ARE YOU A FAILURE?

Paige stared at the people in the audience, observing the different expressions on their faces. Some felt pity for her, some laughed at her, while others booed and gestured with their thumbs down.

As tears streamed down her face, the other girls continued to sing, and no one waited for her. After Candy; the fourth person, finished singing, the first girl resumed.

Paige's microphone had already been rolled away from where she stood. Unable to bear the shame any longer, she turned around and ran away from the stage.

Candy smiled, feeling victorious, and said inwardly, "Now let me see how you will be among the top two."

Paige did not stop running until she reached outside. Fearing that people might notice her and start pointing fingers at her, she searched for a quiet and hidden spot, finding solace leaning on a pillar.

She covered her face with her hands and continued to cry, recalling how she had assured Mr. Zachary that she would not fail him. She felt even more disappointed in herself. She knew without a doubt that what happened was not an accident, but she couldn't understand why she was so unfortunate.

Before the show began, Mr. Zachary had called his assistant, Luke to come to the venue. When Luke arrived, he helped Mr. Zachary find a spot where no one would recognize him.

Mr. Zachary didn't want anyone to be aware of his presence, except a few organizers who needed to know.

Upon seeing Paige run out of the hall, he shook his head and sent a text to Luke, saying, "Check on Paige and let me know where she went."

Luke quietly followed Paige, saw how she hid by a pillar, crying, and informed Zachary.

Zach walked up to her, still ensuring that no one was able to recognize him as he wore a hat to disguise his appearance.

When he got to where she was, Zach asked, "Why are you crying?"

Hearing his voice, Paige looked up to see him. She instantly got up, still clutching the torn gown in her hand as she struggled to cover her bra top.

"I asked you why you're crying," Zachary said, repeating himself as he noticed how the short gown revealed too much of her fair skin.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Zachary," she said, sobbing. "Something went wrong with the clothes. I... I don't know... I don't know how it snapped."

"You should not have left the stage," Zachary said coldly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I disappointed you. Everyone was staring at me, and I felt... I felt like a failure."

"Interesting," Zachary said.

Folding his arms, he asked, "Are you a failure, Paige?"

She looked at him in surprise, and he asked again, "Tell me, Paige, are you a failure? If you believe that you're a failure, then let's go back home. You can go back to being my maid, it's not such a bad fate. But if you're not a failure..."

"I'm not a failure," Paige replied, interrupting him. "I never expected what happened today to happen, but I promise you, Mr. Zach, that I'm not a failure."

"How can you prove to me that you're not a failure?" Zach asked.

Paige remained silent, not knowing what to say. She didn't know how she was going to answer his question. And for the third time, Zach repeated a question, "Tell me, Paige, how can you prove to me that you're not a failure?"

Paige shook her head, wanting to tell him that she had no idea. But then Zach asked, "Do you want a second chance?"

"Sir, I," Paige began, but then loud cheers and claps from inside the hall diverted her attention. She listened intently as she heard the crowd cheering and screaming, knowing that the Spark Girls were done singing. At this point, Paige lost all hope and said sadly, "They are done singing already, no one would....."

"Do you like me repeating myself, Paige?" he asked sternly.

Paige shook her head. "No, sir."

"Then why do I have to ask you a question more than once to get a reply? I asked you a question, Paige. Do you want a second chance?"

"Yes, sir, yes, sir, I want a second chance," Paige said firmly.

Zachary observed her for a while, took out his phone, and called his assistant.

"What I asked you to do, get it done right now," he said.

"Okay, boss, I'll do that right away," Luke replied.

In one of the changing rooms, Barbie, a twenty-two-year-old artist who was waiting to perform, sat in front of a wide mirror as a makeup artist worked on her face.

After a while, she pushed the makeup artist to the side and stared at herself in the mirror.

"What is this? What do you think you're doing? Why did you ruin my face?" she exclaimed.

"What are you saying?" the makeup artist asked, feeling offended. "What I'm doing on your face is what is trendy. This is what I do for other singers."

"Oh, shut up! Shut the hell up! What do you know? Look at how you've ruined my face. Is this how I'm supposed to look for my show?"

Her assistant interjected, "Miss. Bee, actually..."

The words had barely left her assistant's mouth when Barbie got up and slapped her so hard, "Shut the hell up, you loser! How dare you bring me this incompetent fool? And now you're trying to justify her actions? Do you know I can get you fired?"

"I'm sorry," her assistant said, crying.

At this point, the makeup artist lost it and said, "What do you think of yourself, Barbie, or whatever your name is? You're not even a star yet, and you will most likely never be one. You're just a third-grade singer, struggling to get noticed by everyone. There's nothing special about you, and yet, you're so full of yourself."

"Get out of this room!" Barbie yelled. "Get lost right now!"

"I'm leaving," the makeup artist said and angrily left with her box.

Her assistant, Julie, placed her hand on her cheek where Barbie had slapped her. It wasn't the first time, but her cheek burned with pain, and more tears fell from her eyes.

"What are you crying for now?" Barbie asked. "If you don't want me to hit you, why do you bring such useless people to me? I asked you to get in touch with a professional makeup artist, and you brought me that piece of trash. Now look at my face. I am supposed to go out there in thirty minutes, and now I'm going to spend the whole time trying to fix my face up instead of getting ready for my show."

"I'm sorry. I'm very sorry," Julie, said.

Barbie angrily took out things from her bag and wiped off the makeup the artist had done on her face. She began to do her makeup herself, and at that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Open the door," she ordered her assistant, who nodded and went to open the door.

The moment the door opened, Julie stared at the man standing outside the shop.

"Sir?"

"Can I come in?" Zachary's assistant asked.

"Of course, sir. You can come in," Julie replied.

She stood at the side while Luke walked in. Just as he entered the room, Barbie turned and saw him. At that moment, she got up and smiled, "Hi, sir. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Everyone knew who Zachary's assistant was because Zach rarely gave people an audience in public. Luke was the one who normally spoke, so most people were familiar with his face, and Barbie was one of them. She showed him much respect, putting aside the haughty attitude she had shown earlier.

"Do you know Mr. Zachary Fletcher?" Luke asked.

She smiled shyly, "Of course. Who doesn't know Mr. Zachary Fletcher?"

"Hmm, that's nice. I'm aware that you'll be performing in thirty minutes," Luke said.

Barbie nodded, "Yes, I will."

"That's nice. Mr. Zachary wants a favor from you."

"Me?" Barbie was surprised, "Mr. Zachary knows me?"

"Yes, he knows you. I mean, you sing pretty well. Why wouldn't he know you? He needs a favor from you." Luke replied.

"What is it? Just tell me. What do I need to do? Whatever it is, I'll do it."

Luke nodded, "I know that you are to sing a song to end the show."

"Yes," she replied.

"Can you give it up?" Luke asked.

"Give what up?" Barbie could not understand

Luke folded his arms, "Mr. Zachary wants you to give up your spot to sing. He wants someone else to sing in your stead."

"Mr. Zachary doesn't want me to sing? Why?" Barbie suddenly lost her enthusiasm and the earlier smile she had put on disappeared.

Luke continued, "If you can agree to his request, he'll give you the opportunity to perform the closing song at an international event. What do you say? Will you give up this performance for one at the international event?"

Barbie's eyes widened in shock, "Me?"