Fabulous Five 010 - Playing the Part

by Betsy Haynes

  "All right, everyvun! Listen up!" shouted Miss Wolfe. "Dekeisha Adams!"

  "Here!"

  "Beth Barry!"

  "Here!"

  Beth backed away from the group and took a pair of red-and-gold pom-pons from the pile and started warming up by bouncing on her toes and doing high kicks while Miss Wolfe continued the roll call. As she came down from a vault, she spotted Jana and Christie walking along the edge of the field. What are they doing here? she wondered. Beth waved at them with her pom-pons. They waved back and headed to where the boys were practicing football. Jana probably has to talk to Randy about something, thought Beth. It must be important for them to interrupt practice.

  "All right, girls, let's form a single line," commanded Miss Wolfe. "Ve are going to start off vith the Rock 'em cheer."

  Beth and Melanie got into line next to each other and put their right legs forward and their fists together over their heads.

  The practice went on for a half hour, and Beth was sweating and panting when Miss Wolfe finally let up.

  "Okay, girls! Break for five minutes."

  Beth and Melanie fell to the ground next to each other.

  "Why do we do this to ourselves?" asked Melanie. "You know, we could be at Bumpers having a milk shake and talking to guys, but instead we're out here working our tails off."

  "Most of the worthwhile guys are right here," said Beth, looking toward the area where the football team was practicing. Coach Bledsoe was giving special instruction to the line while the other players were standing around waiting.

  Beth saw Jana talking to Randy, but she didn't see Keith at first. Then she spotted him near the sideline talking to Christie. They were standing close and Christie had her hand on his arm. A twinge of jealousy ran through Beth at the way they were laughing as they talked. They seemed to be enjoying each other an awful lot. Surely Christie wasn't flirting with him. Or was she?

  "Tweeet!" Miss Wolfe's whistle broke into Beth's thoughts. "Okay, everyvun, back on your feet," she yelled.

  During the rest of the practice, Beth followed Miss Wolfe's instructions, but she couldn't help looking over her shoulder at Keith and Christie. Twice she kicked when she should have been jumping, and she smiled apologetically at Miss Wolfe, who was starting to watch her closely.

  "Could you put my pom-pons away, Beth?" asked Taffy after practice was over. "I've got to hurry. Cory's waiting for me."

  "Huh?" said Beth, taking the pom-pons that Taffy shoved at her. "Uh, sure, Taffy." Beth stared after Taffy as she ran toward the sidelines where a boy was waiting.

  "Isn't that Cory Dillon, the lead guitarist for the Dreadful Alternatives?" asked Melanie.

  "It sure is," said Mandy McDermott. "Isn't he gorgeous?"

  "Wow! I'll say," said Dekeisha Adams. Several other cheerleaders gathered around to stare as Taffy and Cory walked away.

  "Maybe Jana won't have to worry about Taffy's trying to steal Randy from her anymore, if Taffy's dating Cory Dillon," Beth whispered to Melanie. Taffy had been trying to take Randy away from Jana since elementary school.

  That evening Beth practiced for the play as she had never practiced before. She exercised until she was perspiring and tried hard to imagine she was actually Julie and how sweet and tragic it was that she and Ronnie loved each other even though their parents wouldn't let them date. Then she went over and over her lines in front of the mirror until she could say them without looking at the script, and she could make all the right gestures without thinking.

  Finally, she flopped on her bed and gave a big sigh. She lay there running her fingers through her short hair and thinking about what more she could do to prepare herself for the role of Julie. How could she make herself stand out?

  She remembered reading about Robin Williams standing on his head during tryouts for the old TV show Mork and Mindy. It had gotten him the part, but standing on her head didn't seem like the right thing to do in this case. What could she do?

  Suddenly, she got an idea and leapt from her bed. In the hallway she peaked over the railing and saw Brittany sitting in the foyer with the telephone stuck to the side of her head, as usual. Good, thought Beth, she'll be busy for at least another hour.

  She checked Alicia's room and the door was closed. No light shone through the crack under it. Her little sister usually fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

  Beth slipped down the hallway into Brittany's room and with one last peek behind her, closed the door quietly.

