The Greatest Show

Chapter 2: How in the world?

Annabeth POV

Just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, Apollo's eyes scanned Percy Jackson standing on the left side of the auditorium. Honestly, I was having a great day at least relative to my standards. After all, any day that didn't start with me arguing with my step-monster, Helen, was a good day. Even school passed by quickly and successfully. I learned new things and aced my AP World History exam. 

Contrary to my classmates and friends, I liked school because I always welcomed learning something new. My immense curiosity complemented my intelligence. I hated not knowing things. 

I was pumped by auditions time, and I knew I did well singing Never Enough. I took great pride in how hard I worked to sing this masterpiece of a song. And, based on the audience's reaction, I knew I delivered. People were used to seeing me at auditions because I've been playing some lead role ever since middle school thanks to my acting and vocal skills. 

"Annie, that was one of the best renditions of Never Enough I ever heard besides the original of course," exclaimed my friend Piper as she bounced in her seat. Piper McLean was a natural beauty of Cherokee ancestry. However, why I liked Piper so much and why we got along so well was that she didn't care about her looks or the fame she got from her father, Tristan McLean, a famous actor. But, it did make sense that Piper would be a great actress and solid singer based on her family history. 

"Aww. Thanks, Piper. Your audition was amazing as well. I'm sure you are gonna get a part with Jason. Also, how many times have I told you to quit calling me Annie? I hate that name."

Piper just chuckled before speaking up again: "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't irritate you. Anyway, I might have a chance at playing Anne, but you are the definite choice for Jenny Lind. I mean no one else even came close to your audition."

"Thanks again, Pipes. There is a lot of talent here, so I guess we'll see." I tried to be as modest as possible, but even I was confident that I did what I had to do in order to snag the role I wanted. Jenny Lind was the role I desired because she was complex yet successful despite not coming from much support. I guess I connected with that. Plus, Never Enough was THE SONG for me. 

Just when I thought auditions were over and we were packing up to leave, Apollo called Percy Jackson onto the stage. I didn't like Percy very much. I mean fine he was a great swimmer and no one can deny that he was attractive, but he was a trouble maker. He didn't care for academics at all, he fooled around or slept in class, and he went around dating girls just for the physical experience, which many times ended with the girl getting hurt. I guess Percy wasn't a player (he never crossed that line), but he wasn't considerate in his relationships either in my opinion. 

Grover, our backstage coordinator, was talking to and setting up the mic for Percy as he got prepared to 'audition'. As far as I knew, Percy was not a singer or an actor, so this was definitely going to be something. He seemed extremely nervous and panicked as he read through the lyrics on the sheet in his hand. His hands were slightly shaking as he clutched the mic with one hand and the lyrics with the other. 

"This is gonna be hilarious," Thalia said as she pulled out her phone and started filming. I couldn't help but smirk at my best friend's actions. She was the punk-rock type of girl, but we clicked regardless of how different we were. What can I say, she was the balance I required in a best friend. 

"All righty. Dustin, why don't you sing the part of young Barnum and the auditionee will enter where old Barnum would." Apollo ordered. This was actually very good news for Dustin because it showed that the freshman was practically set for playing the role of young Barnum. 

A Million Dreams was considered the easiest song to sing, which is why most students auditioned with that song. It was structured so that a younger male voice (young PT Barnum) sang first, but he got older throughout the song. Then, the older male voice (old PT Barnum) would take over, and the song ends with a male/female (Barnum and his wife, Charity) duet. This was a good idea by Apollo because it would allow Percy to listen to the song once more before he had to sing the tune himself. 

"All right, let's go." The music and song started. Dustin was a fair singer, but his voice still needed time to mature because he was physically younger than most of the other students here, which was another reason why young Barnum was a good fit for him. Miss Artemis also readied herself at her own mic to sing the female part of the song. Percy seemed ready enough as well but still panicked and nervous. Honestly, I felt a little bad for him; I mean he was basically jumped to audition and I was partly to blame. 

The music swelled as the first chorus hit. It was a really beautiful and uplifting song about dreaming up the future you wanted. Grover was giving gestures to Percy to get him situated. I assumed he would cue Percy at the right moment. Everyone was watching the scene in front of us with interest wondering how grim a 0-experience, swim jock was going to-

All thoughts blasted out of my head as Grover gave the cue and Percy started to sing. It was unbelievable and indescribable. I mean Percy Jackson, the immature swim jock, had a damn solid voice. His voice was low and baritone, more of a theater voice than a pop voice, but a great singing voice regardless. A silence fell over as everyone listened and watched him sing all the whilst thinking: how in the world. Even his expressionism was on point. How his face would smile at a few words or his eyes would sparkle at certain times. He had mesmerizing sea-green eyes that only became more eye-catching when he sang and expressed. His eyes even closed when the lyric demanded it like when he sang "to the world I close my eyes to see." 

Miss Artemis faltered off in order to let Percy finish the last chorus alone even though it's supposed to be a duet. His voice gained in strength and confidence as he went on, and it was a better, smoother ending than it was in the beginning. DAMN, he was good. I had to admit I was impressed by his voice and expressionism. 

The music died and the song ended as Percy finished the last verse in dialogue form like the song demanded. The auditorium filled with silence as people just stared at the surprise auditionee in front of us. That was certainly not what anyone was expecting. As annoying and bold Apollo was at times, he did have an ability to sniff out talent.

"Um, I'm sorry if that was bad. I can leave now, right? Thanks," said Percy into the mic before walking off stage to grab his bags. I gaped at how stupid he was. One, how could he think that he was a bad audition. And two, he didn't even seem to care, which was straight infuriating. So many people would love to have his skill, but he didn't seem to know or care. I watched as he left with Grover in tow. Poor Grover was probably gonna get an earful from his currently flushed/annoyed friend. 

My attention turned back to Apollo as he thanked everyone for auditioning. I knew that he was impressed as were Miss Artemis (a music and dance teacher like Apollo) and Mr. Bruner (Goode High's acting teacher).  

Thalia, Piper, and I were bustling about what we experienced as we made our way to Piper's car. To be honest, the lead role of PT Barnum was between Luke and Jason, but Percy with a lot of work could also make a great fit. However, Percy didn't want or care for the musical, and as such, someone like him definitely shouldn't get the role. Percy would end up sabotaging everything. 

I cared a lot about Goode High's productions as well as my own acting and singing. I could NOT have someone like Percy distracting and/or ruining my performance. 

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Hello everyone,

I really hope you guys are enjoying this story because I am very excited to be writing it. I have a lot planned for this fanfic and for these wonderful characters. This is my first Wattpad story, so please bare with me as I figure things out. 

I implore everyone to check out The Greatest Showman and the Percy Jackson novels. Please read, vote, and comment because that would greatly motivate me to continue these stories. Plus, I would feel really happy :)

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