out her turns, making sure to make eye contact with her coach when she did so. If Justin wanted to get competitive, then competitive she'd be.

Justin was feeling very competitive. Even more than usual. He considered himself to be the best in the group and no one was gonna take his lime light, especially not Lucy.

Dustin raised an eyebrow at his two protégées. They were working a lot harder than usual, and he could tell there was some tension between them. He tried not to laugh. He definitely couldn't let this go unnoticed. "Excellent, Justin! Excellent, Lucy!" Dustin shouted. "The rest of you, get it together!" He said, motioning for the two of them to keep it up. He wondered how far he could push it. I mean, hey, if they could work at this level, why not a little further? Dustin motioned for the two to step it up a bit.

Justin saw the signals and stepped up his vocals and choreography even more. He was gonna be the one who Goolsby gave all his praise to at the end of practise.

Lucy worked with her partner, but had to break away. He wasn't keeping up. She felt ridiculous; how was she supposed to shine next to him? She worked the moves, her facial expressions, and her vocal chords with as much energy and flamboyance even harder when Goolsby gave her the signal. She kept her back straight, and her fingers flowy. Fine. Justin could work it all he wanted. But at the end of the day, she would still be the most valuable dancer-- and he'd always be the most valuable vocalist.

Justin hit the last note and stopped....waiting for Goolsby's response.

Dustin circled his students, asjusting some of their postures, he stood inbetween Justin and Lucy. He didn't need to fix their ending pose, but he pushed them together. "You two...are acting quite strange today." He said, putting an arm around the two of them. "You'll be partners for today. If I like what I see, I'll make it permanent." Dustin said, with a smirk. He knew this would be interesting to watch. He patted them on the back. "Keep it up. I like what I see." He laughed in his usual boisterous fashion. If he praised both of them, he knew they'd almost kill eachother to outshine to other. He smirked as he went back to his watching position. "From the top!" He said, as all the students went behind the curtain and started again, all of them working harder and more refined than before.

Justin felt cocky and full of pride...until the bit about being with Lucy. He rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath dreading it.

Lucy looked up at Justin and glared. This was ridiculous. She was grateful she didn't have to be with her last partner, but wasn't too happy about her new one. That was it. Goolsby and Justin's arrogance was getting on her last nerve. She whispered, "This is war," up to Justin's ear as she passed by, going to the starting positions.

"May the best man win" Justin whispered back "And note the key word man."

Lucy rolled her eyes and continued to dance with Justin. She forced her foot under Justin's in order to trip him during the routine, and brought it back quickly.

Justin stumbled and glared at Lucy before continuing. He chose this time however to rise above it. He was hardly going to stoop to her childish level.

Lucy raised an eyebrow and glared back, singing her solo in the song with so much power she figured the acoustics in the theatre would have her voice travel to the school halls. She went on with the song, taking Justin's hand before twirling away from him. His arm brought her back and she moved on to the next sequence.

Dustin saw Lucy's shifty quickstep and nodded, proudly. Just as he expected, the two of them were getting pretty fiesty. He tried not to laugh; he was so entertained. He pondered how many times he'd seen the two of them so worked up over his approval, and couldn't recall. He didn't stop inbetween songs-- just pressed the next button. The music continued to play, without breaks inbetween.

Justin felt strange whilst spinning Lucy. He had no idea why. He ingnored it and continued singing.

Dustin watched all of his students, as he ordered them all to throw their partner up higher, spin faster, and catch their partner. He demonstrated with his pen, and told them to do it again, pausing the music where he'd choreographed the slightly dangerous move. He thought about taping a few of the pairings he'd set up for failure-- he needed someone to yell at today. He was giving out too much love and it began to pain his chest.

Justin followed Goolsby's orders with half a mind to "accidentally" not catch Lucy.