'Twas the night before Comp Szn, when all through the nation
Not a group was performing, not even the Modulations;
The tap shoes were placed in the costume racks with care,
In hopes that First Edition soon would be there;
The performers were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of Grand Champs danced in their heads;
And costume moms with their needles, and stage dads with their clamps,
Were getting prepared, to receive their competition stamps;
Then out on the Stage there arose such a clatter,
Directors sprang from their homeroom to see what was the matter.
Away to backstage they flew like a flash,
Tore open the curtains in a frantic mad-dash.
The spotlights in the catwalk lit everything below,
Seemingly ready, for quite a big show.
When what to their surprise appeared above is,
But a miniature stage and eight high-caliber judges,
With a little flick of light, their lamps turned on quick,
We all knew in a moment this competition was top pick.
More rapid than counts the Director's performers they came,
And the emcee's voice spoke and called the groups by name:
"Now, Johnston! now, Waltham! now Brandon and Burbank!
On, Carmel! on, Loveland! on, Waukee and Bimidji!
To the top of the Balcony! Auditorium wall to wall!
Now get ready! Go warm-up! And give it your all!"
Down the school hallways the performers they flew,
When they were lost, they found a host that knew;
So back to the homerooms they were able to regroup
Going over the judges critiques, ridding of previous miscues.
And then, in a twinkling, the Finals had begun
The dancing and singing of every note being sung.
As I was watching in awe, they danced and tumbled;
During the performance, I heard my stomach let out a loud rumble.
To the cafeteria I went, seeing all the options in sight,
A Chick-fil-a sandwich, I was salivating for a bite;
Just finishing up, my stomach at ease
I got a notification pop up on my phone screen.
"Call time is 8:00, do not be late,
Be dressed and ready - we will not wait."
I looked at the time, the homeroom I had to go
Having to get ready for our finals show;
Doing everything to clean myself up, I even brushed my teeth,
I had them sparkled and shined, I even brushed underneath.
The time had come, we stood in a line,
We stood with our partners right by our sides.
To the warm-up room we went, walking in style,
We even gave our supporters a wave and a smile.
When in the warm-up, we worked on our changes,
Our director making sure we kept a smile on our faces;
After working up a sweat, we were ready to work,
We did our chants; our director held a smirk.
When ready to go, our hosts lead us down
When on the stage, we had the opposite of frowns;
While in our windows we couldn't wait any longer,
As the curtain rose, the crowd noise got stronger.
The emcee I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Comp Day to all, and to all a good night!”
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