DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VICTORiOUS. POVs when mentioned.
Chapter 35
Craft
2008.
Andre's POV
Cat and I are with my dad and her mom in line waiting to audition. She's going to tap dance for her audition. She's been practicing like crazy and it annoys everyone. I covered "Refugee" by Tom Petty for my audition, so I have my keyboard with me. Something a little simple.
A lady with a clipboard walks out from behind the curtains.
"Auditioning next, Andre Harris." She announces.
"Good luck, Andre!" Cat says cheerfully. I smile and go behind the curtains to a theater. Facing the stage is a table of five people. I'm guessing that these are the people who are going to judge my audition.
"Hi." I say.
"Hello, what are you going to do for us today, young man?" One of the ladies asks sweetly. I set up my keyboard.
"Well, I covered a pretty popular song, Tom Petty's 'Refugee.'" I reply.
"That is a pretty popular song." The man in the middle agrees.
"And, you're gonna play it on your keyboard? That must be pretty difficult." A man with wild hair and a…coconut wonders.
"It did take some practice, but it wasn't too difficult." I clear my throat and start the song.
Four minutes later.
I finish my cover and look up. My audience is looking impressed. They start to applaud. I smile a little. Oh, yeah; they totally liked it.
"Excellent work, young man." The man with the glasses said. The men on his sides nod vigorously. I stand and bow. "Welcome to Hollywood Arts."
"Thank you." I say, smiling.
Cat's POV
Andre and I are in line at HA for auditions. He's going to use music to audition and I'll tap dance. Andre wrote a song. Well, covered is a more accurate term. He covered "Refugee" by Tom Petty.
We are at the front of the line. I let him be the first to go. He offered to let me go, but I didn't feel like going first.
A lady with a clipboard comes out from behind the curtains.
"Auditioning next, Andre Harris." She announces.
"Good luck, Andre!" I say to him cheerfully. He winks at me and follows the lady behind the curtains.
He comes out from behind the curtains with a smile on his face.
"You passed! Good for you!" I cheer with him and his dad.
"Thanks." He replies.
"I'm proud of you, son." His dad says.
"Auditioning next, Cat Valentine."
"Good luck, Cat." Andre wishes.
"Thanks." I say, smiling. I go behind the curtains. There's a stage and a table of five people facing the stage. They all look at me expectantly.
"Did you do your hair yourself, dear?" one of the ladies asks.
"I did." I reply cheerfully, running a hand through my hair.
"It's lovely."
"What are you going to do for us today, young lady?" A man with a coconut asks, sipping from a stray in the coconut a little.
"Well, I'm going to do some tap dancing." I reply.
"We don't have many tap dancers here." One of the ladies said. The lady next to her shook her head.
"You have music to dance to?" The man in the middle asks. I nod and raise the CD player that I brought with me. I set it down on the ground a few feet from me and turn the music on. When the beat starts, I start dancing.
Two minutes later.
I dance the last few notes and finish, the music stopping. My audience stares at me impressed. They then start applauding me and I bow.
"Wow; very impressive, young lady. We'd love to have your tap dancing skills here at Hollywood Arts." The man with glasses says. I nod vigorously. "Well, then, welcome to Hollywood Arts."
Beck's POV
So, its summer and I'm auditioning to get into Hollywood Arts, a performing arts high school. I'm going to use acting for my audition, since that's what I want to be an actor when I'm older. I'm going to act out a scene from one of my favorite movies, On the Waterfront, starring Marlon Brando. It's about Brando's character going against union violence and corruption.
I'm in line at the school, in the black box. My parents are with me. There's a couple of people in front of me with a parent. One of them has red hair, which looks weird on her. The other is a guy with dreadlocks and a guitar.
A lady with a clipboard walks in from behind some curtains.
"Up next, Andre Harris." She says trading from the clipboard. The guy with the dreads raises his hand.
"Good luck, Andre!" The redhead says in a high voice. The guy nods and takes his guitar with him.
A couple minutes later, the lady returns.
"Up next, Cat Valentine." The redhead raises her hand enthusiastically and goes behind the curtain. The family of the two in front go back outside.
