Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me, I guarantee it.
Author's note: Lizzie/Gordo? Lizzie/Larry? Lizzie/Ethan? Lizzie/anyone? Who knows! Well, I know. Sort of. I guess you'll just have to stay tuned and find out.
As a sidenote (I'm infamous for those), I don't know the first thing about Grease, seeing as how I've seen it once. So if you were expecting to see lots of big musical numbers and lots of quoted dialogue, you probably won't. My apologies to any Grease-afficiandos that might be reading this.
*Karasuma*Firestorm*
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
You're The One That I Want
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Monday morning, Lizzie bounced to the auditorium for the play announcements. Gordo had been absolutely infuriating all weekend, refusing to tell her who'd made it. Male and female roles had been on different days, with closed auditions, so she hadn't gotten to see Ethan's performance, or even who else had tried out.
Lizzie wasn't sure how she did. She'd been pretty nervous, so her voice had faltered a few times while she'd been reading lines, but her singing had been spot-on, nothing if not dynamic. Miranda had been pretty good with the singing, so-so with the acting.
Lizzie reached the list, surrounded by a crowd of people. She took a deep breath to steel herself, then pushed in. Elbowing her way to the front, she scanned the list. Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie...she didn't see it. Lizzie's shoulders slumped, and in her moment of defeat, she got swept up by the crowd.
And then she saw it.
No wonder she hadn't seen her name before. She'd been checking the bottom of the list, and her name was second from the top.
Sandy.
*Sandy*!
Lizzie went into a state of shock. She'd gotten the lead! Her. Lizzie McGuire. With a soft yelp, she pushed her way out of the throng, grinning widely.
"Frenchy," she heard Kate saying. "I got *Frenchy*."
Lizzie laughed to herself, and then saw Gordo and Miranda standing there, grinning. They knew. Considering that she was late to school most mornings, of course they would already know.
"I GOT THE LEAD!" Lizzie squealed, throwing her arms around Gordo and Miranda in turn.
"Figures," a voice said darkly, and Lizzie saw Kate Sanders glowering at her.
Lizzie put her hands on her hips and fixed Kate with a steely glare. She was *not* in the mood for this. She was trying to celebrate! "What's *that* supposed to mean?"
"Gordork directs the play, and Losie gets the lead. Big coincidence, wouldn't you say?"
"Are you accusing me of favoritism?" Gordo said disbelievingly. "Listen, Kate, *I* didn't make the final casting decisions. Mr. Dig did. So if you wanna go take it out with him..."
Kate made a disgusting face, clearly having hit a wall. She couldn't very well accuse Mr. Dig of favoritism. He was nothing if not fair. Suddenly, Kate's face contorted into a smile. No doubt a mean-spirited smile, knowing Kate. "Well, there is a bright side to this," she said. "McGuire will get the leading man of her dreams. We all know they already have chemistry..." Kate flapped her hand at them, then strode down the hallway through the thinning crowd. "Toodles!"
Confused, Lizzie turned to Gordo. "What's she talking about? Oh! Did Ethan get Danny? Oh, this is gonna be so great, getting to work with Ethan every day..." Lizzie stared off into space dreamily.
Gordo, however, looked alarmed. "You mean you don't know?" he said.
Lizzie was drawn out of her reverie. She stared at her best friends blankly. "Know what?"
"You...you didn't check the whole list?" Gordo hedged.
Lizzie shook her head impatiently. "No. I saw my name, and that was it." Panic seized her, and without waiting for an explanation, she hurried back to the list. Halfway there, the bell rang, and the crowd dispersed completely save for the trio. Which was probably a good thing, because as Lizzie read who her costar would be, she let out a loud howl. "LARRY TUDGEMAN?"
Miranda's eyes went wide and she looked at Gordo, half-questioning, half-stunned. Gordo shrank back against the wall, suddenly terrified of his female friends. Lizzie had fire in her eyes as she stalked over to him. "GORDO! *Tudgeman*? How could you *do* this to me?"
"A little help here..?" Gordo beseeched Miranda, but she was still gaping at him. Clearly, she hadn't read the full list, either.
"He was the best man for the job," Gordo said. "Mr. Dig and I both thought so. He has...he has a really good singing voice," he offered weakly.
"Good singing voice?" Miranda said incredulously, having found her voice. "Good *singing* voice? Gordo, who cares about singing when you're setting Lizzie up for complete social disaster!"
"Complete social disaster!" Lizzie echoed.
"And what about *me*?" Miranda continued. "I'm her understudy! So that means we're *both* banished to the land of the Tudge!"
The warning bell rang then, and Mr. Dig stuck his head into the hallway. "While I'm all for the director and the lead conversing about play politics, I'm being paid to teach you about Revolutionary War politics, so if you don't mind, we'd like to start class?" he said, cocking one eyebrow at them pointedly.
As they started for the door, Lizzie glared at Gordo. "I can't believe you," she hissed.
Gordo flung his arms in the air. "What did I *do*?" he said. "Last week you were all gung-ho for me being in charge, *you* volunteered me to do this, and now all of a sudden, it's a complete disaster? What gives, McGuire?"
Lizzie whirled to face him and jabbed at his chest with her index finger. "What *gives* is that this could've been the perfect opportunity for me to get close to Ethan, and *you* decided to sabotage it and let me get close to *Larry Tudgeman*."
"I can't believe you would do that to her, Gordo," Miranda said, shaking her head sadly. The girls walked into the room, leaving Gordo staring after them, completely bewildered.
~~~~~
Although for the entire day both Miranda and Lizzie had refused to speak to Gordo, but by the time the first rehearsal rolled around, they'd softened to him. But only slightly. They sat with him grudgingly, offering half-hearted hellos. Mr. Dig clapped for attention, and the trio was grateful for the break from the awkwardness. Gordo remained sound in all of his casting decisions.
"Okay, people, here goes. I conferred with our director Friday, and we've come up with a strict rehearsal regimen, copies of which are being passed around now. If for any reason, and it better be a *really* good reason, like an appointment or a funeral, you are unable to make that rehearsal, get word to myself or Mr. Gordon *immediately*, and at least a *week* in advance, so that we can alter the schedule appropriately. Understand this, being in this play is a *privilege*, not a right, and if you feel like you can slack off, there are plenty of other people who would be more than willing to step in and take your place, so treat this with responsibility."
Obediently the would-be thespians and stagehands nodded. Mr. Dig grinned at them all. "Fantastic. That being said, you've all received a copy of the script as well, so those who aren't on the schedule for today may leave." As people started to get up, Mr. Dig added, "Do you know how you get to Broadway? Practice, practice, practice!"
Lizzie checked the schedule in hand. Yep, just as she'd suspected, she was on call this afternoon. Of course, she had the lead, so she was going to be here a lot more than anyone else. "Miss McGuire, it's just you, Mr. Tudgeman, your understudies, Mr. Gordo and myself this afternoon." He clapped his hands again, clearly a favorite gesture. "Make me proud."
There was a long, long pause where nothing happened. Mr. Dig coughed and looked to Gordo. "Mr. Gordon?"
Gordo looked up from his copy of the schedule. "Huh?"
"You're the director, aren't you?"
"What? Oh, yeah. I am."
"Then *direct*," the substitute said, sweeping his hand in the direction of the stage grandly.
"Oh!" Gordo said, jumping to his feet. He flipped through his script quickly, and said, "Okay, Lizzie, Tudgeman, let's start with Danny and Sandy's first meeting, okay?"
"How do you begin and end a statement with the same word like that?" Miranda said teasingly. "You got skill."
"Read along, would you, Miranda?" Gordo said, flashing her a pointed look as Lizzie and Larry climbed onto the stage.
Larry bowed grandly to his costar. "My fair Lady McGuire," he said in one of his ridiculous voices, "such a pleasure it will be working with you."
Lizzie gave him a tight smile. "Right, Larry," she said. "Let's just start this, okay?"
