Me Again!!!!!!!!!! Sorry I Haven't Updated For Awhile!!!! I Don't Own Digimon Or High School Musical!!!! So Stop Bugging Me About That!! Wish I Did!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, On With The Story!

The next morning, TK entered his homeroom class. The first person he saw was Kari. He sneaked a peek at her and realized she was looking at him, too. They both smiled sheepishly and looked away as Ms. Darbus said sternly, "I expect we learned our homeroom manners yesterday, people, correct?"

Everyone nodded obediently.

"If not, we have dressing rooms that need painting," she warned. "Now, a few announcements. This morning during free period is your chance for musical auditions, both singles and pairs. I'll be in the theater until noon, for those bold enough to explore the wingspan of their creative spirit." Mimi turns around and looks at Izzy clapping her hands.

Behind TK, Davis rolled his eyes at this and leaned forward to whisper, "What time is she due back on the mother ship?" his buddies snickered. TK smiled uncomfortably. As he sat through the rest of homeroom, he tried to focus. "Keep your eye on the prize TK. Don't think about anything except basketball."

When Ms. Darbus released the class, everyone piled out into the hallway. Davis quickly caught up with TK. "Hey TK…the whole team's hitting the gym during free period. What are you going to have us run?" TK looked shifty.

"Can't make it. I've got to catch up on homework." Davis did a double take. "What?! Hello, this is only the second day back, dude," he protested. "I'm not even behind yet, and I've been behind on homework since preschool."

TK smiled and shrugged. "Catch you later." He said then melted away in the crowd. Davis looked after him, puzzled. "Homework?" he asked himself. "No way." He followed TK, determined to figure out this mystery.

Davis would never make a good spy, TK thought, catching a glimpse of his buddy out of the corner of his eye. He saw an open classroom door and quickly ducked inside. He saw Davis peer inside, and started talking to students as a cover.

Then someone passing in the hall called out to Davis. As soon as TK saw that his buddy was distracted, he slipped out the back door of the classroom, scooted down the hall, and hurried down the stairwell. The stairwell led outside to the courtyard.

As TK darted across the open area, he suddenly saw his dad walking toward him. Thinking fast, TK hid behind a wall, then opened the door to the automotive shop. He slipped inside just as his dad approached.

"Funny," Coach Ishida thought, "I could have sworn I just saw TK…" He looked around, but his son was nowhere insight. The coach shrugged. "I must be seeing things. Must be the pressure of the big game." He thought, and went on.

TK's evasive skills and fast footwork came in handy as he moved quickly around the large pieces of equipment in the auto shop. As he reached the door, the auto-shop teacher approached.

"…shortcut…" TK explained quickly. "…late for class…" then he ducked out the door, ran down the hall, and enter the school theater from the backstage. He peered out through the stage curtains and saw dozens of kids arriving, eager to try out.

He spotted the janitor's cart with a mop and bucket. He turned the mop upside down and used it as a cover as he rolled the cart down a ramp, along the side of the theater and into the shadows at the back of the auditorium.

From his safe hiding place, he watched as Ms. Darbus stepped onto the stage and began the auditions in her trademark dramatic style. "This is where the true expression of the artist is realized , where inner truth is revealed through the actor's journey, where-" she stopped suddenly to glare around the theater. "…WAS THAT A CELL PHONE?" she snapped.

Kelsi, the composer of this year's musical, was seated at a piano onstage. She answered Ms. Darbus timidly. "No, ma'am, it was the warning bell." Ms. Darbus nodded, satisfied that her domain had not been invaded.

"Those wishing to audition must understand that time is of the essence, we have many roles to cast, and the final callbacks will be next week. First, you'll sing a few bars, and then I'll give you a sense of whether or not the theater is your calling. Better to hear from me than from your friends later. Our composer, Kelsi Neilson, will accompany you, and be available for rehearsals prior to callbacks. Shall we?"

She took a seat in the front row and braced herself for what was to come. She had too many years of experience with student auditions. She knew it wasn't going to be pretty. The first, a shy boy with a slightly flat voice, took the stage. Kelsi began playing the audition song, "What I've Been Looking For", and he sang along.

When he finished, Ms. Darbus thought that it hadn't been horrible, but it certainly wasn't up to her high standards. Next came Susan, whose off-key voice and enthusiastic gestures were…well, Ms. Darbus thought, they were just scary bad. She winced as Susan belted out the song.

