Let The Games Begin

With auditions looming around the corner and two friends not speaking the tensions are high. Attitudes must change before their lives do... Which will happen much sooner then Maddy and Mike think...

 The two friends had not spoken since the fight in the library. Rather they walked to their classes alone without making the slightest eye-contact. Both being incredibly stubborn, neither one of them wanted to be the first to speak to the other. Maddy however, had other girls to sit with. She sat and ate lunch with one of her close friends throughout the week.

Mike on the other hand, sat alone. He had his nose buried in Gray Matter by Josh Weckesser. He only had the week to fully analyze the character Seth, to get the monologue's point across properly. He also had to make sure he wasn't over doing it, which was the more difficult part. There wasn't much else to do. Since Maddy wasn't speaking to him he only occasionally had conversations with people other then Phoebe.

When Friday came around, the day of the auditions Maddy was picking out her outfit, saying her monologue to herself without any sort of emotion just to make sure she had it in her head when her phone rang.

“Hello?” she answered, not bothering looking at the name that had lit up on the front of it.

“Are you two talking yet?”

Recognizing the voice of Elana on the other end. Elana was a mutual friend of both Maddy and Mike's from theater. An aspiring director, Elana was the only one who listened to both Maddy and Mike's side of the story and tried her best not to choose sides.

“Nope.” Maddy replied, still looking at which dress to choose. The white one, or the green one. She was relieved that this was the hardest decision she would have to make of the year other then what classes to take. “If he wanted to speak with me he would have by now.”

“You and I both know he is entirely too immature to apologize for anything.” Elana sighed on the other side of the phone. “And he hates not talking to you.”

“What has he said about me?” Maddy asked, now lifting the white dress over herself and looking in the mirror. She knew Elana would tell her, no matter what she promised him because at the end of the day, they were better friends that Elana would ever be with Mike.

“He just keeps talking about how he doesn't want you to hate him.”

Maddy dropped the white dress and now put her full attention into the conversation.

“Bullshit he knows I don't hate him.”

“Maybe you could tell him that at the audition tonight. He's actually really concerned.”

Picking the white dress off the floor and examining it again, Maddy's lips slowly curled into a smile.

“Maybe I will tell him after...” She said slowly laying the white dress back down on the bed and folding the green one up. “I mean, I have so much anger in me. So much raw emotion. I can use it to my advantage in the auditions tonight.”

“You actors are heartless.” Elana replied. Maddy couldn't really tell if she was being serious or not.

“You're still and actor too honey.” Maddy reminded her. “You don't get to just declare direction.”

“Yeah, yeah I know.” She sighed again. “Too bad I won't be there tonight. I'd love to watch his audition and see how he does with the pressure of everyone watching.”

The auditions were open. Which meant you would perform for each director in front of everyone else in the theater. Each actor would get on the stage one at a time and recite a monologue for each show and end with their song and monologue for Beauty and the Beast. Not only are the eyes of every director judging you, but every theater major and auditionee in the theater.

“Why did you sign up for Sunday anyway?” Maddy asked, now on the search for shoes to match the white dress she had just picked out.

“Less people, less pressure. Not to mention I have no interest in any of these shows. I just want to find a show to direct for SAG and be done with it.”

Maddy sighed. SAG was the “Student Acting Group”. Their shows were decent but nothing compared to the Main Stage shows. Elana though, had her heart set on direction, not acting and Maddy just had to face that they weren't going to see as much of each other.

“Well I got to go darling. I promise to make up with him when my audition is over.” Maddy promised. They said their goodbyes and hung up as Erika walked through the door. She was in shorts and a tanktop. Her blonde hair was still a little wet from just showering and her makeup was done.

“Hot.” Maddy said, turning her flat iron on.

“Funny.” Erika said looking into her mirror on the other side of the room. “I am about as ready for this audition as I am to get my wisdom teeth taken out.”

“You're going to be fine, just breathe.” Advice Maddy gave to anyone who was going through a hard time. “Beauty is a big show. And you're a wonderful dancer. I am sure you'll get cast.”

“Yes but you didn't your freshman year.”

“I survived didn't I?” The two girls looked at each other and smiled. This was true.

“What are you wearing?” Erika asked Maddy.

