Definitely Daphne

by Tami Charles

  “Great job, you two!” Mr. Davis says as Austin and I exit the stage, but I know he’s lying.

  When auditions are over, Mr. Davis leads everyone in a round of applause.

  “Everyone was excellent! I’ll announce the cast tomorrow, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I’ll pass around a list for behind-the-scenes activities, so be sure to add your name if you’d like to volunteer.”

  By the time I get the list, I notice the lines for stage crew are empty. Maybe I should do that? It’s better than embarrassing myself in front of a whole audience. Then at least I can satisfy Dr. Varma’s request to participate in extracurricular activities.

  For some reason, my inner Daphne voice takes over and says: There’s no way you’d embarrass yourself. But of course I don’t listen. I add my name, pass the list to John, and throw away any thoughts of being in the spotlight. Even if it did feel good for a millisecond when I was singing.

  After the way today’s auditions turned out, I’m convinced that this drama stuff is not my cup of tea.

  16

  The Results

  Mr. Davis makes an announcement over the loudspeaker the next morning. “Will everyone who auditioned for Little Shop of Horrors report to the auditorium during seventh period? Late passes will be given out. Our meeting will be brief.”

  I spend the whole day nervous about the play. Meanwhile, by the time I get to my locker at the end of the day, YouTube notifications have blown up my phone. Over three thousand views for “Daphne Definitely Doesn’t Do Sports.” And 1,500 views for school lunch! Wow!

  Those kind of numbers will have you thinking that you’re hot stuff. Especially when they leave comments like:

  “You’re so cool, Daphne!”

  “Keep the vlogs coming!”

  And the best one yet:

  “I wish you went to my school.”

  John catches me looking at my own video for like the fiftieth time. “Someone’s obsessed,” he says.

  There’s a yank in my stomach. I turn the screen off and slip my phone into my knapsack. “No, not at all,” I say. Then I add, “She’s OK, I guess.”

  “She’s hilarious. Actually, I think you kinda look like her.” He flashes me a smile so wide that his dimple sinks deep into his cheek.

  And then my stomach starts doing this little wave thing again.

  “How do you think you did in the audition?” he asks.

  “Ha!” I laugh. “I was probably the worst one up on that stage.”

  John shakes his head. “Nope! I think you’re in!”

  Just then I see Rachael and company at the popular table, smack in the middle of the cafeteria where everyone can notice her. She must feel me staring. And I don’t know why I am. But I half-wave, half-smile, like some helpless puppy waiting for my fur-ever family to Pick me! Pick me!

  For a split second, it looks like she wants to return the smile, rescue me from the entrapment of dorkdom, crown me equally as popular as her. But then, her whole face changes. Like she remembers the number of times I kicked and bumped into her yesterday. That’s when she gives me a major eye-roll and returns her attention to those who matter most: her loyal subjects.

  The seventh-period bell rings, and we head to the auditorium.

  Mr. Fingerlin is in the hallway as we walk by. “Annabelle, you tried out for the play?” He’s totally excited. “It’s great to see you settling in so fast.”

  I flash a fake smile and mutter to myself, “Not sure how settled I am just yet.”

  John asks, “If you’re not into drama, why’d you try out?”

  I almost say “my therapist,” but then I stop myself. Because what if he thinks it’s weird that I go to therapy? But saying “my mom made me do it” would be just as embarrassing, so I just go with, “I wanted to try something new.”

  At least it’s half true.

  “What are you into, then? I mean… since drama is new to you?”

  “Computers. I’m a techie.”

  “Yes, I remember your first day when I caught your backpack and your MacBook almost fell out.”

  “And that’s why I don’t want to bring it anymore,” I joke.

  Mr. Davis is waiting in the auditorium with tons of boxes on the stage. “Settle down, everyone!” he says. “Come in and take a seat.” He pulls out a sheet of paper. “I’m happy to report that everyone did a great job yesterday — all thirty-one of you.”

  Everyone starts clapping and cheering.

  “And because I think that drama is an art form all students should experience, I have decided to include all of you in the play.”

