Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Ava Miller had been acting strange lately. Every time she looked at me, her eyes were filled with fear. While she had to stand next to me during dance practice, she'd stay as far away as possible during breaks. During one session, while our dance trainer was explaining the moves, I noticed Ava staring blankly at her feet. I waved my hand in front of her face. She snapped back to reality, but when she saw me, she screamed and covered her head in terror. The other trainees rushed to comfort her, and concern spread across our trainer's face. I just stood there, completely lost. "What happened?""Kristen, what did you do to make Ava so scared?" The terror in Ava's eyes made it seem like she'd seen something horrific. Jessica Cornell shot me a questioning look, but I could only shrug and shake my head. I hadn't done anything... Worried about her mental state, the trainer sent Ava back to the dorm to rest. I couldn't focus during the rest of dance practice. My mind kept racing, trying to figure out what I could have done to upset Ava. By the end of class, I still had no answers. I asked Jessica, my company mate,"Am I doing something wrong? Am I being too harsh?" Wiping sweat from her forehead, she replied, "Not at all. You're doing great as team leader - you're dedicated and responsible." Seeing my worried expression, she pinched my cheek. "Just talk it out! We've got the elimination round coming up - 60 down to 35. Don't waste time stressing about this." I nodded, determined to clear up whatever misunderstanding there was with Ava. I even grabbed an unopened bottle of perfume from my room as a peace offering. When I found her, she was practicing with Lindsey Nelson. After resting all afternoon, Ava seemed to be feeling better. But the moment she saw me approach, all the color drained from her face, and pure fear filled her eyes. "Ava, is there some misunderstanding between us? If I've offended you somehow, I'm really sorry.""No, you don't need to apologize!" She kept backing away like I had some contagious disease. "I don't want center position anymore - you can have it! Just please, stay away from me!" Bewildered, I pressed on, "The trainers always praise your stage presence. Why give up this opportunity?""You... you deserve center more than I do." Her forced smile looked worse than crying, her fingers nervously gripping her clothes - obviously lying. Ava was an excellent dancer with great camera presence. Having her as center would only benefit our team. Besides, in a survival show, everyone wants to progress to the next level. Voluntarily giving up center position made no sense. "Are my dance moves too big? Am I making it hard for you to perform?" When I said that, she suddenly started trembling, tears of fear welling up in her eyes. After what felt like forever, she choked out, "Please, just leave me alone. I won't compete with you anymore!" The cameras quickly zoomed in for a close-up of us both. The screen showed a stark contrast between Ava's terrified face and my confused expression. Worried about evil editing, Jessica quickly pulled me out of the practice room. Once the cameras were gone, she put her hands on her hips angrily. "If she doesn't want it, forget it! No need to beg her!" With just days until the performance, we all agreed to let Jessica take center position. She was thrilled about the chance to get more screen time, and kept chattering about it when we got back to the dorm. "Half the trainees are getting eliminated this round. Now that I'm center, I should be safe, right?" After an intense day of practice, I was exhausted. Jessica was still talking in my ear, but my eyes were already fighting to stay open. Before I knew it, I'd drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, it was past eight in the morning, and the dorm was empty. I felt a bit annoyed - Jessica hadn't even woken me up! After quickly getting ready, I rushed to the practice room, only to find Jessica hovering outside the door. I walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder. "Jessica, why aren't you going in?" She jumped in fright, stumbling backward several steps, her eyes filled with terror and panic.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Her sudden change in attitude made absolutely no sense to me. "What's wrong with you?" Jessica cowered, avoiding my eyes. "N-nothing... you... you should... go in!" She could barely get the words out. Just last night, we were like best friends, sharing secrets on the same bed. How did things change so drastically overnight? What had I done wrong? In desperation, I stepped in front of her to explain, "I'm sorry, Jessica. I was just so exhausted yesterday that I passed out. I didn't mean to ignore you!""...You really fell asleep?""Yeah, when I woke up it was already 8:30, and you left without waking me!" My words only made things worse. Jessica, who had been somewhat calm, suddenly became agitated. She shook her head frantically, muttering, "It wasn't you, it wasn't you, it really wasn't you!" A strange anxiety crept over me. "What are you talking about?""Oh? Nothing, nothing!" Without even glancing at me, she hurried into the practice room. During morning practice, Jessica was completely distracted. As center, she kept forgetting the choreography. At lunch break, I wanted to grab food with her, but she bolted out the moment class ended. It was clear - Jessica had started avoiding me too. Just like Ava, she was terrified of me. Before I could figure out what was happening, Jessica went to the production team that afternoon. She wanted to give up her center position - to me. Henry Smith, our dance trainer and a