Nerd Loves Boy (Boy Meets Nerd #3)

Chapter 6

The first time I ever saw a play live and not on a screen was when my parents took Cameron and me when we were fresh in our teen years on my thirteenth birthday to see Matilda on tour in San Diego. We had both been really excited, me a little bit more than her since it was my favorite children's book at the time and I can still remember just how excited I actually was, all the way down to wearing a red ribbon in my hair just like the character. A subtle way of cosplaying it I guess. I still had the playbill with the autographs from the cast in a scrapbook at home and sometimes I'd take it out to look through it for the hundredth time. So to be invited by Trish to help her with the auditions on Thursday was a probably the most exciting thing next to going to see a play since it's behind the scenes of the production. I didn't really know how the casting worked exactly so I was a little nervous about how it was going to go down. I assumed my part was just to entertain Trish whenever she got bored of the auditions but I kind of hoped I would be doing just a little bit more than that.

I agreed to meet Trish later today when she texted me earlier in class if I would mind coming to the auditions. She told me to meet her at the auditorium a couple of buildings down from our dorm and I double checked the map of the school I still carried around in my bag just to be sure I knew where it was exactly. After classes and having lunch with Mitch because he was abandoned by Jace for the library and I was abandoned by Trish for the writing session she had with her writing group, we grabbed some pizza and got a little distracted when we discovered a small arcade in the pizza shop and were almost late to classes because of our goofing around. Once the day was over, I went back to the dorm to drop off my bag and freshen up a bit before leaving again to go to the auditorium, my stomach feeling weird from how nervous I was.

I had never been inside the auditorium before, not even during the tour we were given of the school when I first moved into the dorm with Trish. I kept telling myself to remember to take a peek inside just for fun but I never got around to doing just that. Now was my chance apparently and I was both excited and jittery. I called Cameron earlier today to tell her about the auditions and we talked for a bit before she had to run off a few minutes later. She sounded distracted the entire time we were on the phone and I was afraid that I had interrupted something important but she didn't mention anything about her being busy so I carried on with our conversation until she had to go. She wished us both luck on the auditions and told me to make wise decisions. I sure hoped any decision I made tonight was wise but I hoped that Trish would be handling everything.

When I did make to the auditorium, I expected to get lost before I even made it to the entrance but when I walk inside, a woman sitting at the information desk smiles as soon as she sees me and tells me that Trish is already waiting inside for me. I thank her, never actually catching her name before she dashed off, and make my way inside to the seating area. As soon as I walk inside, I let out a small gasp at just how big the entire place is. I crane my neck to look up at the incredibly tall ceiling that looks to be made out of cherry wood with detailed carvings that expand in a huge circle in the middle. I glance over the many chairs lined in red velvet colored fabric with the carpet being a deeper shade and the same cherry wood lining the edges of the chairs. The banisters on the second floor are made out of what looks black iron twisting together to create a never-ending pattern all across the front of the first row from one side of the wall to the other. The stage is probably the biggest one I've ever seen in my life with long red curtains hanging on either side and the lighting hanging from the top casting light onto the stage where I see someone auditioning for Trish who sits a few rows back from the stage watching. I can hear the person's voice from the back of the auditorium but I'm still too amazed at the scene all around me to focus on what's going on with the audition.

After a minute, I'm finally able to stop gawking at everything and make my way towards the aisle of seats where Trish is sitting. The girl on stage finishes up reciting her lines and waits for Trish to say something about her performance.