"This is all your fault, director's pet. This is a play. I'm not falling in love with you, and I would never ever go out with you, Jack Garrison."
Jack and Shayna can't get through a rehearsal without fighting.
Cheerleader Shayna loathes perfect Ja...
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The results were supposed to be announced at 1 p.m., and the top three would have an hour before they took the stage. Each group got the stage for twenty minutes to block their props, and then the finals started at 2 p.m.
All the groups, their chaperones, and the friends and family who made the trek to watch all waited in apprehension.
Jamie had gone to fetch our lunch so we could eat regardless of whether we progressed or not. Uncle Anton was staring at his phone. The rest of us were waiting.
After what felt like forever, the three judges walked on the stage. Emma Kate stood behind them with a girl with bright red hair holding an envelope.
"Shakespeare was an artist," the woman in the middle said. "And today, each of you brought to life one of his plays, be you behind the scenes or on stage. I know you aren't here to hear me speak. You want to know who is proceeding to the next round."
The man to her left chuckled and adjusted his hat. He'd been the judge in the boy's monologue tent. He'd told each of us we'd done a good job on the way out. He took the envelope from the girl with red hair and started to read from the paper inside.
"In third place in the male characters monologues is Jason Kilmer from Kirby Academy," he said, and the Kirby Academy group to our left burst into cheers, patting a red-headed boy on the back.
I remembered his monologue. It had been fun, and he'd brought the whimsy of Puck to life. The judge waited for it to quiet down and then looked at his clipboard.
"In second place from Elmwood High School is Laurant Paterson," the man said, and the pompous director, Dr. Connors, gave a sallow-skinned boy a great big hug.
I definitely wasn't coming in first. I hadn't done better than Jason or Laurant. I certainly hadn't done better than Ed Jenkins Kirby Academy's Oberon, who was announced moments later to have come in first.
"There's still the female characters category," Lilly said, squeezing my hand. "And we don't know who is progressing."
"Anton told me that ordinarily, the schools that win monologues end up progressing," I said. "And usually, the first place in monologue and first place overall is one and the same."
"So what," Lilly said. "Kirby and Elmwood swept the boys' category. There's still room for one school, right?"
"In the female characters category," the third judge said, taking another envelope from the red-headed girl. "In third place is Shayna Christian-Porter from Crestview High School."
We were all silent for a moment as if we couldn't believe what we'd just heard. Lilly was the first to cheer. Kai, Hugh, and Carson all hugged Shayna at once. Even Juan was cheering.
Once it got quiet, the judge consulted her list. "In second place is Rita Finch from Crestview High School."
We cheered and screamed. Rita turned red and looked shocked like she couldn't believe she'd gotten second place. I looked at Lilly. There was a chance we were in the final three.
