𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙

𝖛𝖎. 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖘𝖊'𝖘 𝕻𝖑𝖆𝖞

NOT A LOT OF students at Pacific Coast Academy loved Mr. Fletcher's drama club, but some did. On this day, everybody was enthusiastic to find out what the upcoming play was going to be.

"Okay," said Mr. Fletcher, as the drama club's session was coming to an end, "before you all go, I want to talk about our annual fall production!"

Among the small group of thirteen year old PCA students were Chase, Mia, Nicole and Penny.

Unlike some of their classmates, they truly enjoyed drama club and looked forward to every session.

"Please say Annie," muttered Mark Del Figgalo, a plump brown-haired boy sitting to Chase's right, desperately, "please say Annie, please say Annie."

"I am so excited to announce that this year we are going to be doing a play that was written as a homework assignment," said Mr. Fletcher, chuckling at the impressive recollection, "by one of our very own students, Mr. Chase Matthews!"

Mia, Nicole, and Penny turned to Chase with wide eyes and astonished expressions. They had no idea that he had written a play, and this revelation left all three girls feeling impressed and intrigued.

Chase gave a modest smile, a flicker of pride shining in his eyes, as applause filled the room with his friends joining in. He nodded to the clapping girls appreciatively, acknowledging their support whilst still remaining humble in the spotlight.

"Oh, bell." Mr. Fletcher realised, after the bell rang without warning. His students got up from their chairs, grabbing their bags and heading towards the door. "And remember, auditions start today at three!" The drama teacher reminded them.

After receiving a dirty look from Mark Del Figgalo, who obviously wanted to audition for Annie, Chase followed his friends out of Mr. Fletcher's class.

"So, what's your play about?" Penny asked Chase, walking through campus with him, Mia and Nicole.

"Well, it's kind of a classic love story," said Chase, much to the delight of Penny and Nicole, "see, this starship crashes to Earth from outer space and this female alien gets rescued by a lifeguard."

"And, you're playing the lifeguard?" Nicole guessed, with a smile. "Yes, I am." Chase confirmed.

Penny smiled at Chase's pride. "Well, I'm gonna try out for the role of female alien." She told him.

"Me, too!" Nicole excitedly gasped, turning to Mia for confirmation. "Mia, you, too, right?" She asked.

"Well, I'll definitely try and audition." Mia explained, twiddling her fingers as she walked.

Despite her attempt to appear casual, a nervous energy radiated from Mia's fidgeting. Being in a play was much more nerve-wracking than being in a television commercial, after all, since the cast would have a live audience watching them.

Mia wasn't really thinking about people watching her on their televisions, when she and her friends worked on their Jet X commercial, since they all had a lot of stress to deal with. But she was very aware about what came with being in a play.

"Cool! 'Cause, you know," said Chase, "this is the first year of PCA we've ever had girls to audition."

"Well, then who played the alien role before girls were allowed to come to PCA?" Mia asked. "I'd rather not talk about it," said Chase, at once.

Penny snickered a little. "Well, I think it's awesome that you wrote a play." She assured Chase, in awe.

"Yeah," said Nicole, as the four of them continued to walk on, "I can't believe you didn't tell us!"