Confessions of a Teenage Broadway Star

02 » ❝Defying Gravity❞

"I'm through accepting limits 'cause someone says they're so."
- Defying Gravity, Wicked

CONFESSION NUMBER TWO: High school cafeterias and Broadway karaoke do not mix. 

        After stopping by her locker to drop off her books, Scarlett enters the cafeteria with wide eyes, taking in the scene around her. Painted picnic tables line the room, students everywhere sitting atop them, eating and catching up after a long summer apart. She stares at the large stage at one end of the room, with lights mounted to the ceiling and a sound booth in the center of it all. She shouldn't exactly be surprised - performing arts school, remember? - but as she stares at the stage, already lit and with an empty spotlight in the center, she can feel her hands shaking with nervousness beneath her bright blue lunch tray. 

        Her real confession? Scarlett's got a tiny case of stage fright. And, for a girl who'd someday hope to be singing on a Broadway stage in New York City, it's obvious that this may pose a slight problem.

        But no - she can't turn back now. This was the whole point of coming to Mackenzie High. Scarlett hadn't planned on even going to the school until she discovered they had a music program, and when she found out she'd been accepted, the anxiousness she felt whenever she performed on stage suddenly had a threat that she was determined to let her help diminish her fear. Thus, why she told April she'd audition for the school musical. When she thought about what she'd said in class about her mission, the thought of being onstage didn't seem so scary.

        "Hey Scarlett, you made it!"

        Scarlett whirls around to see her redheaded friend sat at a table covered in purple paint and music notes. Beside her is Audrey - the girl from her drama class who'd wanted to go to film school - and a blonde girl Scarlett didn't recognize. "I've never seen a cafeteria this... colourful, before," Scarlett remarks, setting down her tray next to April and taking a seat.

        "You'll get used to it," the blonde girl laughs, shaking Scarlett's hand. "I'm Peyton, by the way - I'm not in your drama class, but I heard all about your speech from the girls," she says, and Scarlett reddens slightly. "Very empowering - just what this school needs," Peyton offers a friendly salute that Scarlett returns with a laugh. 

        Truth be told, Scarlett's never been very good at making friends. Honestly, she's never really had many who've stuck around long - she was used to being the odd one out or the third wheel. She hadn't expected for them to get along so quickly, but somehow they just... did. Whether the girls were talking about writing music, watching musicals or upcoming assignments, half the lunch period had gone by before Scarlett realized that they'd already become close friends, and had moved on to talking about the school, the cliques, and the boys.

        "So he really walked you to class?" Audrey asks in disbelief, nearly dropping her sandwich. "After knocking you out with a football?" 

        Scarlett laughs, taking a sip of her juice. "I think he felt bad for making me late," she admits. "And in his defense, it was the other one who threw the ball to begin with." 

        "The other one?" Peyton asks, intrigued.

        "Uh, yeah - the one I met in the principal's office," Scarlett says with a shy look, and the girls' eyes widen. "I never got his name, though. Leather jacket, green eyes?" she asks, but the girls shake their heads. "Well, he may be a bad boy, but he's got serious theatre-reference game," she admits, and the girls laugh as Scarlett recounts her interaction with Goofy-Eyes and his many Wizard of Oz and Anything Goes remarks that left her reeling - all until the lights go out suddenly, leaving the entire cafeteria in the dark.