Hairspray

Chapter 1

FAIR WARNING: THERE IS A BIT OF LANGUAGE IN THIS STORY

Astrid awoke to her sister singing. She groaned in exasperation, but got up and got dressed anyway. Today, she wore her favorite black poodle skirt, and a black-and-gold blouse. She wore shaded glasses (sunglasses) so that no one could see her eyes. Astrid's eyes were a bit of a sore point for her. When people saw them, she often had to endure them making her out to be a freak. She stared at them in the mirror a bit and then put on her shades. Slipping on her shoes, she sprinted outside just in time to catch the bus. Looks like Tracy would have to get another ride. Again. Ah, oh well, she thought. Astrid watched, amused, as her sister hitched a ride on a garbage truck. Laughing, she turned away and napped the rest of the way to school.

She was shaken awake by one of the students on the bus. Thanking him, she went out to wait for her sibling. Snickering as her sister made them both late to class again, Astrid grabbed Tracy by the arm and dragged her to first period with Miss Whimsey. Astrid was nearly asleep once more when she heard her teacher snap:

"Ms. Turnblad, how many times must I talk to you about inappropriate hair height?" Opening her eyes, Astrid chuckled as she watched her sister get in trouble once again for her hair. Their teacher snapped her head in Astrid's direction.

"And you, take off those ridiculous glasses." She screeched. Astrid looked up.

"No." She replied and then continued with her assignment.

"Are you disobeyi-" Ms. Whimsey started.

"I am not and will not be taking off these glasses." The teacher looked taken aback by the girl's sharp tone, but soon recovered and gave her detention. Astrid chuckled, unsurprised by the teacher's reaction. This happened every day, like clockwork. Astrid kicked open the door to the 'special educational' class, hollering:

"I'm back~!" She laughed as the music came on from the radio, blaring her favorite songs.

Later on, after school, Tracy was dragging her sister and her friend, Penny, to their house so they could watch the Corny Collins Show. Astrid didn't know what their obsession was with that show and, frankly, didn't really care. As soon as they got in the door, Astrid ran to her room and Tracy turned on the TV. The older girl (by two months) shut the door and sighed. She hoped that Tracy would at least be quiet for a bit. Just then Tracy and Penny screamed. So much for peace and quiet. Astrid turned on her radio and decided that now would be a good time to complete her homework. However, that didn't go very well when she fell asleep again. She really needed to catch up on sleep.

At dinner, Tracy brought up an interesting prospect.

"Hey, Astrid, how would you feel about auditioning for the Corny Collins Show tomorrow?"

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"Why, oh, why did I think that this was a good idea." Astrid muttered as they were ushered into the studio the next day. A woman's voice rang out.

"Dance step, cha cha cha, side step, front step, back, and turn." That must have been Velma Von Tussle. Tracy started fanning herself.

"Oh my god, Penny, there's Link. Penny pinch me!" She said. Penny pinched her.

"I can't believe I'm really here auditioning." Tracy squealed.

"I can't believe I'm really here watching you audition." Penny replied.

"I can't believe I really let you to talk me into doing this." sighed Astrid, pinching her nose.

"Astrid, you have a better chance of making it in than I do! You are so much better than me." Tracy encouraged. Her sister shook her head. The woman started to sing something about being Miss Baltimore Crabs. It went something like this: