The Audition! (Eddie tag Any)

[Eddie O'Flaherty]

Eddie stood just outside the theatre. He could hear the piano playing inside, but couldn't quite make out the tune. Sweeney Todd, maybe? It sounded like Sondheim. Should he have done Sondheim?

“Get out of your head, Eddie... no need to be nervous.” A quick glance around found Eddie alone, for which he was relieved. Don't want to be the kid that talks to yourself, eh Eddie?

He had decided earlier in the day on what to perform, and he was happy with the choices. Less happy with how well he knew them, but he worked for a while and got to a place where he felt comfortable. Plus, once he found out he was auditioning for South Pacific, Dame was out of the question. Can't sing a song from the show you're auditioning for!

Eddie stopped, realizing he was pacing. His shoes were starting to kill his feet. Why did he decide to wear a suit? He wanted to make a good impression, but was this a bit much? Eddie knew he was just nervous, but he contemplated for just a moment changing into the clothes he brought in case he had to dance. No, the suit was fine. It was good. He looked great, and he would impress the director. Right?

Eddie pulled out his phone to check the time. “Now or never...” he mumbled, and headed into the theatre to sign in.

*******************

“The director will see you now.”

Eddie looked up, and saw the stage manager looking at him. He smiled. “Thank you.”

Eddie entered the theatre and walked on stage, projecting as much confidence as he possibly could. He handed his music to the accompanist and walked to the center of the stage. He stood, taking a moment to look out at the audience. Calm washed over him. He'd been here before, and he'd been here often. No matter the theatre, the feeling was always the same once you were on stage.

“Good evening. My name is Edward O'Flaherty and I will be performing a monologue from “Three Day Of Rain” by Richard Greenberg, and then I will sing “Dentist,” from Little Shop of Horrors.”

*******************

Eddie flew out of the theatre, shaking. The nerves always hit him after the audition, that was for sure. Did he thank the director? Yes, yes. Yes... or no? Eddie wasn't sure. He could barely remember. Eddie was entirely lost in his head, and didn't notice the group of people that had gathered outside the theatre. He also didn't notice the person standing right in his path, their back to him. Eddie only heard a few people's late warnings. He collided with the figure, tumbling to the ground.

Eddie's face was beet red lying on the ground. “Dammit! I'm so sorry...”

[Julia Warner]

What made a successful saturday? Hanging around the house playing Lord of the Rings Online with your best friend, talking trash about your brother's new boyfriend, and snacking on the remainders of Thursday's cookies, of course! And talk of Jeremy and Jade led, quite naturally, to talk of the school musical, which both boys were supposed to be auditioning for.

"And they won't get any rehearsing done," Julia predicted gloomily, certain that Jade was going to ruin Jeremy's reputation with the drama teacher. "I can't believe he' s going out with him after....it's not like there aren't other guys, right? There are other guys!" It was true that Connor remained single, but she figured that if he wanted a boyfriend badly enough he would be able to acquire one, quite forgetting that she, as a straight female, had a difficult enough time with that feat.

"You know what," She ventured after a moment, "I think I'll audition. Then I can make sure they practice." And then she would be conveniently nearby should Jade ever prove her mistrust correct, and she could repay Jeremy by smacking his new found crush, an act she was only refraining from currently because her twin seemed perfectly content to date a philanderer.

And that was how she found herself at Silver on a saturday afternoon, entirely unprepared. She knew what to expect from auditions, having trailed along with Jeremy many times before, but she hadn't practiced, because she had only decided that day that it she would audition. She struggled through Think of Me, making up words when she couldn't remember the originals.

"Think of me, think of me waking silent and resigned, think of me knowing you're a stalker and you've lost your mind. And on that day, that not so distant day, I walk the aisle in a white dress, please remember I'm only there because you wore me down into saying yeeeeeeeeeeees."

