Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

Abby

The stage lights feel even more blinding now from the tears in my eyes. A

makeup artist darts around, dabbing my face with powder to cover the streaks

from crying. In more ways than one, I’m glad this hell is almost over; right now,

I’m just looking forward to getting this damn makeup off.

Finally, the director counts down from three, and it feels as though we’ve done

this a million times before. The crowd cheers, the music plays, the announcer

struts across the stage. And me? I’m standing here like a statue, my smile just

as fake as my manicured eyelashes.

Enter title…

Daniel stands next to me, shoulder to shoulder, and I can feel the hatred

emanating off of him. He stands tall and proud, the perfect picture of arrogance.

He doesn’t say a word to me, because he doesn’t need to. He already said

everything he needed to say earlier. He got his digs in, made his sharp words

stab me to my core. There’s no point now.

I can sense the satisfaction coursing through his veins as he stands beside me,

the realization that he won—not just in the competition, but in life—washing over

both of us. In just a few minutes, he’ll get exactly what he wants. Not only a

trophy, but to beat a woman down to nothing.

The announcer turns to Daniel first, his voice echoing across the studio. “Daniel,

you’ve shown immense skill throughout this competition. As we come to a close,

how are you feeling about your performance?”

Daniel’s lips twist into a smile that doesn’t even come close to reaching his

eyes.

says without skipping a beat. “The

a lovable personality…” he sneers

“He will be

is clear, and the gleam in his eye

up into my cheeks as

his eyes meeting mine.

what has this experience meant

sea of faces that seem to blur together

signs with my name now thanks to my failures,

hole in my

there she is—the little girl in the third row

and bright as ever, and

her tiny hand, a

can feel the lump in my throat, but I push through… because I’m

here, even if I

I’m here for her.

my voice surprisingly steady, “has

a female chef

to have been here. To show that we—” I pause, my heart in

stand toe to toe

tasting thick. “And maybe,

will inspire others. That future female chefs will push

sure our skills—and our

also respected.”

a ripple through the crowd, a murmur of

it’s just the sound of anticipation as

results.

then

flick to the judges as

of

lock onto mine, his

smile, doesn’t even blink. Instead,

shakes, and my world seems to tilt for what feels like the

now looks on with a cool

for the briefest of moments before she leans toward

me in a

a trick of the

look at Daniel, can’t afford to see the

Instead, I find the little girl in the crowd, her eyes wide

I draw strength from her innocence,

for

as though drawing it out for dramatic