Crowded Room

9. The Leading Role

The auditorium was empty when Shawn walked in, not a single person there yet. He took a seat behind the piano and let his fingers play the chords he came up with the day before. It was just a simple melody that was stuck in his head and he had tried to add lyrics to it, but he felt kind of wrong by doing it because he knew those words were about this certain girl that was stuck in his head.

 He had been texting Camila since the second he got her number, even if he knew that was kind of dangerous territory. Sure, friends text all the time, but he was being flirtatious very frequently and she didn’t seem to have a problem with that. The thing was, Camila was too nice. Shawn was used to just have sex with girls once, maybe twice if they weren’t the clingy type, but dating was a no for him. Camila on the other hand seemed like the dating type and he thought she was just too good for him to use her like that. He wasn’t even thinking about his no freshmen girls rule anymore, it was a lot more personal at this point.

 Damn it! Even when he tried to stop thinking about her she invaded his thoughts. Since when did he get hang up on girls, and especially one that he hadn't even kissed once? Her voice was replying in his head since the day she auditioned for the play. She was magical on stage and he didn’t say that about a lot of people.

 “ We got 'thoughtful Shawn' today? That’s not a good sign.” Taylor’s voice takes Shawn out of his own mind, making him smile at her and roll his eyes.

 “ Just playing around with this melody.” He says, playing the chords for his friend to hear, but leaving the lyrics out of it. “ It’s stuck in my head.”

 “ I see.” Taylor says. “ Anything else stuck in your head? Or should I say someone?”

 “ Taylor, please. Not now.” Shawn protests. Taylor has been bugging him about Camila for days now. She had been the first one to tell him to stay away from her, but now she seemed to want the opposite.

 “ I’m just saying.” She lifts both her hands and shrugs, like she thinks she’s right but he won’t admit it.

 “ Yeah, you’ve been saying for too long.” Shawn sighs. “ It won’t happen, okay? Just let it go.”

 “ Why though?” The blond asks curiously. “ It wouldn’t be hard for you to get her, you know that.”

 “ Camila is not like that.” Shawn says.

 “ So I was right.” Taylor smiles at him. “ You do care for her.”

 “ Of course I do. We’re friends.”

 “ Whatever you want to believe, I guess.”

 Shawn goes back to play the piano and a few minutes later the professors responsible for the production they’re working on arrive with the results for the auditions. Shawn and Taylor would work closely with the students chosen, so they had to be there to talk to them. They did give their opinions, even if they didn’t have the final word, but they made sure to say Camila was their favorite for the leading role.

 “ We have the results.” One of the professors, a woman in her fifties, says. She walks to the board next to the door and hangs a list with the names of whoever was selected for the parts.

 Shawn and Taylor try not to seem too eager as they walk to read it, but Shawn can’t help smiling when he sees her name on top of the list. Just as he’s about to say something, a few students start entering the auditorium to read the results and he sees Camila and Hailee among them.

 “ Hi.” Camila smiles, walking to them and hugging Taylor.

 “ Nervous?” Shawn asks her as Hailee goes look at the list on the board.

 “ Not really.” Camila says. “ I don’t think I got it anyway.”

 “ Well, I didn’t.” Hailee says after checking the results. “ But I knew that already. I messed up the song and laughed.” She adds, making them laugh with her.

 “ You should go look, Baby C.” Taylor says, wiggling her eyebrows.

 Camila looks at her in confusion, trying not get her hopes up by the way they were all looking at her. Shawn watches as she takes a step towards the board and reads the first name on the list. Her name.

 “ Oh my god.” She whispers, turning around to look at them. “ I got it?”

 Shawn smiles at her and nods his head, her eyes glued to him as her lips curve in a smile too.

 “ I got it!” She repeats, this time without asking.

 “ You got it!” Shawn laughs, making her laugh too as Taylor and Hailee hug her.

 Camila then hugs him too, and Shawn lifts her up from the ground, squeezing her tiny body against his. He hated the fact that he loved every second of that hug. Since when a hug messed with his mind like that?

 The professors came to talk to Camila, get to know her and congratulate her. They were just as surprised by the result as she was. It wasn’t common for first year students to get roles in those types of productions, especially not the most important one, but according to them she had proved she deserved the role in her audition.

 They arranged for her to work on the songs with Shawn and Taylor, and with the other students that would play the other parts, but Taylor made up an excuse about her schedule that led to Shawn being the only one to work with Camila on her solo songs. He wasn’t sure if he should kill his friend or thank her for it, but it was what it was. He was about to spend a lot of time with Camila. He just hoped he would survive it.