“White dress and I think the red pumps.” Maddy said, still looking in closet. “But I'm not sure yet.”

“I was thinking of wearing my little black dress.” Erika said, brushing her hair and still looking in the mirror for some imperfection to fix.

“Now why would you do that?”

“Because it looks good on me.” She quickly turned around. “Why?”

“I don't know. I just don't think black fits your personality. Or the musical. Here.” Maddy picked out a yellow dress from her closet and flung it across the room to her friend. “Wear this. It's more innocent and more you. Not to mention Beauty is not the sexiest of the princesses.”

“Do you think yellow is too suggestive?”

“No, not at all. Yellow I think describes your personality, which you want to do at an audition. Show them who you really are.”

Erika smiled over at her friend who was now pulling out a pair of black heels instead of the red pumps she was talking about a minute ago.

“What would I do without you?” She asked smiling. Maddy smiled back.

“Fail miserably at life and live alone with cats.” was her reply.

Over in Old West Mike was just about ready to leave. His hair was brushed and washed, teeth were cleaned, and shirt and nice pants were already on. He reached for his phone, to text Maddy to meet him outside so they could walk together. The second he plugged her number into the message he remembered they were no longer speaking to one another. It was okay though. He figured it would all blow over soon. And it wasn't like he was spending the weekend alone. Phoebe was coming tonight with a gift for him. She would be here by the time his audition was over.

Slowly Mike grabbed his green binder with his music and monologues, he took a deep breath and thought of words Maddy would say to him before every audition...

“You're going to be fine. Just breathe.” And walked out of his dorm room alone.

The Paul Green Theater was nowhere close to full. Only three or four rows of students were filled. Even though it was hardly full the theater itself was intimidating. There were only two theater's on campus, the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theater; which served as a more intimate stage since it was a Black Box theater, and the Paul Green Theater. Green sat at least two thousand people easy, and it was only fitting to audition on the main stage for the Main Stage shows.

The deep red, velvet curtains were open and the stage was bare. The floor of the stage had been painted black after the last show of the year before and looked perfect and clean. There was a spotlight on center stage and slightly left of center. All eyes were really on you when you went up there.

The directors were a few rows back. There were five of them, each with clipboards ready to decide the fate of this round of auditioners.

The Chair of the department, and Katie's dad Tony sat in the middle of the five directors. He had long black hair to his shoulders but and embarrassingly obvious receding hairline. He was a very thin man, and looked even smaller sitting next to his enormous wife. His face was clean shaven, which was strange because he usually had a little mustache growth.

His wife, Amelia was sitting to his right. Her bright red hair was pulled back tightly into a bun. She was a heavy woman, but the kindest of the five directors. She always wore dresses and extravagant jewelry. A real Broadway diva back in the day.

On her right was another redheaded woman, Jillian, who happened to be Andrew's mother. She was also a heavy woman, but not nearly as sweet as Amelia. She was much more refined then Amelia and much older. She was always cold even on the warmest North Carolina days, so she often wore sweaters and coats.

To the left of Tony was the dance instructor and fourth director, Angelica. She was a very pale woman and spoke broken english. She was originally from Russia and was incredibly strict when it came to dance. When it came to acting though, she always let people take their own creative liberties since she was more of a dancer then anything. She was slender and a bit on the older side, but a very nice lady when the day ended.

The last director was the most hard to impress and, unfortunately the director of Beauty and the Beast. Dr. Donald Gero. He was the only one out of the five that made his students call him Dr. He was a short man with grey hair always perfectly in place. His speech was impeccable and was impossible to impress.

Maddy and Erika walked in to see two identical twins already sitting in the audience, writing out their audition sheets on their binders. One in red, and one n blue.

“Julia and Maria Rosa.” Maddy whispered to Erika. “Dancers like you. And a year above me. But they might get cast in Angelica's show because of it. Don't worry.”

Erika and Maddy approached the five directors. Dr. Gero looked over at the two of them and smiled. His dark brown eyes could pierce your soul. Maddy shuddered slightly and hoped he didn't see it as she handed her resume and headshot to him.

“Good luck ladies.” His voice was deep, also incredibly intimidating. The girls smiled and took their papers.

Their papers game with a white felt square with a number on it. The number was then written on the sheer that was handed to them and pinned onto their clothes. As the two were pinning the number on themselves Mike walked in. For the first time since the library, Maddy and Mike's eyes met and suddenly every last emotion that was in the both of them elevated. They both quickly turned away. The girls sat next to the Rosa sister while Mike walked up to Dr. Gero for his audition sheet.

“Thank you sir.” Mike said, trying to hold his composure as he handed his headshot and resume to the Dr. Dr. Gero just nodded and Mike went to find a seat. He strode past Maddy like she wasn't there, and sat on the opposite side of the row.

As people filled in Maddy explained who they were. Eventually Tony got up from his seat and walked up to the spotlight.

“Welcome all of you, to the Main Stage auditions!” There was really no need for any sort of microphone. His voice boomed in the practically empty theater as no more then two hundred terrified students. “As you all since most of you look pretty familiar I am Tony. I along with three of the other directors will be directing the Main Stage plays which will take place at different times during the year. You will only be cast in one Main Stage show if cast at all. You all prepared monologues for each show and a song for this year's musical Beauty and the Beast directed by Dr. Donald Gero. I'd like to personally thank Collin Guru for giving his weekend up to accompany all of you,”

Collin Guru was a Piano performance major. He was dressed in all black, his dark hair parted perfectly to the side. He took a small bow ad everyone applauded him and sat back down at the baby grand piano on the stage.

“You all can leave when you are finished, or wait for your friends... I really don't care.” He continued. The room laughed. Everyone really liked Tony. He never made anyone feel less superior. “Just be sure to state who your monologues are for.”

Julia Rosa was the first to go, followed by Maria. They didn't take very long. You had to prepare a one minute monologue for each director and one song. Each audition took ten minutes... tops. Erika walked onto the stage with as much fake confidence she could muster up. She was the only freshman auditioning on the first day.

“Hello, my name is Erika and I will first be performing the Mistress Page monologue from Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor for my Much Ado About Nothing audition.”

Erika went on and was very good for a freshman. She ended up finishing strong with singing “Not For The Life of Me” from Thoroughly Modern Millie, a part she had played a senior in high school.

“Thank you!” She squeaked with a new found confidence as she walked off the stage. Maddy clapped the loudest for her, and strode on stage as Erika exited.

“Hello there, my name is Maddy and I will be performing-” She did everything right, from the introduction of each monologue to the movements she practiced. She used the stage, her movements weren't parallel. All she could hope for was that she didn't seem like she was acting.

“My last monologue for the Beauty and the Beast audition will be Rita's monologue from Thanksgiving in the Wilderness by Kellie Powell.”

Mike watched intently as Maddy closed her eyes and began to transform into Rita. He had to admit she was doing fantastic. The white dress she was wearing fit her perfectly, tight on the top that flowed out and down to her knee. It was a high collar dress, all lace. Perfect to play a princess as opposed to the promiscuous characters she normally lands. She opened her blue made up eyes and looked towards him.

“'You know what, jack-a*s? The world is full of guys like you - sarcastic guys who spend all their time cleverly pointing out the shortcomings of others, rolling their eyes, shaking their heads, passing judgment and cracking jokes. You're not unique. You're just one more pretentious b*****d. I've had enough of guys like you, you supposedly "damaged" guys who don't "believe" in monogamy anymore, who want to just sleep around, who announce ahead of time that they're not interested in being someone's boyfriend. You think this honesty makes you a decent person, but at the end of the day, you're still taking advantage of women who, for whatever reason, don't know that they deserve better. Emily is an amazing woman! She is beautiful and smart and funny, and if you think you can find another girl like her, you can't. She is one of a kind, and any guy would be lucky to have her. And you treated her like last week's garbage! Okay, f**k this s**t. I give up. Let's go home.'”

She stayed in the moment. Looking furiously in the general direction of Mike. It was almost like she was saying it to him. But there is no way she can see me. He thought. The lights are too bright.

“And lastly I will be performing “Part of Your World” from Disney's The Little Mermaid.”

That sounded more like the Maddy he knew. Picking a song that was way overused and tacky. She had however, impressed him. All the monologues, especially that last one, seemed so real. Like she was actually the characters. Not fake, not overpracticed, but real.

