Erin woke up one morning. She stretched and placed her feet on the floor. She was five three and had chin length light blond hair. She had baby blue eyes and rosy cheeks. Erin had natural makeup but still wore it all the same. That morning was special. She was going to try out for CATS, the Broadway musical. She stood up, her long flannel bottoms dragging on the floor and her big “Will Work for Food (and $230,000 a year)” shirt that went well past her knees. She shuffled into the bathroom to washup and take a shower. She appeared out of the bathroom a good hour after going in. She had a yellow striped towel wrapped around her body and a blue towel around her hair. The phone rang and she picked it up. “Hello?” she had a melodic voice and the voice on the other line was a raspy male voice. “Hi love-bug!” Erin’s face had a look of distaste. “Don’t call me that.” she said firmly. The man continued talking. “Lover, wanna go to a movie today? Maybe spend tonight in my car?” Erin grunted and told him firmly. “No, for three reasons. A. don’t call me lover or love-bug. B. I have an audition today. And C. I don’t like you.” there was a pause before the voice continued. “Aw..comon Erin...” she snapped back “no, Lane, I’m not talking to you anymore. Now goodbye!” she slammed down the phone and walked into her bedroom. She lived in an apartment on the 3rd floor of The New Grant Apartment Building. It had a bathroom, bedroom, small kitchen, and a living/dining room. She changed into a blue leotard and black biker shorts. She put some jeans and a tank-top over that. She grabbed her jacked and put on some shoes and headed out the door, grabbing her keys before exiting.
When she got to the theater, there were dozens of people trying out for different parts. She hung her leather jacket up on a hanger and went to a desk where a fat lady wearing a red sweater was sitting and writing something on a pad of paper. Erin walked over to her. Her name-tag said “Mrs. Elaine Willburten”. Mrs. Willburten looked up. “Name?” Erin replied promptly “Erin Wattson” Mrs. Willburten wrote it down. “Part?” Erin sat down “Victoria” the interview went on for a while before Mrs. Willburten handed her a number. “Go sit down over there.” she pointed to a seat where a brown haired girl and a black haired boy sat. Erin walked over and sat between the boy and the girl. They were both about her age. The girl had a round face with a mess of brown hair that poofed out from her face. She had large brown eyes and a smiling mouth. They boy was thin and his hair was parted to the side. He had small black eyes and a small mouth. He smiled at her as she sat down and the girl instantly introduced herself. “Hi! I’m Melissa Troy. And this is Evan Grant. I’m trying out for Jemima and he’s trying out for Mistoffelees.” she smiled some more. The boy nodded. “What she said.” Melissa was defiantly outgoing. “Who are you?” Evan asked. Erin looked back to him. “I’m Erin Wattson. Trying out for Victoria.” Melissa frowned. “Good luck.” she pointed to a thin giddy, bleached blond model-like girl who was flirting with some boys. “Stephanie Baj. She’s also going for the part. She’s a dits, thinks she’s the best because she was the head cheerleader in highschool AND college.” Evan had remained quiet the entire time. He was lost in thought and was oblivious to everything around him. Melissa continued to point out people. “And THAT..” she pointed to a medium built boy who was thin but muscular. He had brown hair and a long face. “Is Quincy Pearkens. Tumblebrutus. He’s already auditioned and he’s Good. With a capital G!” Erin looked him over. He was kinda cute. So was his friend standing next to him. A blond boy who was slightly chubbier than Quincy, but had a handsome face. Erin stared around the room before Melissa got up and left. Erin wondered where she went before she saw her on the stage. Singing “Memory”. It was pleasant to hear and Erin hoped that her new friend would get the part. “NEXT!” Evan elbowed her. “That’s you” he whispered. Erin thanked him and stood up and walked to the stage, shedding her overclothes and heading out onto stage. She sang part of the Jellicle ball before going into the solo dance of Victoria. She wobbled a bit on the first move, but as soon as she got the hang of it, her confidence grew and she finished with an almost perfect finish. The man sitting in the audience seat nodded and moved onto the next person. She met up with Melissa and Evan and said goodbye after getting their phone numbers.
The next week Erin was performing her usually morning routine when the phone rang. She picked it up and nodded...a smile broke out on her face and she gave a shout of laughter. She hung up and finished her routine with much more Oomph than usual. She headed for the theater and was delighted to see Evan standing there. Talking to a giggley girl with frazzled strawberry-red hair. Erin walked over and introduced herself. The girl was Wendy Stamp. She played Etcetera. She pointed out a tall, black haired, skinny man. She giggled some more. “That’s Jeff Nandome. He plays the DREAMY Tugger!” she pretended to swoon. Erin laughed and Evan managed a smirk. She looked around for people she knew. Quincy was there with his friend. There were various people standing, sitting, talking, laughing. It was a motile group. Suddenly Melissa burst through the doors and bounded towards them. “I GOT IT!” she shouted at them! Erin placed her hands on Melissa’s shoulders. “Whoa, calm down, we’re aware of the fact.” she said it in a serious voice, but she was smiling. “Melissa, this is Wendy, Wendy Melissa.” Melissa pumped her hand. “Pleased to meetcha!” Wendy gave the same, if not more, enthusiasm in the return greeting. “Likewise!” Evan whispered to Erin “I see a great friendship happening.” Erin nodded in agreement.
