Walt E. Disney High

Chapter 16

ARIEL'S POV

After I finished my homework, I rushed to the theater, filled with jitters. I made sure to stop in the bathroom to fix my hair and put on some lip gloss, making myself look presentable for two hours of rehearsal with Eric.

I entered campus for the second time that Friday, heading straight for the theater. Aurora was already there, walking dreamily around the stage while Ms. Terpsichore, Ms. Calliope, and Mr. Scar conversed quietly.

The dance teacher looked up as I walked in and her face split into a grin. "Ariel! How are you?" I smiled as I walked up to the stage to join Aurora, replying to Terpsichore happily.

"Are you ready?" Aurora asked as I threw my bag backstage, walking out to join her.

I took a breath. "I don't know. I think so," I said quietly, wiggling my fingers to start warming myself up. Philip arrived shortly afterwards, greeting me and then sweeping Rora into a kiss. I looked at them wistfully.

Finally, Eric arrived, walking down the row with his blue eyes twinkling with his smile. "Sorry I'm late," he said, pulling himself onto the stage with ease.

"Quite all right, Mr. Caspian. You still have a minute to spare," Scar said, giving a rare smile and putting on his glasses to read his notes.

"All right, everybody, hello and welcome to the first leads rehearsal!" Calli, the choir teacher announced, clapping her hands. "Today we'll be working on the finale of the show, including the songs 'You're the One That I Want' and 'We Go Together.' Obviously we don't have all of the stage props and sets, but we will work on the energy, acting, and singing today. We will mostly work with Eric and Aurora, but Philip and Ariel will get to run it a couple times. We'll switch you up sometimes too. Remember, as understudies, you are supposed to be paying attention and learning. Sound good?"

We nodded and my stomach jumped at the thought of being paired with Eric for part of it. Especially during these songs since Sandy is so...provocative.

We began by singing the first song, all of us, with just our scripts and the notes. Then Eric and Aurora sang it together, and then me and Philip. Then we moved on to do the same thing with We Go Together, but it was a little more difficult since it was more of an ensemble song. All of us had trouble with the gibberish we say, so we practiced that a bit before going off script as much as possible. Now was time to work on the acting.

Aurora and Eric ran it through, Aurora working on being "sexy." My face burned and a knot formed in my stomach at the thought of her seducing Eric, but I reminded myself that they both had relationships; she had Philip and Eric had Vanessa. So what did I care that she was pretend seducing him? It was just acting.

Then it was my and Philip's turn, and I couldn't stop blushing. Being sensual was not my thing. Philip kept laughing happily at me, saying, "It's all right, Ariel, it's just acting." I nodded sheepishly and tried to take a deep breath and start over, but it just wasn't working.

"All right, this isn't going very well. Let's switch things up a bit," Terpsichore groaned, holding her forehead. "Ariel go with Eric, and you two lovebirds together."

Philip and Aurora giggled, immediately latching on to each other. I glanced at Eric, pushing my hair behind my ears and my heart pounding furiously. He smiled at me.

"Ariel and Eric, go first. Ariel, you've got to let yourself go! Feel the music!" Mr. Scar said, taking off his glasses and massaging his temples. I bit my lip and nodded, taking another breath.

I walked to my place off stage and shook myself, closing my eyes and then stalking onstage. I tried to channel Vanessa, who is always sashaying around with her hips swinging.