“Thank you.” She said when she finished with a Tony Award winning smile. She walked off the stage, Mike took the other stairs to get on the stage as she was walking off and to his surprise he could see the entire first row. And Maddy had taken her seat next to Erika.

“Hey everyone, I'm Mike-”

His audition continued just as everyone else's. He did well and thanked the directors for giving him the opportunity to audition for them as he walked off the stage and right out of the building. He was outside of the theater when he heard heels running to catch up with him.

“Hey!” He heard softly from behind him. He stopped and waited for her to catch up with him. He didn't turn around until she grabbed his arm. Her face was bright red and she was very out of breath.

“You were great.” She said quietly, trying not to sound too exhausted.

“No. I was mediocre.” He stated. “You were great.”

She fell into his arm, partly because she wanted to pass out and partly because she was so happy with what she was hearing. Getting a compliment out of Mike was like pulling teeth, this was a huge moment.

“Can we stop being mad at each other now?” She asked. She was, at heart a six year old. He held her as tightly as he could and nodded.

“Yeah.” He said softly, burying his head in her dark hair. “Do you still love me?”

She looked up and smiled at him. “Always.”

“Hate to break up such an adorable moment.” A voice came from behind Mike. He recognized it as his girlfriend, Phoebe's. She was standing there, her dirty blonde hair tied up in a pony tail. Her jeans were too tight and her shirt was too short for her to stand next to Maddy at the moment. She was holding a rather large wrapped box, topped off with a little bow.

Maddy and Mike quickly snapped out of their embrace. It wasn't anything big, but Mike knew Phoebe would blow it out of proportion as usual. Maddy walked over and went to shake her hand, and then realized she couldn't... because Phoebe's arms were occupied.

“Well... Uhm... Hi. I'm Maddy-”

“I figured. Listen this,” She looked down at the box. “Is not for you to use. I did not bring this here so you can spend any more time with my boyfriend. You got that?”

Maddy's eyes widened. She didn't know how to respond other then to just nod.

“Good.” Phoebe handed the present to Mike. “Here sweetheart. I think we should go to your room and talk about this.”

Maddy and Mike looked at each other and silently agreed to avoid each other the rest of the weekend. Maddy went back towards the theater to meet Erika while Mike walked back to Old West with his girlfriend.

“What the actual f**k Mike?!” She screamed when they had reached his dorm room.

“Honey, the walls are still paper thin and everyone can hear you.” Mike said quietly, trying to sit her down and quiet her down.

“And after practically beating the s**t out of my brother to get this for you! How could you embarrass me like that!?”

“Phoebe we didn't do anything-”

“Is this because she is skinnier then me?” She suddenly got quiet and looked up at him with these sad, puppy-dog, brown eyes. She had taken a seat on his bed. “Cause I can stop eating so much-”

“Shut up.” He sat down next to her and touched her cheek. “You're beautiful.”

“Then why-”

“For the millionth time we are just friends.” He smiled at her, the same one he gave Maddy when they were in the library. Like a father smiling at a child who just said something stupid. “Thats all we'll ever be and you have nothing to worry about. She isn't you, and she never will be you.”

This was true, although he said it much nicer then he meant it. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. His eyes were opened, eyeing the box he had set down on his desk, wondering what was in it.

“So,” He started, their foreheads were touching and Phoebe was smiling. “What's in there?”

She jumped up in excitement since she had momentarily forgotten about the box. She grabbed it from the desk and sat back down holding it out to him. He took it and started to unwrap it.

“Be careful, its old.” She stated, even though he wasn't tearing through it.

The box was nothing more then a box, but when he opened it words could not describe the excitement that had rushed over him. Right in front of him was a Nintendo 64. His favorite of all gaming systems.

“If you don't like it-” Phoebe started to babble. “I could just give it back to my brother. I mean he was going to throw it out but I thought-”

“Phoebe,” Mike breathed. His eyes were wide and he couldn't wait to hook it up to his TV. “this is literally the perfect present. Thank you.” He kissed her again. Longer this time, and he actually tried to put some sort of feeling in it.

He took the old counsel out. Phoebe had managed to get a grey controller and an old copy of Super Smash Brothers. This would have to do until Mike could get to a Gamestop or garage sale to get more games. When Phoebe was fast asleep in his bed he took his phone and texted Maddy.