Author's note: Lizzie/Gordo? Lizzie/Larry? Lizzie/Ethan? Lizzie/anyone? Who knows! Well, I know. Sort of. I guess you'll just have to stay tuned and find out.
As a sidenote (I'm infamous for those), I don't know the first thing about Grease, seeing as how I've seen it once. So if you were expecting to see lots of big musical numbers and lots of quoted dialogue, you probably won't. My apologies to any Grease-afficiandos that might be reading this.
*Karasuma*Firestorm*
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
You're The One That I Want
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Monday morning, Lizzie bounced to the auditorium for the play announcements. Gordo had been absolutely infuriating all weekend, refusing to tell her who'd made it. Male and female roles had been on different days, with closed auditions, so she hadn't gotten to see Ethan's performance, or even who else had tried out.
Lizzie wasn't sure how she did. She'd been pretty nervous, so her voice had faltered a few times while she'd been reading lines, but her singing had been spot-on, nothing if not dynamic. Miranda had been pretty good with the singing, so-so with the acting.
Lizzie reached the list, surrounded by a crowd of people. She took a deep breath to steel herself, then pushed in. Elbowing her way to the front, she scanned the list. Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie...she didn't see it. Lizzie's shoulders slumped, and in her moment of defeat, she got swept up by the crowd.
And then she saw it.
No wonder she hadn't seen her name before. She'd been checking the bottom of the list, and her name was second from the top.
Sandy.
*Sandy*!
Lizzie went into a state of shock. She'd gotten the lead! Her. Lizzie McGuire. With a soft yelp, she pushed her way out of the throng, grinning widely.
"Frenchy," she heard Kate saying. "I got *Frenchy*."
Lizzie laughed to herself, and then saw Gordo and Miranda standing there, grinning. They knew. Considering that she was late to school most mornings, of course they would already know.
"I GOT THE LEAD!" Lizzie squealed, throwing her arms around Gordo and Miranda in turn.
"Figures," a voice said darkly, and Lizzie saw Kate Sanders glowering at her.
Lizzie put her hands on her hips and fixed Kate with a steely glare. She was *not* in the mood for this. She was trying to celebrate! "What's *that* supposed to mean?"
"Gordork directs the play, and Losie gets the lead. Big coincidence, wouldn't you say?"
"Are you accusing me of favoritism?" Gordo said disbelievingly. "Listen, Kate, *I* didn't make the final casting decisions. Mr. Dig did. So if you wanna go take it out with him..."
Kate made a disgusting face, clearly having hit a wall. She couldn't very well accuse Mr. Dig of favoritism. He was nothing if not fair. Suddenly, Kate's face contorted into a smile. No doubt a mean-spirited smile, knowing Kate. "Well, there is a bright side to this," she said. "McGuire will get the leading man of her dreams. We all know they already have chemistry..." Kate flapped her hand at them, then strode down the hallway through the thinning crowd. "Toodles!"
Confused, Lizzie turned to Gordo. "What's she talking about? Oh! Did Ethan get Danny? Oh, this is gonna be so great, getting to work with Ethan every day..." Lizzie stared off into space dreamily.
Gordo, however, looked alarmed. "You mean you don't know?" he said.
Lizzie was drawn out of her reverie. She stared at her best friends blankly. "Know what?"
"You...you didn't check the whole list?" Gordo hedged.
Lizzie shook her head impatiently. "No. I saw my name, and that was it." Panic seized her, and without waiting for an explanation, she hurried back to the list. Halfway there, the bell rang, and the crowd dispersed completely save for the trio. Which was probably a good thing, because as Lizzie read who her costar would be, she let out a loud howl. "LARRY TUDGEMAN?"
Miranda's eyes went wide and she looked at Gordo, half-questioning, half-stunned. Gordo shrank back against the wall, suddenly terrified of his female friends. Lizzie had fire in her eyes as she stalked over to him. "GORDO! *Tudgeman*? How could you *do* this to me?"
