1I feel like the anticipation built up inside me is going to suddenly overflow out my mouth. When I look at the bottom of the page, it almost does. I see my name jump out at me; it nearly leaps from the page. Emma Jordan. Relief and happiness pours through my body, and I smile.
It's not the exact part I wanted, but at least I'm in the play. I'm the cousin, the snooty mean girl. Not the star, but a fun role to play. It's only a school play, yet for some reason, getting in means so much more to me than it ever did before. I look over the rest of the page, more carefully this time. No Kelly, no Amanda. They'll be disappointed when they don't get in. I hope they won't take it too badly.
The other snooty cousin is Angelica. Type casting. I just hope the same is not true for me. I look over my shoulder: there's Kelly coming. I smile at her, she mumbles a hi. Disappointment floods her face when she reads the paper though. She says congratulations. I say she should have gotten in. Then I see Angelica.
She's strutting down the hallway toward us, her curly brown locks bouncing up and down in time with her pace. I try smiling at her too, but it doesn't really work. She ignores me, like usual. A sneer spreads like wildfire across her face, across her whole body, if that's even possible. Watching her is torture, so I turn and walk away with Kelly.
I walked home from school that day. Angelica rides the bus, and I didn't want her teasing me about her role. It was the one I wanted. Kelly and Amanda were with me, and we chattered and gossiped and did everything three middle school girls usually do. It felt weird this time, though. Something was different. I couldn't tell them all I was feeling, and I had to be careful about what I said. I might have hurt their feelings.
It was by no means a beautiful day. The sky was very overcast, and I was surprised it wasn't raining yet. When we reached my street, it started to drizzle, and the rain started to seep through my hair and clothes. Amanda got out the umbrella that she always carried with her. It was a special umbrella, that's the only reason she kept it. Kelly and I had made it and given it to her as a birthday gift in first grade. I know an umbrella is a really strange thing to give a seven-year-old, but Amanda is somewhat of a strange girl. She can always make me laugh, and that year, she asked for an umbrella for her birthday.
Anyway, this umbrella had a drawing of three girls - us. They were holding hands and smiling together. But as I watched Amanda and Kelly turn and walk off together, to their houses, I wondered if that girl was still smiling. It looked more like a grimace. I knew that umbrella could fit three of us; we used to do it all the time. I also knew that they could go by way of my street in the same amount of time it takes to go the other way.
The rain beat harder now, and I began to wish I had taken the bus. My hair was dripping, and I could hear my tennis shoes squelching as the water seeped into them. The rain blurred my vision, but as I finally reached my driveway, the downpour started. I hurriedly flew myself at the house, and Mom rushed me inside.
She told me to change out of my clothes and scolded me for not riding the bus. I didn't really care about the bus, but I did want to get out of my clothes. I went down to my room in the basement, and just put my pajamas on, not caring that it was just after three o'clock. I put my sopping clothes in the dryer, and then went upstairs again. Dad was home; he had lost his job about a month ago.
"I got the part," I whispered urgently. Dad was the only one in my family that understood how excited I would be. All the others liked sports or art or even piano, not theater. Dad's face wrinkled into a beautiful smile, an understanding smile.
"Congratulations," he whispered back.