Lilly decided to arrive early for the audition but when she pulled in to the parking lot Miley's car was already there. She wondered why Miley hadn't told her that she was going to be here early, then they could've gone together. When she went to the auditorium the door was locked and there was a note on it that directed those auditioning for parts in the play to wait in the game room. When she got there she found Miley already waiting.
"When did you get here Miley"
"About 15 minutes ago, why?"
"I was hoping that we could have come here together thats all. So did you get everything done?"
"Yep, got everything ready for summer vacation."
"I got to thinking last night and I realized that I shouldn't have been surprised about the topic of the play."
"Why do you say that Lilly?"
"Well considering the director Mr. Terry's obvious orientation I should have suspected something like this."
"Ya think he's gay don't you?" Miley said flatly.
"Well of course I do. Just look at how he acts." Lilly looked and sounded very confident in her opinion.
"I know what you mean cause I thought the same thing when I first met him. It wasn't until I met his wife and kids that I realized it was just an act. Me and daddy had dinner at his house a couple times since we finished the movie and he doesn't act like that at all when he's home. He's definitely not gay but he acts they way he does because it helps bring in business at his salons and it also helps get him work on films and plays."
"Really?" The surprise in Lilly's voice and the look on her face proved that she was genuinely surprised at the revelation. "So I guess he's kinda like you in some ways."
"Yeah I guess you can say that." Miley decided to change the topic of the conversation and said "So are you ready for the audition"
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Right after Lilly said a tall woman carrying a clipboard came in.
"I'm Mr. Terry's assistant Janet Becknall. Ms. Stewart I need you to come with me." When Miley got up and went over to her Lilly got up as well. "I'm sorry Miss you'll have to wait here until we're ready to begin the auditions."
Lilly got a little flush in the cheeks as she came to a halt then said, "OK."
"Since the auditions will be starting in about a half hour or so you won't have to wait long."
It wasn't long after that when other people began to arrive including Joannie and Ashley. About 15 minutes later Mr. Terry and one other person entered the room. At first very few people notice his entrance but once he stood on a chair and started clapping his hands while saying loudly "Attention people, may I have your attention."
It wasn't long after that when the noise level in the room died away. He smiled then began by saying "First of all I want to thank you all for coming. I have an announcement to make. Due to contractual obligations Hannah Montana won't be able to play the role of Julie Carson as we had hoped but we do have an alternate for the role available. Most of the other supporting characters have been already cast. The roles of Rachel Martin, James Martin and John Roberts have yet to be cast. Those of you auditioning for the role of Rachel will come with me while the others will stay here with my assistant Janet.
He led Lilly and the other four girls to a lounge area where they found Miley seated on the sofa and a woman about Mr. Terry's age sitting in an overstuffed next to it. Lilly barely heard both Ashley and Joannie muttering something unintelligible when they saw Miley. She was sure that whatever they said under their breath wasn't nice which made her smile and feel better about her chances of getting the part. Once the door was shut Mr. Terry pointed to the chairs at the table and asked them to take a seat.
Once they had taken the seats Mr. Terry had indicated he said "Due to the intimate nature of the the auditions they will be private. I do want you girls to keep in mind that who ever gets the role of Rachel Martin will not have the privilege of practicing in private, since the play will ultimately viewed by a public audience. Now Ms. Stewart here has been chosen to play the part of Julie Carson and she has graciously agreed to help with this audition. Your audition will be judged by your interaction with Ms. Stewart since it is a key part of the play. Ms. Davidson and myself will read for the other parts as necessary for the audition."
Ashley Dewitt raised her hand as she said "Mr. Terry, what do you mean by our interaction with Miley and the intimate nature of the audition?"
He had an exasperated look on his face as he said "How many of you girls have read the scripts I gave you when you signed up?" Lilly was the only one who raised her hand in reply to the question. ""I suppose that the rest of you just read the title of the play and the first one or two if any of the three scenes I had indicated you should practice." Several of the girls just barely nodded their heads as he spoke, which Mr. Terry noted but gave them no chance to interrupt. "For you in formation the characters are lesbian lovers and the play 'Julie; A modern interpretation of Romeo and Juliet' is a story about two young women who fall in love and how their families deal with it."