  Everybody jumps up and claps. I stand up too, slowly realizing that holy goodness, I’m in a play. And suddenly, I don’t know how to feel. Happy? “Lit”? Scared? Or all of the above?

  D. Final answer.

  John leans over and says, “Told you Mr. Davis was cool like that!”

  “OK, take a seat. Now, running a dramatic production isn’t only about acting on a stage. There’s choreography, set design, lighting, music, understudies, tickets, and so much more. That said, some of you will do double duty. Some will be more behind the scenes, which is just as important. And with the play premiering on Halloween, we’ll need to get to work right away! Are we ready to find out who our cast is for Little Shop of Horrors?”

  We all start shouting again. And I don’t know why, but I realize I want to hear my name called. I want it so badly, I stop breathing as Mr. Davis talks.

  He begins by announcing the production crew: “Running sound, music, and lighting will be Ruby Valentin, Matthew Davis, and Navdeep Singh.”

  Navdeep turns to me, John, and Clairna and slaps us all high fives.

  Still not breathing.

  “For set design, we have… Nicholas Rocco… Clairna Joseph…

  Suffocating in five, four, three…

  “and Annabelle Louis.”

  Clairna yelps and gives me a hug. I, Annabelle Louis, will design the set for Little Shop of Horrors! Mom and Dad are going to lose their minds!

  Then Mr. Davis moves on to announce the acting roles. The roles of Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon go to three of Rachael’s friends, loyal subjects numbers one, two, and three. Mr. Mushnik will be played by Raheem Hannibal, and Bryan Tucker will play Orin, the dentist.

  “Playing the lead of Seymour Krelborn is Johnathan Lopez!”

  John squeezes my hand so hard I think he’ll crush my bones.

  “And the understudy for Seymour will be Navdeep Singh!”

  Navdeep and John bump fists.

  “And finally for our female lead, Audrey.”

  Everyone gets really quiet as the tension builds, even though we already know who it is.…

  “Rachael Myers!” Mr. Davis yells, and the crowd goes wild. “And the understudy for the role of Audrey… goes to Annabelle Louis!”

  I’m sorry. What did he just say?

  Silence. Then one clap (from John). Then another (Navdeep) and another (Clairna). And a few more claps, followed by whispers of: “Oh, that’s the girl from Germany!”

  Someone hand me a spatula to scoop my mouth off the floor! Did Mr. Davis really just choose me to be an understudy? For Audrey? I was awful yesterday!

  Rachael turns around and says, “Congrats.” But there’s that eye-roll thing again.

  I’m trying to stop the tears from welling up. I’m happy for Rachael (even with her rolling eyes), and scared for me, but can I also say, happy for me too?

  That’s when I realize that I’d been lying to myself. That I don’t do drama. That I don’t like it… or sports… or anything, really, that involves school. But here I am, jumping up and down in my seat, happy, and not fake-happy, but real, live, I’m-going-to-be-in-a-play happy!

  Could it be that maybe, just maybe, I’m starting to like this thing called dr
ama?

  And cue inner dialogue battle!

  Annabelle: NOPE!

  Daphne: LIAR!

  17

  New Vlog Post

  Mom is already home by the time Dad and I arrive. I told him the news in the car and made him promise to keep his mouth shut so I could be the first to tell Mom.

  “How did everything go?” Mom asks as she puts some groceries away.

  I feel the heat rising up to my face. I can barely hold it in. “I got not one but two parts! I am going to design the set, and I’m understudy for the lead role.”

  Mom pulls me in for a squeeze, then we start jumping up and down together. Then she stops and pulls me back to take a look at me.

  “Hmm… I thought you didn’t do drama!” Mom says sarcastically.

  “I’m just an understudy. I won’t have to be on stage, at least, in front of all those people. Rachael will make sure she’s in the spotlight no matter what.”

  Dad searches the cabinets for a pot, and I’m already drooling, thinking of what he’ll make for dinner tonight.