  Tiptoeing to the closet, she searched through the hanging clothes. Way in the back was the blouse she was looking for. It was a soft pink taffeta that Brittany had had for a long time and didn't wear anymore. Putting it over her arm, Beth went to the bureau and opened the drawer where she knew Brittany kept her belts. The sequined dress belt that was wide in front was easy to find.

  Back in her room, Beth slipped out of her sweat shirt and into the puff-sleeved blouse. Next she put on the dress belt and stood in front of her mirror. She still wasn't quite right.

  She ran back to her closet and opened her trunk and threw the gorilla costume and other things on the floor until she found a blond wag. She ran her fingers through the long strands to straighten them and put it on. It looked perfect. Not bad, she thought, picking at the puff sleeves to make them stand up more.

  Next she put her stage makeup on and went back to the full-length mirror to see herself. She pulled the hair over one shoulder and turned in a full circle so she could see from all angles.

  A smile came across her face. The jeans she was wearing, the sequined belt, and the puff-sleeved blouse were a mixture of old and new. If she didn't look like a modern version of the pictures of what women wore in Shakespeare's day, no one would. And this was better than standing on her head on a couch. Look out tryouts. Here comes Beth Barry.

  CHAPTER 6

  The next day at the tryouts, Beth stood behind the curtains and peeked out at the stage. She was wearing the pink taffeta blouse with the puffed sleeves and had the sequined belt and the wig in a brown paper bag that she gripped tightly behind her.

  She had done her warm-up exercises until she thought she would hyperventilate. If she did any more stretches, her perspiration would gross out everybody, including Mr. Levine.

  Most of the other kids were standing by themselves reading their parts or just looking worried. Mr. Levine was at the center of the stage talking to a tall, distinguished-looking man with a gray mustache and beard. He had to be Mr. Stapleton.

  While Beth was watching, Taffy Sinclair went up to Mr. Levine and whispered something. He seemed interested and nodded as he wrote something on his clipboard. The nerve of her, thought Beth. She's just trying to be noticed by Mr. Stapleton.

  "All right, everyone!" called Mr. Levine. "Gather round.

  "You must all have guessed by now that this gentleman is Mr. Stapleton whom I told you about. He'll be helping me judge the tryouts.

  "I've got one last-minute change in the list of candidates to mention to you. Taffy just told me that she won't be able to try out for the part of Julie. She and her parents have talked it over, and her schedule of modeling, acting lessons, and other professional commitments is just too much for her to be in our play. She's afraid she could be called away for an important job in Hollywood at any time and have to drop out." A murmur went through the crowd of kids. "It's our loss, Taffy," continued Mr. Levine, "but we understand. I want to thank you for telling me."

  Beth couldn't believe it. Taffy was dropping out of the tryouts? She was the toughest competition for the part. Maybe I really do have a chance to win the role now, she thought.

  "Let's start out with the role of Ronnie," Mr. Levine said, reading from his clipboard. "Then we'll do Julie, her mother, her father, and then Ronnie's mother and father. Garrett Boldt will be first, then Chet Miller, and last but not least, Billy Randall. Please take seats, and Garrett, if you would start at line five on page four and read through page fifteen, I'd appreciate it. I'll feed you Ju
lie's lines."

  Beth took a seat with the others to watch. Mr. Levine and Mr. Stapleton sat in the front row and made notes as Garrett, Chet, and Bill read their parts.

  As each boy finished, and it got closer and closer to the girls' turns, Beth's hands got clammier and clammier. With Taffy out of the tryouts, she knew she should feel better, but she was still afraid she would goof her lines or her wig would fall off or something else dumb would happen. The kids applauded when the boys were finished. Beth thought all three had read very well.

  "Okay!" Mr. Levine called. "Kaci Davis, Laura McCall, and Beth Barry, in that order. Would you please read Julie's part on those same pages? I'll read Ronnie's part."

  Beth gulped and then climbed the stairs to the stage with her paper bag in her hand.

