Cy Wren was having a good day. No, a great day. See she woke up to sun filtering in through the curtains, feeling more refreshed than she had in weeks. Her father had kindly made her breakfast, and even though he did this every morning, something was special about today. Her black hair was falling just right. It had grown longer in the months since she had cut it, almost entering mullet territory. Not even the ugly uniform she was required to wear for her all girls school could bring her mood down. Cy Wren departed on her treacherous journey to school with a smile on her face and a pep in her step. 

See, today was the last rehearsal before her school’s show choir would compete in their first competition of the year, sectionals. Cy didn’t want to brag, but she was pretty important in her choir. She held almost every solo, and when they made it to nationals it would all be because of her. 

Cy did have a slight advantage being a siren and all. She was basically born to sing! And if the opposing teams suspiciously lost their voices completely before the competition, well Cy liked to think of that as just using her resources. Cheating was much different, but maybe still keep this little secret on the down low. Her and the show choir competition handbook might have differing views. 

Cy Wren was bursting with positive energy all day. The smile and laugh remained even after being informed she was already at risk of failing the grade six weeks into the year. No biggie, she would be on Broadway soon enough anyway, right? Still no cloud in sight after getting hit in the head several times during dodge ball, probably all accidents. Not even the allergic reaction she had during lunch was going to ruin this for her. She would just make sure to stick to the allergen free table next time. 

In fact, Cy Wren’s smile seemed to grow increasingly brighter every second closer to rehearsal. She had finally mastered her runs last night and absolutely nothing was going to stop her from taking sectionals. 

Cy practically skipped into the choir room, and took her usual spot in the front row. Her excitement grew impossibly high as everyone arrived and rehearsal began. Her and the supporting lead took up their spots to run through John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John’s “You’re The One That I Want”. Cy did the Sharpay Evans style warm up, and then she was ready. 

The music started up, and Cy made her entrance at the perfect time, her voice silky and smooth. She was good! She knew it, and everybody else did too. And if they don’t they will. Sectionals is her chance to prove her talents. 

It was almost time for her co-lead, Samantha, to come in, and Cy braced for impact. It’s not that Samantha is bad, it’s just that she’s only been in the show choir for about two weeks. There were unfortunate difficulties with the last lead. When Cy recruited Samantha, she assumed she would be a quick learner. I guess not everyone was born for the stage. 

Samantha was about to make her entrance, but the choir room was instead met with silence. Only the piano remained, but after the lack of singing that quickly depleted too. Samantha was clutching her throat, seemingly just as confused with the lack of sound as everyone else. 

“Oh no! Cat got your tongue?” Gosh darn it! Cy knew exactly what happened. She turned around to find her ex-girlfriend, Ursula, standing in the choir room doorway. She had an exaggerated look of pity on her face, but Cy could see the same wicked glimmer in her eyes. Which were actually quite beauti-UGLY they were actually quite ugly. 

Ursula and Cy had dated for around 3 weeks over the summer, though they’ve known each other for years. They’re both sirens, so they see each other at different events and such. Plus, her dad is friends with Cy’s dad so they’ve been forced into several awkward dinner parties. Things quickly ended however when they got into a fight over couples halloween costumes. See, Cy wanted to be Cleo and Louis from the hit TV show H2O Just Add Water, but Ursula wanted to be Lagoona Blue and Gil from Monster High. They decided they were just too different in the end, and went their separate ways. Well, as separate as you can get when you still have to see each other every couple weeks.

Cy thought that would’ve been the end of it. They gave it an honest try, but it just didn’t work. Ursula had other ideas, however. Ever since the school year started, she had been sabotaging Cy’s team! She’s the reason that the choir has gone through three second-leads since the season started. 

While sirens aren’t exactly the same as they were in the time of Odysseus, one ability that sirens still have in the modern day, is their ability to take voices. The process is a little embarrassing, as you have to kiss your wanted target on the lips in order for it to work. To prevent this, sirens are now required to wear a string of shells somewhere on their persons that blocks this ability. But, Ursula is a big girl. She knows how to take them off. 

