The Ash Tree

Dress rehearsal

At lunchtime on Tuesday morning, Ash was going to her first dress rehearsal for the performance, which would be happening in around 6 months. She had been practicing for weeks, and was really excited for it because this was a really big thing; some talent scouts were going to see the play, and Ash was one of the main characters. Liv, Scarlet and Alicia had also tried out, but none of them got as big of a role as her. Alicia didn't even get a role; she was Ash's understudy. She had found it quite ironic considering that Alicia was normally the star between the four of them.

Once Ash was changed, she went to the drama studio. She looked like a completely different person in her stage makeup, and the uniform made it look even better. Liv clapped loudly when she walked in, making sure to thump her on the back. "Wow, that makeup is so good! I can hardly recognise you." she exclaimed.

"I know. Miss Liscio is a really good makeup artist." Ash replied, beaming.

"She is a lot better than I thought, considering that she's an Engliah teacher." Liv said.

"Yeah. Do you know-" Ash was cut off by the director of the talent show, Mr McCarthy.

"Alright, everyone get into your positions. We're doing a full run through first, and then some individual parts just to get the hang of it."

Ash went to her spot in the line. She was one of the performers near the end of the show, so she was hoping she could end it on a high. There were lots of different talents on display that Mr McCarthy wanted to make sure were present to 'make sure everyone shows their special skill'. Ash was very relieved that she was good at singing, because she really didn't want to have to mimic a dog, like Hannah who was going to be dressed up as one.

Slowly, the other performers started to show their talent on stage. Many of them were either singing or dancing, so Ash was mostly sleeping through those ones. But, there were also some more interesting talents on display , like Samantha's excellent impression of some celebrities on TV and, of course, Hannah's dog impression. It was actually pretty impressive considering how sophisticated she normally acted.

Finally, it was Ash's turn. She had done this several times before because they had been practicing for months, so she wasn't as nervous as she was before. However, she still felt a tiny jolt in her stomach as she walked into the stage. Then she took a deep breath and began to sing.

Once she had finished, everyone clapped as they had done for all of the other acts. She smiled and took a bow as Mr McCarthy yelled "Everyone up on stage, now!"

Once their rehearsal was over, everyone quickly ran outside as there were still 5 minutes of lunchtime left. Ash skarfed down her five and fish curry before catching up with Alicia on the way to English.

"So, how was the dress rehearsal?" Alicia asked when they got to the chairs outside the classroom.

"It was good. A bit dull though." Ash replied as she looked through her bag, checking that she had everything.

"Oh, ok. Did Mr McCarthy like your song?"

"Obviously. He's heard it before, remember?"

"Ok, jeez. I was just asking."

"Whatever."

They walked into English and sat down at their desks.