It was so quiet in the room after he said that that the proverbial pin drop would have seemed loud. Mr. Terry waited several seconds before continuing "If any of you girls have a problem with that you can
turn in your copy of the play and leave."
One of the two girls Lilly and Miley didn't know got up and said "I can't do that. I can't play a lesbian but if you have another female character who isn't one, can I play that?"
"I'm sorry but all of the other supporting roles have been cast. If you're willing to be an alternate, just in case one of them can't perform, please contact my assistant Janet before you leave." Once that girl left only Lilly, Ashley, Joannie and a beautiful Asian girl that none of them knew.
"OK the way we're going to do this is I'll call your name then you'll join Ms. Stewart over there." Mr. Terry indicated the sofa at the other side of the room. "Then you will act out the scenes I've selected, which are the ones I marked in the scripts you were given, with myself and Ms. Davidson reading any other parts as necessary."
Joannie Palumbo held up her hand and asked "Mr. Terry why does Miley Stewart have the role of Julie? There weren't any auditions for it."
"The role of Julie Carson was originally offered to Hannah Montana just as the role of Rachel Martin was offered to Mikayla. Unfortunately neither one was able to take the role so we went through the list of alternates provided by the producer of the play. When Ms. Stewart came in to sign up I found that her name found to be on the list of alternates for the role of Julie. As of last Friday all of the alternates for the role of Rachel had turned down the role so we decided to hold open auditions for it. Does that answer your question.?"
"I guess so, but why her?" It was clear that Joannie wasn't happy with the answer she'd been given.
"Miss...?" Mr. Terry started then paused for Joannie to supply her name.
"Joannie, Joannie Palumbo."
"Ms Palumbo, why Ms. Stewart was chosen as an alternate is unimportant. What is important is that she has agreed to play the role." The stern tone of Mr. Terry's voice made it perfectly clear that he was no longer going to discuss it any further. Only Lilly noticed that all signs of his effeminate behavior had disappeared in his last reply which convinced her that Miley had been right about him.
"Ms. Joannie Palumbo you're up first." He waited for her to take a seat next to Miley on the couch.
As Joannie approached the sofa Miley was momentarily overcome with an urge to call it quits rather than go through the audition with her. Almost as quickly she remembered her father and Mr. Terry's confidence in her ability to go through with it and do a good job as well. She also remembered her promise to carry it through. Then she realized that if she quit she'd no longer have a good excuse to make out with Lilly anymore. That last thought, as much as it had surprised her, had steeled her resolve go through with it more than anything else.
Once Joannie sat down he went on to say "OK this is Act 1 Scene 1: The New Kid in School. Julie is waiting for her mom to pick her up after school when Rachel introduces herself. OK action."
Joannie hesitated a few seconds before starting. "Hi Miley, I'm Rachel. We ..."
"Cut!!" Mr. Terry said loudly. "It's Julie not Miley, Ms. Palumbo. Now from the top please."
"Hi Julie, I'm Rachel. We have chemistry together." Joannie managed to say the line in a somewhat friendly manner, which surprised both Miley and Lilly.
Miley looked confused and a little surprised as she gave the mono syllable reply "Huh?"
There was a long pause as Joannie read her next lines before saying them. "Mr. Parker's fifth period chemistry class. I sat one row left and two seats behind you. Anyhow don't you just hate those new kid introductions the teachers love to give."
That last line reminded Miley of the day when she and Lilly first met. It had been her first day of school after moving to Malibu. Lilly had said pretty much the same thing at first period recess. They had been best friends ever since that day. Miley used that memory to help her delivery for the rest of he scene.
"Yeah, it's like they can't wait to embarrass you in front of bunch of strangers. I got that six times today. I guess you know that I'm Julie Carson, and you're Rachel …..."
