This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful person that is Chris Colfer.
I know that I am not alone when I say that he is one of the most genuine and deserving people on the planet.
He fully deserved that Golden Globe and I am so happy for what he has achieved - well done Chris!
Chapter 6 - Audition
Tap tap tap
Tap tap tap
The sound of my finger hitting against the hollow piano echoed around the large rehearsal room I was stood in. Nobody else was here yet, so it seemed even more cavernous and daunting – I reckoned we could have fit the whole of New Directions in twice with dancing space to spare. The double glazed windows stopped any sound from coming from outside, so the students that walked past laughing and joking became characters from a silent film, oblivious to what I was going through. If it was silent in the room, then my head was the complete opposite.
Remember your piano cue, slow down your phrasing in the first part, hit the high notes hard… Blaine's words rang through my head over and over again, each time becoming more high pitched and rushed as my nerves bubbled inside me. We'd spent a good hour or so this morning going through song options – him jamming away at the piano whilst I wailed and panicked – nothing had seemed to fit. I knew I could sing, and that I was definitely good enough for the Warblers, but I wanted to show myself at my very best. Which was hard when I felt like dying inside from my fear. It was only when we'd almost completely exhausted each other that inspiration had hit. I would sing Defying Gravity. Yes I'd done it before for New Directions and things hadn't gone well, but that was my own choice. Now that I was on my own I could use it again – and this time it would get me the prize I so desperately wanted.
Remember your piano cue
Tap tap tap
Slow down your phrasing
Tap tap tap
Hit the high notes hard
Tap tap tap
Somebody had to turn up soon. I glanced up at the clock, wincing as I saw there were still three minutes to go until most students exited their lessons and made the trek to the music room. Blaine had promised he would make it as quickly as he could but I needed him here now.
Suddenly I heard a noise and I spun round to see Steven and a couple of other juniors entering the room. Immediately relief washed through me, but I could still feel my palms sweating.
"Oh hey Kurt, you ok?" The way they walked in, the confidence they exuded from already completing their auditions however many months ago made my legs turn to jelly.
"Yeah, just wanted to get here on time." I mumbled, wondering whether to go and sit with them or stay by the piano. My finger tapping had now begun to accelerate and I saw a few of the other boys pick up on it.
"You'll be fine. Lacey knows what it's like to audition, nerves are fine." Ah yes, Lacey. I had been informed by Blaine that, though the Warblers chose all their songs and arrangements through a democratic system with elected heads - admission into the group and general tuning issues were controlled by Laura Lacey. As the name suggested, she was apparently an ex Broadway star with very high standards. Lots of people that auditioned for the Warblers didn't get in, and some had even been reduced to tears from her comments. Nevertheless, if you had the talent there was nothing to worry about. Or so Blaine had said.
Now that lessons were over more and more people began to file into the room, so I went over and sat down with Steven. Wes and David appeared and instantly made their way over, slapping me on the back and saying encouraging things that I tried my best to listen to. Then, finally, after what seemed like hours, Blaine rushed into the room, his face flushed and his shirt collar untucked from his blazer. He ran over and flopped down beside me, his heavy breathing making my chest tighten for a horrible second and my cheeks tinge.
"Sorry," He began apologetically. I was really hoping he wouldn't say my name in that breathless tone, otherwise I was going to get all kinds of images in my head. "Some stupid Wordsworth freshman started asking me questions in the corridor. How are you feel-" He was never allowed to finish his sentence, as the sound of high heels on the shiny floor made everybody stop speaking.
Laura Lacey was as intimidating as she had been described – and some. Her black hair fell straight down beside her porcelain white face, her features angular and harsh but still incredibly beautiful. Her eyes were lined with black so they popped out and made her stare even more intense, and her lips were pursed with determination. I saw her note the immediate silence that had fallen on the room with satisfaction, before walking into the centre of the room and clapping her hands sharply three times. Instantly every boy around me sat perfectly upright, sticking their chests out and staring straight forward. I hurriedly went to copy them but had already been caught out – piercing green eyes were on me and I froze.