“What a shame! You’ll probably have to drop out of sectionals now! Surely you won’t find a replacement in time!” Ursula slowly saunters in, her feigned look of pity now morphing into a truly despicable smirk. “I’m going to hate performing without your team.” 

Right, one more layer to this whole mess. Ursula is the female lead in her school’s show choir. Cy was going to transfer to her school to be with her, but after the break up decided to stay put. Cy knows it’s unfair to be mad at her right now. I mean Cy’s been doing the same thing to all of Ursula’s male leads. BUT NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR THE BLAME GAME! There is NO way Cy is giving up on sectionals that easily. This is her time to shine, no evil ex-girlfriend is going to change that. 

“Don’t underestimate me, Ursula. I knew you would medal again, so I already have several back ups on stand by.” She didn’t, but Ursula didn’t need to know that. “You’ve spent so much time trying to bring us down that I doubt you’ve even practiced in the last week. Last I heard, you were a little pitchy.” 

Ursula’s cheeks turn a darker shade of purple and she mumbles some choice words as she aggressively turns around to make her exit. Her string of shells swayed from where she hung them on the belt loop of her jean skirt. Cy watched her leave, almost in a trance. When she finally decided to rejoin rehearsal, everyone was packing up to leave. They seldom get any real work done, seeing that Cy and Ursula interrupt every practice. But that’s okay, Cy hardly needed the practice anyway. 

***

As Cy Wren walked out of the choir room, a soft voice caught her attention. It was coming from the orchestra room right across the hall. The gentle sound of the piano complemented the singing very nicely. If Cy wasn’t such a great singer, she might think that this chick was talented. Compared to herself though, she was just decent. 

The singing reminded her that she was in need of a new duet partner, and she might just do the trick. Cy quietly snuck into the room, and moved to lean on the wall directly behind the mysterious girl playing the piano. She must have not done too well however, as half way there the piano abruptly stopped and the girl turned to look at Cy. 

Cy distantly recognizes her, but has no idea where from. Perhaps they’ve passed in the hallway, or shared a class freshman year. Studying her now, she can tell that she’s a vampire. This deduction came from the massive fangs she saw, and also the juice box filled with animal blood that is sitting to the side of the piano. 

“Can I help you, Cy?” The girl raised an eyebrow at Cy, most likely confused by all the staring. Okay, she had a bit of an attitude and apparently knows who Cy is…. But this could still work!

“How do you know who I am?” Cy raises her eyebrow right back, and takes a few slow steps towards the girl. “What’s your name?” Cy stands right next to her at the piano, taking note of her sort of pretty purple eyes. She supposed it wouldn’t be horrible to be seen with her. And it would do her wonders to sing with Cy. 

“Are you serious?” She levels Cy with a glare. “I’m Bella? We’ve been in show choir together for the last three years? We’ve also gone to the same school since elementary.” Bella’s annoyance seems to go right over Cy’s head, seeing as she was too focused on convincing this girl- she didn’t quite catch her name- to join the show choir. 

“You should join the show choir! I’m in need of a new duet partner!” Cy grabs Bella’s hands with a newfound enthusiasm. “Our first competition is tomorrow, but the songs are popular so I’m sure you already know them! And don’t worry you really just have to follow my lead!” 

“Fine. I’ll be your duet partner. Just, don’t tell Ursula. I don’t want her bothering me too.” Bella seemed even more annoyed as she packed up her music at the piano and stood from the bench. 

“How do you know Ursula?” Cy was getting more and more confused about this girl’s knowledge of her life. It was honestly kind of creepy. But as long as she showed up tomorrow, Cy would get over it.

Bella just sighed, and left Cy standing by the piano. Cy seemed to forget about the entire interaction within seconds. Now that she had someone to sing with, she needed a revenge plan to get back at Ursula. And now was the perfect time. If she did it tonight, Ursula wouldn’t find out until tomorrow and then it would be far too late to get a backup. 