"Martin. I saw you sitting here so I thought I'd say hi while waiting for my ride."
"I'm waiting for my mom to come pick me up."
"Me too." While Joannie's tone of voice was almost pleasant, her feelings weren't and it showed in her body language. Miley on the other hand was managing, just barely, to not let her dislike of Joannie influence her performance.
Just then a cell phone rang which Miley pulled out of her pocket and answered. "Hello....... Hi mom...... What.......... Why can't you pick me up first? …...... How long will it take? …..... I guess I can wait that long. Bye." The disappointment in Miley's voice and on her face as she spoke seemed real.
"It looks like I'm gonna have to wait a while for my ride home. My mom said a patient's appointment is going to take a lot longer than expected and I have to either take a bus or wait for my dad pick me up after work. Since I don't know which bus to take I gotta wait for my dad."
"That sucks" Joannie paused a few seconds then finished the line. "Hey maybe my mom could give you a ride home. Where do you live?"
"1624 east Sycamore street."
Joannie paused again to look at the script before beginning her next line. "Cool, you live just down the street from us. When my mom gets here I'll ask her."
"Thanks, I really don't want to wait an hour for my dad to come get me."
"So what do your folks do?"
"My dad's the new administrator for Mercy Memorial Hospital and my mom's a dental assistant."
Just then Ms. Davidson said "Honk, honk."
After a few seconds of waiting Miley said quietly "Joannie, it's your line." Miley saw Mr. Terry roll his eyes as she prompted Joannie.
"My mom's here lets go ask her if you can ride home with us."
"OK girls let's skip to the next scene and go right to act 2 scene 2." Mr. Terry said in an impatient tone.
As Joannie flipped the pages to that scene Miley guessed , judging from Mr. Terry's tone and the look on his face, that unless nobody else could do better, Joannie had already blown the audition. Miley hadn't even needed to look at her copy of the script during that first scene and she was so sure that she wouldn't need it for the next one that she didn't even turn to that page. In fact she set the script down on the end table next to the sofa. She hoped that Lilly would pick up on the hint since they both had all three of the marked scenes memorized.
"OK Ms. Palumbo come and stand over here until you get your cue." Once she had done that Mr. Terry said "Are you ready Ms. Stewart?" Miley picked up a magazine opened it then nodded her head yes. Mr. Terry rapped his knuckles on the table to give Miley her cue.
"Come in" she said as she laid the magazine down next to her.
Joannie responded to Mr. Terry's cue and stepped forward as if entering the room and said "Julie I have something to talk to you about."
Miley thumped the seat next to her on the sofa as she said "Come here Rachel and tell me about it."
Joannie sat next to her then when she hesitated to speak Miley said "Well what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
Joannie looked at the others in the room before hesitantly saying "I don't know how to start."
Miley looked her in the eyes and said "Well then just spit it out Rachel, you know you can tell me anything."
Joannie hesitated then suddenly she leaned in towards Miley and gave her a quick kiss on the lips then said "I love you Julie. I've loved you since the first time I saw you."
While Joannie got the words right the delivery was devoid of any emotion. When Miley heard that she almost smiled because she knew that Lilly could do it a thousand times better. Without any hesitation Miley began her lines while pretending it was Lilly instead of Joannie sitting next to her. "Oh Rachel, you don't know how glad I am to hear you say that." Then she took Joannie in her arms and began kissing her passionately.
Almost as soon as Miley started kissing her Joannie began squirming then pushed her away. "I can't do this Mr. Terry at least not with someone I can't stand."
"First of all young lady when it comes to acting you can't let your personal feelings for you fellow cast members interfere with your performance." Mr. Terry's flamboyant mannerisms accentuated his words perfectly as he spoke "For example I'm pretty sure that Ms. Stewart feels the same way about you but she didn't let those feelings ruin her performance. Now if you still the feel that way Ms. Palumbo I'll consider your audition over. Just leave your copy of the script with me on your way out."