  Standing in the wings by the curtains with Laura, Beth watched anxiously as Kaci read her part from the script and gestured dramatically as she moved around the stage. She's good, thought Beth, but she's moving around too much, and she's not staying in the light. She looked at Mr. Levine and Mr. Stapleton to see their reactions. They were making notes and watching Kaci very carefully. When Kaci finished, the kids in the audience applauded.

  When Mr. Levine called Laura's name, she gave Beth an icky-sweet smile and stepped out on the stage carrying her script. Beth crossed her eyes at her. Laura looked as if she knew she had the part already.

  Beth's hands were sweating like miniature waterfalls. She wished she had half of Laura's confidence. She took the belt and wig from the bag and put them on. She wished she had a mirror to see how she looked. Was the wig on straight or was it crooked? She started taking deep breaths and read over the first few lines she was going to read.

  "Beth Barry!" called Mr. Levine. She heard the kids clapping for Laura. Would they clap for her when she finished, or would there be total silence?

  Beth dropped the script on the floor, smoothed her wig the best she could, pulled her shoulders back, and walked out onto the stage. She went directly to the front of the stage and raised her head just the way she had practiced. The lights glared in her eyes so that she couldn't see Mr. Levine and Mr. Stapleton, but she smiled toward where she knew they were sitting.

  She waited a moment for effect and heard some of the kids in the audience talking. Had her wig slipped? A chill of panic ran through her. Did she look funny? Were they laughing at her?

  She froze and it seemed as if she would never be able to move again. The smile on her face felt stiff as she tried to remember the first line. She thought of the script lying on the floor in the wings where she had dropped it and wished she had it back.

  Then she remembered her instructions and took a deep breath and thought about Julie, and the feeling of being her came back. Beth turned and walked away from the edge of the stage and turned again to face the lights, and the words from the script came tumbling back into her mind.

  She tapped her foot loudly and then turned quickly as if the knocking had come from somewhere else. She reached out and opened an imaginary door.

  "Ronnie! What are you doing here? You know my mom and dad will be furious."

  When Beth had finished acting the part, she returned to the front of the stage, smiled, and bowed. She was stunned when she heard the applause, which was much louder than it had been for Kaci or Laura. In the front row she could make out Mr. Levine and Mr. Stapleton applauding, too. A thrill ran through her until she was almost shaking, and a tear ran down each cheek. She felt like a star!

  CHAPTER 7

  "I did it! I did it! I did it!" squealed Beth, doing three quick cheerleading jumps. "I got the part!"

  "We saw you!" Jana said, laughing, as she, Melanie, Christie, and Katie hopped around her. "We sneaked in to watch. You were great!"

  "I can't get over the way you came on stage and just stood there smiling at everyone. You looked so cool," said Katie. "I think that's what wowed them."

  "I liked the wig. It surprised everyone," added Christie.

  "And the clothes. Don't forget the clothes," injected Jana. "You should have seen Mr. Levine's and Mr. Stapleton's faces when you came onto the stage. They sat up in their seats right away."

  "We're so proud of you," said Christie. She hugged Beth, and Beth hugged her back.

  "You bet we are," said Katie.

  Beth felt as if her grin stretched from one ear to the other. She was so happy.

  "And boy are you lucky," said Christie. "Chet Miller's going to play the part of Ronnie."

  "She's also lucky that Garrett didn't get the part," said Melanie. "I would have killed her and taken over the part of Julie for myself."

  "I can't believe that Taffy dropped out," said Beth.

  "I think you would have won with her in it, anyway," Melanie reassured her.

  "I don't know," Beth said slowly. "It would have been a lot tougher."

  "Well, you did it, and that's what counts," said Christie, hugging her again.

  "Why don't we celebrate and go to the movies together tonight," suggested Jana. "We can wear our Fabulous Five T-shirts."

  "Great idea!" responded Katie. "We'll show everybody The Fabulous Five are still sticking together."

  "Right on!" shouted Melanie.

  "Oh, I can't," said Christie. "Keith asked me if I'd go to the movies with him."

  Beth felt as if she had just been run over by the whole Wakeman football team and maybe Miss Wolfe, too.

  "It's okay with you, isn't it, Beth?" Christie asked. "I only gave him a tentative yes. I won't do it if you don't want me to."