Cy thanked any and all deities out there for the creation of digital footprints, and people who make all of their personal information public. Within minutes, Cy had the name and workplace of the boy singing with Ursula. He was some short werewolf guy who’s name was Jacob or something like that. And if his public story was to be believed, he was scheduled to work at 5 tonight. Thankfully, Cy just so happened to be free. She even had time to come up with a game plan.

***

The clock read 6:00 and Cy was ready for action. It was the night before sectionals and Jacob was making this whole process far too easy. He was an employee at the state fair that was in town for the next week, and he was set to work the kissing booth. This probably sucked for him, but was perfect for Cy. She didn’t even really have to try this time. 

Why kissing booths were even still around was beyond her. She thought Joey King would have ruined them forever, but maybe it had the opposite effect. As Cy approached the ticket booth, she briefly considered that maybe this wasn’t worth the $20 entry fee. But then she imagined Ursula singing with this guy and quickly corrected her thinking. What did she even see in him? He wasn’t particularly blessed with good looks, and Cy doubts he can hold a note better than her. Did Ursula like singing with him more than she did with Cy at karaoke this summer? 

Now filled with an emotion a lot of people identify as jealousy, but Cy probably identifies as accidentally drinking whole milk instead of oat milk, Cy makes her way inside the fair with her usual air of confidence and determination. She walks around aimlessly, trying to find Jacob and the kissing booth. Before she makes any real progress she finds herself slamming into somebody else. They both awkwardly fall, Cy landing on top of her unsuspecting victim. She opens her eyes to find none other than Ursula herself. 

Cy feels the heat rise to her cheeks as Ursula looks back at her. The setting sun gives her a nice glow, the ends of her dark curly hair taking on a reddish hue. Ursula clears her throat and HOLY CRAP Cy has been staring for WAY too long, and is also still on top of her. Cy hastily moves to stand, and holds out a hand for Ursula as well. 

“Uh funny running into you here! Shouldn’t you be resting your voice or something?” Cy could barely stammer out a greeting, looking anywhere but Ursula’s face that would inevitably be staring back at her. 

“I could say the same to you. Shouldn’t you be searching for a new lead? I heard something happened to your last one.” That beautiful smirk was back on Ursula’s face, but Cy could still make out a blush dusting her cheeks. 

“Yeah well, I actually found someone already, and she’s even better than the last one. So I wouldn’t be too worried about us.” Cy felt her confidence coming back, as she hit the super cool move of folding her arms and leaning slightly into Ursula’s space. Ursula’s smile turned upside down within seconds, her eyes taking on a fiery glimmer.

“Oh yeah? Who?” Ursula copies Cy’s move and gets even closer, at this point their equally folded arms are inches from each other.

“It’s this vampire girl. Bella I think she said? I don’t know, I think she might be new here.” In favor of bragging that she already found a replacement, Cy kind of forgot about her promise to not tell Ursula about Bella. Whoops. Too late now.. 

“Oh please, like you could actually manage to beat us with some rando. I hope you enjoy the view from last place.” Ursula lets out an evil wicked laugh, and turns to leave with the friends that Cy didn’t notice earlier. 

Cy shakes off the interaction, and tries her hardest to focus back on the task at hand. She goes to look for the kissing booth in the opposite direction that Ursula and her friends just went. As she walked along the path crowded with people of all ages, she couldn’t help but wish she was here with Ursula, and not executing a plan that directly sabotages her. Even though Cy knew that they didn’t work together, she was having trouble remembering why. 

Instead of taking this train of thought and actually analyzing what it must mean, Cy instantly forgets she was thinking about anything when she finally finds the kissing booth. And Jacob, in all his ugly and offputting glory, was on duty. Cy finds herself in a surprisingly long line, especially considering who was currently working. Why anybody would want to swap spit with the human embodiment of BO was so completely beyond her. But that didn’t stop a teenage girl and her friends from squealing like little pigs when it was their turn. And considering their noses, they probably were part pig. 

After a long wait filled with watching Jacob pucker up every five seconds, it was finally Cy’s turn. The security guard at the front checked to ensure that Cy had her shells on her, something about safety protocols or something. However, after watching the guard closely, Cy knew that no one would notice if the shells just so happened to fall from where she kept them on the belt loop of her jorts. 