The lady comes back again.
"Next, Beck Oliver." I nod and follow her.
"Good luck, Beck." I hear mom say. I go behind the curtains and find myself in front of a table of people in a large room. I notice the stage they're facing.
"Good afternoon, young man; what are you going to show us today?" A man with glasses in the middle of the table asks me.
"I'm going to perform a dialogue between two characters from On the Waterfront, starring
Marlon Brando." I reply, somewhat nervously.
"Ooh, that's one of my favorites." The man next to the man with the glasses says. I study him a little. He has colorful clothes on and wild hair. He's…sipping on a coconut. How bizarre.
"Whenever you're ready, young man." The lady on the far right says. I nod and begin.
Edie Doyle: "Shouldn't everybody care about everybody else?"
Terry Malloy: "Boy, what a fruitcake you are!"
Edie Doyle: "I mean, isn't everybody a part of everybody else?"
Terry Malloy: "And you really believe that drool?"
Edie Doyle: "Yes, I do."
Terry Malloy: "You wanna hear my philosophy of life? Do it to him before he does it to you."
Edie Doyle: "I never met anyone like you. There's not a spark of sentiment or romance or human kindness in your whole body."
Terry Malloy: "What good does it do ya besides get ya in trouble?"
Edie Doyle: "And when things and people get in your way, you just knock them aside, get rid of them, is that your idea?"
I finished the dialogue and look at my audience expectantly. They all have impressed looks on their faces.
They stand and give me a standing ovation.
"That was very impressive, young man." The man with the coconut complimented me.
"Welcome to Hollywood Arts, uh..." The man with the glasses started before looking down at the list of names in front of him "Beck Oliver."
"Thank you." I said, smirking a little.
"You'll receive information on classes soon and you'll choose which classes to take for your major." The man with the glasses explained.
"Cool, thanks for the opportunity." I reply. They sit back down and I walk behind the curtains and leaves the building after passing the line of people.
I go outside, where my parents are waiting.
"How'd it go?" Dad asks.
"Is it good if they accepted me?" I ask jokingly.
"Aw, yes! I knew you could do it, Beck." Mom cheers, squeezing me in a hug.
"Good job, son."
"Thanks."
Robbie's POV
I'm in line at this performing arts school to audition. I have Rex with me. My mom and Lisa are with me as well. Dad is at the VA for group therapy.
Nothing has really been the same since dad started fighting in the war. Though a lot has changed since he was discharged from the Air Force.
Lisa had gotten into cheerleading and collecting rare butterflies. Boring! I lock myself in my room and hang with Rex.
The lady with the clipboard comes from behind the curtains once again.
"Up next, Robbie Shapiro." She announces.
"Good luck, Rob." Mom and Lisa tell me and I go behind the curtains with the lady.
"Ok, so what's with black boxes in airplanes? Why can't they make the places outta them?" I ask. They all stare at me confused.
"You suck, boy." Rex pipes up. They all start laughing. I sigh and roll my eyes.
"Rex, I'd appreciate it if you didn't kill my act." I chastise him.
"I think it is considered overkill now, since it's already dead!" Rex replies. They all laugh some more.
"Do you mind, man?" I ask, looking at him.
"How can I when I don't have one!" He sneers. Laughter again.
"Ugh. This sucks." I groan.
"Hey, it's hilarious and different. You got talent, son. Welcome to Hollywood Arts."
"Wow, thanks!" I said.
"Are you sure you want Robbie at your school?" Rex asks. I roll my eyes again.
"Pretty sure."
"Damn." Rex mutters.
Jadelyn's POV
"Next, Beck Oliver." The lady with the clipboard says.
Beck Oliver. Why does that name sound familiar? I can't place it, but it sounds really familiar.
I'm in line with several people in front of me. My mom is with me and so is Ray. Dad wished he could be here, but he's at work.
I look to see the front of the line, and I see the back of a tall guy going behind the curtains. His family is walking down the line and I see them.
Even though I met his mom for a while, I still recognize her after nearly ten years. I don't recall learning her name, but I know it's her.
