"But she is not usually so playful. I believe she acted that way to cheer me on and also get rid of my anxiety," Joanna mumbled. She brought back her attention to where Raymond, their instructor for the day, stood in front of them.
At first, when others were nervous Joanna felt super relaxed. She didn't get cold feet nor did her heart pound hard against her chest like her other group members.
But this changed as the time for their performance drew closer.
She had believed that all she needed to put on a spectacular show was her confidence but with that confidence gone she realised she didn't have something else to hold onto.
Raymond who has been watching her closely walked up to her when he noticed that she wasn't the same Joanna she was these past days.
"Are you alright?" Raymond asked. He was forced to touch her when she didn't react.
"Miss Butterfly," He called and touched her right shoulder.
Joanna, who was in deep thought, jolted back to reality when Raymond touched her.
"Did you say something?" Joanna asked. She acted as if nothing happened.
"No," Raymond shook his head in negation. He moved and stood in front of her so he would have a clearer view of her face.
"But I wanted to say that it is a normal thing to feel nervous when appearing on a big stage. Take me for an example," He murmured.
Raymond lowered himself into a squatting position after he noticed that the lady sitting on the floor was straining her neck to get a glimpse of his face.
"Despite being a veteran who has been on big stages countless times, even I get nervous sometimes just before I climb the stage and that is why I understand perfectly how all of you feel," Raymond didn't forget to generalise his sentence since he was aware that the other group members were listening to his conversation with Joanna.
"And is there a solution for that?" A guy wearing reading glasses who appeared to be the most nervous among them asked.
For a minute there he forgot that they were all supposed to pretend not to hear Raymond and Joanna's conversation.
"Calming pills does the trick but there are also times that even calming pills fail to work," Raymond replied as he turned and looked towards where the guy with glasses stood.
"For others, taking a quick deep breath works for them but for me, I try not to think too much about the performance..."
"What do you think of then if not the performance?" Lia, who wasn't spared from anxiety, also blurted, her eyes fixed on Raymond's face.
"Hmmm..." Raymond trailed off. He stood up and walked to stand in the middle of where they had assembled.
"I tried as much as possible to think of random things because letting your mind dwell on things like people's expectations and perfection of the entire performance will only lead to more anxiety. Instead of delivering a flawless performance, you will only end up making mistakes," Raymond replied in a serious tone.
"If that is the case then what is your advice for people like us who are climbing the big stage for the first time?" Lia was quick to ask the question which was on her comrades' minds.
"Have fun!" Raymond and Derrick chorused. The two friends smiled at each other when they realised that they blurted out the same words.
"For first-timers like you, I would advise that you have tons of fun on stage while giving it your best shot. Because if you as a performer are not enjoying what you are doing then how do you expect your audience to do that hmm?" Raymond continued.
"When others told us to kill our first show our manager was the only one who told us to have fun on the stage. And believe me, his words worked magic for us," Derrick supported.
"And that being said, let's take a walk around to calm our tense nerves. By the time we returned it would have been our turn to perform," Raymond suggested.
Since they saw nothing wrong with his suggestion, none disagreed with him.
Joanna was about to join the others outside when Bacon flew into the enormous hall whose occupant was only Joanna.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Joanna scolded the bird which had just perched on her shoulder.
"Didn't I assign you the task of watching over him in my stead so why are you here instead of carrying out your task?" Joanna growled and tapped Bacon's beak with her index finger.
She was so eager to get a response from Bacon and didn't notice Raymond pause in front of the door and watched her communicate with her bird as if he were a human.
Joanna had assumed she was the only one around and so was about to make Bacon display the video he had captured for the entire day when she felt the presence of someone at the door.
Turning her concentration to the door she was stunned to see the guy in a brown shirt whose intense stares were focused on her and her bird.
"I am coming," Joanna flashes an awkward smile at Raymond.
Immediately, she lifted her right hand, removed Bacon from her shoulder and placed it on the brown chair close to the wall.
"I will deal with you later," Joanna grumbled. She hurried to join Raymond at the door after she took a last glance at the bird she has grown to love very much.
Because performances for the last day of the carnival had started in full swing Joanna and her comrades could walk around freely.
While the others walked in front Joanna and Raymond were left far behind. Derrick on the other hand stayed away from them to give them the privacy they needed.
He wasn't so dense as to ruin this moment for his best friend since he was the biggest cheerleader in their relationship.
"At our first encounter in the forest, I can still remember you told me you wanted to live a quiet life with your mother and father so when and how did you get into showbiz?" Joanna asked as she and Raymond strolled side by side on the open field.
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