AsI finished putting away the last of the costumes on a shelf high up in the lighting booth, my headset buzzed from table. I hopped off the ladder and put it on.
“What's up, Ms. Reynolds?”
“Ari, could you turn on B4? I’m going to make an end-of-wrap-day announcement.”
“Sure thing, Ms. R” I turned up the volume on Ms. Reynolds’ mic. “Ok, shoot.”
“And that, my friends, is a wrap on the drama club play this spring! Thanks so much for participating. I hope you will all take part in this year’s spring musical, Poll Dancing. The auditions are open, and the sign-up list was posted while you were in rehearsal. There is a twist on this year’s show, so go check the list and see!”
The moment Ms. Reynolds put the mic down, I turned the knob all the way down as fast as humanly possible, and flew down the stairs to join the small stampede of theatre students racing to the bulletin board outside Ms. Reynolds’ classroom.
When we got there, I struggled, panting, to see above the heads of the actors who were signing up, and who seemed to be upset about something. There was something written in big letters at the top, but I couldn't make it out. I fought my way to the front of the crowd to see the list, but when I saw what was written at the top, my heart dropped to my feet.
At the top of the list, in big letters, were the words:
ALL STUDENTS INTERESTED IN CAST OR CREW MUST BOTH AUDITION FOR CAST AND INTERVIEW FOR CREW
I just about died. I absolutely could not audition for a musical. I strongly considered not doing it. I stood in front of the board for a second, dumbfounded. Thinking. A million thoughts ran through my head in a moment. What if I’m not sound manager? What if I have to act on stage? What if I have to interact with the snobbish actors?
“Hey Shorty! You gonna sign up or not? I’m waiting!” Shrieked a voice behind me. I jumped, and turned around. Audrey Stanberg was poised behind me, hands on hips, staring me down.
“Yeah...the notice just surprised me.” I scribbled my name on the board and scurried away. Audrey was pretty damn scary. She wasn’t just your classic mean girl. She was the kind of girl who used people as stepping stones to get wherever she wanted to be. She didn’t care who she hurt, or what lengths she had to go to, she just had to be on top. And not just socially. Audrey was the president of student council, top of her class (she’s a junior), and on the board of most of the school’s clubs. She starred in most of the school shows, she was a cheerleader, she was the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, and basically all the school groups worshipped her. She had a squad of minions who were at her beck and call, but she mostly worked alone. She had her theatre friends, but they were lucky if they got to see her more than during class or lunch. She drifted between groups, and wherever she andered, she remembered everyone’s name, and said hi, but left quickly.
The students chose to see past her wickedness. Her shrill demands, and her manipulative tendencies went right over their heads. She used them and they didn’t realize it. I did, but few others shared my sentiments.
“Yo! Ari!”
“Huh?” I turned around, and saw a purple ponytail bobbing its way towards me. “Em! Hey!” Emma Monari waltzed towards me. She wore a tight white crop top, and Jean shorts that somehow covered none of her legs.
“D’ya see the sign up sheet? Wild huh?
“Yeah! It made me hesitant to sign up, but-”
Emma cut me off. “Yeah I know exactly how you feel. I'm okay to interview for crew though. It sounds like fun, if I get it. Hey! Wanna teach me how to use the soundboard? I could use a couple crew tricks up my sleeve.”
“Haha yeah. Maybe… Well, I gotta go, my mom is picking me up out back.”
“Alrighty! See ya!”
Emma could be pretty draining, but she was pretty cool to hang out with. She always had a fun story to tell. She was one of the only actually decent people in the group of kids that was typically cast.