I entered the theater with Ella, a nervous smile gracing my face. Ella practically sprinted to the theater from lunch, pulling me along. The entire weekend, we'd been extremely excited, anticipating the moment. None of our new classes were quite as exciting as this. Kids were already in the audience, the new class for this quarter. I didn't see the two girls who'd auditioned before me, but I did see the boy. The two of us took a seat in the third row of students, not wanting to be too close or too far back. It was all about strategy in this theater. Haley and her boyfriend Harvey (who'd gotten the role of Piangi) sat next to each other in the front. Jay, who played the Phantom, sat with Justin (Raoul) in the second row. The two were chatting away, much unlike what the Phantom and Raoul would do. The Opera owners were on opposite ends of the theater. Our Madame Giry was unknown, some people said it was going to be a special celebrity guest who'd be working with us through rehearsals and to the final show. Other people said that it'd be our director. The chatter around the theater stopped when our director stood up to silence everyone.
"I'd like to thank everyone who made it into the musical for putting forth such amazing auditions!" Ms. Johansson had a large smile on her face. "Whether you're here for your dancing skill or singing, everyone did a fantastic job. Now, for the first rehearsal, let's warm up our voices and then we'll do a read-through. Alright?" When no one replied, she pitifully said, with a fake grin, "alright Ms. Johansson!" She fakely laughed. "Well, ok then." She got up, and headed to the piano. I leaned over to Ella.
"She's overly cheesy today," I whispered. We were used to our director using some cheesy humor, but nothing… this chaotic. Ella just shrugged, and our eyes drifted back to our director who motioned for us to stand. Once everyone was on their feet, Ms. Johansson began by getting us to do high sighs. The warm-ups continued for a good ten minutes, before everyone settled into their seats. The scripts were passed out, heavy with Andrew Lloyd Webber's brilliant creations. I opened to the first page- the auction scene. Our director moved from the piano down to the audience.
"We're going to be using a karaoke version of the original score for now, but we'll have a real orchestra for the performance," Ms. Johansson explained, with a friendly smile. "Auctioneer, you may begin when you're ready." It was silent for a moment, before she added, "Please stand up when you sing or speak!" The actors began to read off lines. The scene played through, until the overture finally began to play. Hannibal went quite well, but no one (besides me and Ella thanks to our status as phangirls) knew any of the harmonies. Finally, it was time for Think of Me. Haley sang, hitting the notes but not exactly like an opera singer. I stood up, nervous, read my lines, and sang Think of Me. After the song, the Director clapped for me, standing up, "Fantastic job, Scarlett! But could you show more confidence as the song progresses? You are doing fine in the beginning, nerves are part of the role! But when she gets onstage and sings, they're supposed to disappear into bliss!" I nodded, before gulping. Through every song I sang, I became more confident. Finally it was time for the title song. I belted the beginning with ease. Jay's voice was perfect for the role, I could tell. He sang with power, his words dancing on the music. I sang higher, and higher, and higher… the last note. I had to work up to it. I sang the E6, my mind only focused on the note and not around the people around. I gasped for breath. The entire cast burst into applause. Jay sang some more, and I sat down for the Music of the Night. The show became easier and easier, my muscle memory knowing when to sing. All I Ask of You sounded beautiful, on both Justin and I's behalf. The Phantom, Jay, closed up Act I with his large voice. Ms. Johansson gave everyone feedback, and briefly taught Haley how to sing Carlotta's notes before continuing to rehearse.
"Holy shirt, girlfriend!" Ella whispered to me, "act one was literally the best thing I've ever heard you sing and I was there when you sang Baby at that choir concert!" I cringed, remembering seven year old me's… interesting performance, to the Justin Bieber song.