famous idol himself, lost his cool right there. "Other teams are fighting for center, and here you all are trying to give it up!""Are you taking this show as a joke? If you don't want to compete, just quit!" Ava spoke up timidly, “Henry, only Kristen Jones can handle the center position!" "We really can't do it... really!" Jessica and two others exchanged glances, all silently agreeing. Henry's view of me changed instantly. He probably thought I'd pressured Ava and Jessica into giving up center position to me. Why else would they give up such a precious opportunity? It's not that I didn't want to be center, but there were others in the group better suited for it. So why were they insisting that only I could do it? Something was definitely off! "Who's Kristen Jones?" Director Williams, the show's main director, walked in. After I quietly raised my hand, he looked me up and down slowly. His stare made me uncomfortable, but he noticed and smiled. "Not bad. You've got potential!" Just like that, his word made my center position final. I noticed Ava and Jessica visibly relax. Maybe seeing my frustration, Director Williams asked me to stay behind after dismissing everyone. "I can tell you're different from the others. You've got ambition." "Instead of having others give up center, why don't I help you make it to the finals?" Then he grabbed my hand, and my mind went blank as I realized what he meant. He was trying to pressure me into the casting couch! As PD Williams's hands started roaming, something in me snapped. I grabbed his wandering hand and twisted it. He howled in pain. “Director Williams, a sponsor needs to discuss something with you." Henry opened the door, and when our eyes met, he froze. Burning with shame and anger, I didn't think - I just ran to the rooftop terrace and broke down crying. "Kristen, take this." Jessica had appeared without me noticing. She took off her protective charm necklace, pressed it into my hand, and tried to run. I caught her arm, "Jessica, we've trained together for four years. Please, tell me what's going on!"

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Tears streamed down my face while Jessica's lips quivered, unable to form words. "If you don't tell me, I won't take the center position!""No, you have to!""Then tell me, why are you all insisting that I be center?" Jessica bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. After what felt like forever, she finally spoke. "Last night, you said you slept until morning, but do you know what I saw?" Jessica explained that she was almost asleep when she saw me leave the dorm. "I kept calling your name, asking where you were going, but you didn't turn around. It was like you couldn't hear me.""I followed you to the practice room, where you started dancing... practicing the center position's dance moves!""I was angry. I kept asking you why you didn't just say you wanted center position. I would've given it to you - there was no need to practice in secret.""That's when you turned around... I... I..." Jessica's voice cracked with tears. I gave her an encouraging look, unconsciously gripping her wrist tighter. She took a deep breath before continuing, "When you turned around, there was blood... coming from your eyes, nose, and mouth. You asked me, 'How was my dancing? Can I be center?'""Are you sure it was me? Could it have been someone playing a prank?" Jessica shook her head, "Even though the lights were off, I could see clearly in the streetlight. She had your exact face!""I was terrified. I ran back like crazy, but when I got to the dorm, you were still lying in bed." We stared at each other, sharing the same fear in our eyes. Jessica had seen a "ghost" that looked exactly like me - what had Ava seen? To avoid frightening her more, Jessica spoke with Ava first. Just as my patience was running out, Jessica came back. Her face was ashen, "Kristen, I think Ava should tell you herself." When Ava saw me, she still couldn't meet my eyes, though I could tell she was trying hard to keep her composure. "I don't understand what's happening!""Ever since I got center position, I felt someone watching me intently from the corner during practice. Then one day, I saw... a face floating behind Kristen's head! A face identical to Kristen's!" Cold sweat beaded on Ava's forehead as she covered her face in fear. "I was too far away to notice anything wrong at first. I thought Kristen was trying to tell me something, so I stupidly went over to say hi. But when Kristen turned around... I realized that face was growing from the back of her head!""I ran back to the dorm terrified. When I calmed down, I finally understood what those lips were saying.""They were asking, 'Can I be center?'" She grabbed Jessica's shoulders, shaking them, "My gut tells me that thing that kept watching me was that face!" Ava's words made my skin crawl. I stiffly raised my hand to touch the back of my head, relaxing slightly at the normal feel of my hair. To keep others out of it, I accepted the center position. After calming down, I thought about it for a long time. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed impossible. Were they really afraid of me because of a ghost? Before this, I was a skeptic - I never believed in ghosts. So when the production team wasn't looking, I secretly checked the practice room's security footage. I set it to early morning and slowly moved through the timeline, but the ghost never appeared. Just as I was about to give up, a face identical to mine suddenly filled the enlarged screen. The face took up the entire screen, crying tears of blood and grinning grotesquely at the camera. My mind went blank, and I let out a terrified scream!