  Beth's face felt as if it had been starched stiff when she tried to smile. "Oh. Oh, no. That's okay. I said you could date him."

  "Good," responded Christie, looking genuinely relieved. "I really didn't think you'd mind. Especially after you said you were going to break up with him anyway. But I just wanted to make sure. Actually it might make it easier for you to break up with him if I do go out with him."

  "I hadn't thought of that," said Beth, putting on her best acting face.

  Beth hopped out of the van and waved good-bye to her father. She felt good on the outside wearing her red T-shirt that said THE FABULOUS FIVE in gold letters, with her red socks and bright red earrings, but on the inside she was dreading running into Christie and Keith. How would they look together? What would she say? What would she do?

  Katie, Jana, and Melanie were easy to spot in their red outfits, and she waved to them.

  "Look at everyone watching us," said Melanie. "I bet we look super in our new Fabulous Five T- shirts."

  "I feel as if I'm on display," said Jana. "It's like the time we took modeling lessons at Tanninger's Department Store and had to walk out on the stage in front of everybody."

  "Look, there's Taffy with Cory Dillon," Katie said, pointing. Taffy was wearing a beautiful matching pink sweater-and-pants outfit with a flower pattern. She and Cory were headed their way.

  "Well, look who's back into T-shirts," said Taffy. "Are you starting another club against someone?" Beth knew she was referring to the time when The Fabulous Five had had a club against her back in Mark Twain Elementary. It had served Taffy right then, but Taffy seemed a whole lot nicer since they'd come to Wakeman Junior High.

  "Oh, by the way, Beth," Taffy added. "Congratulations on getting the lead part in the play."

  "Thanks. I was surprised that you dropped out," answered Beth.

  "I thought it over and realized my schedule is just too demanding for me to do the part, so I thought I'd let one of you have it," she said, putting her arm through Cory's possessively. "I've got all the success I need." She tugged at Cory's arm and they walked off.

  "She hasn't changed much, has she?" asked Katie.

  "Not at all, if you ask me," said Beth. "She just has other things to do than bug us the way she did at Mark Twain Elementary."

  "Here come Christie and Keith," said Jana. She looked quickly at Beth.

  Beth struggled to keep her face looking happy as Christie waved and headed wit
h Keith toward them.

  "Hi," said Christie. Beth saw that Keith looked embarrassed.

  "Hi," she answered cheerfully with the others. There was no way she was going to let Keith see that she was hurt because he was with Christie.

  "Do you guys have your tickets yet?" Beth asked, smiling at them both.

  "We got here early and have been talking to everybody," said Christie. "Randy and Scott are over there, and I saw Tony a little while ago. He and Clarence Marshall were arguing about something. I think it was because Tony was wearing an earring again.

  "I feel like a traitor not being with you guys," Christie added. "But at least I'm wearing my Fabulous Five T-shirt."

  The conversation seemed to go on forever. The more they talked, the longer Beth had to look at Christie and Keith standing together as if they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

  The knot in Beth's stomach grew larger and larger. Finally, Christie and Keith left to go into the theater. Beth held back the tears that were building up behind her eyes.

  She pretended to be looking for the best seats as she led Katie, Jana, and Melanie down the aisle. She was actually looking as much for Christie and Keith as she was for a place to sit. She didn't want to be anywhere near them if she could help it.

  Then she saw them. They were in the center a few rows in front of them.

  "Here! Here are some good seats," she said, screeching to a halt so fast that Katie ran into her. She ducked into a row next to Clarence Marshall and Joel Murphy.

  "What?" asked Melanie, looking at Clarence and Joel, who were grinning at them. The two boys each had two boxes of popcorn, which they obviously intended to throw after the lights went out. "Look, Beth. There are four empty seats over there. I think we can see better from there." Melanie turned, and Beth, Katie, and Jana followed her.

  "You obviously didn't see Clarence and Joel," Jana whispered to Beth as they settled into the other seats.

  Beth cringed. She would rather have sat next to Clarence and Joel than where they were now. They were just two rows behind Christie and Keith, and there was no way she could help but look at them during the movie.