After Joannie had left he turned to those girls who were left and said "OK ladies maybe I should have asked this in the first place. Do any of you have any problems with kissing another girl?" He waited several seconds and when none of them said anything he said "OK then let's get back to work. Ms. Davidson who's next?"
"That will be Ashley Dewitt."
As Ashley and Miley went through the first scene of the audition Lilly watched with a critical eye. She noticed that, while Ashley needed to read from the script delivery of the lines were a lot smoother and with much more feeling than Joannie's was. She also noticed that Miley was a natural at acting because not only was her delivery much better, she also didn't need to read from the script at all. Lilly had known that all along but she had never been in a position to see her really show off her acting skills before now. She had always been either involved in it therefore too close to really notice or backstage where she really couldn't see it. The one time she actually saw Miley act while in the audience was in an episode of Jake Ryan's show as Hannah a few years ago. Unfortunately that episode offered little opportunity to show her acting skills except when she had kissed the dog at the end.
Miley had felt a bit more comfortable doing the scene with Ashley than she had with Joannie, but not nearly as comfortable as she felt with Lilly. Miley
Mr. Terry said "Hey Julie, do you have a date for the homecoming dance?"
Miley delivered her line right on cue. "No, why do you want to know?"
"Well since you're the new girl in town and don't already have a date I figured that I'd give you an opportunity to go to the homecoming dance with the hottest and most popular guy in school."
"Who?"
"Yeah Jimmy who is it? I know it can't be you 'cause you sure ain't hot." Ashley said with all sting of the insults Miley threw Jacksons way when they argued.
"Rach, I asked you a million times not to call me Jimmy anymore. Call me James or Jim. Anyhow the guy is me. So how about it Julie?"
Miley said in a sheepish tone as if she was trying to avoid offending anyone. "I don't know I'll have to think about it."
"Come on Julie it will put you on a fast track to becoming popular here."
"Don't listen to him Julie. The only reason he's asking is because his girlfriend Rhonda dumped him a couple weeks ago and he can't get a date."
"She didn't dump me, we mutually decided to break up. Besides I had a date with Corrine Benson for the dance before she found out that she has to go out of town with her mom and dad that week. Don't listen to her Julie, she's just upset because nobody has asked her out to the dance because she's too much of a bitch."
"Thanks for asking Jim but no. I don't know anyone here well enough to go out with them yet."
"Come on Julie you know you want to go and it's only a dance. It's not as if I'm asking you to go steady or anything."
Miley just shook her head no as she said "No Jim. In fact I probably won't even go."
"Aw come on, why not. Is it because I'm Rach's older brother?"
"No it's not that at all. I just don't want to go with you."
"You know I'm probably your last chance to get a date cause nobody else is gonna ask you so just say yes you know you want to."
"Jimmy leave Julie alone. She's already said no several times so get it through you fat head she doesn't want to go to the dance with you. You're not the only guy who's asked her to the dance that she said no to."
"Oh yeah, who else has asked her?"
"Your buddies on the football team, Kevin and Brad that's who. And they were just as pigheaded about taking no for an answer as you are. Does all that testosterone and steroids make stupid and deaf?" Ashley's voice had raised up to almost a yell just as if she really had been telling her brother off.
After a few seconds Miley smiled and said "Thanks for your help Rachel. You were right about him being almost as bad about taking no for an answer just like the other two were."
"No problem that's what friends are for. Besides my brother and his friends can be real assholes some times."
"I really mean it, thanks a lot. I don't think I could have handled them as well with out your help."
"You're welcome Julie. I was glad to help." Ashley got the embarrassed look and smile just right as she spoke. The only thing missing was the blushing.
Right then Mr. Terry said loudly "That was great now lets move on to the last scene. Ms. Dewitt if you'll stand over here just as Ms. Palumbo did. Once Ashley was in the right place that Mr. Terry said "Are you ready?" Miley picked up a magazine opened it then nodded her head yes. Mr. Terry rapped his knuckles on the table to give Miley her cue.
"Come in" she said as she laid the magazine down next to her.
Ashley responded to right on cue and stepped forward as if entering the room and said "Julie I have something to talk to you about."
