In the Spotlight (4 page)

When he finished the audition song, Josh stood at the center of the stage while the auditorium remained completely silent. He looked so uncomfortable, and for a minute, I couldn’t figure out why. Then I realized that no one was clapping. I’m pretty sure everyone had been stunned into silence by the awesomeness of his voice. Still, I forced my hands together, not wanting to break the spell, but not wanting him to look like that either.

Kaylee started clapping next, and pretty soon the whole auditorium had erupted in thunderous applause. Josh got an “aw-‐-

shucks” look on his face and had the decency to blush. He was cute when he blushed. No! I reprimanded myself firmly. Josh Larson certainly was an attractive male, but I was not going to become one of his legions of fans. He had enough girls fawning over him to start a fan club, or a harem. I was not going to join that group.

Ms. Bard rushed onto the stage, applauding like her arms were from a wind-‐-up toy. “Oh, Joshua! That was spectacular!

Phenomenal! I can’t make you any promises, but if I have my way, you’re my Chad!”

I stopped clapping. My hands literally fell flat into my lap. I scanned the room for Kyle, who was sitting in the front row looking smug. Relief coursed through me. Kyle wasn’t worried or threatened by Josh. Why should he be? I mean, Kyle wrote the freaking play. He was still a shoo-‐-in for Chad.

Ms. Bard seriously looked like she was going to faint or swoon or something. Josh had already taken his seat back on the far side of the auditorium, close enough to look a part of the group, but far enough away to denote the difference between us and him. Ms.

Bard continued to fan herself, and at one point, she began muttering to herself and glancing around absently.

Finally, she said, “Oh my, we should get back to these auditions. Who’s next to audition for Chad?”

A few more guys tried their hand at Chad’s part, but none of them came close to Josh’s smooth tone. I shifted anxiously, wishing Ms. Bard would skip right to Kyle’s audition. When Kyle’s turn came, I could feel the anticipation in the room. It followed him as he climbed the stairs to the stage, and it reached a near frenzied pitch as the pianist warmed up.

Kyle opened his mouth, and the audition song spilled out. I waited for the swirl of amazement to hit me, but it never did. Kyle’s audition seemed flat to me. There was no emotion in his voice, no connection to Chad. I found myself stealing glances at Ms. Bard, wondering if she felt it too.

When Kyle finished, the applause was polite. A few girls gushed to him as he came back to his seat. From the look on his face, it was clear that Kyle sensed defeat, or at least near defeat, because he immediately went to Ms. Bard. The two of them held a tense, maybe a little terse, conversation before Kyle stalked back to his seat and sat down, arms crossed.

“He wasn’t as good as I thought he’d be,” Kaylee whispered.

“I know what you mean,” I whispered back reluctantly, my eyes straying across the room to Josh. He was leaning slightly forward in his chair, his hands laced together, resting on his knees.

His posture gave me the impression that he was tense, and I guess he was because he was sort of out of his element. Or was he? What if Josh had been some amazing drama geek back at his old school?

And when he transferred here, he decided to remake his image into that of a jock? It was a nice theory anyway. But if he was trying to remake his image here, why would he be auditioning for the musical?

“Hey, Mags,” I whispered. “Have you heard anything about why Josh is trying out for the musical?”

Maggie shook her head. “Not yet, but don’t worry I have my ears open.”

For a first class gossip, Maggie could be surprisingly disappointing at times. I was trying to mull over some possibilities when Maggie leaned over to me again and in an excited whisper said, “Do you think it’s because he’s on the injured list for basketball? You know, ever since he heroically saved you.”

I rolled my eyes. When were people going to stop talking about that? The guy had knocked a basketball away from my head, not pulled me from the clutches of a runaway train. And besides, what was the worst that could’ve happened to him? A bruised knee? What a baby. Although he had been in a walking boot for a few days. Whatever. He was still a big baby.

“Whatever, Mags,” Kaylee whispered from my other side.

Thank goodness for Kaylee. “He’s probably just trying to prove that he’s good at everything he does.”

Frowning, I glanced back over at Josh. He didn’t seem like he was trying to prove anything to anyone. He sort of looked like he really wanted the part. In a way, I felt sorry for him.