Roadtrip next weekend. Going to score some N64 games.

He received a reply pretty quickly.

I'm in as long as I don't have callbacks. But thats sick. Can't wait to defy your girlfriend and 'steal you away'

He smiled and deleted both messages. He knew better. Phoebe was not above searching his phone.

The weekend seemed to go dreadfully slow, as did the rest of the week. But Friday did come eventually and Maddy and Mike went to lunch together, as they had done all week long.

“So callback go up today.” Maddy stated without looking up from her mashed potatoes. One of few things she enjoyed eating in the dining hall.

“Yup.” Mike replied. “But hey if we don't get in anything we could drown our sorrows in video games.”

“Its a win-win really.” Maddy said filling her mouth with potatoes. Mike laughed at this. The girl was going to turn into a potato.

“I still can't believe she said that to me.” She continued. “Thats girls a crazy biddy and you should get rid of her before she starts a hit list or something.”

“Wouldn't that make me a bigger target?”

“Maybe she'll forget about you by then.”

“What about you?” She smiled at this question.

“Eh, I'm already screwed. I'm trying to save your a*s.”

“My hero.”

“Always.”

The callback list didn't go up until later that evening and callbacks were held both Saturday and Sunday. Maddy and Mike met up with Erika at the Green Theater and headed inside together. All the theater Majors were already gathered in the back by the sound booth where the cast list would be posted. The three looked on all the lists. No luck with any of the plays, however the musical callback list was a different story

“Holy s**t.” Erika said quietly. Both her and Maddy's name were on the list. Not only that but Maddy was called back for Belle. They both had a dance audition on Saturday and reading callback on Sunday.

Mike however was not on any list. He felt the jealousy for the two girls growing. He tried to put it to the back of his mind, considering he wasn't competing with them. But he couldn't help it. Maddy looked over at him and gave him a hug.

“I'm sorry.” She said quietly, so that only he could hear it. “I know you tried so hard.”

But the truth was, he didn't. He didn't prepare as hard as she and probably every other theater major did. But he would take it anyway.

“I guess I am going game hunting alone?” He asked. That was his way of congratulating her, she knew it too. He felt her nod and held her tighter. She was so tiny. So short and so skinny. Of course they would want to cast her. They could cast any guy next to her and they would look like a giant.

So thats what happened. While Erika and Maddy got ready to go to callbacks, Mike took his car and went alone to search the suburbs of North Carolina on a hunt to find a collection of Nintendo 64 games and controllers. He went to what felt like a million different homes. Some with no luck and others with great luck.

He picked up a copy of Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Donkey Kong 64, Star Fox 64, Paper Mario, Mace: The Dark Age, Rat Attack, and Looney Tunes: Taz Express. As well as another see-through purple controller. He was out thirty bucks but to him it was worth it. Although he was a little disappointed that he hadn't come across any Legend of Zelda games.

This disappointment came from not being able to find the one game that reminded him most of his childhood. Being able to escape to a fictional world where you were the hero meant practically everything to Mike. Sure, the games he found were good but he was practically out of money and didn't get even one of the two N64 games with the title of Zelda.

As he drove back to campus, he continued to pass garage sales, not bothering to stop until he came across one house. It had a long driveway, and you wouldn't even be able to tell that there was anything to sell unless you looked really hard in the distance. The house was small and was once painted a light blue color, which was now fading. An old man with was sitting at a table way down at the end of it. Something told Mike to make this one last stop before returning to campus, so he pulled into the driveway.

Mike parked the car in the middle of the long driveway and froze. Something felt wrong in the air. He suddenly wished that someone, anyone would do, was with him. Pushing the feeling aside he stepped out of his car and locked the door right behind him. Slowly he approached the single table with the old man sitting at it. As he got closer the features on the man made him feel even worse.

He was a short man with sort of a hunched back. His eyes were small but grew enormous when he pushed his glasses up. His hair was white but there wasn't much of it. Most of it was swept to the side. Mike even noticed his ears were a little bit more triangular then they should have been.

The thing that made Mike the most uneasy however was the old man's smile. It was big, it covered his tiny face. And he just stood there, smiling, with his hands cupped out in front of him. There was something almost, evil about it. But kind at the same time. Nevertheless, the closer Mike got to him, the stronger the urge was to turn around. But he didn't.

