Hey everybody! Thank to Periphery for reviewing & guessing what'll happen. You'll just have to wait & see is all I have to say. ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H. or Wicked.
Chapter 2
Guess What I Did?
The shrill ring of the bell signaling the end of fifth period cut through the silence of Hay Lin's World History 1 class like a knife, cueing the students to scramble out into the hallways like a pack of wild…well, students…and flock over to the nearest gossip hound, preferably Cornelia, to jolt their brains out of near-deadness caused by Mr. Collins getting way too into his lecture on how Tycho Brahe died after drinking a glass of wine.
The wiry little wind girl wandered over to her locker, which was conveniently right outside of the auditorium. As she spun the lock around to her combination, she couldn't help but glance over at the drama club's bulletin board, where Ms. Kelly had just yesterday tacked up the announcement of this year's spring musical.
Wow, they're doing Wicked, Hay Lin thought, pulling out her Spanish book. She read over the flyer, taking out her books one at a time and not paying attention as they fell one by one, missing her open backpack by a mile. This is TOTALLY something we should all sign up for! Her hand grasped the ballpoint pen hanging next to sign up sheet, but as she pressed the tip of it to the paper, she remembered how well the girls had taken it when she'd told them she'd signed them all up to be in her production of The Four Dragons.
Well, I could always say I did it to help lift Irma out of her depression. Yeah, that'll work! The pen moved across line after line as she moved from W to H with amazing speed. Now, she thought, kicking her locker shut and turning to set off for the cafeteria, when to tell them…maybe the day of auditions…yeah that'll work! Then they can't back out…I think…hmm… maybe lunch would work out better…
GUESSWHATIDIDGUESSWHATIDIDGUESSWHATIDIDGUESSWHATIDIDGUESSWHATIDID
"Does this look undercooked to you?"
"Taranee, you've been asking us the same question every single day for the past semester. If you don't like the caf food, then bring your own lunch!"
"Or you could always just grill it a little yourself," Will teased, spearing some rigatoni that Taranee obviously wasn't going to touch with a two-foot pole anytime soon.
The fire girl shot her best friend a glare. "You really wouldn't care if the world found out about us, would you?"
"What, I'm not allowed to joke around anymore?"
"Guys! You'll never guess what I did!" Hay Lin skipped up to the rest of the group, saving Will and Taranee from awkward silence.
"You finally asked Eric out?" Cornelia asked, smiling as a deep pink blush crept up into Hay Lin's face.
"No," she said, trying to squash the excitement of the thought from her mind. "Even better! I signed us all up for the spring musical!"
All four girls froze. Will dropped her fork, Taranee's eyes went as wide as her glasses, Cornelia's narrowed until you could barely see them peeking out from underneath her glare, and Irma…well, Irma didn't react at all. You'd think Hay Lin hadn't said anything from the way she just kept poking at her salad, not one bite coming close to meeting her mouth.
"Hay Lin," Cornelia said as calmly as she could, standing up and facing the now terrified girl who'd had a smile on her face two seconds earlier. "Remember that little talk we had about thinking before doing after you signed us up for The Four Dragons?"
"Um, yeah, why?" Hay Lin asked innocently, taking a seat next to Irma and opening up a container of Chinese takeout.
"Well, DID YOU HAPPEN TO HEAR ANY OF IT?" Cornelia shouted, earning the attention of about half the Sheffield student population.
"I just thought it'd be fun," Hay Lin squeaked under Cornelia's practically patented loom of terror. "And, you know, good for all of us," she added, jerking a thumb toward Irma, who was too busy trying hard not to look at the huge water bottle vending machine that laid right in her line of vision, reminding her of what she could no longer control.
"But you know I don't do performing in front of people," Taranee pointed out. "Couldn't you have left me out of this one?"
"Sweetie, there's this wonderful little thing called the ensemble for those that feel the need to avoid the spotlight," Cornelia replied. "So, care to enlighten us as to what show we're apparently trying out for?"
"Wicked," Hay Lin answered, happy that at least someone was warming up to the idea.
"I guess that's not so bad. We've already got the perfect Glinda," Will said, elbowing Cornelia.
"I am SO not that ditzy."
"Uh huh," their leader replied, whipping out her cell phone. "Think Matt will give me voice lessons?"
"If you can get him to do it before Saturday," Hay Lin answered. "And here I thought you guys wanted me to think before I did."
"Well," Will said, pulling out her cell phone and punching in Matt's number. "Maybe it will be a good thing. For all of us," she added, winking before hitting SEND. "Besides, it couldn't hurt to just audition."
And so while Will planned her tutoring sessions and Cornelia attempted to instantly cure Taranee of her stage fright, Hay Lin turned to Irma, who hadn't said two words since she'd sat down. "Irma, what do you think? You haven't exactly crusaded to have me thrown to snake-man and his army for signing you up."
Irma looked up from her pile of lettuce and somehow got a little smile on her face. "Well, I did do a pretty good job as the red dragon last time, didn't I? Hmm…think green skin would suit me?"
"Sure. And if it doesn't wear off after the performance, you can be…asparagus woman!"
"Oh yeah," Irma said. "I can see it now. Look, down on your dinner plate! Its peas…its broccoli…no, it's asparagus woman! Repulsing kids with a single serving!"
Hay Lin giggled. Her friend was coming back. And no matter what it takes, she thought, I'll make sure she stays here.
Next chapter is their auditions. R&R please!
