Auditions by Pickle13 (3A)*

When I walk into Christ Community Church for auditions, I can instantly sense the nervousness in the building. I look around and there’s kids everywhere pacing back and forth, or sitting and standing, twiddling their thumbs, or bouncing their knees uncontrollably while sweat runs down their anxious faces and goose bumps pop up on their shaking arms and legs. Some of them have already auditioned, and their faces are full of grateful relief. The faces of the kids who haven’t auditioned yet are drained of color.

I take a sip of my ice-cold caffeinated tea, hoping that it’ll give me energy for my audition and that auditioning is not as bad as these kids are making it look. I watch nervously as one of my friends walk up to the stage to perform their audition. I crunch on an ice cube and swallow hard as she starts singing. I can almost taste the salty sweat in the air.

I listen closely as one by one my friends go up and sing their hearts out to the directors. They all do really well which only makes me feel scared that I might not do as good. After each audition, the audience applauds and whoops as loud as they can. When the clapping dies down, there’s silence. Then the directors call out the next number.

The smell in the auditorium gets worse by the minute. With all these kids going up on stage and dancing so hard they can barely breathe, the B.O. is terrible. I try my hardest not to smell so much like body odor by drenching myself in Sweet Pea body spray, and adding a new layer of deodorant ever five minutes.

Finally, I’m sitting on the hard benches in the front row waiting for my number to be called. I slip my feet out of my flip-flops and I dig my toes in to the velvety soft carpet. Suddenly, I hear my number being called. I make my body move up to the stage and I can feel all eyes on me now. The fans on the ceiling blow a light breeze across my face. I clasp my hands above my head to begin my dance--they’re cold and sweaty. Then, I begin to sing and by the time I’m halfway through I don’t feel nervous one single bit.

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