| Alex and Marnie approached a large building with a small sign that simply said �Orlando Academy for Junior Performing Arts.� They walked inside to find kids standing around, reading scripts. �Looks like everyone is in audition mode,� Alex smiled. He led Marnie to a group of kids in the corner. �Hey guys!� Alex waved. �Hey Alex! All ready?� asked a girl with long black hair. �Think so,� Alex smiled. �Guys, this is Marnie. Marnie this is Rosemarie,� she pointed to the girl with the black hair, �Deana, and Anthony.� �Nice to meet you Marnie,� Rosemarie smiled at Marnie. �So, you think you got this down?� Anthony asked. �Hope so,� Alex sighed. �Marnie�s been helping me out with the lines.� �Do you act Marnie?� asked Deana. �Uh, no, but I know Shakespeare by heart.� Marnie smiled. �I figured that Marnie could check things out here, maybe do some side work,� Alex smiled. �Well, any friend of Alex is a friend of ours,� Anthony winked. Marnie breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time, she felt comfortable around people. She felt like she belonged. A man walked inside. �OK, for everyone auditioning for Romeo, will you please follow me?� �This is it,� Alex sighed. They walked to the stage, where they had a seat. The man went on the stage and took out a clipboard. �OK, first up, Alex McLean.� �Break a leg,� Marnie smiled. Alex went up on stage and took his script out. He took a deep breath. �Um, OK.� �Whenever you ready Alex,� the man took a seat. Alex looked as if he froze. Marnie looked at him worriedly. She remembered something and went into her bag. �Psst!� Marnie whispered. Alex looked down at her. Marnie held up a picture of Cindy Crawford she found in a magazine and winked. Alex smiled and began his speech. When he finished, people clapped around him. Deana, Rosemarie, Anthony, and Marnie stood up and clapped. �Very nice Alex,� the man said. �OK, next�� The auditions continued, and the man stood up. �OK, the cast list is here and I�ll read it aloud and give you the rehearsal schedule. For Benvolio�� The man continued his list, reading the parts one by one. �For Juliet, the part will be played by Deana Bolsario!� The group gave her a hug as she went up on stage. �And for Romeo, the part goes to Alex McLean!� Marnie and Alex jumped up as Marnie gave him a hug. He went up on stage and shook the man�s hand. �OK, you know the schedule. Thank you all for coming. The rest will be ensemble parts. Later everyone." Alex jumped off the stage and ran to Marnie. �Thank you so much for helping me out.� �It was all you. I don�t need to be thanked.� �Yes you do! If it wasn�t for you, I would�ve looked like a real jerk up there.� �Congrats Alex,� the man came up to them. �You were wonderful.� �Thanks John,� Alex shook his hand. �Oh, John, this is Marnie. Marnie, this is John Hetherington, the director of the Academy.� �Nice to meet you Marnie,� John shook her hand. �Alex told me you were his coach for the audition.� �No, it was just helping him go through his lines,� Marnie shook her head. �I was telling Marnie about the Academy, John. Thought she could do some good here,� Alex added. �Do you act?� John asked Marnie. �No, I�m too shy.� �Well, I could use an assistant stage manager for Romeo and Juliet. And the way you helped Alex, more people could use the help too. Think you�d be interested?� �Um, yeah, I would be interested,� Marnie smiled. �Great! Here�s the schedule. I�ll see you both next week for rehearsals.� John left the two of them. �Wow,� Marnie sighed as Alex gave her a hug. Part IV Contents Part II |