She could see the pianist cringing, and couldn't quite decide if it was because of her lyrical creativity or because she only managed to squeak out the "Yes"

At least the monologue part wasn't so bad, because she knew a good bit of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, which she recited with far more perkiness than was required:

"Offa! He's silenced. Not all liked him; many would have muzzled him, had master let them. 'There are cravens at council that crow proudly with heart of hens': So I hear he said at the lord's meeting. As lays remind us: 'What at the mead man vows, when morning comes let him with deeds answer, or his drink vomit and a sot be sown.' But the songs wither, and the world worsens. I wish...I wish...." She screwed up her face, trying to remember the rest of Tor's lines. "I wish I wasn't here with all the lazy, non-fighting people. And poor people can be just as awesome at war as nobles who are all mandated by Oden. I think that's how it went," She ended, "More or less, anyway."

She left the audtion with the distinct impression that the director had been less than impressed, but she was so relieved not to have been laughed out of the room that she fled as soon as dismissed, clinging to Connor once they were out the door. "Omigod, what possessed me! Jere's the theater geek! I'm just a regular geek!!" She gasped, feeling suddenly weak. "I don't think they liked me. Connor, why did you let me embarrass myself like that!!" She chided, not paying any attention to the gasps of warning from the people around them and thus taken completely by surprise when someone bowled into her from behind, knocking her into Connor. She shrieked in shock, trying to use her friend to steady herself, but only succeeding in dragging the curly-haired Irish boy down with her.

"It...it's okay...." She managed weakly, sparing a glance at the culprit as she attempted to disentangle herself from Connor.

[Eddie O'Flaherty]

Eddie took a moment, lying on the ground. He imagined his entire social life at Silver get flushed down the drain. What if he just knocked over the most popular kid in the school? What if he hurt them? He didn't hear any of the people around laughing. Was that a good sign, or bad? There was only one way to find out...

Eddie scrambled to his feet, turning to see the pair lying on the ground. Two?!? He knocked over two people! He silently cursed himself and ran over to them. One girl, one boy. Probably a couple, he thought.

“Shi... I mean, I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking at all and... uh... here...” The girl was finally untangled from her companion, and Eddie helped her up. He then reached down and helped up the second victim of his wrecking ball pace. “Again, I'm sorry. I'm just a little flustered from, uh...” He pointed his thumb back at the theatre. “Yeah.”

He turned and began to dart away, running from this embarrassing social morass. But after two steps he stopped himself. If this was to be how he started his tenure at Silver, then so be it. At least he was meeting people, right? He turned back around and smiled.

“I want to apologize, again. I didn't get your names... I'm Eddie. I'm new.”

[pinky]

Kaelyn finished warming up and was standing around watching others while waiting for her name to be called. When she was called she ran up on stage and gave her music to the pianist. "Hi I am Kaelyn Alden auditioning for any role and my monologue is the from Dialogues of the Gods and for my musical number I am going to be doing It's Delovely from Cole Porter's Anything Goes." She takes a deep breath and assumes a dissatisfied expression.

"In this scene I am Aphrodite speaking to Selene," Kaelyn states and then looks at a spot on the stage as if there were someone there. She runs her fingers through her long hair and flips it back over her shoulder with attitude. "So what’s this I hear, Selene—that you’ve taken to pausing the moon in the sky every night so you can gaze like a schoolgirl at this hunter, Endymion, while he sleeps? Sometimes, they say, you actually abandon your post and join him in his bed. Is this true? Yes, you can blame Eros, if you like. He's such a naughty boy, my son! He plays the same wicked games on his own mother, you know! First he smites me with an insatiable desire for Anchises of Troy, then before I can get my fill of that noble prince, he redirects my love pangs toward some Assyrian stripling or some Phoenician farm boy, and I’m off for Lebanon, Cyprus, Tripoli, like some crazed bitch in heat! It makes me dizzy! I can’t catch my breath! And worse, once I’m smitten, he doesn’t even leave the man to me, but makes some other goddess or mortal beauty in love with him as well, so that half the time I don’t get any satisfaction at all! It makes me so mad, I want to strangle the little devil! I’ve threatened to clip his wings and break all of his arrows—I’ve spanked his little bottom until I was blue in the face! He cries for a minute or two, promises never to do it again, and two seconds later he’s back to his games. But enough about me! I want to know about your new lover, Endymion! Is he handsome? Does he have fine, broad shoulders and a chiseled torso? That’s always a consolation in our humiliation—to have a strapping young warrior aroused to distraction by our charms. It certainly doesn’t hurt one’s ego." During the monologue she moved and emoted but never lost sight of the spot where in her imagination, Selene was reclining on a chaise lounge.

