Crowded Room

Prologue

The stage was empty just like all the seats around Camila as she stood there by herself at the school’s auditorium. She had just auditioned for the leading role in her high school spring production of 'Beauty and the Beast', but she wasn’t worried at all if she got the part or not. Of course she would. She always did. Everyone at the small town she lived in knew theater was Camila’s thing and she has been starring the school’s productions since forever.

 Now standing there between the empty seats, her eyes glued on the stage she has stepped so many times before, Camila tries not to freak out at the notification she just got on her phone. NYU has finally updated the status of her application on their website, but she can’t force herself to look just yet. It has been her dream to go there since she was a little kid. Brodway was her dream and being able to study in New York City would be a huge step towards that direction. But what if she didn’t get in? The heartbreak would be too much to bear, so she thought waiting to see the results just for a little bit was the right answer to calm herself down.

 She walks to the exit door and leaves the building, immediately taking a seat on the grass close to the school’s football field. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, regretting not looking already at NYU’s response because she’s really close to losing her mind.

 “ What’s wrong, Juliet? Has someone puked on your stage again?” A voice coming from the field makes her sigh and open her eyes.

A group of football players looks at her laughing and of course the one talking to her was Mike, the team captain. He always got a kick out of making fun of her, especially after she played Juliet in her sophomore year and the guy who played Romeo puked on stage right before kissing her, ruining the play. He was a bully, she knew that, but what bothered her the most was the fact that everyone played along with him. Football was a huge thing in their small town, so whatever Mike said would be it for people at school. Theater on the other hand was considered something to make fun of.

 “ You know, Mike, high school is about to end in a few months and I don’t think you’ll get much far acting like the jerk you are in college.” Camila says, standing up and placing her backpack on her shoulder.

 “ Ooh, I think I pissed Miss Theater.” He laughs with his friends.

 “ Shut up, Mike.” Max says rolling his eyes. “ Let’s just go back to practice.”

 Camila sends Max a small smile before walking back to the parking lot and waiting for her grandpa to pick her up. Max had been her boyfriend for exactly three weeks during freshman year and he had always been really nice to her, despite the crowd he always hung out with. Yes, the theater girl had dated one of the football players. She knew that was kind of crazy, but to be honest it hadn’t lasted that much and she never actually liked him like she was supposed to. He broke up with her because according to him she didn’t seem into it whenever they would make out and he wasn’t wrong. She hated every second of it and she never kissed another guy after that. He had been her first kiss and only boyfriend and that had been three years ago. She was sure at this point that there was something wrong with her. She never felt attracted to any guy and considered that maybe she liked girls, but she realized it wasn’t the case either after she briefly kissed one at a party during her junior year.

 “ Sorry, did I make you wait too long?” Her grandpa asks once she takes the passenger seat of his car. “ Your grandma asked me to get some things from the grocery store and I lost track of time.”

 “ It’s fine, grandpa.” She says with a smile. “ I didn’t have to wait that long.”

 Camila reaches out and turns on the radio as they drive back to the house with just Camila humming to a few pop songs.

 “ Honey, we’re home!” Her grandpa yells as they walk through the front door and her grandma appears from the kitchen with her apron on.

 “ Camila, darling, I just made you some banana muffins.” Her grandma says with a smile. “ How was the audition?”

 “ It was great, grandma.” Camila smiles, entering the kitchen and taking one of the banana muffins from the counter. “ I think I got the part.”

 “ Think? Of course you did. You always do.” Her grandpa says proudly, grabbing a muffin and walking back to the living room to watch TV.

 Camila sits down and eats muffins while her grandma drinks her tea, telling her all about the audition. She loves these moments with her grandmother because it reminds her of her mother, or at least the few memories she still has from her.

 When she’s finally alone in her bedroom, she walks into her bathroom and takes off her contacts, going back to her usual pair of glasses before opening her laptop and logging into the NYU website, thinking she might as well end her suffering already.

 “ You’ll be fine.” She whispers to herself. “ NYU is just one of the many options you have and if they don’t want you, there are other schools that do.”

 Her eyes are glued to the screen as she clicks on the result and waits for the page to open. The second she sees the words ‘congratulations’ and ‘accepted’, tears start rolling down her face and she starts jumping and screaming on her bed. Her grandparents quickly appear by her door, looking confused as she runs to them and hugs them.

 “ I got in!” She squeals excitedly. “ I got into NYU!”