Rapunzel was a little disappointed to see that not many people had signed up for the dance committee, but not surprised. Dance committee was not a popular extra curricular activity. It was always just the same few people every semester: Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella, Giselle, Charlotte, Wendy, the student council president, Philip, and the vice president, John Smith. Philip and John had to be there, though, to oversee everything.

"I don't know why we have to have this meeting," John said. "The Valentine's Day Dance is the same every year."

"Well, yeah," Rapunzel said. "But, I was thinking maybe we could change it up a little bit."

Everyone stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I thought it would be cool to make it a Sadie Hawkins dance and give it a theme."

"I like the idea of making it a Sadie Hawkins dance," Charlotte said.

"I agree," said Philip. "But, what kind of theme did you have in mind? Will it stay within the budget?"

Rapunzel nodded. "Yes, it's very simple. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, it would be a Red and White Ball."

"What does that mean?" John asked.

"It means all the decorations are red and white and everyone has to wear red or white or both," Giselle explained.

"I think that's a lovely idea," Snow White said.

"Will it be formal?" Wendy asked.

"Balls usually are," Rapunzel said. "But I'll leave it up to you guys."

"Let's make it formal!" Cinderella gushed. "And we can decorate the gym to make it look really romantic. It is Valentine's Day, after all."

"That's a good idea," Rapunzel said.

Philip nodded. "Does anyone have any objections?"

All the girls loved the idea. John muttered his dislike, but didn't object.

"All right," Philip said. "We will have the Red and White Ball on Saturday, February 12th."

Philip and John left the room. All the girls talked excitedly about the upcoming dance and who they wanted to ask. Rapunzel couldn't help feeling proud.

XXX

Ariel paced outside the choir room, working on her vocal warm-ups. Today was the solo and duet auditions. A lot of the girls in choir were auditioning for both, and even a few of the guys were auditioning for the duet. Mrs. Rabbit canceled choir for the afternoon and dedicated that time to the auditions. With so many auditioning, Ariel was more nervous than usual. A couple times she thought about just leaving and not auditioning. But, she loved singing too much to just walk away.

Snow White walked out of the choir room then. Of course I'd have to follow her audition, Ariel thought.

"You did a great job, Snow White," Mrs. Rabbit told her.

When Snow White saw Ariel, she winked at her, then sauntered down the hallway. Ariel could feel the little confidence she had left float away. She took a deep breath and walked into the choir room.

"Hi, Ariel!" Mrs. Rabbit greeted. "Please tell me you're auditioning for the solo."

Ariel shook her head. "No. Just the duet."

Mrs. Rabbit nodded as she pulled out the sheet music. "Start at 'like a comet'."

Ariel took a deep breath, closed her eyes, exhaled and began to sing. Mrs. Rabbit didn't take her eyes off Ariel as she sang. Ariel could feel her eyes on her, but tried to ignore it. When she finished singing, she opened her eyes. Mrs. Rabbit was smiling at her.

"That was absolutely amazing," Mrs. Rabbit said.

Ariel blushed. "Thank you."

"You have a beautiful voice; you just need to work on your confidence."

Ariel nodded, then hurried out of the room. She gathered up her homework from her locker. The clock hanging in the hallway said it was only three-thirty. Charlotte would still be at cheerleading practice for another hour. Ariel remembered that Mrs. Rabbit was holding the Grease auditions now. She headed to the auditorium. Everyone who was auditioning was sitting in the first few rows, while the people who were there for moral support were seated in the middle rows. Ariel sat down behind everyone. Mrs. Rabbit came on the stage a few minutes later and gave a short speech. She then quickly got off the stage and took a seat in the front row. One by one, each student went up. They told Mrs. Rabbit who they were auditioning for, read a couple lines, then sang a few measures.

Aurora was the last to audition. "I'm auditioning for the role of Sandy," she announced. She got into character easily and the lines came out smoothly. When she started singing 'Hopelessly Devoted to You', everyone stopped talking and watched her. Aurora's voice was beautiful, almost operatic. She was definitely a show-stopper.

When Aurora was done, everyone cheered for her. Ariel admired her; she wished she could get up in front of everyone like that and sing.

XXX

Aurora smiled when Belle and Philip stood up and cheered for her. She took a bow, then got off the stage.

Mrs. Rabbit returned to the stage and waited for everyone to quiet down. Then she said, "The cast list will be posted on Friday. Thank you to everyone who auditioned." With that, Mrs. Rabbit went backstage and everyone started to leave the auditorium.

Aurora made her way to where Belle and Philip were waiting for her.

"You're gonna get that role for sure," Philip said.

Belle hugged her. "I'm so proud of you."

Aurora smiled at them. "Thank you, guys."

It was then that Aurora noticed Ariel walking towards the exit of the auditorium.

"Give me one second," Aurora told Philip and Belle.

Aurora ran to catch up with Ariel. She grabbed Ariel and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you so much for talking to Mrs. Rabbit for me."

Ariel hugged her back. "You're welcome."

"Having that extra week to practice really helped," Aurora said. "If there's anything I can do for you, let me know."

Ariel nodded, then turned and left. Aurora walked back over to Belle and Philip. Philip put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. Aurora's heartbeat quickened and she smiled up at Philip.

Philip smiled back at her and hugged her. "You did great," he said. "But, I need to get to the student council meeting."

"Of course! I'll see you later, sweetheart." Aurora kissed him, and then he left.

"I hate to run out on you, too," Belle said. "But I have a tutor session with Adam."

Aurora beamed at her best friend. "Don't worry about it. Go be with your man."

Belle shook her head and laughed, then hurried out of the auditorium. Aurora sat down. She was glad auditions were over, and she couldn't wait until Friday.