Nick was a nervous wreck. His palms were sweaty and his voice was on the verge of cracking. Worst of all was his stomach. Nick felt as if he�d eaten an entire batch of raw cookie dough, all by himself.

He couldn�t understand why he was nervous. In his twelve years, Nick had tried out for numerous parts, winning quite a few. So what made this role so different?

A hand clamped down on Nick�s shoulder. For a moment, Nick thought he�d be able to shake off his worried. But the moment proved to be far too short.

�You know�you are the coolest friend in the entire world.�

Nick groaned. �Don�t, Lissie-Liss. Just don�t. You�re making me even more nervous!�

�Nervous? Oh Nickers, you have no reason to be nervous.� For a second, Nick thought Melissa was trying to sound comforting.

�When you become a Mousketeer, will that make me your Pluto?� Nope. I was wrong, Nick thought. Before Nick could answer her ridiculous question, Melissa took off- chasing after another auditionee.

When Nick originally found out about The Mickey Mouse Club auditions, he did his best to keep the news from Melissa. The last thing he need was the added pressure from the show�s biggest fan. But its hard to keep a secret from Melissa, especially when it concerned The Mickey Mouse Club.

When Nick made the callback for the final audition week, his best friend invited herself along. Melissa disguised herself as an auditionee, hanging out in the dressing rooms. Her goal for the week was to take pictures with every single kid trying out- just in case they made the final cut. She was in Disney heaven.

�Excuse me,� Melissa said, as she stepped up to a young blonde girl. Melissa extended her hand towards the girl. �Hi! I�m Melissa Baras.�

�Jessica Simpson,� the girl introduced herself. As she shook Melissa�s hand, Jessica asked. �You from Texas?�

Melissa looked at Jessica with a confused and surprised face. �How�d you know?�

Jessica nodded her head towards Melissa�s shirt. Melissa looked down. She�d forgotten her top read, �Don�t mess with Texas.� �Yep- Houston.�

�I�m from Dallas,� Jessica explained. �Are you auditioning? Because I�ve seen you hanging around the past couple days, but you haven�t been at any of the audition workshops.�

�I wish I was auditioning. But I can�t sing a note,� Melissa regretfully said, as she shook her head. �Nah�my best friend is auditioning. So I�m hanging out�trying to meet all the potential Mousketeers.�

Jessica laughed. �That�s cool. So who�s your best friend?�

�That one,� said Melissa. She pointed to Nick. He was standing restlessly in a corner, while Jane brushed his hair.

�Nick? Wow. He�s a really good singer.� Jessica commented. He warm brown eyes looked worried.

�Yeah, he�s pretty good.� Melissa agreed. �But his dance moves need work.�

�I�m not a very good dancer, either.� Jessica admitted.

�You want help?� Melissa offered. �I�m a dancer- and I was going to help Nick go over his steps before the final auditions.�

�You sure you want to help the competition?� Jessica asked warily.

Melissa leaned over to whisper into Jessica�s ear. �The other competition? No way. But you know us Texans. We help each other out.�

Jessica grinned broadly. �Okay. Let�s do it.�

�Nickers!� Melissa hollered out. �Come on! We�re going to go practice in the hallway!�

Eager to escape his nagging mother�s grasp, Nick jogged across the room to his best friend. �I owe you big time, Lissie. My mom is driving me insane!�

�Stage mother?� Jessica guessed.

Nick nodded, �I�m not sure who�s mom is worse- mine or Lissie�s.�

�I�d have to say they�re equally horrific,� Melissa stated. �Now let�s get out of here.�

Melissa led the way out of the dressing room and into the hallway. The linoleum floor was lined with auditioners and their mothers- practicing dance steps, running lines and warming up their vocal chords.

�Oh my Lord!� Exclaimed Melissa, as she smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. �I forgot to introduce y�all. Nickers- do you know Jessica?�

�Yeah,� said Nick. He and Jessica mutually nodded at one another. �We met in audition workshops.�

�Oh good.� Melissa sounded relieved. �So much for Southern hospitality. My mama would�ve killed me for forgetting to introduce y�all. She�s always nagging me about my manners.�

�Don�t worry about it,� said Jess. �It�s okay.�

�I�m just surprised you even invited Jessica along,� Nick said to Melissa. He turned to Jessica to explain. �MMC is Lissie�s favorite show. She�s more competitive about this thing then I am.�

�Well, Jess here is from Texas,� Melissa explained. �I gotta take care of my homestate gal.�

�Oh,� Nick said. He nodded his head, to show he understood. �I�m not surprised Lissie knows where you�re from. She�s got stats on every kid auditioning.�

�Stats?� Jessica questioned.

