***Note: Sorry this wasn't posted on sunday, which is the day I've decided I want this stories' posts to go up. Imma get it out faster sooner!***
“How was wrap?” my mom nudged me with her foot.
“It was ok.” I mumbled, munching on a granola bar and scrolling through an article about orchids.
“Did anything interesting happen?”
“Not really. I have to audition for the play. But I’m still going out for crew.”
“Why do you have to audition for cast?”
“I don’t know” I muttered.
“I'm sorry your dad needed to borrow your car. His’ll be fixed soon, I promise.”
“Yeah...ok” I absentmindedly replied
We pulled into the driveway, and I hopped out and trudged inside, all while staring at my phone. I finished reading my orchid article, and opened Instagram. I scrolled through my feed. Amid the selfies and dog photos, I stumbled upon an interesting post by Audrey. It was her expensively photographed headshot, with the caption:
“Going out for the spring musical! Poll Dancing here I come! I’m trying out for the lead! See you at auditions, Ms Reynolds!”
I groaned. Shameless self-promotion seemed a little like overkill. We all knew she was going to get the lead, and this just made her look desperate, if that was even possible for someone so glamorous.
I walked up the stairs and into the room Charlie and I shared. I plopped down on our beanbag chair, still scrolling through instagram. Every post I saw was self-centered and egotistical, detailing the latest boring event in the lives of the teens of the world. I was swallowed by the neverending stream of filtered selfies and photos of succulents, barely noticing the world around me.
“Ahem.” Charlie shook me out of my daze. She was standing over me, holding her laptop. “What is this?” She demanded. I squinted at the too-bright screen. It was Ms. Reynolds website, with the same notice from her bulletin board in big letters on the homepage. “Well? Weren’t you going to tell me?”
“I guess, I just didn’t think it was that important. It’s not like I’m not gonna do the show still. I’m just gonna have to audition. I’ll probably still be crew anyways. It’s whatever”
“Whatever? C’mon Ari. You always complain about how awful the cast is. This is your chance to infiltrate them. Get in with them, or better yet...command them! You could be stage manager, Ari! Or choreographer! Or...or-
“Char. I’m going to be sound manager. End of story. I don’t need to be anything else. I’ll put together an adequate audition for the show, and we’ll all be in our place like normal. Besides, we both know the sound booth would be a disaster if anyone but me took over.”
“You could train tammy…”
“No. I don’t think so”
“Ugh. You’re so difficult. Can I at least help you with your audition?”
“Sure. Whatever.”
“Yessssssss” Charlie flung herself onto her bed, laptop in hand. I clicked my phone off, sat back, and listened to the tap of Charlie’s fingers flying over the keys, expertly crafting some masterpiece. Charlie loved to write. She never shared her work with anyone, but I snuck some peeks. She was really good, and I could tell that she really had a passion for it. She wrote everything, from mere observations about the world to poems to short novels. One day, I hope she gets to share her work with the world.