"So here is the auditioner." Out of the corner of my eye I saw a couple of heads turn in my direction, but they quickly returned to their original positions after glancing at Lacey.
"As you probably know the Warblers is a very hard club to become a member of – we require only the very best and so will only accept that. Please show us if you have the qualities we need, Kurt." She gestured to the stage space next to her and for a second I was unable to move, frozen completely by fear. As I moved to stand up I felt a hand on mine and saw that Blaine, though he was still staring straight forward like a solider, had reached out to offer me one final bit of support. It was all I needed.
Walking up towards my spot I thought back to my New Directions audition. Of course the situation had been far less pressured – McKinley couldn't afford to be picky and our performance had mainly been to give Mr Shue an idea of how he would fit our voices in with everybody else's. But I'd still performed in front of people. Hell, I'd performed at Sectionals, where everything we did had been scrutinised and judged. And we'd won. As I faced the rest of the Warblers I pictured them not in their identical uniforms or their neat hairstyles, but as the mismatch I'd been part of. Mercedes, Finn, Quinn, hey even Puck. They would all be cheering me on. And I sang for them.
The piano track came in, I remembered the cue and started singing. Instantly several of the Warbler's expressions changed – either through the song choice or just the sound of my voice. I slowed down my phrasing in the first section and felt confidence flow into me. My eyes were avoiding Blaine in order to keep my focus, but Steven looked impressed and broke out of his stance to give me a thumbs up. As the song progressed I began to move about, swaying slightly and using my hand to emphasise the important parts of the song. Then, I hit the high notes. Hard. The feeling was electric. I was finally doing the song justice, myself justice. After that it was simple, I didn't even need to think anymore. I performed and I loved it.
When the final note had ended the room erupted with applause. I was taken aback at the sudden noise and even more so by some of the boys standing up. Finally allowing myself one glance at Blaine and saw his face filled with pride, his hands almost a blur as he hit them together and cheered enthusiastically. Wow. After a couple of seconds of basking in my glory I suddenly remembered the most important part of my audition and quickly turned to Lacey, who had moved to sit next to the piano Blaine and I had been practising with only a few hours ago. To my complete shock and delight, she was smiling. A glorious smile that lit up her whole face and suddenly made me see why she was so good at what she did.
"Well Kurt," She said, admiration in her voice that made me flush with pride, "that was something I've never heard before. I think we all agree that you'll make a great addition to the Warblers." Glancing at the rest of the group they all cheered in agreement and I suddenly realised why she had such a strong control over them. It wasn't fear – it was respect. Reaching into her skirt pocket she brought out a small badge and held it out to me, the rings on her slender fingers catching the light. I took it from her and saw it was the Warblers crest, a token of my newfound membership. I'd done it. I was in.
As soon as practice finished Blaine and co had their arms round me like a shot, declaring that we were going to celebrate at 'their place'. I was quite excited about visiting Wordsworth for the first time, so didn't really put up much of a fuss.
The building was very similar to Wilde, but the architecture was slightly older with swirls carved here and there, and of course, a different picture outside. As we passed it I saw Wes make a rather unsavoury gesture at the famous poet, making me laugh. When I enquired he informed me that he'd spent a whole year studying his Lyrical Ballads, and it hadn't been the best experience.
"He was so annoyed when he got housed here – we've had to stop him vandalising the place several times!" David exclaimed and I smiled.
Inside the wooden décor that mirrored practically ever building at Dalton was still present and everything seemed to be set out in the same format. I was expecting us to head for the common room so was surprised when we began to traverse the stairs. Blaine noticed the tug on his hand and turned round to face me.
"Come on – the party's in my room – it's the biggest." I had to stop myself from choking. We were going into Blaine's bedroom? I knew it had to happen sometime, but had at least been expecting some prior warning so I could mentally prepare for it. And now I had approximately fifteen seconds… Walking past the freshman rooms I felt my heart begin to thump and hoped Blaine wouldn't notice. We reached the end of the corridor and everyone turned to the door marked
B. Anderson
HEAD BOY
"You better be ready for this Kurty-boy – Head Boy rooms are awesome." David said with a grin. I gulped and the door was pushed open.