As she made her way to Jacob, she gave the string a slight tug and let the shells fall to the ground. The grass absorbed any real sound, and she looked around to ensure nobody saw. She found herself eye to eye with hideousness himself, and he looked at Cy with a quizzical look.

“What are you doing here?” He seemed almost sceptical, and Cy couldn’t have that. He could technically still refuse service, and then the whole plan would be messed up. She looked around discretely for a second, trying to think of an alternative reason why she of all people would wait in a long line to kiss him of all people. 

“Turtles!” She finally shouts out “I just really want to save the turtles, and the proceeds go towards helping marine life!” Cy laughs awkwardly and points to a sign behind Jacob that outlines what the money collected by the kissing booth will go towards. 

“Okay, I guess.” He still seems suspicious of Cy. “You know you could just dona-” Before he could finish speaking, Cy dove in and gave him a quick peck on the lips. It was fast and uncomfortable, but it was all Cy needed. Before he could react, or even process what happened, Cy made a break for it, needing to get out of the fair. 

The whole lost voice thing wasn’t a huge deal, as there were over the counter medications available to bring it back. The reason the show choirs have been going through leads so much is because they keep leaving after losing their voices, stating that they don’t want to get involved in whatever Cy and Ursula were doing. 

Cy made it back outside the fair, hands on her knees and chest heaving. After a second to compose herself to find that not a single person was chasing her. She was both relieved and kind of offended by this. Was she not worth a little jaunt? Anywhoo, Cy was now officially ready to take Ursula, and whatever other rando team, on and completely crush everyone at sectionals. 

***

The morning of sectionals was just as bright and beautiful as the morning before. Cy made her way to the kitchen where her father had prepared her pre-show breakfast. This included a lemongrass tea with honey, and a bowl of her favorite fruits. She would’ve thanked her father, but she was currently on vocal rest until the show later that afternoon. Cy was even more confident about her inevitable win than before. Absolutely nothing would get in her way. 

Cy spent the day making sure her semi-mullet looked just right, and that she had just enough makeup on to look stunning, yet effortless. She was happy that they allowed her to wear black slacks and a dress shirt to match the other girls black dresses. It made her stand out more. By the time she was finally done with all the finishing touches, it was time to leave in order to meet up with the rest of the choir for warm ups. 

When Cy walked through the door of their makeshift green room, everybody seemed to be purposefully avoiding eye contact with her. Cy didn’t totally mind at first, she likes to inspire fear in her comrades, but this was getting a bit extensive. She realized it was because no one was talking. Usually if they ignored her, they would at least talk amongst themselves. Cy saw this as a sign they thought she was better than them, not that they didn’t like her. But now, it felt like they were hiding something. 

Cy looked around for Bella. They were duet partners now so surely she would tell Cy what was up. Did she have something on her face or something? Maybe in her teeth? Except that wasn’t possible, Cy spent a very long time making sure everything about her was flawless. Did her lipgloss color not match her personality? Cy couldn’t think of one reason that everyone would be acting so strangely. 

“Oh no! Did Bella not come?” Cy turned around to see the evil ex-girlfriend herself. Cy had to stop and stare at Ursula for a moment. Her black dress had small sparkles sprinkled all over it, with a deep blue sash coming into a bow behind her. She added glitter to her hair, and Cy was mesmerized by the subtle shine of it under the lights. Ursula looked gorgeous, and Cy was really struggling to understand why they broke up. “That is such a shame! Do you think something happened?” 

Except, the situation at hand finally dawned on Cy and she remembered exactly why they broke up. Ursula was a selfish, evil, ugly person who just ruined sectionals for Cy. There were no more back ups or hail mary’s. Everyone left in this choir were just a bunch of randos who sway in the background and do one semi-complicated harmony. Cy just realized the issues with monocropping and was screwed. Why didn’t she see this coming? She was the one who gave Urusla the name of the replacement. Why would she do that? 

