act o1, scene o1 :: the invisible girl
"Hey, have you heard?" Joel elbowed her on the way to class, moving out from his locker like he was executing a stealth strike. "Stacy's going nuts. Turns out she didn't know that her BFF Mona was jockeying with her for lead in the 42nd Street production the seniors are doing." He mimed wiping sweat from his brow. "Can you say 'cat fight?' Because oh my God, I was lucky to have survived until break."
Audrey rolled her eyes and laughed softly. It was the appropriate response, even though she didn't feel like giving it. Broussard's was still the same; students had their petty competitions with one another for leading roles, trying to catch the eye of talent agents by upstaging each other, somehow sabotaging others to make themselves stand out. To Audrey, though, it had all taken on a surreal quality. She was an observer, someone looking in on this bizarre drama, no longer a principal actor in it. She might have lost her voice, her one, major talent, but life went on.
The world didn't care whether you did what you wanted to or not.
Joel, Katelyn, and Lise were walking with her to class, once her guard of honor and trusted friends, now they seemed more like sentinels against her hurting herself, taking out her frustrations at losing her voice on herself. Audrey wanted to tell them that they needn't have bothered, but knew that this would cause more drama and for the moment she was apathetic. She wasn't a part of that game anymore. Someone else could stir things up.
"...right, Audie girl?" Lise snarked her way, trying for a smile.
Audrey had missed half the question and pretty much the whole joke, but she grinned along anyway. "Yeah, you bet. Hey, um, I'm gonna hit the bathroom before class. I'll catch you guys later."
She waved them off, and spent several minutes holding her hands until cold running water.
It shouldn't be so hard to readjust to this. It really shouldn't.
"Haven't told her yet, I see." Joel's voice sighed through the hallway. Audrey slowly shut the door to the girl's room behind her, curious. Joel sounded like he had something on his mind, and Audrey knew that you didn't find things out just by asking people these days. Nope, nobody wanted to tell the sick girl anything because they figured she had enough problems already. So she's just have to take matters into her own hands.
A snort. "Hey, lay off, alright? I'm waiting for the right moment." Katelyn's voice. Audrey edged closer, careful not to make too much noise from her position between the lockers.
"Oh yeah, the right moment to tell Audie 'hey, honey, I swiped your part-- sorry, sweetheart, but your voice is just no good and I've had my eye on it, too'?" Joel made a sound of displeasure. "You should have told her when you were auditioning for it. Now everybody's feelings are gonna get hurt."
Audrey felt her stomach curl into itself. No way. She'd known that something would have had to happen to her part, but she'd thought that maybe they'd cancel the production. Have someone lip sync to a recording of her. It all seemed so dumb now when she looked at it, but even though it was logical, understandable, probably the best thing, she still found it hard to keep her balance.
"It's show biz. The best singer gets the part. Up 'til now, the best has always been Audrey. Forgive me for trying to shine a little on my own now that our resident sun has supernova'd herself out. Beside, Audie would have done the same thing if our roles were reversed, am I right? She'll do anything for a lead."
Would she? Audrey didn't know. Most of the parts she'd wanted had come to her because she'd practiced her heart out for them. She hadn't had to compete like this.
"Just be gentle. That supernova's had a rough one."
"That's why I'm not telling her, idiot. Geez, Joel," Katelyn teased, "you make me sound like a villain or something. I'm just doing what everyone else wants to. Can we be happy that I finally have a lead?"
Joel laughed, slow, then sighed. "Alright, alright. Congrats, Kate. But tell her, okay? I've had enough drama for this week."
"Next week, then."
"You're terrible."
In the distance, the bell rang and her friends ambled off to class. Audrey felt the press of people cram past her, the floor vibrating with the pounding of shoes on the way to class, but she couldn't move. It wasn't until after the last of the students slipped into their classroom with a late slip that she finally found the strength to pry herself off the floor.