When Mike finally got to the table the old man pushed his glasses up so his deep brown, almost black eyes, were magnified. His right eye had a glazed over look to it and

“Hi there,” Mike said slowly, and a little bit louder then usual. “I was wondering if you had any old video games?”

As soon as Mike said it he felt like he was an idiot. This man looked like he was close to ninety years old, he probably didn't even know what a video game was. And even if he had any he probably didn't have what Mike was looking for anyway. But then again, some unknown force did bring Mike here so it was worth a shot.

To his surprise. The old man nodded, he slowly turned around and hobbled into the house without saying a word. The thought of leaving crossed Mike's mind, but for as creepy of a situation this was, he continued to stand there. As he waited he looked down at the table in front of him. There wasn't much there, some knickknacks from years ago, a few old records, and these weird ink-blot pictures you would see in a psychologist's office.

He picked the first one up and examined it, when he did his stomach sank. It was a perfect outline of the Majora's Mask from the game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. He quickly set it down, not knowing if this was real or his mind was playing tricks on him. After all, he really did want to find one of the Zelda games.

The old man came hobbling back just as Mike started to calm himself down again. The old man reached the table and held out an old grey cartridge. To Mike's surprise it had written on it in black sharpie “Majora”. Slowly Mike reached for it when the man, with great speed snatched it back.

“It belonged to a little boy” he said slowly, his voice was higher then Mike had imagined and it had a shakiness to it that unsettled him. “that doesn't live here anymore.”

The way he worded this made Mike's stomach turn. There was something not right about this guy. The man set the cartridge on the table and hobbled away. Mike took it and examined it. He had no idea what the man could have possibly meant by that. Suddenly he realized the man was walking away without having him pay for anything.

“Sir! How much is this?” He called out.

The man turned around with the same eerie smile. “It's yours...”

It took Mike a second to realize that the man meant it was his for free. When it clicked, his eyes lit up and a grin larger then he could have imagined appeared on his face. Here he was, a broke college student, holding his entire childhood in his hand and he could have it for free.

“Thank you,” he breathed. He couldn't believe it. “Thank you so much!”

Mike turned away and had a bit of a spring in his step as he went back to his car. He heard one last thing from the old man before opening up the door to his car.

“Goodbye then.” is what he heard. At least, thats what it must have been. But Mike had a nagging feeling the whole way home that this wasn't what the man had said.

As soon as Mike returned to campus his phone went off. The bright screen lit up with Maddy's name.

“I have the best news ever!” He exclaimed as he opened up his car door and started picking games up off the seat. He eyed the Majora's Mask game as he said it.

“Cast lists are going up in ten, get your a*s to Green.”

And she hung up. Mike dropped the games, he forgot today was the last day of callbacks. He locked his car doors and figured he could get the games later. He ran all the way to Green Theater, which was a few miles away. A huge disadvantage of a big campus. When he got there, the back was crowded with anxious theater majors fighting to be the first to see the cast lists. Maddy was nowhere to be found, but she rarely ever was in a big crowd considering her height.

Lots of people walked away with smiles on their faces, they had been cast in something. Suddenly there was a screech of two girls coming from the inside of the crowd. Mike could recognize that it came from Erika, and could rightfully assume the other was from Maddy. They too had been cast.

Mike made his way up to the front as the crowd thinned out and checked them in order.

Jillian's Show-Nothing.

Angelica's Show-Nothing

Amelia's Show-Nothing

Tony's Show-Nothing

Dr. Gero's Show, the one and only musical of the entire year-Nothing.

He checked the list twice and saw both Maddy and Erika's names on it. But not his. Upset was an understatement for how he felt. He felt cheated, and wrongfully cut. He looked over and saw Maddy and Erika hugging and jumping up and down. He wished he could feel happy for them, even just for Maddy. But he didn't. He couldn't. He felt oddly jealous of the two of them, even though that was completely ridiculous. They didn't compete with each other, he was a boy and they were girls.

He just watched them rejoice in envy, and as soon as Maddy saw him. He walked away without saying a word.

Reviews

[ShadowWalker]

great detail and dialogue...