  “Speaking of people, have you seen the views now? Over five thousand and counting for sports and almost four thousand for school lunch! It doesn’t look like it’s slowing down. People want to know when you’ll post your next video,” Dad says.

  A tiny part of me wonders what would’ve happened if I’d done better yesterday. Would I have gotten the lead role? How can I vlog about something I wanted to hate, but actually ended up sort of liking? And there goes my movie-making brain, with a voiceover that says: Time for a re-take. I feel a new vlog coming, and this time it’ll be just what the doctor ordered. But first… homework.

  * * *

  Boy was I wrong about Dad making dinner. Just when I was craving pasta Bolognese and garlic bread, Mom dashed my hopes and gave Dad a break.

  Tonight’s specialty? Hot dogs and beans. Yuck! Dad and I sit through dinner pretending like it was the best meal we’ve ever had. I am starting to get good at this acting thing!

  After dinner, I help Dad wash the dishes and then I steal away to my girl cave. The role of Audrey is calling me. This is my chance for a do-over — a chance to show what I would have done if I’d had my equipment with me. I sift through the racks of clothes and find the most perfect outfit for Little Shop of Horrors: a vintage-looking cream-colored dress with red roses and a short blond wig with baby-pink highlights. One coat of bright-red lipstick, and I am transformed into Audrey.

  And lights, camera, action!

  “Hi, guys! It’s your girl, Daphne. And I have a confession. My first video was called ‘Daphne Definitely Doesn’t Do Sports,’ and in that video I talked about the top five reasons I think sports are simply dreadful. Because this channel is a social experiment, I was supposed to try new things that I might discover I like… such as sports. But we all know that was an epic fail. So yeah, I broke the rules. Sorry, Mum. But today I’ll play nice and do what I was supposed to do all along. Today’s episode is…”

  And cue drumroll…

  “‘Daphne Does Drama’! So, it’s no secret that I love movies. I make them, I dream of them, and sometimes when I’m feeling really creative, I’ll act out a scene — even if it’s mostly in my head. But it just so happens that I love Little Shop of Horrors! I mean, who doesn’t? Set in the 1960s. A bloodthirsty plant that snacks on humans to survive. There’s singing, dancing, a budding romance. Pure perfection! So, ladies and gentlemen, playing the LEAD role of Audrey — it’s moi, Daphne.”

  Insert loud applause.

  I blow kisses to my imaginary adoring fans. “Oh, you guys are far too kind!”

  I do away with my British accent and change my voice to make it squeaky like Audrey’s. “This will be a reading of my favorite lines in the play.” I take a deep breath, then begin my monologue: “I dream of a place where we could be together at last…”

  When I’m done I take another bow, and the applause track plays again. Editing everything is super easy. I drop the clips in iMovie and throw in some cool transition tricks.

  Just then Mae sends me a text with a picture of herself. Surprisingly, she’s dressed in a wig and an over-the-top outfit.

  Mae: You’re going to be so popular, girl, I’m dressing up as Daphne for Halloween!

  Still dressed in my costume, I head to the bathroom upstairs while typing a text back.

  Me: Mae, there’s no Halloween in the UK.

  Mae: Well, there will be after this. Just check your views, amiga!

  I click on my YouTube channel, and oh my stars, my two vlogs now have a combined total of… 11,200 views!

  I send Mae another text.

  Me: Just uploaded a third video a few minutes ago. Take a look and let me know what you think.

  I take my wig off, and it drops to the floor. But I’m way too tired to pick it up.

  I send Mae a pic, holding up two fingers, for two amigas. She sends back a picture of herself doing the same.

  Just like the script from Little Shop of Horrors says, I dream of a place…

  I add my own words to that line… a place where Mae and I could be together again.

  18

  Wannabe

  Mr. Davis wastes no time preparing us for the play. There’s practice after school Monday through Thursday, two hours each day. Things are super busy these days, and I am finally starting to feel like I have a social life. Not to mention balancing homework and my vlog.