“I would be more worried about Jacob if I were you. I haven’t seen him around today.” Cy tried to hide her panic, not wanting Urusla to get the satisfaction. Her response must have worked, as Ursula’s eyes flashed with anger. 

“GOSH DARN IT CY! Why couldn’t you just let me have this one thing!?” Ursula was getting loud and close. All other side conversations came to an abrupt end as Cy and Ursula’s fight continued to escalate. 

“Oh PLEASE, you’re the one that started it!” Cy rose to the challenge, increasing the volume and proximity even more. 

“Don’t you understand how much I need this win!?”

“Don’t you understand how much I need this win?! Why do you deserve it more than me, huh?” Neither Cy nor Ursula seemed to understand how stupid and childish the whole argument was, so it kept going. It wasn’t even an entertaining fight to the others. They’ve heard the same conflict multiple times already. 

“See that’s the problem with you, you never consider what I or anybody else wants!” Cy shouted at the top of her lungs. This finally caused Ursula to go quiet. The charged silence was broken by someone clearing their throat in the doorway to the greenroom. 

“Um, can you guys keep it down? People are starting to arrive, and they can hear you from the front of the building.” The girl was about their age, and it appeared from her apparel that she was a part of the third show choir competing that night. She looked fairly average with a generic brown hair color and a simple pair of glasses. Ursula and Cy stared at her intensely, but she didn’t seem to notice. The girl gave an awkward thumbs up before leaving everyone to their newfound silence. 

The side chatter picked up again, but Cy and Ursula were both staring at the place the girl had just been, any previous fire having been extinguished. 

“I think that was my ex.” 

Both girls looked at each other as they said the same thing at the same time. 

“No, that was my ex!” 

Their eyes widened in horror as they realized they just played into every lesbian stereotype ever. 

“She can’t win.” 

They were looking at each other with determination in their eyes, but honestly all this synchronization was getting freaky. Everybody within ear shot was undoubtedly uncomfortable. 

“Whats the plan?” Cy fully turned towards Ursula, willing to let her take the lead on this one. Ursula was great at working under pressure, but more so Cy didn’t feel like actually coming up with a plan. “Both of our choirs are missing a lead, and everyone else is practically useless.” Cy put her pointer finger to her chin to make it look like she was thinking something very profound. 

“Isn’t it obvious? We combine our choirs! We can do half of our program and half

yours.” Thank goodness Ursula was on the case because Cy would have never thought of that.  

“It’s perfect! With both of our talents combined we’ll surely win!” They clasped hands, both of their smiles wide and shining. Everybody else in the room felt like they were witnessing an episode of My Little Pony, but that’s neither here nor there.

***

The time finally arrived for sectionals to begin. Both Cy and Ursula snuck backstage together to stake out the competition. They both felt a little stupid for writing off the other team so quickly, but to be fair they were from a random town in Ohio. Anybody else would do the same. 

Cy and Ursula’s ex, they think they remember her name being Natalie, though they’re not too sure, is first up in the competition. Her and her choir take the stage, and the second that the intro to “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl starts, Cy and Ursula let out a groan of boredom. 

This Natalie girl is walking up and down the aisles, involving people in the audience. It would maybe be cool if she wasn’t so pitchy. I mean I wouldn’t want some random girl practically squealing in my ear. But for some reason the crowd was eating it up. They were cheering loudly, clearly experiencing some form of messed up collective effervescence. 

As the song continues, Cy can maybe admit that Natalie was doing an okay job at belting the long notes, and MAYBE the other people in the choir were actually adding to the piece with the occasional solo, good harmonies, and an actual choreography. Cy might have even been nervous, but with both her and Ursula’s vocals there is absolutely no way they’ll lose. 

The opening number finally ends, and the crowd is cheering so hard Cy fears they may get nerve damage from all of that clapping. Before the audience has died down, the next number begins. Two random people in the back step to the front and they start singing the 2011 pop hit “Somebody That I Used to Know.” 

Once again, the crowd goes absolutely wild. And fine, the vocals are good, maybe even great, and they’re mimicking the music video with how they’re positioned on stage, and every one else is once again being useful, but Cy refuses to give up hope. Anything they can do, Cy can do better. 

