Meet Me at Stagedoor

Chapter 3

The theater was packed by the time the trumpet sounded at 9:00. By the second, students piled in the glass, double doors, taking seats in the chairs lining the room. Since only the students entering senior year or had just finished senior year were allowed to attend this class, there were roughly about forty students in attendance. All the younger campers were blocked off to be part of craft time and go horseback riding and all those other unnecessary activities, while the older students possessed schedules that were packed to the brink with intensive master classes, only for the best.

Weeks prior, each older camper had to audition for their spot. Actually, all the students had to audition, no matter their ages, but only when they reached almost mastery were they judged by professionals in the industry.

The theater was nice, small but a theater none the less. It didn't matter much since all the performances were held at the amphitheater for everyone to see. Chairs lined the walls, and all the natural light from outside was blocked by the curtains that draped over the windows. The woman at the front of the stage stood pacing the floor, her moves calculated and her chin held up high.

"Welcome everyone to performance studies. I'm Miss Keener, pleasure to meet you. You have already proven yourself as artists, surpassing all the hundreds of others that have auditioned for your spot," she paused before pushing her glasses closer to her face, staring down each and every member of the audience, judging their body language to their visual cues with only one glance. There was a few gasps at her name, recognizing her from the front of broadway playbills and movie credits. After receiving the highest honors the business had to offer, Miss Keener decided to pay her old camp a visit, carrying the title of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony winner behind her.

"Now the goal here is not to just have an easy summer, sitting by the lake and working on your tan. If you came to this camp to have fun, pack your bags right now. By the time this is over, you will be ready to enter the industry and if you aren't, you will never be."

The house lights were brought up as each face, still as statues as they tried to avoid their piercing glare, as Miss Keener examined each one of them. Her eyes squinted as she surveyed her first victim. "You," she said as she pointed to Bumper who was texting in the back of the room, "Sing."

Bumper looked like he was about to laugh, the corners of his lips turning upwards, "I'm not a student."

Before he could turn back down to finish his text, Miss Keener was already striding towards him, "Then act, put on a show. Dance, paint, play an instrument, pretend to be a monkey for all I care. Just do something, now."

Shying away from her glare, Bumper started to sing his first note. His eyes didn't meet hers as he tried to hide his phone behind his back. He didn't even get to finish his first word before Miss Keener screeched, "Stop! Hasn't anyone ever taught you proper posture. You can't sing if you don't have proper breath support. Get off your phone or get out of this class...and don't come back." Behind her, students raised their eyebrows at their friends, cautioning all others to remain quiet.

Bumper, taken aback, walked out the double doors, pausing as he saw a girl rush in. She tried to avoid drawing any attention but she was too late and was already the center of attention.

"You, there," Ms. Keener bellowed, "Sing." Beca didn't know what to do. Why do these things always happen to her. Jesse was being an idiot, like always, and was putting the dishwasher on while forgetting to use the dish soap. It took them an extra half an hour to finish everything. She couldn't wait to see the look on his smug, little face when he got called out for being late as well. He was going to be here any minute.

Beca narrowed her eyes at the lady in front of her. She recognized that sly smile and the way she carried herself. She knew the name rung a bell when Chloe had mentioned her before. Miss Keener wasn't supposed to be the one teaching them this year; it was supposed to be Maxwell Evans like it always had been. He loved Beca like his own daughter and she couldn't have been happier to have him as a teacher.

Miss Keener crossed her arms in front of her chest, her face taut with the tension in her muscles. So if that's the way she wanted to play it, fine. Beca was up for a challenge. She let the first notes ring out of her mouth, singing the melody to Titanium by heart. The words flew out without her even realizing the lights had once again dimmed and the spotlight was on her. Finishing the last note, looking Miss Keener straight in the eye, Beca smirked as the room erupted and applause.

Everyone at camp knew Beca. They probably would never speak to her since she was never the easiest person to strike up a conversation with at random, but it wasn't like people didn't know her name. Most of the campers had been coming for years, but no one had been coming as long as Beca and Jesse. Whether they started attending when Beca and Jesse were already sixteen or were only in elementary school, everyone knew who they were. They would usually have the most responsibilities when the shows began and the summer came to a close or they would be the ones that stood out in a crowd, giving out jobs to all the other campers because they had been doing the same things for years.

Apart from those interactions, everyone knew Beca and Jesse from whenever they would sing. From a young age, the two of them stood out from everyone else, their voices more trained and their dancing more precise. Their scales were always perfect and they would never shy away from being asked to take center stage to show the other campers what was expected of them.

It was no surprise Beca's melodic voice was easily much too superior for her age or that she sung the song perfectly, but it was still a treat to hear her sing. Most of the time now, she was just hunched over her laptop screen and not at the microphone. The other students looked from Beca's satisfied face to the look of astonishment that was etched on Miss Keener's face even though she was trying to hide it.

Beca wasn't backing down. Her blue eyes pierced through the auditorium, challenging Miss Keener. The teacher clearly picked the wrong person to call out. Really, out of everyone attending this seminar, what was the likelihood of choosing one of the most talented students to challenge? Finally, she was the one to first look away, going on with her lesson as Beca took a seat in the front row.

Beca just smirked as Chloe gave her a proud smile from the other side of the room. Miss Keener was now lecturing on and on about schedules and classes and whatnot when Beca heard the seat next to her move slightly as a body slid in the seat.

"So, what'd I miss," Jesse said, his eyes still on Miss Keener as she paced the stage. Beca could hardly believe him, turning her body away from him. "You gotta love back doors," Jesse whispered in her ear, a grin dancing on his face. Beca wanted to punch him.