They all gathered in the main theater, a man who had watched their auditions walked onto stage and hushed everyone up. “Quiet!” he shouted and everyone fell silent. He cleared his throat. “Welcome, I’m Thomas Fank. The director of this production. You have been picked from many people to be a part of the production, CATS!” there were some cheers before they all settled down again. Erin noticed a lady standing by the door. She was on the older side, with grey hair and slightly wrinkled skin. She slipped into the back row and listened. Thomas continued the introductory speech. They all filed into the reception room for refreshments. Mrs. Willburten stood up and shouted over evryone. “Practice starts in two days at 9:00 AM!” everyone nodded and Erin met up with Evan, Melissa, Wendy, and a nother man. He had brown hair and sober eyes. He wasn’t TALL, but he was defantly taller than Evan. Wendy introduced him. “This is my friend, Bryn Jakenson. He plays Macavity/Plato.” Bryn nodded. “Hullo.” he looked to the floor and Wendy went on to introduce them. “Bryn, this is Evan, Melissa, and Erin.” Erin and Bryn’s eyes met and they stared at eachother for what seemed like an eternaty. They were broken apart by Melissa grabing her and Evan’s arms and dragging them out the door, Wendy following, hanging onto Bryn’s arm. They walked to the Coffee Shop at the end of the block. They sat down at a table close to the window. It was a circular table and Erin sat across from Bryn. The waitress came up to their table and took their orders before going into the kitchen to get it. when she returned, they got their meals and started talking. "Aren't you excited?" Wendy blurted out. Erin could tell that she was bottleing it up. Melissa nodded vigerously. Evan nodded his head slightly, but Erin and Bryn didn't say anything. Melissa nudged Erin in the ribs and winked. Erin blushed and looked down. Evan pulled out the program and read off the names:
Alonzo/Rumpus Cat- William Phillips
Bustopher Jones/Asparagus/Growltiger- James End
Bombalurina- Heather Bakke
Cassandra- Sarah Hunn
Coricopat- Stephen Monta
Demeter- Amy DeCreep
Electra- Hanna Ken
Etcetera- Wendy Knight
Grizabella- Devyn Saw
Jellylorum/Griddlebone- Christine Cooper
Jennanydots- Susan Hanna
Mistoffolees- Evan Grant
Mungojerrie- George Winston
Munkustrap- Jerrie Banes
Old Deuteronomy- Kenneth Goode
Plato/Macavity- Bryn Jakenson
Pouncival- Ernie Lunt
Rumpleteazer- Samantha Yen
Rum Tum Tugger- Jeff Nandome
Sillabub/Jemima- Melissa Troy
Skimbleshanks- Richard Wakes
Tantamolie- Casey Montago
Tumblebrutus- Quincy Pearkens
Victoria- Erin Wattson
Erin Smiled. "You have a nice reading voice." Evan blushed "Thanks." Wendy giggled. "after all that, and listening to him for a week, you just now realize that?" She lauged and Melissa shot a wierd look at Erin. Erin straightned up and looked away, out the window. Bryn, who had not said anything at this point, looked out the window as well. "look at that." he said as he pointed to a flock of pidgons. all of them were grey, except a black and a white one. the Black one was attacking the white one fiercly. they flew off and the white one fell, dead. a boy came out from the shadows with a slingshot and started laughing. Erin clenched her fists. "What a mean thing to do!" Wendy put a hand on Erin's shoulder. "it's just a bird..." she said quietly. Erin shruged the hand away. "Just a bird? JUST A BIRD!" her face turned a slight shade of red. "that bird was a living, breathing creature, just like you and me!" Erin was defantly upset. Bryn stood up and walked over to her. Erin nearly collapsed when Bryn sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "She's right, you know. It was just a bird. it wasn't like he killed a person or a cat or a dog. there are many more birds. it probably woulden't of lived much longer anyway." Erin nodded slowly and Evan looked at his watch. "We should be getting home...we have a long day tomorrow. Everyone meet here tomorrow at noon." They all nodded and Bryn offered to take Erin home.
On to the NEXT PART
Ewwww, take me home, PLEASE!
