Chapter 4
(The next week)
I sat in Trigonometry, trying to figure out a problem, when the intercom came on. "What�s up y�all?" came a falsetto voice. "This is Chris Kirkpatrick from Nsync! I�m here to announce the people that signed up. Teachers, if your student�s name is called, please allow them to leave class and go to the Choir room." I looked around me and saw girls crossing their fingers underneath their desks. "Wow! This sure is a long list! I wonder if the choir room will be able to hold all these girls!" One by one their names were announced. I went back to my problem. "Brittany Mandrake, Ashley Milano, Natalie Mole, Alyssa Monson, Jan Nole. . ."
"What!?!" I exclaimed when I heard my name announced.
"Miss Monson, you�re excused," Mrs. Simons permitted.
"But. . . I didn�t sign up for it!" I exclaimed.
My teacher only shrugged. "You can go down and tell them that."
Sighing, I gathered my stuff and walked into the hallway. Although I had no idea where the choir room was, I figured it was probably safe to follow the crowd of screaming girls. I walked into a room that was packed with girls and I was barely able to fit in.
"We will now begin," I heard a male voice announce. "We will call your names one by one. When your name is announced, please come through this door and we will begin. So, first is Amy Anderson." A small red-haired girl made her way through the crowd, jumping and screaming as she followed Justin into the small room.
I sat down on the floor and began to work on my Trigonometry problems and began working on them.
* * * * *
"Natalie Mole!" I heard Lance announce. A screaming girl with blonde hair made her way through the crowd.
You�re next! I told myself. I could feel my heart beat quicken. Why are you so nervous? It�s not like you�re going to audition. You�re just going to go in there, tell them you didn�t sign up, and leave!
Barely breathing, I watched as the door opened and Natalie stepped out. I then closed my eyes, not wanting to hear the next name. "Alyssa Monson," I heard JC call. Sighing, I stood up and made my way to the front of the room. When I got there, JC looked at me. "So, it�s you," he said. "This ought to be good!" I walked in and heard JC announce, "Hey guys it�s the girl we saved from the fight!"
Chris, Justin, Lance, and Joey looked up from their papers. "You didn�t save me from it, you just delayed it!" I said as JC took his seat.
"So, are you ready to apologize to me, yet?" Justin snickered.
"Dream on!" I exclaimed.
"Why did you decide to try out?" Chris wondered. "Let me guess, you wanted the chance to see me again!" Anger began to run through me as I began to remember what Chris had said to me before.
"I didn�t." I said.
"What do you mean?" Joey asked.
"I mean, somebody else signed me up on that sheet!"
The guys rolled their eyes. "Yeah right!" Lance said, sarcastically. "Who was it? Casper?"
"I don�t know, all I know is that I didn�t sign myself up!" I informed them.
It remained silent, and then Justin spoke. "Since you�re signed up anyway, can you at least audition?"
Sighing, I said, "What have I got to lose?"
"Alrighty. Please answer these two questions truthfully. Question number one," Chris said. "How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
"Last question," JC said. "Do you know sign language?"
"Yeah," I answered.
They stared at me with disbelief. "Y-You do?" I nodded.
"Sign something for us, then," Joey urged.
Sighing I signed, "What do you want me to sign?" Their mouths were open. "What did you say?" Justin asked.
"I asked you what you wanted me to sign."
"Cool!" Joey exclaimed.
"Are we finished, now?" I asked.
"Not quite yet," JC said. "Now you have to sing a song."
I stared at them in disbelief. "Sing?" I repeated.
"Yeah. You have to sing an Nsync song," Lance reminded me. "So, which song are you going to be singing for us?"
"I�ll only sing if I have the CD singing with me!" I said.
"Which one?" Chris asked, holding up a CD case.
"The �Nsync and Britney Spears, Your #1 Requests. . . And More!� CD please."
I watched as Chris searched through the CDs until he found the orange CD. He then popped it into a nearby CD player. "Okay, which song?" he wondered.
"�Are You Gonna Be There?�" I sighed. I watched him skip to track number two. Here we go! I thought to myself. The music started and I began to sing. "If I was down, would your arms lift me up to higher ground, with just the strength of your love? If I was lost, would I find something in your eyes to lead me home? And if it all went wrong, would you be there to hold? It�s easy to be there through the good times, but when the times get hard, will you stay or walk away?"
* * * * *
I had finished the song and all five men were staring at me, open-mouthed. The CD switched tracks and "If I�m Not the One" was now playing. Finally the men snapped out of their trance and Chris turned the CD off. "Am I finished, now?" I wondered.
"Uh. . ." Lance said, thinking. "Yeah, you can go back to your classes!" As I exited the room, I could feel their eyes on my back.
Glancing at my watch, I was astonished at how much time had gone by already! We had thirty seconds of school left.
Deciding that I wouldn�t go to science, I headed for my locker. As I began to open it, the bell rang. I hurriedly got out everything I needed and began to walk out of the building when someone stopped me. "Get out of my way, Matt!" I exclaimed.
"Hey, I was just wondering how your little audition did," he chuckled.
"You!" I said, narrowing my eyes. "You�re the one who signed me up!"
"Brilliant deduction, Scooby!" he snickered. I wanted to lunge at him, but I remembered I had told my aunt I wouldn�t be starting any unnecessary fights.
"Excuse me, I have to be somewhere in like five minutes." I pushed pass him and his group of girls and exited.
"Alyssa! Wait up!" I heard someone cry. Turning around, I saw five men running towards me. Realizing who it was, I turned back around and began to head towards my bug. "Alyssa! Wait!" they called once again.
They caught up to me and began walking with me. "What do you want now? You�re about a week late to stop me from fighting!"
"Really?" Chris said. "You don�t look like you had a fight with a guy."
"That�s because I beat him up!" I said, stopping infront of my bug.
"Cool car!" Joey complimented.
"Thank you," I said, unlocking the door.
"Hey," Lance started, "about the audition-"
"What about it?" I wondered, looking at him.
"I was just wondering where you learned sign language," Lance stated.
"Oh," I said. I thought they were going to make fun of my singing. "Um. . . I learned it from my. . ." I paused. They stared at me with one of those from-your-what looks. "From my mother," I answered in a whisper. My eyes began to water. I quickly sat in the car and started the engine.
"Are you okay?" Justin asked, sticking his head through the window that I had left rolled down.
"Couldn�t be better," I lied, pulling out of my parking spot. As I drove away, I noticed the five men watching me leave. "Why do you have to get so emotional whenever somebody mentions mom?" I asked myself. This question repeated itself over and over again in my mind.
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