Pang: “What are we doing here?”
Pang asks me skeptically
Nan: “This is the shop I told you about!”
Pang: “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Nan: I’m not going to let her get away with it anymore.
Tonight, I’m going to bring down
Bee's reign of terror once and for all!”
Nan: Tonight is the biggest dance competition of the year.
Bee has won it every year because she's the popular girl
and her parents buy her every outfit
and accessory she wants
But I'm a better dancer.
If I can match her style, I know I can win.
Pang: “Are you serious!
We have important exams coming up
I know you love to dance
and you’re good at it, but we're supposed to be studying
Don't waste your time and focus on
what's important in your life, your future.
Nan: "Come on Pang. You study all the time.
You'll pass the exams in your sleep
Bee needs to learn a lesson.
She treats people like slaves
If you don't please her she gets you in trouble
and turns everyone in the school against you
She gets away with it because she's the teacher's pet.
They love her because she's always first at everything
But tonight this will change.
I will win the competition
and I won't let her treat people like that anymore.
Come on, let's bring her down together
Just as I said that Pang and I froze as Bee walks out of the changing room.
Bee: “Did you just say bring me down?
Ha. That's adorable.
You really think buying one of these will do?”
She grabs the ring from my hand and holds it in my face.
"You must be delusional.
I have 50 of these.” She tosses it back at me.
“Do you know what makes a queen a queen?
It’s class.
Class is having and buying only the best of the best
because you’re the example everyone has to live up to
Class is having people who want to be you
because you’ve got everything
that they could ever dream to have
Class is having it all
You may be able to dance,
but you should know by now that that's not enough.
You have to have it all.
She swings 4 giant shopping bags over her shoulder
and walks off out the door
Pang: “Nan, don't listen to her.
She's trying to manipulate you.
She knows you don't have the money for all this
and just wants to get you in trouble
She wants you to lose focus of what really matters:
Your dancing. Your skills. Because she’s scared of you.
Why don't you go to the dance with your folk dress.
It's perfect for you!”
Nan: “No Pang, people don’t care about your skills.
They only care about the facade - how you look
Bee's right, I have to have what everyone wants
so they look up to me like they do to her
Only then can I beat her.
Pang: "Whatever. It's already 2pm. Lets go to your place
and at least pick it up - so you have it just in case.
When we arrived at the apartment Pang starts to laugh:
Pang: "Damn Nan, I don't know how you can live like this
how do you get anything done?
You're already late. Where's the dress?
Where are your study books?
Why is everything such a mess?"
Nan: The books are under the table
and the dress is here somewhere.
Why don't you help me look instead of laughing at me!
not everyone can be as "organized" as you!
Pang: It's not about the organization.
It's about knowing what you need
putting it where it needs to be
and getting rid of what you don’t need
You've got last year's books
in the middle of your desk. Hahaha.
Here: I'll donate them to a cute freshman
Now let me get those books from under your table,
get rid of all this trash and "voila": organized!
Thanks Pang... but I can't find the dress
Lets go or else i'll be late.
I'll use the new dress anyways.
Pang: What?? I can't go with you.
I have to go home and study.
Nan: “Are you serious? I need you there.
I need your support.
Pang: “I really can’t Nan,
you know how important my studies are to me!
Nan: “I thought I was important to you!
Pang: “You are, but this is my future.
Nan: “Whatever. Leave me alone.. Just go.
I can’t believe my best friend
just leaves me hanging like this!
But I have to hurry to get there in time.
I arrived at the beautiful dance hall just in time.
Bee has already started the first round.
She made graceful little steps and had great form.
Her hand motions were so smooth
you could barely tell she was moving.
Her outfit was beautiful
and she wore a magnificent golden crown.
When she was done the judges scored her
9, 7 and a full 10.
It's the highest score of the day.
I knew I had to be at my best.
My outfit had to be stunning.
A few bracelets. A few rings. This giant necklace.
And my shiny new crown. It’s breathtaking.
I haven’t danced in it before
but my normal one is way too plain.
Now it's my turn
Deep breathes.
I can do this.
I stepped out and expected to do a wide leg jump
but the anklet got caught on my pants
and I went face first onto the floor.
I could see Bee and her crew in the back laughing at me.
But I pulled it together and continued my dance.
The crown felt loose
and instead of focusing on my dance,
I had to make sure it wouldn't fall.
I wobbled and leaned too far when I wasn't supposed to.
Damn it; Pang was right
all this stuff is just a distraction!
I should have just focused on myself - on my dance.
Instead I'm here looking like a clown
trying to be someone I'm not.
When it was over
the judges scored me a horrible 5, 4 and 5.
I was humiliated and had nowhere to run
but the changing room
where I crumbled to the floor and bursted into tears.
“Nan? Oh my god. Are you okay?”
Nan: “What are you doing here?
I thought you had to study?”
Pang: “I’m sorry I said those things.
Even though I think so much about the future,
I realized that the present is just as important.
You and I. Our friends. We have to stick together.
Nan: “Did you see? It’s over. I’m done.
There’s no way I can come back from this.
I’m so sorry that I didn’t listen to you” I sobbed.
“Nan, it’s not over yet. You still have round two.
You can dance better than anyone
You just have to stop focusing on everyone else
and believe in yourself.
Look, I brought you something.
Nan: “My folk dress? Where did you find it?
After you left I went back to look for it everywhere.
You don’t need any jewellery or crown or all this stuff.
You just need yourself. I promise you
Bee just finished her second round
and now it’s your turn.
Now go out there and show them how you can dance!
When the curtain opened
all my nerves just melted away
This time everything felt right.
My dress was perfectly adjusted to my movements.
My best friend cheered me on in the audience
The venue. The lights. Everything was perfect
and I delivered the dance of a lifetime.
My steps were light and graceful.
My form choreographed to perfection
with precision in movement,
angle and pace.
My dress was simple,
but it allowed me to shine from within
hypnotising the entire hall with a feeling
of beauty, grace and tranquility.
As I struck my final pose my eyes locked with Bee's
who's face had turned from an expression of
spite to a tender sign of approval
And that's when I realised
something special had just happened.
At that moment I realised how powerful true beauty
can be as I saw it melting away every feeling of tension,
hostility and competition in the room
and everyone just wanted to be part of
this special moment in time.
The judges scored my dance a perfect 10,
which has never been done before.
I still lost the competition because of the first round,
but I couldn't have been happier.
I felt like I finally discovered my true inner self
and I inspired something deeply meaningful
in everyone who witnessed my dance
When Bee gave her victory speech
she spoke with words of humility
that I've never heard before,
which made me feel like something changed
that might last forever.
When she walked down from the podium
she turned to me and said
Bee: Nan, I'm sorry how I acted towards you.
I was very insecure
and tried everything to push you away.
But your dance was so beautiful,
it made me realise that it's more important
to enjoy these beautiful moments together
than to win any competition.
Do you think maybe someday we can dance together?
Do you think maybe someday we could be friends?
Nan: "I'd like that very much" I replied.