‘Lana stepped into the night’ – by Angelique Ciobotaru, KS3 student

Lana stepped into the night, the car she had called home for the last two days, a place she could no longer take. There’s nothing left for her back home,nothing to meet her in life.But somehow she ended up here,all alone,waiting for some kind of sign, a sign of hope, a sign that she could try to run free.She felt like half of her had disappeared,like her energy is fading away from her slowly .She was tired, tired of driving,tired of crying,tired of everything.She needed change,a place to feel more than just the sadness she had become so used to.

The glow of soft neon lights danced in the night sky,the dark palm trees whispering with the breeze from an ocean she had not yet had the chance to touch.It all reminded her that she was far away from everything she knew,and far from being ok.What was she doing here?She always wondered.She listened to the night and wondered if she could hear the faint sound of waves crashing against the shore.What she was hearing was instead music.A soft,slow almost sad melody carried itself towards her,beckoning her to follow.She walked towards the glow of neon,sneakers crunching on hard packed sand and dirt.She came across a low building enshrined in neon,glittering as if it were a ship from the horizon.

She stepped in,not quite knowing why the sad slow music had lulled  her into this building.The notes drifted in the warm air like an outstretched arm,welcoming her inside.She walked inside,her eyes and shy deamour drawing more attention than she wanted.In front of her stood a girl,with unkempt hair and glowing dark eyes,they made eye contact for a while…time stood still,but the anonymous stranger had decided to speak

“Welcome,you must be here for the auditions?”. 

Lana was confused yet intrigued,before she could even think she quickly nodded,regretting it straight after. Before she knew it,she was backstage,it seemed so unnerving,what was she going to sing,would people judge?Could she even sing?

She heard her name over the speakers,she stood up walking towards the stage,not knowing what to do next.What have I done,am I seriously trying to make myself look more miserable ? Hesitantly she introduced herself,only one song came to her mind, Cola-Lana del rey. This is it she thought,she stood closer to the microphone,trying to distract herself from all the stares.As she started singing,she felt as if nothing mattered,like everything was a dream,this is what gave her peace,singing.

When she had finished she opened her eyes only to see people clapping and cheering,she liked this,the support,how she could feel like herself when singing.She slowly backed away from the stage and tried  to listen to all the others sing, but she couldn’t stop thinking about that moment on stage.She waited,and waited for everyone to be finished,she already knew where she was going to go. She hurried herself to the beach,she watched she sun coming out, a warm feeling coming over her,the water reaching out to her,was this the sign,what she was waiting for?