The corridor outside the audition hall buzzed with tension. Contestants leaned against the walls, whispering, laughing, sizing one another up.
Some carried designer handbags and wore glitter like armor. Others had entourages fussing over their hair and makeup.
Amina sat quietly in the corner, clutching her notebook, invisible to most —except those who already saw her as a threat.
"Her?"
The voice dripped with disdain. A woman in a crimson dress stopped in front of her, heels clicking like gunshots. Her beauty was undeniable —sleek hair, perfect skin, every move calculated to command attention.
She looked Amina up and down as if she were inspecting dirt on her shoe.
"You're the girl who barely survived the audition, right?" The woman smirked, folding her arms. "Don't get too comfortable. This stage isn't for... strays."
Amina's lips parted, but no words came out. Her throat locked.
The woman leaned closer.
"Remember this name. Vanessa King. I don't lose."
As she swept away, her entourage giggled and whispered cruel things, their perfume lingering like poisen in the air.
Amina sat frozen, pulse racing. The humiliation burned. But she scribbled the name into her notebook —like a wound she would turn into a lyric one day.
Before she could recover, another voice cut in.
"Vanessa already hates you?
Impressive."
Amina turned. A man stood a few feet away, casual but sharp-eyed, a smirk tugging at his lips. His name tag read Daniel Blake. She recognized it instantly —he was once a rising star, but his career had crumbled after a sudden scandal.
He leaned against the wall. "Funny, isn't it? They kicked me out of this industry... then replaced me with nobodies like you." His smile turned bitter. "You'll see soon enough —this place chews up the weak."
There was no entourage, no glamour around him. Just resentment. His eyes, dark with envy, lingered on her a moment too long before he turned away.
Two enemies. Both stronger, sharper, more experienced than her.
Amina's fingers tightened around her notebook until the pages crumpled.
She whispered to herself, barely audible, "I won't let them break me."
But in the back of her mind, a question haunted her:
What if they already have?