Spotlight

The whole reason I was there starts a while back, 3rd grade to be exact. My mom signed me up for a theater troupe. Now, I was not happy about this. I threw a huge tantrum, but Mom had already paid, and there were no refunds. I don't know what I would have done if my best friend, Natalie, hadn't convinced her mom to let her join too.
Anyway, we both decided to actually try, not just mope around and be a set builder or something. So we did, and the director liked me. I got the main part, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. I was so happy. And Natalie was the Scarecrow. It was probably the most fun I ever had, rehearsing and performing. And Nat and I have been actresses ever since.
Now I'm fifteen, and so is Natalie. We have remained BFFs, and we do everything together. We were both at Broadway auditions for The Little Mermaid. I was auditioning for Ariel, and Nat auditioned for Flipper. They were going in alphabetical order by last name, and someone named Susan Baily had just been called.
My fingernails were stubs, after TONS of biting.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." said Nat, but I wasn't so sure. What if I messed up? What if my voice cracked on a high note? What if they found the perfect person before I even auditioned?
Now we were at Lisa Bellington.
"Seriously, you'll be fine."
"What if I mess up?" I asked.
"Then you don't get the part. There are lots of other shows."
"But... but..."
"Hey, if only one of us could get the part, it would be you."
"That is SO not true."
"It is! You're great!"
"Well... thanks..."
"You're very welcome."
Nancy Bluestien.
Maya Bobbs.
A girl named Isabel Bree caught my eye. She was blonde and wore a bright green tank top, jeggings, and dark blue heels. She was talking to one of the guys auditioning for Eric, the male lead. She tossed her long, flowing hair and giggled. I hated her already.
With each name that was called, my heart beat a little faster. I literally had to sit on my hands to keep from biting my nails.
Giggly Isabel was called, and she strutted in with a superior smile on her face. I could tell she thought she would get the part.
About 15 minutes later, she still wasn't done. All of a sudden, I heard my name being called.
"Lucy Brooks?"
"Um, yes? th-that's me..." I stood up.
"Miss Bree is almost done. will you please come to this separate waiting area?
"Y-yes, thank you."
God, was I really stuttering? I needed a good presence. I stood up a little straighter and walked confidently (or what I hoped looked confident) towards the lady who was talking.
"Hello, Miss Brooks. We would like you to sit in this special waiting area as it is almost your turn. Thank you."
She was very... to the point? She sounded like one of those robotic-sounding check out machines at the store. "Thank you for shopping at Shaws."
All of a sudden, I heard singing form the audition room. It was really good. Like, REALLY good. Could that possibly be ridiculous, giggly Isabel?
I peeked through the crack in the door. It was! The casting board looked stunned as they scribbled noted on their paper. I guess Isabel was competition, after all.
I listened in awe as Isabel sang. When she finished, I had to remind myself not to cheer and clap. Then I realized she was done. It was my turn!
I waited for Isabel to come out. She did, smiling like an idiot. And (naturally) she was strutting like she was the queen or something. Didn't that girl know how to walk normally?
I took a deep breath as I walked through the door, straight into what could easily make me famous, or infamous.