She's Beckett's mom. Then Beck Oliver is Beckett Oliver.
I can't believe it would be him after all these years. I wonder what he looks like now. I could only see his backside when he went behind the curtains. But from what I can tell, he had long black hair and I got a glimpse of his arms and they're tan.
The minutes tick by as I wait to see him walk by me so I can at least see his face. If he passes his audition, I might see him here, if I pass my audition too, that is.
"What's up?" Ray asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. I look at him.
"Nothing, just a little nervous." I reply. It's not a lie, I am nervous, but I'm a little scared too. Ray just looks at me curiously, as if he were trying to figure out if I was lying or not.
Ray looks a little like me, but more like me when I was his age. He's kinda annoying and a little obnoxious. We get into fights quite a bit. So, as a result, we normally don't get along with each other. The little shit likes to remind me of Riley too, and that always boils my blood.
Ironically, he's my confidant when it comes to stuff that I don't want my parents to know.
For example, he knows about my attraction to Riley and that Katelyn and I are sorta together. Emphasis on the sorta, people.
"You're always nervous." Ray huffs. I glare at him.
"Shut up, Ray, I'm not nervous all the time." I snap at him. Told ya.
"Please don't start." Mom moans.
"Sorry." Ray grumbles. I raise an eyebrow at him anyways. He's quite devious too, so sometimes it's hard to take him seriously.
"Up next, Robbie Shapiro." I hear. I look to the front of the line to see the lady with the clipboard and a boy with a large afro, carrying a mannequin, go behind the curtains and Beck comes out.
He walks down the aisle and walks past me without looking at me. I got a good look at his face.
His face is an olive complexion, with hints of a mustache coming in. His black hair is long and silky. He has a hint of a grin on his face; he passed his audition.
"Good for you, Beckett." I whisper to myself.
"Did you say something, honey?" Mom asks.
"No." I lie, shaking my head.
I turn around to see Beckett or Beck, I should say now, leave the building.
I wait in line for several more minutes.
The lady with the clipboard comes back.
"Auditioning next, Jadelyn West." She announces.
"Fucken finally." I say. The lady frowns at me.
"Watch your mouth, Jadelyn." Mom warns. I roll my eyes and walk behind the curtains, where dive people are sitting behind a table. They are looking at me strangely.
"Did you do the makeup yourself?" the lady on the far right asks. How, right.
I'm auditioning in the form of the Joker from The Dark Knight. I put red lipstick on and put done green highlights in my hair. I'm so pale already that I didn't need to use white makeup for the face, but I do have eye shadow.
"Yes, I did." I reply, smiling.
"Very impressive." The man in the glasses said. I nodded in acknowledgement.
"What do you have in store for us, Joker?" The man with wild hair and a coconut asked.
"You wanna know how I got these scars?" I ask, imitating Joker. They all nodded their heads slowly, a little intimidated.
"My father was...a drinker and a fiend; and one night, he goes off crazier than usual; mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He didn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So...me watching, he takes the knife to her; laughing while he does it. He turns to me, and he says, 'Why so serious?' He comes at me with the knife. 'Why so serious?' He sticks the blade in my mouth. 'Let's put a smile on that face.' And, why so serious?" I ask, pulling out from behind me a fake knife and a stuffed doll and I 'slice' it across the mouth. My audience gasps.
"Why so serious?" I ask again. They start at me, slack jawed.
"Well, that was pretty disturbing, but I enjoyed it." The man with the coconut states.
"Same here." The others say.
"I like the way you did all this, so, welcome to Hollywood Arts." The man with the glasses says. I smile and bow a little.
"Thank you." I say in my normal voice.
"You'll receive information on classes soon and you'll choose which classes to take for your major." He explained.
"Cool, thanks a lot."
"Good luck."
Chapter 35. Comment or review plz or whatever. Damned writer's block. Some of it I pulled outta my ass; I didn't really know what to do, but I hope you enjoyed it a little. I know what you're thinking; finally, right? You'll all enjoy the next 11 chapters. The last one will be a very special one.