"Like this?" said a goofy-looking guy on stage before he began swinging his arms back and forth.
“Can you do something with your feet?” Keisha called from the auditorium seat next to hers.
“Sure!” The guy began kicking like he was in a chorus line.
Keisha hit a button on the boombox to stop the music. “Thank you,” she said. “Check one of the bulletin boards on Friday to see if you got a role.”
“I can sing too!” the guy said before launching into a toneless version of the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo.”
“Please make it stop,” Keisha whispered.
Mindy snorted and covered her mouth as the guy bowed and proudly left the stage.
“The boy has confidence,” Keisha said while shaking her head. “We’ve gotta give him that.” She looked up and down the aisle. “Well?”
Everyone shook their heads, including their teacher, Ms. Deville.
“Next up,” Mindy said, checking her list before raising her voice. “Faith Song.”
A girl with a long dark ponytail walked onto stage, followed by a carbon copy whose shorter hair hung loose.
“We’d like to audition together,” said one of them. “I’m Hope.”
“I’m Faith,” said the other. “Start the music.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Keisha said, seeming amused as she hit play.
The girls—twin sisters by the look of it—bobbed their heads a moment before launching into action. They began a synchronized dance routine that managed to convince Mindy almost immediately, but they were full of surprises as they picked each other up, twirled around, and even did handsprings across the stage.
“I want to dance with them so bad!” Whitney said, squirming in the seat to Mindy’s right.
“You’ll have your chance,” Keisha said over the music. “They’re definitely in!”
“Agreed,” Mindy said in awe. “We might have our Maria. Or Marias?”
“Let’s find out,” Keisha said, stopping the music. “Very nice. Can you sing?”
“No,” the girls answered in unison.
“What about availability?” Ms. Deville asked from the end of the row. “Are you in gymnastics?”
“We were,” Faith said.
“Last semester,” Hope clarified.
“Then we tried out for cheerleading team,” Faith continued, “but the captain turned out to be a real bi—”
“Hard ass,” Hope interjected before blanching. “Hard butt?”
“Hard nose,” Mindy suggested while stifling a smile. Her sister was the captain of the cheerleading team, and yes, Jessica could indeed be a bitch. But in a way that Mindy had a lot of respect for.
“So we have time after school,” Faith concluded.
“We’ll definitely be in touch,” Keisha said.
This was confirmed by an entire row of nodding heads. The auditions went on, but without any other breakout performances . They had found some competent dancers, but not nearly enough.
“Don’t get discouraged,” Ms. Deville said. “Musicals are always difficult to cast. I’ll coordinate with Mrs. Hammond, the choir teacher, for a larger pool of talent. For now, we’re off to a decent start. Great work, everyone. I’ll see you all tomorrow!”
Mindy gathered up her things and rejoined Keisha, who was her ride home. When leaving the building, they were laughing about the guy who did chorus line kicks. That’s when Mindy saw someone who made her blood run cold—Troy Mitchell, the jerk who had taken her on a date and gotten way too pushy. She still saw him in her Spanish class each day, but felt safer there than in the school parking lot, where he stood now… while talking to the twin girls who had just auditioned!
“Look!” Mindy hissed, pointing in his direction before she grabbed Keisha’s arm and dragged her back inside. “Did you see who that was?”
“Troy,” Keisha replied. “Don’t worry, girl. I’ve got your back. He won’t bother you.”
“But did you see who he was talking to?”
Keisha nodded. “The Song sisters.”
“Exactly!”
Her friend made a face. “Exactly what?”
“Do you think I should warn them?”
“Oh.” Keisha looked toward the exit doors. “I mean, they’ll probably figure it out soon enough.”
“But what if they end up in the same situation as me?” She remembered fleeing from his car, and how he kept driving it back and forth to block her path while insisting she get inside again. “I have to say something.”
“Yeah. You probably should. Let’s go.”
They went back outside again, but the scene had changed. Troy was gone. The Song sisters were walking away. Mindy hurried to catch up with them, calling out as soon as she was close enough.
“Hey!”
The sisters turned around but didn’t seem to recognize her.
“We’re with the theater group,” she explained. “We just saw your audition. It was great!”
The sisters perked up.
“Did we get the role?” Hope asked.
“Yes,” Keisha confirmed. “You nailed it!”
The sisters smiled at each other.
“When do we start?” Faith asked.
“Next week,” Keisha answered. “We’ll have a production meeting then and you’ll be part of it. I’m the choreographer, so we’ll be working close together.”
“And I’m in charge of wardrobe,” Mindy added. “I’ll make sure you both look beautiful on stage!”
Faith looked her over and didn’t seem entirely convinced.
“Sounds fun,” Hope said.
“Yeah.” Mindy felt her smile evaporate. “Hey, did I see you talking to Troy Mitchell a second ago?” When the sisters nodded, she continued. “I know he can seem nice, but he’s actually a creep. Trust me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Faith asked.
“That he can’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” Mindy explained. “I went on a date with him. It didn’t end well.”
Faith laughed. “Oh, you’re that girl. He told me about you.”
Mindy blanched. “He did?”
“Yes, and I won’t have the same problem, because I’m mature enough to handle such things.”
“Hey, I’m mature!” Mindy protested.
“Then you should mind your own business,” Faith replied. And with that, she turned and walked away.
Mindy stared after her in shock.
“See you next week,” Hope said sheepishly before following her sister.
“Yeah,” Mindy managed to reply. She turned to Keisha. “What the hell?”
Keisha grimaced. “Hey, at least you tried.”
“I wish I hadn’t,” Mindy said, glancing in their direction. Then, at the top of her lungs, she shouted, “What did he say about me?”
“No,” Keisha said, leading her away. “I get it, but that’s not going to help. You know what will?”
“An extra-large portion of french fries?” Mindy suggested.