Bright: DEH/BMC Fanfic

Chapter 7

Wednesday, September 3

Zoe walked into her history classroom a little shaky. Today was audition day for the play and she had no idea what to expect. All she knew was that both Jeremy and Christine were going to be there and things were gonna get weird.

She found her spot by Jeremy and sat down. He noticed she was a little nervous and asked, "Are you okay?"

She grabbed her binder and pencil out of her bag but didn't look at him, "No." She leaned back into her chair. "This audition has been keeping me up for the past two nights. I don't even know why I'm doing this."

Jeremy took out his own sticker-covered binder, "To get volunteer hours remember?"

She sighed, "Yeah, right." The real reason she wanted to be a part of the play was to get closer to Jeremy, but she didn't want to admit that to him or herself.

Once the second bell had rung, Mr. Jackson faced the classroom. He looked like he just got out of bed, which was his usual style. "Alright class," he began, "the first quiz for the chapter is this Friday. We are going to continue to read from the history book, but I suggest you study on your own for a few hours each night." He sat back down at his desk and opened up his history book. The class did the same.

Jeremy leaned over, "Hey. How about after auditions we go to my house and study?"

Zoe turned to him, "Oh uh, yeah sure." Her heart picked up pace a little but she kept her cool. "Do you have a car?"

He nodded and grinned, "Yeah, just got it for my eighteenth birthday."

"Sweet," Zoe whispered. "Then you can drive me to your place." Jeremy nodded again and turned back to face the teacher. Zoe did the same, and realized that even if she did make a fool of herself at auditions, she could fix her embarrassments at Jeremy's.

Zoe's nerves picked up as soon as she walked into the drama room after school. About twenty people were around her, all practicing lines and looking professional. She, on the other hand, was sweaty from P.E. and stress. 

She found Jeremy near the stage talking to Rich and Jake. They were laughing about something when she walked up to them. "What's so funny?"

Jake was the first to answer (of course). "We're laughing at Christine," he said in a chuckle, and then pointed to a small Asian girl practicing lines on the other side of the room. "She's so over dramatic and she hasn't even auditioned yet."

She was over-dramatizing her practice a little bit, but Zoe was awed by her. She was so graceful in her moments and speech, and Zoe wished she could do that well. 

"So," Jeremy changed the conversation, "did you practice speaking Shakespeare in the mirror like I suggested?"

"You didn't say to do that..." Zoe corrected him and smiled, "but I did practice in my room like you did suggest."

Jeremy rolled his eyes carefully, "Same difference."

"Christine Canigula" Mr. Reyes announced. It was her turn to audition and it seemed like the whole room was watching. Zoe noticed Jeremy perk up.

She stepped in front of the "judges" and smiled. "Hi," she started, "my name is Christine Canigula, and I will be auditioning for the role of Juliet."

"Wait." Zoe started to feel even more panicky. "I thought he was going to assign us roles."

Jeremy kept his gaze on Christine but responded to Zoe, "He will, if you don't say any role while you introduce yourself."

She nodded and said nothing else, feeling slightly better. She turned back to Christine and watched as she fluently said her lines. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

Finally Christine finished saying her lines and the "judges" clapped. "Well done Miss Canigula," Mr. Reyes praised her.

Christine bowed to them and said, "Thank you." She then walked away and looked at where Zoe and Jeremy were standing. She seemed a little taken aback and confused by them, but then turned away.

"Zoe Murphy," Mr. Reyes called out. Zoe's heart dropped as she heard her name. She was so focused on Christine that she hadn't even realized she'd be next. She gulped and walked forward slowly.

Mr. Reyes waited patiently while she stood there stunned. "Well," he began, "say your name and who you'll be auditioning as."

Zoe nodded, "Um, well, I'm Zoe Murphy and I'll..." She paused, not sure what to say. "I guess I'll be auditioning as whatever character you want me to?"

Mr. Reyes narrowed his eyes and then looked at his papers. He pulled out a script titled Juliet. "Read this." He handed her the paper.

Zoe looked down at it and tried to comprehend what she was reading. She took a deep breath and then began saying her lines. It was all a blur and she screwed up on a couple of words and phrases. Her voice showed no emotion and she prayed to God for it to end. She could feel the eyes staring at her from behind but she tried to focus on the script. After what felt like hours, she finished.

Zoe glanced back up at Mr. Reyes. He wasn't even looking at her and none of the "judges" said anything. Silently, she put the script back on his stack of papers and quickly walked away from him. She didn't breath until she reached Jeremy, Rich, and Jake.

They were all staring at her, unsure of what to say. Zoe could tell she performed terribly. "Oh God, how bad was it?"

"It... wasn't that bad." Rich reassured her. Zoe didn't believe a word he said, and then looked at Jeremy.

Jeremy caught her gaze. "Well, um. It was good, you know, for your first time. Like I said, you'll still get into the play no matter what."

Zoe felt like an idiot, "Damn. I don't even remember saying the lines. Even if I do make it in, I'm gonna be the worst part of the show."

"No you won't." Jeremy put his hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine. And we can practice our lines together." He looked up at Rich and Jake. "All of us," he added.

"Yeah," Zoe sighed, "I guess so." Now that she thought about it, maybe it wasn't all bad. Well, the audition was, but at least she could hang out with her friends and have fun. Practicing lines would probably be the highlight of the whole experience.

"Now come on," Jeremy smiled, "let's go study!"

"Wait, don't you still need to audition?" Zoe asked.

"No, we finished already."Jeremy answered.

Zoe nodded, "Oh, I really wanted to see that." She smiled slightly.

"You didn't miss much." Jeremy led her out of the drama room. "Just a terrible British accent."