Miley patted the cushion next to her on the sofa as she said "Come here Rachel and tell me about it."
Ashley sat next to her then when she hesitated to speak, just like it said to in the script, Miley said "Well what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
Ashley looked at Miley then said "I don't know how to start."
Miley looked her square in the eyes and said "Well then just spit it out Rachel, you know you can tell me anything."
Ashley momentarily hesitated then suddenly she leaned in towards Miley and gave her a quick kiss on the lips then said "I love you Julie. I've loved you since the first time I saw you."
While Ashley's delivery of the lines was good the kiss she gave Miley was as tender as Joannie's kiss had been rough, which surprised Miley. Miley found saying her next lines to Ashley easier than they had been when Joannie was sitting next to her. "Oh Rachel, you don't know how glad I am to hear you say that." Then she took Ashley in her arms and began kissing her passionately. Ashley didn't resist or squirm at all like Joannie had, she even returned the kiss like Lilly did when they had practiced but not with the same level of passion.
After a couple seconds Miley broke off the kiss then said "I've been in love with you ever since you were nice enough to offer me a ride home that first day."
Now it was Ashley's turn to initiate the next kiss which was to be longest and the last one of the scene. Ashley didn't hesitate but when she did there was no real feeling to it. Miley had expected Ashley's kisses to be at least like kissing the CPR dummy in health class but instead they were surprisingly pleasant. Oncer the kiss was over Miley said "Rachel, does this mean you want me to be your girlfriend?"
Ashley nodded her head yes then said with all the emotion and feeling that had been missing in her kisses "Yes it does. So will you be my girlfriend?"
"Of course I will." Miley replied enthusiastically. Then a serious look came over her face before she said "But what about our families, how do you think they'll take it?"
Mr. Terry interrupted "OK ladies that will do just fine."
When Lilly had watched Miley and Ashley kissing she was hit by an intense feeling of jealousy which surprised her. She definitely didn't like the idea of Ashley kissing Miley especially when it appeared that Miley might be enjoying it.
Lilly heard Mr. Terry say "Who's up next?" She hoped that it would be her turn next but was disappointed to here Ms. Davidson say "Jenny Park is next."
She watched the first two scenes comforted by the fact that Jenny's reading of her lines weren't quite as good as Ashley's had been. While Jenny had made several errors with the lines her body language was much better than the other two girls had been. It wasn't until the third scene that Jenny did well. A little too well in Lilly's opinion. It was obvious that Jenny had no problems with kissing another girl. In fact it appeared that Jenny enjoyed it but what really bothered Lilly was that it looked like Miley was enjoying it too. Now more than ever before Lilly was determined to win that role. Her only reason for that at the moment was because she didn't want anyone else besides her to be kissing Miley.
When she was called to start her audition Lilly followed Miley's example and hadn't bothered with the script. She had memorized the lines and was confident that she didn't need it for the audition. Now Lilly was glad that she had gone last because she had gained a lot of insight on how Rachel's character needed to be played. Rachel had it bad for Julie from the first moment she saw her and Lilly was was going to play her that way.
As Lilly sat net to Miley she said "Hi Julie, I'm Rachel. We have chemistry together." The hint of sexual overtones in Lilly's voice and the look in her eye made it more than just an innocent greeting.
Miley looked confused and a little surprised as she gave the mono syllable reply "Huh?"
"We have Mr. Parker's fifth period chemistry class together. I was sittings one row left and two seats behind you. Anyhow don't you just hate those new kid introductions the teachers love to give."
"Yeah, it's like they can't wait to embarrass you in front of bunch of strangers. I got that six times today. I guess you know that I'm Julie Carson, and you're Rachel …..."
"Martin. I saw you sitting here so I thought I'd say hi while waiting for my ride."
As they continued the scene Lilly and Miley played off each other and made the scene come alive for those watching. Instead of there being two girls reading the lines of a play it was more like two friends meeting for the first time. It was also clear that at least Rachel was interested in becoming more than friends. That was something none of the other girls had even come close to doing.