Next on the program is this guy, who previously had also been in the back, singing “Pink Pony Club” in the original key. Cy is getting more nervous as they keep pulling out banger after banger. BUT Urusla and Cy are still better. She’s sure of it. 

Natalie’s team ends on a chorus number with them all singing “Hey Jude.” And honestly, it’s all okay. Even though they got a huge standing ovation, judges included, and even Cy was left feeling a little inspired, they were still no match against this absolute dream team. 

A dream team that hasn’t actually rehearsed their program, and now has twice as many filler people in the back that have no instruction of what’s happening. But a dream team nonetheless. 

As Natalie and her choir leave stage right, it’s time for Cy and Ursula’s entrance. They were ready to make history.

Cy and Ursula took center stage, with the other twenty or so people forming a semi-coherent clump in the back. No biggie, the judges would be looking at the two leads anyway. The music started and they were off.

Their opening number was the Mama Mia classic, “Lay All Your Love On Me.” This was from Ursula’s program, but Cy was keeping up beautifully. Were you truly a performer if you can’t improvise? The issue is that about half the chorus in the back apparently aren’t performers as they are struggling to find harmony notes, or do anything besides sway off beat. 

Cy and Ursula sang louder to try and distract from the absolute train wreck that was happening behind them. But as Cy looked into her eyes, she forgot they were even there in the first place. Cy was beginning to realise that she might not be over Ursula, and that maybe they should give their relationship a second chance. 

Their voices blended together in a majestic way, and soon it was like the world and everyone else melted away until it was just those two. Cy and Ursula were doing improvised moves that somehow fit together just right. Cy ended the song by moving Urusla into a deep dip. As they looked into each other’s eyes, Cy could barely hear the applause. 

They moved into their next song seamlessly. They sang “Go Away” by Weezer without a hitch. Cy decided to stop worrying about the people in the back as it would just distract her and get her off her game. 

As they moved into the final chorus with both singing at the same time they did the sick move of crossing over their mics to sing out of the opposite persons. The second the song ended they were already moving into their third song, “What Is This Feeling” from Wicked. Cy’s adrenalin was pumping the closer they got to the end of the program. They might actually pull this off. 

Their harmonies were to die for, the rest of the choir finally seemed to lock in and were doing some simple choreography in the background. Cy’s confidence was also increasing the closer they got to the end. How did she not see just how well her and Ursula worked together? She couldn’t imagine pulling this off with anybody else, and she wouldn’t want to either. Cy was in love with Urusla. And judging by the look in her eye, Ursula was thinking the exact same thing. 

They finally moved into their last piece. It was the most simple, yet most moving and inspiring. As they sang “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Cy felt the same type of peace and happiness as she did while watching The Bella’s final in Pitch Perfect.

As Cy sang into Ursula’s eyes she realized that she might not care as much about the results today as she thought she did. All she had ever wanted was right here in front of her.

The song ended and there was no standing ovation, just a polite clap. Cy reasoned this with the fact they were probably still stunned by the magnificent performance they just witnessed. They truly just created history. The masses would go on to talk about what they saw today for decades to come. 

Once off the stage, Cy and Ursula just stared at each other. Everything had changed, and they both knew it. They were interrupted as they were called back on stage to hear about the winners. 

Cy stood with her team, hand clasped with Ursula’s and eyes squeezed shut. Blood pumped in Cy’s ears, and she couldn’t hear anything. They were taking a mighty long time with the reveal and Cy could feel herself begin to sweat. 

“First Place goes to Old Trails from Lima, Ohio!”

Suddenly the crowd was going wild, and Cy opened her eyes in hopes of good news, but was met with the sight of the judges giving the trophy to Natalie. She was jumping up and down in joy, and for a moment Cy didn’t care. She had Ursula now, and she knows she did the best she could.

An hour later when she processed what happened and what it means for their show choir, she’ll be beyond angry and might even email some choice words to the judges. But for right now, she knew she gave a good performance, even if no one else thought so. Plus, there was always next year.

THE END.