Kaelyn stopped and took a moment to shake herself free from Aphrodite and then nodded to the pianist. She had a sweet voice that nonetheless was strong enough to fill a theater. It was obvious she had received training for her breath control was perfection. She sang both parts which didn't phaze her at all though the lower registers of the males' lyrics were not as perfect as the ingenue's.When she was done, she thanked them for their time and left the stage slowly in case they had any questions. She hoped she would be called back for the dance audition if they were going to have one.

Leaving the auditorium she saw a bunch of people lying upon the floor and a boy apologizing. Once they were all standing again she smiled and went to stand with them. "Hi I couldn't help overhearing. I am Kaelyn Alden and I am new to the school too.

[Connor Pearce]

His Saturday had been surprisingly good so far. Connor managed to grab some great shots on the beach, and before he could lock himself up in his darkroom for the rest of the day, Julia called, coming up with a more fun sounding plan. Which was a surprise in itself, because developing photos was one of the things he enjoyed most, and two, video games weren’t his forte.

But, it was a blast. It seemed he wasn’t as bad at the game as he assumed he would be, though, he came nowhere close to Julia’s level of skill, the girl a bit...frightening when it came to fighting off orcs. The cookies were good too, and the gossip session. He liked to gossip, this being a well guarded secret of course.

“Other guys? Sure, there’s, um, some.” Connor answered with a grin. “But, even if there weren’t, Jere shouldn’t date him, he’s a...jerk.” Yes, if anything, the Irishman was a lover not a fighter. “And, hey! Thanks for the heads up on his sexual preference! I might have been interested.” he laughed. “He’s cute after all. Yeah, doesn’t really look like you. Kidding, I’m kidding!” he added, greatly amused. “If I was straight, I would be so over you.”

Though the day had been good so far, and it consisted of his best friend’s plans, Connor wasn’t sure that he was too keen about her auditioning. He’d heard her singing after all, bits and pieces, and it didn’t exactly have him convinced. “Uh, Julia, are you sure? Maybe you should just leave that to Jeremy?” he wondered aloud, but his worry went unheeded.

The audition wasn’t too bad, he thought. If you kind of blocked your ears a little. Seeing a panicked Julia rush out to him, he tried his best to console her, choosing not to point out the fact that he was against the idea in the first place. “It’s okay, it wasn’t all that b...” Before he could get much out, she plowed into him instead, dragging him down, and he both checked she was alright and attempted to disentangle their limbs. He hadn’t even spotted someone knock his friend. “See, you’re so lucky I’m not straight. Right now, all over you.” he whispered, trying to cheer her still.”

He only noticed Eddie when the boy helped him up, and from his apologising, gathered he was response for the spill. “Hey, it’s no problem.” he grinned broadly, that smile only widening when the other girl approached. Great, more friends for Julia. Not that he would admit that. But, more friends at the school would hopefully mean less time with Wynn. The guy seemed nice enough, Connor just still didn’t like how he treated his friend. “Nice to meet you both. I’m Connor, this is Julia.” he introduced them both. “Why do I feel like the odd one out?” Laughing, he elaborated further for the new kids. “I go to Gould. I just hang around here for the company, and occasionally the great cafeteria food.”

[Eddie O'Flaherty]

Eddie smiled. No one seemed pissed off! That was exciting enough, but on top of everything he was actually meeting some people. Not that he was shy, but he just didn't expect to be meeting people this way...