When they were doing the second scene Lilly treated the character James just like she had seen Miley treat Jackson. While Ashley had done that too she had played it as if she was helping her friend while Lilly acted as if she was defending the girl she was in love with. When it came time to do the final scene of the audition Lilly was anxious to get started.
When Miley said "Come in" as she laid the magazine down next to her. Lilly stepped forward as if entering the room and said "Julie I have something to talk to you about."
Miley patted the cushion next to her on the sofa as she said "Come here Rachel and tell me about it."
Lilly sat next to her then acted as if she was going to speak then look down as if she was too embarrassed to speak.
When Miley said "Well what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" It reminded Lilly of their first real practice of this scene.
She looked at Miley then said "I don't know how to start."
Miley looked her square in the eyes and said "Well then just spit it out Rachel, you know you can tell me anything."
Lilly looked then suddenly she leaned in towards Miley and gave her a brief tender kiss on the lips then said "I love you Julie. I've loved you since the first time I saw you."
"Oh Rachel, you don't know how glad I am to hear you say that." Then she took Lilly in her arms and began kissing her passionately. Lilly responded with a passion she never had even with Oliver. She wanted the kiss to last forever but after a couple seconds Miley broke off the kiss then said "I've been in love with you ever since you were nice enough to offer me a ride home that first day."
Now it was Lilly's turn to initiate the next kiss which was to be longest and the last one of the scene. Lilly poured all her feelings into kiss and before she knew it she felt Miley's tongue against hers. She explore the inside of Miley's mouth with her own tongue just as she had done with Oliver many times. All too soon it was time to end the kiss.
"Rachel, does this mean you want me to be your girlfriend?" The look in Miley's eyes as she said that almost floored Lilly because it made her wonder if Miley was offering to become her girlfriend in real life.
Lilly nodded her head yes then said "Yes, yes it does." She returned the look of love Miley had just given her as she said "Will you be my girlfriend?"
"Of course I will." Miley replied enthusiastically. Then a serious look came over her face before she said "But what about our families, how do you think they'll take it?"
"I don't know but I'm sure we can handle it." Lilly embraced Miley and added "As long as we have each other we can handle anything"
Mr. Terry began clapping and said "That was wonderful. It looks like we've found our Rachel."
Both Joannie and Ashley said "What!"
Then Ashley added "They cheated by reading the script and practicing together."
Mr. Terry looked at her the said in a condescending tone "That was the reason I gave you girls each a copy of the script, so you could read it through and practice the scenes before the audition. Since they were the only ones who actually did that they did a whole lot better job than the rest of you."
Ashley's only response to that was grunting in displeasure then storming off with Joannie not far behind her.
While that was happening Lilly said to Miley "You were fantastic. Everything you said and did seemed so real."
"You were pretty damn good yourself Lilly." Miley smiled and added "You know you could teach Jake a thing or two about how to kiss a girl. Come on let's go celebrate your getting the part."
They headed for the door and on the way they met Jenny who said "You guys were fantastic. I wish I had practiced more."
"Thanks Jenny, you didn't do too bad yourself." Miley said politely.
Just as they were at the door Mr. Terry called for Miley. Lilly said "Go on I'll wait for you in the parking lot."
Lilly only had to wait in the parking lot about five minutes before she saw Miley coming out the door with Jenny Park. Lilly started to go meet Miley when she saw Jenny kiss Miley on the cheek before heading for her own car.
When she got close enough Lilly said to a very surprised looking Miley "What was that all about?"
"Well I guess it's safe to say that Jenny's gay. She just made a pass at me then asked me out that's all."
"What did she do when you said no?" When Miley didn't say anything Lilly said "You did tell her that you weren't gay and had a boyfriend?"
"Well not exactly. I just said that I couldn't go out with her. Then she said she'd be ready for me any time any where."
"I guess that's OK since we won't be seeing her any time soon."
"Um it might be a little sooner than that Lilly, she's your understudy for the play."