"I forgot about that," I sighed, "I wish I hadn't remembered…"
"Oh Scarlett, I'm just kidding with you!" Ella settled in her seat, before adding, "that was terrifying for me, as your best goddamn friend." I rolled my eyes, with a smile, as the Entr'Acte began to play. Masquerade went quite well for its first run. Justin and I amazingly had quite the chemistry, besides our lack of a callback together. Jay's voice struck fear into everyone's hearts, but it'd be harder to warm up to him due to his cold personality. We hadn't sang too much together quite yet. Twisted Every Way and the Don Juan rehearsal scenes were an absolute mess. Wishing came, and I sung my heart out. My own Dad had passed a few years back. This was about as heartfelt as I'd sung in a long time. It was more real than my Love Never Dies. It was perfect. Wandering Child went by fast, and soon it was time for Don Juan. We quickly reached the finale, where I quickly saw Jay's acting talent. He was an outstanding singer, but his acting put him over the top. He showed so much pain in his voice as he sang, looking directly at me. It truly became a triangle of singing- no one needed their scripts to finish this. When Ms. Johansson pressed pause, the entire cast applauded for each other. There wasn't a single person who wasn't smiling. Except for Haley, who had seemed to be in a bad mood all day. The bell rang.
"Hey, Scarlett, wanna come to Starbucks with Jay, Haley and I?" Justin ran up to me, a grin on his face as he invited me. I shook my head, with a frown.
"Sorry Justin, my mom's picking me up today," I shyly said, with an embarrassed blush, "maybe tomorrow."
"We're not going tomorrow," Justin's face seemed genuine, "it's now, or never."
"I can text her, I guess," I smiled, being convinced far too quickly. I whipped out my phone, before quickly texting my mom. I put it away. "Whose driving?"
"Jay," Justin brushed back his brown hair, "but if you feel unsafe or anything, I can drive."
"Am I supposed to feel safer with you driving?" I joked, smiling.
"Very funny," Justin rolled his eyes, "come on, let's find Haley and Jay."
"Wait," I said, remembering Ella who sat right next to me, "Can Ella come too?" Justin eyed Ella.
"Its leads only, sorry," Justin said to Ella, shrugging. I shrugged to Ella.
"Sorry," I sighed, "I'll catch you tomorrow, then!"
"Yeah," Ella said, disheartedly, "tomorrow."
I hurried off with the older kids, who seemed much more interested in their phones than me at that moment. I sighed, a bit annoyed, grabbing my own phone. We walked to Jay's car, a brown softshell jeep. I sat in the back with Justin, and Haley sat up from with Jay. They turned on the radio, and blasted Bohemian Rhapsody. Everyone sang full out, including me. Haley was much more fun to be around than I expected her to be. As we drove past, many people walking would turn their heads to look at the jeep with such talented singers. Or maybe they just wanted us to shut up so they could enjoy their walk.
I took a brief moment to imagine the production. Since little amounts of funds went to the musicals, I expected the costumes to be about as low caliber as they could get. Would they even have a chandelier? But the singing would be fantastic, on hopefully everyone's behalf. But my brain was brought back to the jeep as Justin snapped in my face. "Hey, Earth to Scarlett? We're at the Starbucks." I jumped out of my seat and headed with the group, a bit embarrassed. You can't let yourself blank out like that, Scarlett! You're with leads now. With leads. I sounded like I was throwing shade at Ella. I immediately fixed the sentence in my mind, before heading off with the group. We entered the Starbucks, and I was about to order my grande iced tea when Haley whispered something in my ear.
"We're all ordering as our Phantom characters, Scar. You should tots do it too," Haley said, sounding like the basic blonde she was. (A/N: I mean, no shade to blondes, of course! I am a blonde, haha) I nodded, and stepped up to order. I received my drink, and sure enough it had Christine written on it. Jay's had Erik written on it (with a crossed out c, when he said it was spelled with a k), Haley had Carlotta written in messy letters (which the baristas had plenty of fun spelling) and Justin had Raoul written on it perfectly. We all sat down at a table, and began sipping our drinks. "So Scarlett, you're a freshman, right?"