Wow. Blaine's room was bigger than mine and Artem's - it had space for a luxurious double bed, a desk and a sofa, which was placed facing a rather nice plasma screen TV. The colour scheme was all pastel on the walls and covers, but each piece of furniture was a contrasting shade of dark brown, which set the room off beautifully. I barely had time to take any of this in however, as with barely a foot in the door I was pushed forward into a space and felt strong arms take hold of my legs to hoist me in the air.
'Woo! He did it! Kurt's a Warbler!" Wes and David bounced me up and down in the air so I let out embarrassing little shrieks and they chanted louder amidst laughs. I saw Blaine smiling as me he walked over to what looked like a mini fridge beside his bed, reaching down to open it and pull out a large bottle of something.
"Guys…" He announced with much bravado, the smile widening to a grin as he held up to bottle. It was champagne.
"Woah! Go Blaine!" The two other seniors almost forgot they were carrying me, rushing forward towards their Head Boy like he was holding two tickets to the Superbowl. Blaine coyly held the bottle away from them so they groaned in annoyance, before he signalled to the four glasses that none of us had noticed were set up on the dresser.
"Kurt gets first drink." David scooted over to grab the glasses and the popping sound of the cork leaving the bottle echoed round the room/ Well, this was all rather surreal…
"I just want to say…" Blaine began in an authorative manner as he poured the first glass, which was handed to my confused person, "that as Head Boy I condone under age drinking of any kind on the Wordsworth premises…" Wes and David snickered as they took their glasses, "unless our friend Kurt had just been made a Warbler!" Cheers rang around the room, we all clinked glasses and took a swig. Having only had champagne once or twice before, the taste was alien, and the unexpected bubbles shot to my nose and made me cough and splutter.
"Jeez Kurt, are you alright?" Blaine asked, hitting me lightly on the back so I could recover.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied when I had enough oxygen, "just inexperienced." Wes and David laughed, slapping me on the shoulder before downing the rest of their drinks and demanding more from Blaine.
As a stereo was turned on to begin playing some kind of dance music, I wandered over to the sofa, sitting down and admiring the large collection of DVDs lined up on the shelf under the TV – most of them Disney films. Wes and David had been given the bottle, so were arguing loudly over it and I noticed Blaine sit down beside me. For a while he didn't say anything, just sipped his champagne and looked at me, before finally he opened his mouth.
"Are you happy Kurt?" The question made me turn around sharply in surprise, but then I actually considered it.
"Yes. I am." Blaine smiled.
"Well, good. Because if you are then I am too."
Suddenly another sound entered over the hubbub of the music and raised voices. A sound I recognised.
"You guys are having a party?" Looking towards the door I grinned. Scott was standing a couple of metres away, his stance wide and excited. Behind him a couple of other students peeked over his shoulder nervously, obviously wanting to be in on the action but not having the nerve.
"What are we celebrating?" I glanced at Blaine and saw the annoyed expression had taken over his face again. To avoid a confrontation I waved to attract Scott's attention and his eyes widened in happy surprise.
"Kurt! What are you doing here?"
"I got into the Warblers." I replied happily, but feeling my cheeks flush with slight embarrassment. Immediately Scott bounded over, hoisted me off the sofa and crushed me with a fierce hug.
"Dude, that is freakin AWESOME!" he exclaimed when we finally let go, me struggling for air. "Oh man! I bet you totally killed your audition right? Right?" Bouncing up and down like an excited puppy he looked around the room for conformation. We sighed.
"He killed it." Another loud whoop echoed round the room almost in time with the sounds on the stereo and Scott hugged me again, making me yelp out in surprise. I knew the next words I said were probably going to be unpopular with the other occupants with the room – but I didn't care.
"Wanna join us?" Scott grinned and I handed him the rest of my champagne, moving over so he could sit on the sofa.