“Kaelyn, Connor, Julia. Nice to meet you.” Eddie extended his hand to each, in turn. Give a firm handshake, his dad always said. Make a good first impression. Well, second impression in this case, but it'll have to do.

Connor was already joking around, and that made Eddie feel a lot better. It seemed genuine, and not like that nervous laugh people sometimes got when they were uncomfortable. Eddie almost laughed, then caught himself. Didn't want to sound nervous.

“Gould? That's, uh, that's that other school, right? I think I was supposed to go there, but my mom's friend's kid goes here so that's where she sent me and, uh...” Eddie realized he babbling a bit. “Well, yeah. I go here.” He turned to Julia and Kaelyn. “I assume you two do also? I don't think I saw you today... it was my first day.” Okay, good start. Eddie was relaxing a bit, and he smiled again. Maybe he would make a few friends today after all!

[Julia Warner]

"Don't worry about it," Julia attempted to reassure Eddie. Now that she was on her feet again, she realized that he wasn't much taller than she was, and she wondered if he were perhaps a lower grade. "Don't listen to Connor, he only came because he wanted to laugh at our struggles. But if he even says one word about my butchering of The Phantom, I'm marching him straight to Gould's auditions." She fully expected him to comment on what she knew was a poor performance, but she did hope he would wait until they were alone before mentioning the depths to which she would sink to break up her brother and Jade.

Distress over her audition faded, replaced by curiousity over the two new arrivals. "So the two of you're new?" She looked from Eddie to Kaelyn. "And you still bothered to come up here on a saturday?" Brown eyes narrowed at the pair suspiciously, "So you're both auditioning, are you. You know, as my competition, I'm afraid I'll have to take you both out. Connor can vouch for my martial prowess, right?" She prodded her friend.

"But seriously, I don't think I'm gonna make it. Maybe I can be tech crew...or....or...or...you think they'll have an orchestra?" She brightened. That would be something she knew she would be able to make, if they had a live orchestra. The school musicals were never very consistent with that, however, and she hadn't heard anything. Perhaps she should ask Mr. Park, he would know.

"So where are the two of you from?" She wondered. Sometimes she thought she and Jere were the only people around who still lived in the house they were born in. Still, this meant she got to meet people from all over the country (and the world -- like Ireland!) and while that wasn't quite as good as traveling herself, she couldn't complain.

[pinky]

Kaelyn shook Eddie's hand and gave him a bright smile. She felt a lot more comfortable here with other theater folk. She listened to Julia and nodded when she asked if they were both new as they had both just said they were. "I have lived here all my life actually, but I have been going to school in Connecticut. This is a lot different from Taft so I don't know how things will work here. We always had an orchestra for musicals. From what I remember though South Pacific has a large chorus, so I wouldn't worry too much about getting a spot. Maybe you could work makeup or costumes. The lighting or soundboard is interesting too. I did lighting for one play when I was taking tech."

She smoothed down her skirt a bit nervously. "Julia,why are you so hot on being involved in the play? If that's too personal you don't have to answer me, I guess I am too curious sometimes. Comes with the territory, trying to work out motivations and all," Kaelyn's eyes were bright and inquisitive. "Connor do you do theatre over at Gould? Some of my neighbors go to Gould I think, though I don't really know them that well. Lost track of them since Middle School."

"Do we need to hang around here or will they post call backs tomorrow? I haven't eaten yet and I was thinking about going somewhere to grab something, preferably that has good milkshakes. Anyone up for it? My treat...." Kaelyn's allowance was more than generous and she could definitely afford to take some new acquaintances out to eat. "I could use some guidance on what are good places for students to hang out."

[Eddie O'Flaherty]

“Competition, huh?” Eddie laughed. “Well, I guess I'm flattered you think I could, uh, you know, play a girl. But I think you got the edge when it comes to that. So how 'bout you keep those fists to yourself!” He flashed Julia a smile. He liked joking around, and he felt like he hadn't had the opportunity for a few days. It was a long drive to California from Iowa, and there was only so much he could talk to his dad about. Cars, football, theatre, more cars... needless to say the radio helped a lot. “And yeah, I am new. I'm from Iowa, and yes, before you say anything that IS where all the corn is. Not potatoes.”

