Swish

.04

"You need to go up higher on the harmony, V. It sounds off key, are you sure you're focused?"

I was focused, alright. On a pair of devilishly handsome green eyes and silky smooth skin that would feel just like butter if only I reached out and touched it, or maybe even licked it-

"V?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah I'm focused. Sorry. Maybe I can just go back to doing the melody? We all know that I'm terrible at finding the harmony anyway," I pleaded with my best friend, Hazel.

It was thirty minutes into our second theater practice of the week, and while most of the theater department had gone back to their dorms for the night, I had decided to stick around until the very last minute to squeeze in some extra practice.

"But your part is supposed to- okay," big sigh, "how about this, we can ask Mrs. Fleming if we can swap characters. Does that sound better? That way, you can have that huge solo in the middle and you can stick with the melody."

"Are you sure, Haze? You were kind of looking forward to that solo," I asked her, knowing that our production of Les Miserables would be the most talked about play of the year, considering it was our penultimate showing.

We would have talent managers and scouts in the audience, searching for the next Idina Menzel or Kristin Chenoweth.

"I am sure. You have no idea how stressed out I've been this entire time, and we all know that the only reason you're not playing a bigger part like Fantine or Eponine is because you let me take the spotlight this time anyway, but I feel like 'I Dreamed a Dream' is too low for your register, 'On My Own' really shows off your crazy belt."

My cheeks heated with her praise.

"Yeah but you kill it on that song, what if-"

"Hey! Do I get a say? I say Hazel's idea is bomb and you should just do what she says."

I rolled my eyes playfully at Bea, her sharp eyes carefully watching the scene unfolding in front of her.

"Yeah, two against one. Okay it's decided. Let's take it from the bridge of 'One Day More'."

I rolled my eyes, Hazel's red hair pushed behind her ears as she began singing, and I soon followed her lead while she took over the character's parts who weren't there, and then it was my turn to croon the lyrics about a man never seeing her there in the first place.

Huh. How fitting for my current situation.

"Okay guys, now kick up the volume at the end since there's no chorus here," Bea said from her spot at the piano, joining in with the big crescendo at the end.

I decided to use my upper register and ascend in my falsetto to the highest note for the ending, Hazel taking the middle note and Bea going low.

Raucous applause sounded from outside of the theater room, the door of which had been propped open and standing outside of it were none other than Maddie and Patrick with awed looks on their faces.

"Holy shit! If your band sounds as good as that, your party is going to be amazing! What was that song for? It sounded really...theatrical!"

I giggled to myself at Patrick. My friends were total theater snobs so they were probably about to tear into him about how Les Mis was one of the most popular and award winning musicals of our time, and had they seen Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway?! But to my sheer and utter amazement, the two girls in the room were slack jawed and wide eyed which only fueled my confusion.

"Uh, it's for our autumn showcase, its from the Broadway play Les Miserables, they turned it into a movie back in 2012," I told him, still wondering why my friends were acting like total basket cases and not saying a word but I decided to introduce them anyway.