young hearts (les mis au)

|| auditions

pov: enjolras

we're all gathered in the auditorium, sitting in the suffocating silence as we wait for madame hucheloup to enter. i feel like i'm going to drown because the silence is so thick.

there's a cough every minute or so, possibly a sniffle or a squealing chair. but no one speaks.

éponine glances at me sheepishly from time to time. her dark brown eyes melt into mine, but i look away abruptly. i have to pretend that i don't notice the four band-aids on her right arm, or the scratch on her neck. i'm wondering what happened to her- but i say nothing. looking at her only raises more questions.

marius yawns.

combeferre coughs.

courfeyrac falls out of his chair.

after a solid ten minutes, we hear the heavy metal door open. madame scrambles in.

"ugh, freshman," she says under her breath. with a sigh, she sets her things on the stage and regains composure. "good morning, students."

none of us respond- we just glance at her momentarily.

"i hope you got the message that the auditions are today- good luck."

éponine smiles at me very briefly, and then turns away as if nothing happened.

"i have copies of the script. read them as you please. choose a designated role and tell me when you're ready-"

cosette raises her hand immediately. "lead female. miss adelaide."

madame hucheloup appears irritated, but says, "all right, you're up, cosette."

cosette smiles and skips onstage, opening a songbook. "i'm going to sing a part from adelaide's lament," she smiles.

after singing a verse and sneezing, we all watch expectantly as we wait for her to sing another verse.

"next line, please," madame says expectantly.

"i think that's good enough," cosette says.

i roll my eyes. her dad was right, she really is one of a kind.

"okay, then, who's next? how about éponine?"

éponine drops her script, startled. "me?"

"yes."

"oh... um...."

i give her a quick thumbs-up.

"i'll read for the part of... general cartwright."

general cartwright?! my jaw drops. éponine is better than that.

madame hucheloup doesn't seem convinced. "are you sure? she only has a few lines throughout the entire show."

éponine nods. "yes ma'am, i am aware."

i roll my eyes.

"all right... hit me with your best shot."

éponine takes a deep breath, and sings a few lines from one of the songs from the show.

"fantastic emotion," madame nodded.

éponine waltzed down the stairs and back to her seat.

"why did you do that?" i whispered.

her smile faded. "what?"

"you auditioned- for one of the smallest parts in the show! i'm sure you could have been a more efficient lead than cosette."

"i would be a terrible lead actress," she notes.

"if by terrible you mean better than cosette-"

"enjolras," she says firmly.

i begin to laugh. "okay, okay. it's your satisfaction. your tony."

she pinches my arm playfully, but even though it's meant to be playful- it actually hurt. we laugh.

all of the others are laughing as well, but it's at courfeyrac's audition. i'm not positive what role he's chasing after, but he must've done either great or horrible to receive laughs.

"who do you want to audition for?" she asks.

i shrug. "i'm going to read for sky, but i don't have a preference."

sky is the lead male. i'm probably not fit for him- well, considering he's a thirty year old millionaire with a deep voice and i'm... similar, but not near as cool enough.

"smart," she grins.

"i know," i wink.

"enjolras!" madame shouts. "you're up!"

"wish me luck," i sigh.

"good luck," she smiles.

i think for a moment- how great would it be if we both got the leads?

i mean, i don't want to be kissing cosette up there if she got the part of sarah. i cringe at the thought of that.

i tell madame my plan, which she approves of.

i sing a few verses from 'luck be a lady' bravely and wait patiently for feedback.

éponine smiles up at me. she mouths, "great job."

i smile back.

"satisfactory," she shrugs. "next?"

as marius makes his way onstage, i return to my seat.

"satisfactory my ass," she says, her voice conveying a slightly angered undertone. "madame doesn't know what she's talking about."

"i was all right," i answer. "i mean, i'd rather not be under the pressure of sky anyway. maybe it'll be you and marius."

we listen to marius reading the lines. he's well more cut out for the lead, i'd say. he uses his emotion well, but he's sort of overdoing it. but that's not my problem.

she looks saddened for a moment- i'm not completely sure why. i wish i knew.

"possibly," she says quietly.

the auditions stretch on for what feels like forever. everyone reading their preferred character's lines is... interesting.

"casting should be up within a few days," madame says to us when the session is finally through. "tomorrow, if i'm lucky. i'm pleasantly surprised with how you guys did."

we all exchange glances, until she says, "class dismissed."

i rise to my feet, waiting for éponine to join me. we walk down the hallway together until we both reach our next classes.

"hey, enjolras?" she asks. i turn to her, raising my eyebrows. éponine shuffles through her bag until she pulls out a small, wrapped box, complete with a bow and a tag.

"happy late birthday."

and then, she enters her class.

//

I enjoyed this one. :D

Until next chapter- anna