"Uh, yeah," I hesitantly smiled.
"I remember what it was like being a freshman," Haley dazedly looked over at Jay, "I liked Jay way too much, but he already had a girlfriend."
"Uh, Hales, she didn't ask about your crushes," Jay leaned over to Haley and quietly spoke.
"Whatever," Haley pursed her lips, before taking a sip of her frappuccino. "Anyway, I just broke up with Blake. Ugh, what a nerd!"
"Haley, you were totally in love with him last week! What happened?" Justin asked, confused.
"He decided that flossing in public was a good idea…" Haley grimaced.
"Haley, that's… that's not a good excuse," Justin looked disgusted, before taking a swig of his coffee.
"Whatever man, whatever."
"Well, I'm really happy you guys invited me," I sweetly said, trying to change the subject.
"Hey, no problemo miss Scarlett! Your totally cool, and you have an awesome voice for a freshman," Jay leaned back in his chair.
"Thanks," I added quickly, "I wanna be on Broadway someday, I hope."
"I'm sure you will!" Justin grinned.
"You guys are way too optimistic," I laughed.
"Don't put yourself down, that won't get you anywhere," Jay sighed, "trust me, I know."
"So what're your favorite musicals you've done?" I changed the subject.
"Well, I did an illegal version of Wicked which was awesome," Haley shrugged, "I was Elphaba."
"Illegal Wicked? Like illegal Heathers?" Jay wrinkled his nose.
"No way, it was so much better," Haley seemed like she wasn't kidding.
"I don't get how any musicals that are illegally put on could be good," Justin pointed out.
"Especially illegal Heathers," Jay grinned.
"So, Scarlett, have you done any shows before?" Haley's face turned cold, a snarl in it.
"I was in the last musical with the school, and I've just done some small choir things in middle school," I said, smiling.
"Choir?" Haley asked, her expression more pleasant, "Were you a first?"
"How'd ya know," I rolled my eyes, giggling, "but I did start out as an alto."
"I feel like all sopranos are altos in middle school choir," Haley laughed, "whether they like it or not."
"Who even liked middle school choir?" Jay started laughing.
"Well, um…" I stuttered. Middle school choir had been fun.
"Just kidding, Scar. I loved it," Jay laughed, "don't take things so seriously!"
"So did I," Justin shrugged, "But I'm glad you didn't continue on with choir here, you are of so much more use here in theatre!"
"I guess," my voice was weak, quiet.
"Geez, you really have no confidence!" Jay slammed his fists down, "you're gonna need to work on that."
"I can help," Haley suddenly said, "you should totally hang out with me, I'm a prime example of confidence."
"More like overconfidence," Jay muttered.
"Watch it, Phantom," Haley snapped back.
"It's just the goddamn truth…"
"LANGUAGE!" Justin nearly yelled.
"You guys are three year olds," Haley turned to me, "Scarlett, wanna pretend we don't know who they are?"
"I'm okay," I laughed, before looking down at my phone. A text from my mom, "oh! My mom texted me… she's outside."
"She sure picked ya up fast," Jay mumbled.
"You sure you didn't text her to go? 'Cuz it's fine if you did," Justin said, with a sympathetic look, "I understand, juniors and seniors are scary…"
"Well, most are," Haley shrugged.
"Especially Haley," Jay joked.
"Are you ready to be punched?" Haley seemed like she was really prepared to, anger fuming from her.
"Anyway, I should really get going… thanks for inviting me!" I quickly said.
"Scarlett, find me in the halls tomorrow, we can talk then!" Haley said, like a total valley girl.
"Ok! Bye Jay, bye Justin, bye Scarlett!" I waved, running off to my mom's car which was in the parking lot. I jumped into the front seat, my mom completely ready to hear the gossip of what happened at Starbucks.
It's been almost a year since I joined fanfiction, can you believe that? Anyway, please leave a review! Thanks!