Bright and early, the next morning,Lysette left for Orlando, 84 miles, 3 and a half hours away from Ruskin. Next to her on the passenger side was a Tommy Hilfiger duffel bag that held a pair of silver track pants, a midriff baring, pink and white baseball jersey, and a pink bandanna to hold her hair back.
3 hours after she started out, at 10:00, she reached into her duffel bag for her wallet to pay the toll. Her wallet landed open on top with the two pictures in it, face up. The first picture she saw was of her and Nick on his boat, the summer before. Right next to it was a picture of her and Trey taken on Nick's boat from April. Those pictures started her thinking. The weird feelings she got around Nick always puzzled her. Until now. She had just figured out why. She definitely had feelings for him. And Trey. Now, she hesitated about the audition. Maybe spending the whole summer and fall dancing wouldn't be the best idea. Of course, there was no turning back now. Come all this way for nothing? Lysette wouldn't think of it. True to her nature, Lysette shut out the little voice that told her to turn back and charged ahead. "Once Lysette Andrews sets her mind in something, she goes right for the goal," she told herself. "You make your own fate. Come on, girl. Knock Fatima on her ass." Nick thought she was auditioning for the most prestigious dance company in all of Florida. Even Lysette knew she wouldn't be able to get in. Poor, Nick. He didn't know any better. TBDC didn't matter to him. And that's exactly why she was on her way to Parc Dance Studios in Orlando. He didn't know any better.
At 11:30, she was changed into her dance clothes and joined a group of 6 guys and 5 girls. She met Kristin, Robyn Cecelia, Nefertiti, and Melissa. She also met Ross, Craig, Jason, Sam, Reggie, and Clark. They were all chatting when a woman with a lean athletic build, a tattoo on her perfectly scuplted upper arm and short, short, short black hair entered the room. She clapped her hands a few times to grab everyone's attention. All heads snapped to her direction.
"All right! Y'all are here for one reason and one reason, only. And that's to dance. And dance we will. The first hour of the audition will consist of conditioning and seeing how well you really can dance. After 2 songs, I'll narrow you down to 6: 3 girls and 3 guys. Those will be the 6 semi-finalists. The chosen 6 from that group will wait while the next few groups of 12 are also narrowed down to 6. By 7:00 or 8:00 tonight, there will be the final 10 chosen to go on the 'Into The Millenium World Tour-1999. Let's get started."
The first hour was brutal. Everyone had broken a sweat. When the conditioning was all over, the weary audtioners collapsed in a heap and literally crawled over to their duffel bags for water. Fatima gave them a 15 minute rest period and then pressed play. They all learned the routine to 'Larger Than Life'. They went through it 5 times before everyone had it down. Next was a prepared solo. It was finally Lysette's turn ro show Fatima what she could do. She chose to do 'If You Had My Love' by Jennifer Lopez. When Lysette finished, she was met by applause. She half-bowed and took a seat on the side. She sat through 11 more solos. At 2:00, the semi-finalists were chosen.
"The six are: Nefertiti Robinson, Ross Donnelly, Kristin Denehey, Clark McAffee, Lysette Andrews, and Reggie Jackson. Congratulations!" Lysette was included in a group hug with Nefertiti, Clark, Kristin, Ross, and Reggie.
Lysette, Nefertiti, and Kristin hung out for the rest of the day. They had lunch and went shopping. The girls returned at 6:45, only to be forced to wait in the lobby until 7:30 while Fatima finished the last round of auditioners and deliberations.
At 7:45, the intercom crackled and an announcement came on. "Will all finalists from the 'Into the Millenium' tour please report to studio 2A at this time? Thank you." Lysette,Kristin, and Nefertiti all ran to the studio. They were the last of 36 auditioners to arrive. When they sat down, Fatima began.
"I want to thank y'all for coming down and dancing your hearts out, today, and congratulations for getting this far. My assistant and I have made the final cut of dancers for the 'Into The Millenium World Tour'. If they could please step forward when I call your name? Here we go." You could cut the tension in the room with a knife and at the same time hear a pin drop. Everybody held their breath and waited for Fatima to begin. "Kristin Denehey, Teresa LeBron, Earl Manning, Richard Whitebear, Roland Tabor, Ed Moore, Reggie Jackson, Nefertiti Robinson, Lysette Andrews, and Nicole Delecia. That's it. Rehearsals Wednesdayat 11:30. Thank you! Good night!"
Kristin, Nefertiti, and Lysette changed and walked out to their cars together. "I can't believe all 3 of us made it! It's going to be so awesome!" Kristin exclaimed.
"I know. I'm really excited," Nefertiti agreed.
"God, Nick's gonna flip out at rehearsal on Wednesday," Lysette said.
"Nick?" Kristin and Nefertiti asked with raised eyebrows.
"Carter?" Kristin asked. "How do you know him?"
"Oh, puh." She tossed it aside. "He's my best friend. For 5 years. That's all." Kristin and Nefertiti raised their eyebrows once more. "What?! I swear, there is nothing going on between us."
"Sure," said Nefertiti.
"Guys. I'll see you Wednesday. Bye." Lysette got in her Tracker and pulled away.
