Disclaimer: Nope, Newsies in no way belongs to me. It belongs to Disney. All OC's belong to their creators, and Into the Woods belongs to Stephen Sondheim. I do, however, own Zodiac, Quills, Robbie, and Benny.

I felt the surge of eager, hopeful thespians pushing me further against the bulletin board in an attempt to get a better look at the single sheet of paper I held in my hands. I, of course, took my own sweet time scanning the sheet and carefully tacking it up:

Into the Woods Cast List:

Narrator: David Jacobs

Cinderella: Sapphy Neiman

Jack: Brent Keller

Baker: Benny Fouche

Baker's Wife: Ashleigh Bennet

Cinderella's Stepmother: Kathleen York

Florinda: Aurora O'Brien

Lucinda: Jeska Jones

Jack's Mother: Elizabeth Jennings

Little Red Ridinghood: Colleen Dupont

Witch: Alissa Wood

Cinderella's Father: Ian Sauro

Cinderella's Mother: Saiorse Bernadette Callan

Mysterious Man: Randy Proveter

Wolf/Cinderella's Prince: Xavier Durnham

Rapunzel: Sarah Jacobs

Rapunzel's Prince: Jack Kelly

Granny: Megan Piskac

Steward: Vic Culliman

Giant: Maura O'Leary

Snow White: Kyriel F.

Sleeping Beauty: Emilia Harker

Barely had I done so when I was pushed forcefully back through the sea of people. I didn't resist. If there's one thing I've learned, it's never come between a drama geek and the cast list.

What followed was a melee filled with groans of disappointment, sighs of relief, and squeals of joy. Oh, and you can't forget the glares of death thrown at me by angry students. As though the entire casting is only my choice alone.

Ah . . . to be a bearer of bad news.

"I assume some people don't agree with the casting?" a bemused voice inquired. I turned to see a pair of almond-shaped brown eyes staring back at me accompanied by a slight smirk. Trish Williams, better known as Ershey, our club's Company Manager, and basically my second-in-command.

I managed a small smile. "They seem to enjoy killing the messenger," I replied. "Not that is really matters," I continued. "I'm pretty used to it by now."

"Oh. My. God!" A piercing scream penetrated through the air. "I got a part! I got a part!" The voice continued to scream as it ran past us.

Ershey winced slightly "Remind me again why we had to give Sarah a part."

"Well, otherwise, Daddy Principal wouldn't let us do a show at all. Don't worry, though. I gave her a big enough part that she'll be satisfied, but a small enough part that she won't be too much trouble."

"But doesn't Rapunzel have a song in the show?"

"It's kind of optional. I don't think they had it in the Original Broadway Cast production. In fact, the only production I know that kept it in was the Original London Cast."

"You don't think she'll try to push for it to be in the show?"

"I'll deal with that when and if it happens. Right now, I have to make sure we get to do the show. Maybe it's a good thing." I said as persuasively as possible. "At least now the school will have to pay some attention to the drama club. Possibly give us some well-needed funds."

Ok, that's really wishful thinking. Ha! School giving us funds and actually giving a shit about us. I may as well wish for world peace while I'm at it.

"Just keep her out of my way, alright?" Ershey pleaded. "If she gets on my nerves, I cannot be held accountable for my actions."

In case you couldn't tell, Sarah Jacobs isn't the most beloved person. Not around the drama club at least. She seems to be under the impression that she is the best at everything. Singing, dancing, acting, writing, drawing, track, volleyball, cheerleading, and so on. No matter what the sport or club is, she has to be the best at it. And it doesn't help that her father is principal of the school. It's strange considering how different her brother is.

And by different, I do mean much, much different.

"Don't worry. You won't even know she's there. Oh, don't forget about E-Board meeting second-half of lunch in room 142!" I reminded her as she began to weave through the crowd of students, replying only with a thumbs-up.

Pushing my way against the current of students, I searched among them to find someone.

"Specs!"

I scanned the hallway before settling on the very person I was looking for. I made my way toward her.

"Ireland! You're just the person I was looking for." I turned to the blonde who seemed permanently attached to her arm. "Hey, Spot." He only gave a small nod in reply.

"So, what did you need to see me about?"

"Well, I know you had asked to be choreographer for the show." She nodded eagerly. "I have to be honest. This show isn't very dance intense. However, I would love for you to do some choreography for the dance numbers and just help with blocking in general. Maybe like assistant director or something."

"Sure, that's be great! Spot already said he's going to help with sets and everything, aren't you Spot?" Again, he just nodded.

"Well, thanks. We need all the help we can get." Which was true. In addition to a forest background, two house backgrounds and bakery background, there was also Cinderella's Mother's grave, the tower, and Lord only knows what else.

I tried to not think about that though. At least not for the time being. There were too many other things to worry about.