Eddie glanced around and noticed they were among the last few remaining outside the theatre. Auditions must be ending soon, which means in a few hours there will be either a list of callbacks, or hopefully a cast list. At least he had run into Julia, literally, otherwise he'd be home just waiting, and most likely driving his parents nuts. Eddie pulled out his phone. No call yet from his dad, who was picking him up. That was good, he wanted a little more time to get to know his new... well, friends, hopefully.

Julia didn't necessarily seem too down about the idea of not being cast, but Eddie felt like she was asking for reassurance anyway. “I'm sure you were fine. And Kaelyn's right. South Pacific usually has a pretty big ensemble, and high schools always milk that. I'd be more surprised if there were people that weren't cast. But if you play, yeah, I hope there's a real orchestra. What do you play?” Eddie felt a little jealous. He had always wanted to learn to play an instrument, but never got much further than basic piano, and messing around with his brother's acoustic guitar.

Kaelyn's questions to Connor also got Eddie curious. “Yeah, are they doing a show over there, too? I'd like to see what sort of show they can put up, see how it compares to us. Not that I've seen an us yet, or, uh, that's I'm even part of an us yet. But hopefully, you know?”

Kaelyn's invite was what Eddie was hoping for, though he didn't want to be the one to say it. Hanging out with some people would be just the distraction he could use right now. “Umm, yeah, I'm down for going somewhere, but, uhh...” Eddie pulled a Columbo, patting himself down looking for his phone even though he just put it in his pocket. “My dad's coming to get me here,” He pulled out his phone and flipped it open, “but he hasn't called yet. I'd like to take my mind off waiting to hear about the show, but uh, I guess I'd need a ride. Unless it's near my house. And I don't know anywhere, so I leave that up to the group...” Eddie realized he was grinning...the group. He liked that. Maybe California could be home.

[Connor Pearce]

“Oh, yeah, trust me, you don’t want to mess with Julia and her...martial prowess.” Connor told Kaelyn and Eddie, the grin spreading across his face perhaps not the most convincing. “Well, I’m sure she could probably hit harder than me, so she’s got that going for her.”

An orchestra sounded like a great idea to Connor, partially because he knew how much his friend rocked on the violin, and partially because, not that he would admit it, he didn’t rate her chances of getting a part in the music. Some people just weren’t cut out for singing, like himself. And he knew he wouldn’t have had the nerve to get up and perform. He didn’t think he was that bad of a singer, it was more of the singing in front of so many people that got him nervous. “Yeah, there should be an orchestra in it for sure. If not, we’ll just nag whoever’s in charge until they give in, that should work. Or just say Gould’s going to have one for their show. I can testify to that. And she plays violin, brilliantly. Not that I’m biased or anything. She is good.”

“Yeah, they’re doing a show too, at Gould. And thankfully for everyone I’m not involved.” he laughed, answering both Eddie’s and Kaelyn’s questions. And then he noticed how Julia was looking at him, and decided he really didn’t like that look. “Hey, don’t get any ideas now. I said nothing about your performance. It was....um...unique?” he struggled, thinking of a way to compliment it. “There is no way you’re going to get me up on stage. No way, stop looking at me like that. Stop thinking those thoughts!” Though he laughed, there were clearly nerves in the Irishman’s eyes.

It was a great relief to have a change of topic. “Milkshakes sound great.” he told Kaelyn enthusiastically, keen to get as far away from any stage as possible. “I can drive, my car’s just outside. It’s not problem. And I can drop you off home afterwards Eddie, if you want.” Connor grinned. Though he was pretty sure the other guy was straight, it never hurt to perve. And get a chance to quiz him, he still wanted to set Julia up, on at least one date. And Eddie seemed a nice enough guy.