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The piano keys felt colder than usual beneath Naomi’s fingertips.
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The rehearsal room buzzed with its normal chaos—laughing, tapping, warming up—but none of it reached her. It all felt distant, like she was underwater, and the only sound that mattered was the pounding in her chest.
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Ms. Arinze’s voice floated above the noise. “Naomi, you’re up first today.”
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Naomi didn’t move right away.
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She stared at the page in her lap. The one filled with crooked lyrics and messy chords. Last night’s storm turned into song. No edits. No polish. Just pain.
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This wasn’t just music.
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This was confession dressed in melody.
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She stepped up to the front. One student dropped a pencil. No one picked it up. The room stilled, unsure whether this was a performance or a breakdown waiting to happen.
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Naomi adjusted the mic, cleared her throat.
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She placed her fingers on the keys.
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And began.
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The intro was quiet—barely more than a whisper from the piano. Her voice trembled at first—thin, unsure. But with every word, it thickened with truth.
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> *You said it was just the music*
> *But the silence left a scar*
> *And now I’m a note you skipped*
> *On the way to who you really are.*
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A few people shifted in their seats, uncomfortable. Others sat frozen, stunned by the vulnerability bleeding through the melody.
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> *I was harmony in chaos*
> *You were louder when I fell*
> *Now I’m singing just to find me*
> *In the echo you left behind.*
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Her breath caught on the final line, but she didn’t hide it.
She let it hurt.
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Because honesty should hurt.
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The last chord faded into the room like smoke.
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Naomi didn’t look up right away.
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Then—applause. At first hesitant, then fuller, rising like waves. Murmurs. Awe.
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“Wait… she wrote that?”
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“Was that about Levi?”
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Ms. Arinze stood slowly, expression unreadable. Then she gave a slow, solemn nod. “That,” she said, “was your strongest performance yet.”
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Naomi stepped back, barely hearing anything now. Her ears rang with silence—the good kind. The kind that meant she had nothing left to hold back.
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And just as she reached for her bag—
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The rehearsal door creaked open.
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She looked up.
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Levi stood in the doorway, slightly out of breath, as if he’d run from somewhere.
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Their eyes locked.
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He wasn’t smiling.
His mouth parted like he wanted to say something—anything.
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But he was too late.
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> *He didn’t smile.
> He didn’t speak.
> Because for the first time… Naomi was the one holding the final note.*
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---
Naomi finally found the courage to sing her truth… and Levi heard every word.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeJoU4AroT
What do you think is going through Levi’s mind right now?
Drop a comment — I’d love to know what you felt during her solo. 🎤✨
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