Thankfully, Ms. Bard interrupted our ponderings by announcing that the Kelly auditions would begin. Kaylee and Maggie squeezed my hands. They were the only people, aside from Ms. Bard, who knew I’d decided to audition for Kelly in addition to the role of Kelly’s little sister. Claudia was called first to read and sing. Not to sound petty or anything, but she was terrible. Her reading felt like she was auditioning for a role on some MTV reality show, and her song sounded like a dying giraffe; giraffes don’t have vocal chords.

I watched with relief as Claudia got off the stage to a rather disapproving look from Ms. Bard. Only one other girl signed up to audition for Kelly. Michelle Martin was a senior, and in my personal opinion, amazing in all things drama related. Plus, she had a really sweet demeanor, and every time she was up against anyone for a role, she cheered louder for her competition than anyone else.

And her audition was close to miraculous. I actually closed my eyes while she sang because I loved listening to her voice. It seemed almost incomprehensible that I’d willingly put myself into the same category as Michelle, but I just had to try. Honestly, the fact that Michelle would clearly get the role of Kelly helped relax me enough to almost look forward to my audition.

As Michelle wrapped up her audition, my mind wandered to my conversation with Kyle. How could he be mad at me for auditioning for Kelly when Michelle was clearly going to get the part? A little flicker of hope danced in my chest that maybe Kyle would actually be proud of me for putting myself out there in front of the whole drama crowd.

When Ms. Bard called my name, I snuck a glance at Kyle. He didn’t flinch or turn toward me. In fact, he made no sign that he’d even heard my name read. My heart sank. Maggie and Kaylee squeezed my arms and murmured positive things. With shaky breath and knocking knees, I climbed up onto the stage. The minute I opened my mouth to speak Kelly’s part, the miraculous transformation that makes acting totally worthwhile happened. I fell into the role, becoming Kelly inside and out. When I spoke the words they were truly Kelly’s words, and I felt like I was channeling another whole person.

My voice shook as I began the audition song, but in the moment, I wasn’t sure if it was because of nerves or emotions.

Regardless, the song was a fun one to sing, and throwing myself into the part, I could easily forget about the audience watching me.

The melody of the song was fairly simple, but there were complex undertones that sifted through the song like sand in the wind.

Applause raced through the auditorium when I finished; a pleasant surprise after watching Michelle perform. I took my seat, careful not to look at anyone but Maggie and Kaylee. True to form, Maggie began to inform me of all the reactions in the audience, and Kaylee’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. They both went a little overboard, in my opinion. Still it was flattering to hear myself praised on the same level that I would praise Michelle.

Ms. Bard made a few more notes on her clipboard before climbing up to the stage, and saying, “Call back lists will be posted by lunch time tomorrow. I will tell you that I’ve already made my decisions for the main roles of Chad and Kelly. Those will be posted with the rest of the cast list on Friday. Please don’t bother me about who got the parts. You know I won’t tell you, and all the nagging gets quite tiresome. Please remember that there are no small parts, only small actors. And I’d like everyone to consider helping out in other, behind-‐-the-‐-scenes areas, beyond your required ten hours. If you have any pertinent questions, please stay after and ask me. Dismissed.”

Maggie had to get to band, and Kaylee had to work, but I pretended I needed to ask Ms. Bard a question so I could mill around for a bit, hoping to get a chance to talk to Kyle. I stayed in my seat for a minute after Kaylee and Maggie left, quickly organizing my reasons for auditioning when I’d promised not to.

My thoughts were interrupted by someone’s throat clearing.

I looked up to see Josh Larson standing in front of me, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. He gave me a tentative half smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Hey,” he said, smiling a little bigger. “You’re the girl from the basketball game, aren’t you?”

My smile drooped. “Um, yeah,” I replied. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

Josh ducked his head in that “aw-‐-shucks” move again, but grinned at me through what, up close, were impossibly long eyelashes. “You’re welcome,” he said. Then he added, “I couldn’t have let a pretty girl like you go around with a black eye because of some jerk from Central throwing the ball at my head.”

I raised an eyebrow. So that’s what had happened.

Interesting. And even more interesting, Josh Larson was flirting with me. No doubt about it. Strange and exhilarating, to be honest.