At the end of Susan's audition, Ms. Darbus put on a fake smile and said, "That's nice Susan," adding, "perhaps best saved for a family gathering." Then Alan bounded up, smiling. He was a snappy dresser, but when he opened his mouth, Ms. Darbus realized sadly that he was a terrible singer.

She told him, "Alan, I admire your pluck. As for your singing…….that's a really nice tie you're wearing. NEXT!!!" Next was Cyndra, whose high-pitched wail made Ms. Darbus grimace. "Ah, Cyndra, what courage to pursue a note that's never been accessed in the natural world," she said trying to be positive.

"Bravo." She quickly corrected herself- after all, if there was one thing she knew, it was theater terminology. Bravo was to congratulate a male singer, while brava was said to a female. "Brava!" she said to Cyndra. "How about…the spring musical?"

She thought she had reached her breaking point, but that was before she saw the next audition, a boy and a girl who made strange gestures and preformed slow somersaults as they chanted the lyrics in a hypnotic monotone.

"Okay…" Ms. Darbus finally said. "That was… just plain disturbing. Go see a counselor." As TK watched the auditions wistfully, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Kari. "Hey! You decided to sign up for something?" she asked.

"No." he answered. "You?" she shook her head. "No." then she took in his 'disguise'. "Why are you hiding behind a mop?" embarrassed, he awkwardly pushed the mop out of the way. Kari looked at him knowingly. "Your friends don't know you're here right?"

He hesitated, then admitted the truth. "Right." He glanced at the stage, where the auditions- and Ms. Darbus's putdowns-were continuing. "Ms. Darbus is a little…harsh." "The wildcat superstar is…afraid?" she teased him.

"Not afraid…just…" he hesitated again, then let his guard down. "…scared." Relieved, Kari said, "Me, too." She looked at Ms. Darbus, who was dismissing yet another hopeful singer. "Hugely."

As they nervously watched Ms. Darbus, the teacher checked her clipboard and announced, "For the lead roles of Arnold and Minnie, we only have one couple signed up." She smiled warmly at her star students. "Nevertheless, Izzy and Mimi, I think it might be useful for you to give us a sense of why we gather in this hallowed hall."

This was just the moment Mimi and Izzy were waiting for! They made grand entrances from opposite sides of the stage, and Kelsi asked shyly, "What key?" and prepared to play. But, Izzy lifted a boom box and said smugly, "We had our rehearsal pianist do an arrangement."

He hit the PLAY button, and he and his sister began their routine.

Izzy: It's hard to believe that I couldn't see

Both: you were always there beside me

Thought I was alone with no one to hold

But you were always there beside me

Mimi: this feeling's like no other

Both: I want you to know,

I've never had someone that knows me like you do

The way you do and

I've never had someone as good for me as you

No one like you

So lonely before I finally found,

What I've been looking for

(Mimi starts tap dancing)

Mimi: so good to be seen so good to be heard

Both: don't have to say a word

Izzy: For so long I was lost, so good to be found

Both: I'm lovin' havin' you around

Izzy: this feeling's like no other

Both: I want you to know

I've never had someone that knows me like you do

The way you do and

I've never had someone as good for me as you

No one like you

So lonely before I finally found,

What I've been looking for

Both: doo-doo, doo-doo a wha a uh-oh

Doo-doo doo-doo a wha a uh-oh

They finished with a professional flourish and beamed proudly. They were good, and they knew they were good. After that audition, everyone else knew it too. The few kids gathering their courage to audition at the last minute quietly slinked out of the theater, totally intimidated.

"Don't be discouraged!" Izzy called after them. "The theater club doesn't just need singers, it needs fans, too! Buy tickets!" Kelsi gathered her courage and approached Mimi and Izzy.

"Actually, if you do the part… with that particular song, I was hoping you'd.." "If we do the part?" Mimi interrupted her. "Kelsi, my sawed –off Sondheim, I've been in seventeen school productions. And how many times have your compositions been selected?"

"This would be the first." Kelsi admitted. "Which tells us what?" Mimi demanded. Kelsi paused, not sure what answer was expected of her. "That I should write you more solos???" Mimi shook her head.