Lunchtime meetings. The only time for the Executive Board to discuss further plans. Next we'd all be running in different directions trying to make the show a success.

Ershey sat with Ink, our Scenic Designer, discussing their theories on the origin of the mystery meat of today's lunch. Minx, our Business Manager, who was sitting close to the wall in an attempt to stay out of sight of any teacher who may pass by, stealthily ate a large bag of Doritos. Racetrack, the Master Electrician, was trying to get his physics homework for next period done as quickly as humanly possible. I sat staring into space while checking my mental To-Do List.

So, the cast list is up and I have an assistant. Those are both things to scratch off of my To-Do List. So what's left?

Pondering this, a pair of hands covered my eyes. "Hey Dutchy," I responded nonchalantly to the display of affection.

"C'mon," he whined, "can't you at least pretend to be stumped?"

Ah, Dutchy. My beloved. Also the drama club's Technical Director.

Translation: I get to watch him do manual labor in cut-off tees and tight jeans. Yeah . . . life is good.

"You're no fun," he muttered softly, apparently still wounded by my hesitation to take part in his guessing game. "Ooo! Doritos!" Thank God for his short attention span.

"Nuh-uh!" Minx cried, trying to hold the bag out of his reach. "I didn't get a chance to eat lunch! I need food."

As Dutchy began coaxing a few cheesy treasures out of Minx, I stood up and began bringing the meeting to order.

"As you should know, the cast list for Into the Woods went up today. I also have the list of crew members who have volunteered in each department."

I removed the aforementioned list from my very organized drama folder. Amazingly, I'm pretty together when it comes to that kind of stuff. You know, the really important stuff. The same can't be said for my math homework. Bah! Math! Who needs it?

"Minx, you have Buttons, Fluxy, Ace, Hornet, and Itey. Dutchy, you have Leaf, Shorty, Zona, Mush, and Spot. Race has Fantasy and Crutchy. Ink has Rei, Nova, and Spitfire. And I have Jinx, Christmas, Bucks, and Milkshake."

"How are we on musicians?"

"Lute is playing flute, Snitch is on drums, Hyena is on violin, Mac is playing cello, Cricket is on clarinet, and I got Robbie to play piano."

"Robbie? For piano? You really think that's a good idea?" Race asked raising a single eyebrow.

How do people do that anyway? I've always been jealous of people who could. I've tried and tried, but one just won't go up without the other.

"What's wrong with Robbie?" I asked innocently.

Ok, that is a really stupid question. What isn't wrong with him? I mean, the guy just doesn't seem all there sometimes. Rather, all the time. Plus, he just doesn't seem to retain the directions you give him very well.

"Look. We need a pianist. He is a pianist. See? It works perfectly!"

He shook his head. "Hey it's your call. This is your show. Your baby."

"I also have assignments for everyone," I continued, reaching into my folder. I handed a list to Ershey, Dutchy, and Ink. "Ershey, those are the proposals I need typed up for Wednesday. That's when Administrative Council meets and we need to present the proposals to them as soon as possible. Dutchy, that's a list of all props we need to acquire and sets we need built. Ink, that is a description of each character's costume. Most of the cast will be responsible for their own costume, but I'd like you to look through our costume room and see if there are any we can use." All three nodded in agreement to their set assignment.

"Minx, I need you to begin designs for advertisements. I'd like to see a couple of idea and some rough drafts in about two weeks. I also need to know how much we have in the way of funds. And Race, once rehearsals start, I'll get you a list of light settings." I paused to regain some oxygen. "Are there any questions? If not, I think we're finished."

Ok. Now the E-Board has their assignments. Yet another thing to scratch off the To-Do List. So what is left?

As the others filtered out, Dutchy lingered behind momentarily. "Are you ok? You look exhausted."

"I'm fine. I just have so much to do."

"You weren't at lunch."

"I didn't have time. Don't worry. I'll be fine. Journalism is next. I'll get something and eat it up there, ok?" I added after catching a worrisome look in his eyes.

"Ok," he sighed. "Just don't work yourself to death. It's only a high school production." With that, and a small peck on the cheek, he left.

Now, where had I been before that sudden, albeit badly needed, interruption? Oh, right! My current To-Do List. Let's see:

Well, I still had to pass out scripts, make sure the musicians learned the songs, conduct two months worth of rehearsals, make sure everyone learned their songs, see to it everyone obtained some type of a costume, see to it everyone learned their lines, see to it we have a proper set, advertise the show as much as humanly possible, put on the greatest musical in the history of Archbishop Hannan High School and still retain my sanity.

What had I gotten myself into?

Woo! First real chapter is out! Hooray! So what did you think? I know you must have some sort of an opinion. What better way to get it out than in a review?