Curtain Call

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

       Ms. Salazar takes a few days to get the cast list together. She has told everyone who auditioned to check back at the auditorium every day to see if it's up. If it's not, it should be up by Friday at the latest.

       So when Friday rolls around without the cast list being posted the previous days, everyone makes a beeline to the auditorium the moment the final bell rings, excited to know what their role in the play is.

       Surprisingly, the cast list isn't crowded by students. The ones who are by the auditorium already had simply looked to see what their role is before stepping aside to let everyone else check without being in a hoard of students.

       Orchid doesn't walk towards the cast list right away like I thought she would. The past couple days, she has been talking about how excited she is to see what role she got.

       "I don't think I can look at the list," Orchid says. "I'm too nervous. I don't think I've ever been this nervous to look at the cast list. Now I can see why you don't want to audition?"

       "See?" I say. "I'm playing smart. Save myself the anxiety, heartache, and all that negativity. Which... is probably not want you need to hear right now. Sorry, I'm not the best at pep talks."

       Orchid shakes her head. "It's okay, I wasn't looking for a pep talk. Alright, I'm going to go look at the list." 

       She doesn't even take a single step towards the cast list. "Do you need me to go with you for moral support?" I ask. 

       "Yes, please," Orchid says so the two of us walk to the cast list since no one else is there right now. She scans the list, looking for her name. Once she finds it, she breaks into a huge smile. "I got Rizzo!"

       I smile before pulling my sister into a hug, knowing how big of a deal this is for her. "Congrats. I knew you could do it. Just don't listen to what I said before about the heartache and negativity."

       Someone suddenly pushes me and Orchid away from each other, standing between us as she looks at the cast list. "Uh, rude," Orchid says. "You know, there's something you can say when you need someone to move out of the way."

       The girl who pushed us aside, Anita, ignores Orchid as she continues to look at the list. "What?!" she screeches, nearly bursting my eardrum. "I'm Patty?!" She storms off, walking towards Ms. Salazar who's now standing by the auditorium door.

       "Wow," Orchid says. "That's surprising."

       "What is?" I ask.

       "The fact that she got Patty when I know for a fact she auditioned for Sandy," Orchid says.

       I look at the list, trying to find out who got the role Anita wanted. "Not everyone gets the role the audition for, though."

       "Yeah, but I don't know who else auditioned for Sandy," Orchid says. "Anita basically scared everyone out of it. Whoever got Sandy basically made an enemy."

       Sandy's role, obviously, is at the top of the list so once I see it, I look at the name beside it. I blink a few times, not believing what I'm seeing. This can't be right. There has to be some sort of mistake.

       Orchid notices I'm looking at the list, probably trying to figure out who snatched Anita's role. "So who's playing Sandy?" she asks.

       "M-me," I say. "I am."

       "What? Really?" Orchid looks at the top of the list, sounding as if she doesn't believe me. I don't blame her. Even I'm finding it hard to believe it. However, she sees Nolan Prince right beside Sandy's name. "Holy crap. Nolan, that's... I want to say amazing, but I don't even know if you want the role. You didn't even audition."

       "Yeah, I didn't," I say, looking over at Ms. Salazar. She's no longer talking to Anita, so I walk over to her. "Ms. Salazar, I think there's a mistake with the cast list. I didn't even audition."

       "Not traditionally," Ms. Salazar says.

       "Not at all," I say. "Me singing in the art room wasn't an audition. I was just... having fun while cleaning. So why did I get the part?"

       Ms. Salazar sighs. "I'm sure you're aware Anita is the only one who auditioned for Sandy. She thinks I'm not aware of it, but I know she scared everyone else who wanted to audition for Sandy. And as amazing of a singer and actor Anita is, she didn't really connect with the role. Not like you when all you were doing as singing that song. You did say you would want to be part of the play if you were guaranteed a part."

       "Y-Yeah, but... The lead?"

       "The lead that I really think you're suited for. Look, you can give it a shoot and if you really don't want to do it, you can drop out."

       I hesitate for a bit, debating my choices. I'm given a great opportunity right here; to finally be part of a play without the anxiety of auditioning weighing me down. Not only that but because of Ms. Salazar's choice to make this play more inclusive for the time we're in, I've gotten the role I can only dream of having.

       Before I make my decision, there's one thing I need to know. "Who's playing Danny?" I ask.

       "Ah, right," Ms. Salazar says. "Jerome Roy is. So are you okay with playing Sandy?"

       I look back at the cast list, seeing Jerome looking at it for his role. He's... probably the most attractive guy I have ever laid eyes on. Not that I would admit it to anyone. That would definitely defeat the purpose of me staying in the closet until I feel comfortable enough to come out.

       I may not be close to coming out, but maybe being part of the play with Jerome playing my love interest will give me the confidence to do so. And if it doesn't, at least the play will give me an excuse to be more like me than I have ever been.

       Jerome must have seen that I'm the one playing Sandy while he's playing Danny because he looks at me and gives me a smile. I smile back before I look at Ms. Salazar again. "I'll give it a shot," I say.

       "Perfect," Ms. Salazar says. "You'll do great. I just know it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go deal with a moody teenager threatening to tell Mrs. Goth about 'my ideology' just because she didn't get the part she wanted."

       I want to ask Ms. Salazar exactly what she means by that, but she walks off. Besides, I can already guess that it's about Anita telling the principal about Ms. Salazar not exactly casting according to gender. I don't think Mrs. Goth will think it's a big deal, thankfully. She has already voiced her opinion about supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

       Jerome walks over to me now that I'm no longer talking to the drama teacher. "So," he says. "I guess we're playing love interests."

       "Y-Yeah, I guess so," I say, hoping my cheeks don't burn red from being in close proximity to this attractive human. I don't know how I'm going to survive doing Grease with him, but I guess I'll learn to live.

       "How'd you swing that, by the way?" Jerome asks. "I didn't see you at auditions."

       "Long story short, Ms. Salazar heard me singing Hopelessly Devoted," I say. "She... thought I was a better fit than the only person who auditioned for Sandy."

       "Well, she's not wrong," Jerome says. "Thank you, for getting the part. I was ninety-nine percent sure Anita was going to play my love interest and I really didn't want that to happen. Her attitude does not make it easy to act with her. So, yeah, thanks for being the lucky one percent."

       "You're welcome?" I say. "I think..."

       Jerome smiles at me. "But for real, I'm excited to work with you."

       "M-Me too," I say.

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idk why but jerome and nolan as danny and sandy have so much power. i couldn't stop thinking about it so i had to make it happen lol.

i'm still working on the cast list, specifically for two people :( i hope i figure it out before next chapter because all the roles should be revealed by then (spoiler: alan is frenchy and i live by that)

also as of rn it's 5 am on june 1st so happy pride month everyone!