𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝

Chapter One

Panicking peers paced and scattered all about the hallway. Some muttered rehearsed lines to themselves, while others reached to one another for support. However, nobody seemed to reach for Camilla Green, standing straight and silent near the classroom door.

She did not mind the silence, nor did she mind the chaos around her. Throughout her years of experience auditioning for shows in theater, she had grown accustomed to it. This audition was no different; it was just another play where she would get the female lead. It had been that way for Camilla since she was a freshman; how could that change now that she was a junior?

She waited, entertaining herself only by observing the lack of competition around her. A girl passed, muttering one of the monologues quietly—and getting words wrong. Camilla bit her cheek to keep from smirking. Another girl against the wall forgot a line for the third time. Camilla held her breath to keep from giggling.

From down the hall, Tiffany Stewart—a sophomore and a close friend—left her conversation with two other crew members to approach Camilla. She braced herself to be pulled from the comfort of her mind.

“Hi, Camilla!” Tiffany greeted, her eyes bright and her smile warm. “How are you feeling about your audition?”

Camilla sighed. “I'm nervous, of course,” she lied, her posture unchanging, “but I feel prepared. I’ve been practicing a lot for this audition.”

Tiffany nodded. “I’m sure you have; you’re so hard-working, Camilla.”

“Thank you. I try my best.”

“You’re so talented, though. I doubt you even need to try.”

Camilla smiled. “I appreciate that, but I always try my best regardless. It’s just who I am. I know that if I try my best, good things will come.”

“That’s so inspiring! I should use you as an example for River.”

Tiffany gestured back to her two fellow crew members she had been speaking with before. Among them stood River Griffiths, a senior Camilla did not know well. Their behavior blended with the anxious auditionees around them as they spoke with Amy Gardener, a junior Camilla, too, did not know well.

Camilla’s brows furrowed as she asked, “Crew members aren’t required to be here, right?”

“Oh, we’re not. Amy and I are the only crew members here as far as I know. We’re here to support River before their audition.”

Disguising her amusement as supportiveness, Camilla grinned. “Oh, that’s great. Is this their first-ever audition?”

Tiffany nodded. “That’s why I figured they would appreciate some advice and encouragement from someone as experienced as you.”

Camilla could have cackled in front of everyone. She never gave honest advice to her competitors—not that it would elevate them above her anyway. Still, she maintained her composure and said, “Tell her she has no reason to be nervous; she’ll do great.”

Tiffany thanked her and left, oblivious to the hilarity Camilla had gained from their conversation. Returning to River and Amy, Tiffany heard bickering similar to that from before she left—only this time, missing any mediation.

“No, I know that was the wrong line,” River insisted, shaking their head. “Just let me see the script.”

Amy shrugged and replied, “I’m telling you, it was the right line. Keep going—”

“No, I say that line wrong every time,” they interrupted. “I know it’s something else, I just can’t remember what.”

“River, you basically said what’s on the page.”