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“Rose, I don’t know if I can do it. This is our first concert without Luka and Ivan’s not here either, and Marinette and Adrien both ran off, and—” Her spiraling got cut off as Rose pulled her into a hug.
“Jules,” Rose started, holding Juleka by her shoulders as they looked into each other’s eyes. “You can do it. We all believe in you, and I’ll be by your side the whole time.” Rose blushed.
“It’s not Kitty Section without him, Rose.” Juleka looked down and pulled the crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket. “Besides, it’s not a good song anyway. Ms. Bustier deserves better.”
“You’ll do great and Ms. Bustier will love it. You poured your heart into this Jules.” Rose looked up at Juleka again, “You don’t have to do it alone. We can sing it together.” Rose looked worried that Juleka wouldn’t like her suggestion, but Juleka smiled a little at the thought.
“How about we do it acoustic?”
“But Jules, you know I can’t sing without the guitar and the drums behind me. I’m not a real singer like you.”
“Rose, don’t say that about yourself. I can’t do it alone, and you have a beautiful voice.”
“Do it together then.” Luka butted in from the call backstage. “I believe in you.” Juleka and Rose looked back at each other as the repeated cheers of ‘Kitty Section!’ from the audience got louder.
Together, they walked onstage and dedicated the song. Juleka’s voice was shaky at the start, but Rose reached out for her hand as she started talking. “Ms. Bustier, before you were the mayor you were our teacher. You helped me speak up and make friends with my classmates. If not for you, I would never be up here performing this song for you.” Juleka shakily strummed the first chord of the song as Rose started singing.
Say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,
And in the mirror it’s your face that I see.
Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry but we both know
There is no such thing as a diamond with no flaw.
She got more confident as she sang, and Rose joined in.
I am my father’s daughter
Together we’re stronger
I am my father’s daughter
Together we’re stronger
Rose stopped singing with her as Juleka sang the last bar alone.
For eternity...
Rose let go of her hand as Juleka freestyled on her guitar, the crowd cheering loudly as Rose jumped up to hug her. “You did it,” Rose whispered into her ear. The crowd was huge, and it was overwhelming for Juleka, but she could make out one important face among the crowd. Ms. Bustier stood there with Gisele and Harmony, smiling up at her former student.
“Juleka, I told you you could do it. You’re my star.” Rose said, pulling Juleka into a kiss. Juleka flushed as the crowd let out a collective ‘Aw’ and walked backstage with Rose.