Limitless: The Second Edition

Oliver

"What the hell are you doing here, loser?" comes the taunting voice of one of the jocks.

Another big guy steps up beside him. "Aww, lookie here. Tiny Tim thinks he's gonna be famous!" They both laugh at me, and the first one shoves me against a wall, nearly knocking me off balance. The other one kicks me in my crooked, paralyzed right leg and steals my crutches, causing me to fall to the ground.

"You don't belong here, you freak," the second dude jeers me. "Good luck getting to the audition without your crutches. You ain't getting them back."

I just sit there on the ground, trying not to cry and feeling completely defeated. "Give me my crutches back, Nolan," I say, trying to sound tough.

The jerk quarterback laughs again and holds my crutches even further away. "Sure, if you stand up and walk to me."

I've had enough of these guys calling me a loser, and I certainly am not going to be the part. Using the wall, I pull myself to my feet. I attempt to take a step forward, but the second I try to put weight on my right leg, I fall immediately, causing the two bullies to point and laugh.

Just when I think I'm going to miss my audition, the principal emerges from her office and sees the two football players screwing with me.

"Nolan Granger and Patrick Jackson!" she shouts angrily. "In my office. Right now."

"But Principal Warner, we need to go to practice!" Patrick protests, sounding like a toddler.

"You aren't going anywhere but my office, Jackson," Principal Warner replies sternly. "Nolan, you too. Give Mr. Carowski his crutches back this instant."

Nolan rolls his eyes and throws my crutches on the ground next to me. I slowly pull myself to my feet, brushing the dust off my jeans.

My bullies reluctantly trudge into the principal's office, with her glaring daggers into their backs. Once she's sure they've actually followed her orders, Principal Warner turns back to me. "Are you okay, Oliver?"

I shrug. "Yeah, I'm fine. I better get to my audition."

"I hope you get the lead role, Oliver. The main character of Chain Breaker uses crutches just like you. You'll be perfect." She looks around, then back to me. "And by the way, those two are getting suspended for a week. I'm sick of seeing them beat you up all the time."

I smile at her. "Thank you, Principal Warner."

She pats me on the back. "Don't mention it, Oliver. Now go to your audition, and good luck."

I make my way into the auditorium. I'm five minutes late thanks to those two horrible humans. Hopefully they'll still let me in.

The director, Ms. Dawson, looks up from her paperwork and smiles at me. "I was beginning to worry," she says with a kind smile. "I was about to go looking for you."

"I'm so sorry, ma'am," I apologize. "Some guys tried to beat me up. They stole my crutches again."

Ms. Dawson shakes her head and sighs. "You don't deserve any of that nonsense, Oliver. Come on up. I want to hear your audition song."

"You're not going to turn me away for being late?"

"Why would I ever turn you away for getting bullied by a few guys who were on a severe ego trip?"

"I don't know." I slowly hobble up the ramp and face the director. I've actually prepared two songs from two different musicals. I want to be on top of my game. I just want to be an actor. But nobody wants a disabled actor.

"What song are you going to sing today, Oliver?" Ms. Dawson asks sweetly.

I offer her two well known songs from two of the most popular musicals on Broadway that will showcase my full vocal range. I can go down to the highest of the bass notes, but I can also go into the lower end of the alto range.

Ms. Dawson puts her hand on her heart, obviously impressed with my wide range. "My goodness. You're more prepared than anyone else today. And you're my last audition of the evening, so why don't you do both?"

I clear my throat, take a deep breath, and begin singing my first song. I focus on the emotion and dynamics of my voice. When I'm done, Ms. Dawson motions for me to sing the next song. I do, hoping that I'm not overdoing it. But singing a song about a guy who just wants to be accepted is one of my strong suits. Been there, done that.

After I'm finished, I feel obliged to take a bow. I gather both of my crutches in one hand, position my bad leg behind me, and bow slightly. Ms. Dawson begins clapping furiously.

"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!" she cheers. "You have such a soulful voice. You would be perfect for either of those roles. I'm so glad you decided to try out. You're a senior, aren't you?"

I nod. "Yeah. It was now or never."

Ms. Dawson pulls out the chair next to her. "Come. Sit. Unless you have to go."

My mom said she'd be late picking me up, so I decide it can't hurt to chill with Ms. Dawson for a while. I make my way down from the stage and over to the table, where I sit down next to her.

"Do you take voice lessons?" she asks me, writing something down in her notebook.

"I do, actually. I'm a tenor."

Ms. Dawson looks over at me. "Why aren't you in the choir, then? They'd be blessed to have a singer like you."

I look down at my leg. "Some of the popular girls who make fun of me are in that group," I reply. "I don't want to give them any more chances to put me down."

Ms. Dawson looks over her glasses at me. "I want you to know that you will never have to deal with that in this group, Oliver. No one will ever make fun of you here. I want you to know that I am definitely putting you in this cast."

"Do you have half the roles casted already?" I question, managing a small laugh.

Ms. Dawson taps a finger on her papers. "This was one of the easiest castings I've ever done, Oliver." She cocks her head to the side, thinking. Then she stares me in the eye. "Actually, I know exactly who I want to play the lead role of Enso in this production."

"Who?"

She points at me, and my heart skips a beat. "You."