"A little help here..?" Gordo beseeched Miranda, but she was still gaping at him. Clearly, she hadn't read the full list, either.
"He was the best man for the job," Gordo said. "Mr. Dig and I both thought so. He has...he has a really good singing voice," he offered weakly.
"Good singing voice?" Miranda said incredulously, having found her voice. "Good *singing* voice? Gordo, who cares about singing when you're setting Lizzie up for complete social disaster!"
"Complete social disaster!" Lizzie echoed.
"And what about *me*?" Miranda continued. "I'm her understudy! So that means we're *both* banished to the land of the Tudge!"
The warning bell rang then, and Mr. Dig stuck his head into the hallway. "While I'm all for the director and the lead conversing about play politics, I'm being paid to teach you about Revolutionary War politics, so if you don't mind, we'd like to start class?" he said, cocking one eyebrow at them pointedly.
As they started for the door, Lizzie glared at Gordo. "I can't believe you," she hissed.
Gordo flung his arms in the air. "What did I *do*?" he said. "Last week you were all gung-ho for me being in charge, *you* volunteered me to do this, and now all of a sudden, it's a complete disaster? What gives, McGuire?"
Lizzie whirled to face him and jabbed at his chest with her index finger. "What *gives* is that this could've been the perfect opportunity for me to get close to Ethan, and *you* decided to sabotage it and let me get close to *Larry Tudgeman*."
"I can't believe you would do that to her, Gordo," Miranda said, shaking her head sadly. The girls walked into the room, leaving Gordo staring after them, completely bewildered.
~~~~~
Although for the entire day both Miranda and Lizzie had refused to speak to Gordo, but by the time the first rehearsal rolled around, they'd softened to him. But only slightly. They sat with him grudgingly, offering half-hearted hellos. Mr. Dig clapped for attention, and the trio was grateful for the break from the awkwardness. Gordo remained sound in all of his casting decisions.
"Okay, people, here goes. I conferred with our director Friday, and we've come up with a strict rehearsal regimen, copies of which are being passed around now. If for any reason, and it better be a *really* good reason, like an appointment or a funeral, you are unable to make that rehearsal, get word to myself or Mr. Gordon *immediately*, and at least a *week* in advance, so that we can alter the schedule appropriately. Understand this, being in this play is a *privilege*, not a right, and if you feel like you can slack off, there are plenty of other people who would be more than willing to step in and take your place, so treat this with responsibility."
Obediently the would-be thespians and stagehands nodded. Mr. Dig grinned at them all. "Fantastic. That being said, you've all received a copy of the script as well, so those who aren't on the schedule for today may leave." As people started to get up, Mr. Dig added, "Do you know how you get to Broadway? Practice, practice, practice!"
Lizzie checked the schedule in hand. Yep, just as she'd suspected, she was on call this afternoon. Of course, she had the lead, so she was going to be here a lot more than anyone else. "Miss McGuire, it's just you, Mr. Tudgeman, your understudies, Mr. Gordo and myself this afternoon." He clapped his hands again, clearly a favorite gesture. "Make me proud."
There was a long, long pause where nothing happened. Mr. Dig coughed and looked to Gordo. "Mr. Gordon?"
Gordo looked up from his copy of the schedule. "Huh?"
"You're the director, aren't you?"
"What? Oh, yeah. I am."
"Then *direct*," the substitute said, sweeping his hand in the direction of the stage grandly.
"Oh!" Gordo said, jumping to his feet. He flipped through his script quickly, and said, "Okay, Lizzie, Tudgeman, let's start with Danny and Sandy's first meeting, okay?"
"How do you begin and end a statement with the same word like that?" Miranda said teasingly. "You got skill."
"Read along, would you, Miranda?" Gordo said, flashing her a pointed look as Lizzie and Larry climbed onto the stage.
Larry bowed grandly to his costar. "My fair Lady McGuire," he said in one of his ridiculous voices, "such a pleasure it will be working with you."
Lizzie gave him a tight smile. "Right, Larry," she said. "Let's just start this, okay?"