  During rehearsal the past two days, Nicholas, Clairna, and I have assembled the stairs for the pet shop scene, colored in the floor tile paper, and painted the Little Shop of Horrors sign, complete with blood dripping from the letters. Today’s project: tackling that overgrown, man-eating plant, Audrey II.

  Mr. Davis runs lines with John and Rachael at center stage, while Mrs. Gironda reviews choreography with the rest of the cast. Even though we’ve only been practicing for two days, we’re running like a well-oiled machine!

  “Navdeep, Annabelle, stop what you’re doing and run this same part.” Mr. Davis has John and Rachael take a seat in the front row. This has been the norm. The actors rehearse their parts, and then Mr. Davis calls in the understudies to do the same.

  Nav and I take our place at center stage. Nav holds the script, hands shaking, and looks at me with wide eyes.

  “In three, two, one, action!” Mr. Davis yells out.

  Nav begins reading from the script. When it’s my turn to speak, I let the words flow naturally, picturing myself as Daphne, the fearless YouTuber.

  When I finish my last line, Mr. Davis calls, “Cut!”

  Everyone claps, and Nav and I take a bow.

  “Excellent work! Annabelle, you already have the script memorized?” Mr. Davis asks.

  “Yes, sir.” I shift my eyes to Rachael and try to gauge the meaning of the look on her face.

  Mr. Davis sends Nav back to the sound booth and me back onstage to help Clairna and Nicholas finish building Audrey II, the flesh-eating plant.

  “Dude, that was amazing!” Nicholas says. “You could have totally played the lead role.”

  “Yeah!” Clairna chimes in.

  “I don’t know. I love what we’re doing.” The words feel stale coming out of my mouth. “This is more exciting, the behind-the-scenes stuff.”

  Do I really mean that, though? Because performing that scene for my vlog last night felt pretty darn amazing. Still, building the set is right up my alley. It’s like re-creating my girl cave all over again, only on a bigger scale.

  It’s OK to like both, right? To secretly like the spotlight and create stage art with my hands?

  And cue inner dialogue battle again!

  Daphne: Of course it is!

  Annabelle: Nope. Pick a team!

  Clairna pulls out the green paint so we can color the large head of the plant. Just then someone’s
phone beeps. We all pause to listen if it’s our phone.

  “Whoops, that’s me!” Nicholas pulls his iPhone out of his back pocket, swipes the screen, and his whole face lights up.

  “What is it?” Clairna asks.

  “That’s weird,” Nicholas begins. “Here we are running rehearsals for Little Shop of Horrors, and a video of that Daphne girl pops up and guess what she’s performing?”

  Clairna yanks the phone out of Nicholas’s hand. “No way!”

  I breathe in deep and then move next to Clairna to see.

  “I’m telling you, sometimes I think the Internet is like, stalking our lives,” Nicholas says.

  Clairna clicks the play button, and we all watch together. There I am on the screen playing the role of Audrey, and here I am in real life dying faster by the second.

  “Eh, I don’t know about this one,” Nicholas says. “Her sports video was a LOT funnier.”

  And cue speed-racing heartbeat!

  Clairna throws in an extra blow. “Agreed. The lunch one too. This one’s all serious and stuff.”

  Before I get a chance to throw in my bit — well, I think this is pretty good, considering I’m the human version of a turtle! — Mr. Davis catches us slacking off. He leaves John and Rachael and joins us near the overgrown plant. “Guys, we’re supposed to be building a set, not playing on our phones.”

  “Sorry, Mr. Davis,” Clairna says sincerely. “It’s just — there’s this YouTuber who posted a video of herself performing a monologue from Little Shop of Horrors.”

  “Yeah, ummm, we ummm, wanted to show you how amazing it is!” Nicholas says.

  Nicholas hands Mr. Davis the phone, and he presses play. Right away, Mr. Davis starts wrinkling his nose and twisting up his face.

  That’s when I know for sure my video stinks worse than Limburger cheese. (I love my German food, but that one’s got to go!) It’s not only his face that says it, it’s the number of views: A whopping six! No comments? No shares?