Stranger and even more exhilarating was the overwhelming desire I had to flirt right back. “And what were you doing to make that jerk from Central want to throw a basketball at your head?” I teased.

“I must have told him he had big feet or something.” Josh shoved his hands into his pockets, and grinned at me.

“Such trash talk.” I smiled. Maybe I could get used to having some attention paid to me from the whole basketball rescue incident.

We lapsed into silence for a few seconds, awkwardness seeping in. Finally, Josh said, “Um, so, I just wanted to tell you that I thought you were really good up there.”

“Thanks,” I said, surprised. I hadn’t been expecting anyone to think I was good after following Michelle and all. I mean, except for Kaylee and Maggie. “You were too.”

“Oh, thanks,” Josh replied, oddly seeming equally as surprised. “It’s fun.”

“What’s fun?” I asked, dumbly.

Josh gestured around the auditorium. “This sort of stuff.

Theater stuff. Anyway, you were great. Just wanted to tell you.

Good luck.”

“Thanks, you too.” I felt the words thicken in my throat as Josh smiled at me one last time and headed for the exit. I stayed put for another few seconds, my heart hammering, before remembering why I’d stayed in the first place. Quickly, I scanned the auditorium and found Kyle huddled near Ms. Bard, a rather furious look darkening his perfect features.

Suddenly, Kyle slammed down the binder he’d been carrying and turned to storm out of the auditorium. He stalked right past me without so much as a glance. My heart sank a little, and I had to swallow the bitter taste in my mouth. As the auditorium doors clanged shut, I reluctantly gathered my backpack to leave. Kyle wasn’t going to come back to congratulate me, and I didn’t have any questions for Ms. Bard, so I really had no reason to stay.

As I pulled the zipper up on my backpack, I heard my name being called. I glanced up to see Ms. Bard beckoning me to join her at the front of the room.

“Hannah, darling,” she said as I approached. I’m so glad that you stayed. I have something that I want to tell you in person.”

I smiled at her expectantly. She really was the funniest teacher ’d ever had. There was something eccentrically lovable about her.

“I’ve decided to forego tradition this year,” Ms. Bard began.

“As you know, normally I give the lead roles in our Spring Musical to seniors because I feel they’ve earned their place at the forefront of our theater family.”

I nodded, as I knew this had been tradition even before Ms.

Bard had arrived at the school.

She continued, “However, this year I simply cannot deny the talent that has been placed before me. I’m so delighted, my dear, to be able to offer you the role of Kelly.”

I nearly fainted. Surely, I hadn’t heard her correctly. Had she just offered me the lead role? And what alternate universe was I living in that she’d made her decision so quickly? Wait, something from earlier, a dim, hazy memory of another time, skimmed through my brain. Ms. Bard
had
mentioned something about already having made her choice for the lead roles. But…
me?

“Now, of course, I’ll have to ask that you keep this a secret until I post the cast list on Friday, and please play along when you get called back for other roles,” Ms. Bard instructed. She sighed happily. “With you and that Josh boy in the lead roles, this may be the best show I’ve ever been privileged to work on.”

“Wait, what?” Had I heard her correctly? Had she just given away the secret of the male lead? And had she really just said that it wasn’t Kyle?

Ms. Bard stopped for a moment, and her euphoric look dimmed a bit. “Oops. I didn’t mean to let that slip. Well, now you know, I’ve selected Josh what’s-‐-his-‐-name?” Ms. Bard paused as she consulted her clipboard. “Ah, yes, Josh Larson. I’ve selected him to play Chad. I think you two will be fabulous together.”

“Thank you,” I said, swallowing hard even as my mind continued to spin through all of the various realities that were hitting me all at once.

Ms. Bard smiled at me, the euphoria obviously taking over again, and before I could say or even think anything else, she turned dismissively away from me. I readjusted my backpack, which I was clinging to for life support, and somehow propelled my feet toward the auditorium doors.

Once out in the bright lights of the school Commons, my mind clicked into high gear, and several thoughts occurred to me nearly simultaneously. First, I had just been given the lead role in our school’s musical as a junior. No one would believe it, and even when the truth did sink in, I’d have a lot to prove. Second, the male lead had been given to a junior as well, and not just any Junior, but a new-‐-to-‐-the-‐-school Junior. No wonder Kyle had been furious.