"It tells us that you do NOT offer direction, suggestion, or commentary," she said condescendingly. "And you should be thankful that Izzy and I are here to lift your music out of its current obscurity. Are we clear?" "Yes, ma'am," Kelsi said, thoroughly cowed.

Then she caught herself. "I mean Mimi." "Nice talking to you," Mimi said in a tone of dismissal. She and Izzy turned on their heels and left. Kelsi began gathering her music, her pulse racing after this close encounter with celebrity ego.

"Okay, we're out of time, so do we have any last minute sign-ups?" Ms. Darbus announced. She looked around. "No? Good. Done." She tossed her clipboard into her bag and began to leave. Kari took a deep breath. "It's now or never." She thought.

Before she had any second thoughts, she ran up to the drama teacher. "I'd like to audition, Ms. Darbus." Ms. Darbus shook her head. "Timeliness means something in the world of theater, young lady. Plus, the single auditions are long over. And there were simply no other pairs."

Then out of the darkness, TK's voice said, "I'll sing with her." He moved from the shadows to stand with Kari. "TK Takaishi?" the teacher looked more taken back. She looked suspicious. "Where's your…sports posse, or whatever it's called?"

"Team." TK said helpfully. "But, I'm here alone, actually," he smiled at Kari, "I'm here to sing with her." "Yes, well, we treat these shows very seriously at Odabia High," Ms. Darbus sniffed. "I called for the pairs audition, and you didn't respond." She pointed to the clock. "Free period is now over."

Then, in an effort to sound gracious, she added, "next musical, perhaps." As she left Kelsi started to leave the stage, clutching her music. She was so distracted by all the drama- on and off stage- that she tripped over the piano leg and fell to the floor.

TK and Kari saw this and went onstage, and began to help her. Kelsi didn't lift a finger to help- she was too stunned. TK Takaishi, the TK Takaishi, Odabia High's star basketball player, was helping her? She stared at him- frozen.

TK didn't notice the affect he was having on Kelsi. "You composed the song Izzy and Mimi just sang?" he asked. Speechless, Kelsi nodded. "And the entire show?" he asked. Again, Kelsi managed to nod. Barely.

"That's way cool," he said, truly impressed. "I can't wait to hear the rest of the show." When she didn't answer, he continued. "Why are you so afraid of Izzy and Mimi? It's your show." Kelsi was so startled, she actually spoke a few words! "It is?"

"Isn't the composer of a show like the playmaker in basketball?" TK asked. "Playmaker?" Kelsi had never heard of that term, but she like the sound of it. "The person who makes everyone else look good," he explained. "Without you, there is no show. You're the playmaker here Kelsi."

"I am?" Kelsi had never thought of it that way. But now, that TK Takaishi- the TK Takaishi!- had said it, she had to admit, it made a certain kind of sense. Feeling bold and strong for the first time, she sat at the piano and asked, "Do you want to hear the way the duet is supposed to sound?"

She began to play the song that Izzy and Mimi had rearranged. She played it more slowly, with feeling and soul. TK and Kari listened with growing appreciation. "Wow, that's really nice." TK said. Kelsi pushed the music toward TK.

He looked at it. Did he dare? Kari looked at it, too, feeling tempted. Then TK began to sing softly.

TK: It's hard to believe

That I couldn't see

You were always there beside me

Kari soon joined, a little more boldly.

Kari: Thought I was alone

With no one to hold

Both: But you were always right beside me

This feeling's like no other

I want you to know

That I've never had someone

That knows me like you do

The way you do

And I've never had some as good for me as you

No one like you

So lonely before, I finally found

What I've been looking for

Kari: Ooooooooooooooh

Kelsi beamed as she listened to the simple, pure interpretation of her song. It was the way she had dreamed it would sound. As they finished, Ms. Darbus stepped forward from the darkness by the back door.

She had been watching and listening the entire time. And what she had seen and heard surprised her. As she wrote their names on her clipboard, she called out, "Takaishi, Kamiya, you have a callback. Kelsi, give them the duet from the second act. Work on it with them."

The bell rang. Ms. Darbus strode off to her next class as TK and Kari looked at each other stunned. Now what??? Kelsi handed them the music and said eagerly, "If you want to rehearse, I'm usually in the music room during free period and after school….and sometimes even during biology class."