Crowded Room

8. Crowded Room

The auditorium where the auditions will happen is already crowded when Camila and Hailee walk in. They’re early, but apparently so is everyone else. Camila feels nervous for a moment, she didn’t think that many people would be this invested in the production. A lot of them were there just to watch and she tried to breathe and stay calm, reminding herself that was a good thing. She needed experience outside of high school and this was the perfect opportunity, even if she didn’t get the part.

 The production was a new rendition of Cinderella written by students with the assistance of some of the professors that were involved in it as well. She knew Taylor was working with another student on the original songs, but when she spots Shawn sitting behind the piano with the blonde standing next to him giving him instructions, she realizes he’s the other writer she told Camila about. Why didn’t she mention that to her, though?

 Camila and Hailee stopped by a table with a group of students who were taking the names of people auditioning and wrote down their names and the parts they were trying for. Hailee was trying for one of the step sisters, she said she wasn’t brave enough to try for the leading role just yet, but Camila thought she might as well take a chance. She was auditioning for Cinderella herself and knew it was likely for her not to get the part, after all she was just a freshman, but she just wanted to put herself out there and try.

 The two girls took seats on the front road, one of the few that were still empty since most people were sitting on the back. Taylor spotted them from where she was on the stage and waved with a big smile, making Shawn notice them too. He winked at Camila and she tried not to let that get to her too much. They’ve been texting back and forth since he gave her his number, most of it just friendly, but sometimes he would make a flirty comment that would keep her questioning everything. He was really messing with her mind in a sense, suddenly all her theories about something being wrong with her because she didn’t feel attracted to anyone proved themselves wrong.

 “ Hey, are you guys nervous?” Taylor asks, approaching them when she walks out of the stage.

 “ Yes.” Hailee says immediately. She had shared with Camila that even though she loved performing, she would always get super nervous about it.

 “ You’ll be great. Don’t worry.” The blonde comforts her before looking at Camila. “ What about you?”

 “ I’m okay.” Camila smiles. As crazy as that sounded, she wasn’t nervous at all now that she saw Shawn behind the piano. Somehow the fact that he would be there on stage with her was comforting.

 Taylor took a seat next to them as they started calling the first people to audition. They started with the smaller parts, which meant Camila was going to wait for a long time before finally being called to stage. She watched as people auditioned for parts like the mouses and the cat before finally they moved to the stepmother and stepsisters. Hailee was one of the firsts to audition as Drisella, singing the same song the other girls had and reading a few lines they asked for with another girl that was trying for the stepmother. She was great during the reading, but she messed up some of the lyrics, which made her laugh at the end. It was funny, but she was sure after returning to her place that she wouldn’t get the part.

 The next parts were the fairy godmother and the king, which they watched for a long time before the auditions for the prince finally started. All the guys were great and Camila was called to read a scene with one of them. She wasn’t sure if she was just not nervous at all, but she thought she was great. She ended up being the first one to audition for Cinderella with the song Taylor wrote and she let her eyes drift to Shawn as she started singing. 

 He had a smile on his lips as he played the chords perfectly, observing her. Maybe it was cheating in a way, but Taylor helped her with the song, so she knew exactly which emotions she was supposed to portrait in each part. It was like she knew how read between the lines of the song, she knew more than just the words, she knew the feeling. Her eyes never left Shawn as she sang, it was like there were only them in that auditorium. It was like there were just the two of them in that crowded room.

 She only realized there were other people in the room when the crowd started clapping for her. She got a standing ovation and she thought that was the craziest feeling in the world. Even Shawn stood up from behind the piano and the professors who were going to direct the play did as well, but she tried not to get too hopeful about that.

 “ That was amazing!” Hailee hugs her excitedly when she’s back on her seat.

 “ You know, I’m never wrong about this kind of stuff.” Taylor says proudly. “ I knew you would kill this.”

 Camila smiles at them, feeling her cheeks burning because of how surreal it had felt to be recognized as a good performer by that many people. It was one thing to have that in high school, but people there were actually professionals or studying to become that, so it was great to have that kind of validation.

 When the auditions were finally over, Camila wasn't sure if would get the part. The other girls were just as good, some even better, and none of them were first year students like she was. It was highly unlikely for her to get the part because of that, but she still felt happy about trying.

 “ Little Freshman!” Shawn’s voice made her turn around when they were walking out of the auditorium. She thought it was kind of cute how he kept calling her that. “ You were…”

 “ That good, huh?” Camila jokes, walking to him.

 “ Yeah.” He confirms. “ I’m speechless.”

 “ Thank you.” She smiles at him, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear before he bends down to hug her. “ You helped me a lot though. It was nice to have someone I know up there on stage with me.”

 “ And here I was thinking I had made you nervous.” He chuckles close to her ear and the second she feels his warm breath on her skin, she gets chills.

 “ Why would you make me nervous?” She asks when they pull away from the hug.

 “ You know, with my good looks and all.” He jokes.

 “ Right.” She laughs with him, ignoring the way Taylor and Hailee are looking at them from the door.