�Oh- you know�� Melissa said as she nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. �Where they�re from, what experience they have.�

�Wow.� Jess sounded impressed. �So who�s my main competition?�

Melissa rubbed her hands together, smiling happily. �Well- my number one choice is that little southern girl- Britney. She�s cute, and a great dancer. She can even do backflips!�

�But isn�t she kinda young?� Jess asked.

Melissa nodded. �That�s her biggest drawback. She�s two years younger than us.�

�What about my competition?� Nick interrupted.

�You have it a bit tougher.� Melissa admitted regretfully. �There are two other blonde-haired, blue-eyed young boys with potential. Ryan and Justin. You�re all talented. But the producers want a multi-cultural feel to the show. At least one of y�all will get cut.�

Jessica and Nick were silent for a moment, as the let the news sink in. After a minute, Jess spoke up. �Guys, I�m getting scared.

�So am I,� Nick admitted.

Melissa threw her hands in the air dramatically. �You guys! That is not the attitude you need to go into an audition. Y�all are cute and talented. You have nothing to worry about.�

�But we can�t dance!� Jess complained. She looked to Nick. �No offense.�

�Its okay. I agree,� said Nick.

�But you know what? Dance is the least valuable talent needed for this audition.� Melissa interjected. �I mean, of course you need some ability do dance- which both of you have. But you don�t have to be Madonna or anything. They can always stick you in the back during dance routines, you know. What they care about is whether you can sing and act. And that�s where y�alls� talent lay.�

Jessica wasn�t convinced. �Everyone here has so much more experience then me. Wasn�t that Britney girl on off-Broadway? And the others have Star Search appearances and headshots. Want to know what picture I included in my application? A Polaroid!�

Melissa clamped her hands down on Jessica�s shoulders. �Girl, you need to calm down. You�re getting flushed. Now, just breathe and listen to me.�

Jessica sighed and began to breathe slower. Melissa continued on. �I�ve heard you sing. God blessed you with an amazing talent. And he did it for a reason. That voice is going to take you somewhere in this life. You just have to believe in yourself first. Other kids may have more experience, or fancy headshots. But you�re just as good- or better- then them, without all that training.�

�I guess you�re right,� Jessica said reluctantly.

�Of course I�m right.� Melissa said. �I�m always right, aren�t I, Nick?�

�She is,� he agreed.

�Attention�� said a casting director�s voice over a loudspeaker. All the kids and mothers in the hallway stopped talking instantaneously. �Christina Aguilera- you�re up. Jessica Simpson- you�re on deck.�

Jessica gulped. �That�s me.�

�You�ll do great,� Melissa said, as she pulled her newfound friend into a hug.

�Thanks,� said Jessica, still sounding unsure of herself. �Will you come and wait with me.�

�Of course,� said Melissa.

�In fact, I think I�m up after you.� Nick added.

The stage where the auditions were being held was just off of the dressing rooms. Melissa, Nick and Jessica huddled together in the wings backstage. A tiny little girl stepped center stage. The accompanist began to pluck away at the piano. Christina opened her mouth and began to sing the opening lines of �Somewhere Over The Rainbow.�

At the exact same moment. Nick and Jessica�s jaws� dropped. Melissa had been prepared for what to expect. Christina was unbelievable.

�I can�t go up after that!� Jessica squealed.

�Sure you can.� Said Melissa. �She�s not that good- she over-exaggerates her singing too much.�

Melissa was trying to make Jessica feel better, to give her an extra boost of confidence. But it was useless. Even with Melissa�s highly practiced skill in lying, there was no denying how incredible Christina was.

�Jessica Simpson- you�re up. Nick Carter- you�re on deck.� The voice said over the load speaker, as Christina stepped offstage.

�Break a leg!� Nick whispered, as Jessica stepped onstage. But it looked as though all the luck in the world couldn�t help Jessica. She was shaking from head to toe, her face flushed beat-red.

Painfully, Nick and Melissa watched as Jessica struggled through �Amazing Grace.� She�d clearly frozen, forgetting lyrics and missing cues. It was hard for Melissa and Nick to watch their new friend fail so miserably.

When the song ended, Jessica rushed offstage crying. Melissa went to comfort the girl. But Melissa stopped when she heard a voice say, �Nick Carter- you�re up. T.J. Fantini- be waiting.�

Melissa turned to her best friend and wrapped him into a huge hug. They held each other for a moment- neither wanting to let go. Finally, Melissa whispered into Nick�s ear, �Go get �em, Nickers. I know you can do this.�

With pride in her eyes, Melissa watched as Nick stepped onstage and performed �Bridge Over Troubled Water.� She�d seen him sing the song dozens of times- at voice lessons and in his backyards. But this was by far the best performance yet.

Nick ran offstage wearing a huge grin on his face. He grabbed Melissa�s hands. Together they began to jump up and down in a circled. �I did it! You believed in me, Lissie. And I did it!�

�You did it, Nickers!� Melissa agreed. �They�d have to be fools not to make you a Mouseketeer.�

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