Bit Players, Has-Been Actors and Other Posers: A Must-Read for Fans of Glee, High School Musical and Twilight Read Online Free PDF Page A

uneventful?” my father asked.
    “Basically, except the doctor practically yelled at me for not scheduling my mammogram yet. God, I hate those. Squishing the flesh.” She shuddered. “They scheduled it for me before I left his office, for next month.”
    “If it makes you feel any better, I hate the thought of your breast being flattened like a pancake almost as much as you do.” They half-smiled at each other.
    Awkward. I tuned out.
    *
    I SEARCHED THROUGH THE ASSORTMENT of hair elastics, braided string bracelets and Livestrong-type rubber wristbands on my forearm. Eventually, my fingers isolated the worn, faded blue-and-green friendship bracelet Alex gave me when we were ten. It wasn’t as profound a gift as it sounds. His mother’s boss’s daughter gave it to Alex, and he begged me to take it so his mother wouldn’t be mad at him for not wearing it.
    Still, I had worn it religiously since then. My other bracelets all came off for stage roles, but this one was so faded by now that you could barely see it onstage, and it was so worn I was afraid it would shred to pieces if I tried to untie it.
    I picked at the knot now, but it was too secure, like the strands had fused together over the years. I couldn’t create any space between the strings. Frustrated, I took a pair of scissors from my desk drawer and held the sharp edge against the fragile yarn. One slice was all it would take. I inhaled sharply, closed my eyes, exhaled, and put the scissors back in the drawer. Rummaging through my junk drawer, I found a white rubber wristband that said “Peace for all”. I didn’t even remember where it came from, but it was the perfect size to cover up the old friendship band stuck on my wrist.
    *
    Thursday afternoon, Mr. Ellison held the school year’s first meeting of the Crudup Drama Club. (That’s what CDC stands for -- not to be confused with the Centers for Disease Control although sometimes it feels like we, too, deal with hard-to-solve, life-threatening crises.) The usual suspects were there, plus Mr. Lord and minus Alex. Having Adrienne next to me instead of Alex kept me firmly off kilter.
    If CDC were a show, our cast list would go something like this:
     
    CDC CAST LIST
THE TEACHERS
MR. ELLISON, LONG-TIME ENGLISH TEACHER AND CDC DIRECTOR, THINNING WHITE HAIR, WIRE-FRAMED GLASSES, GENTLE MANNER AND EASY SMILE; JUST A TOUCH CREEPY LOOKING, LIKE HE BELONGED IN A SLASHER FILM
 
MR. LORD , THE NEW MUSIC TEACHER, FORMER TEEN STAR AND HAS-BEEN MUSICAL THEATRE ACTOR; CURRENT HOPES AND DREAMS A MYSTERY
 
STUDENTS -- THE HARD-CORE THESPIANS
SADIE , MEDIUM HEIGHT, LEGS TOO LONG FOR HER BODY, THICK WAVY LIGHT AUBURN HAIR, BORING BROWN EYES, GREATEST THEATRE LOVER OF THEM ALL
 
ADRIENNE , CUTE GIRL WITH BASIC BROWN HAIR, SLIGHTLY STOCKY, CONTENT TO BE BEHIND THE SCENES, RUNS THE STAGE CREW, LOYAL AND RELIABLE
 
LUCEY , BLONDE HAIR SWIRLING IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES, BIG BLUE EYES, BIG VOICE, AND BIG ATTITUDE
 
JOCELYN , STRAIGHT BLACK HAIR, A FEW FRECKLES, ALWAYS DECKED OUT IN THE LATEST STYLES, CONFIDENCE OUT OF PROPORTION TO HER TALENT
 
KRISTINA , THE OVER-ACHIEVER, LONG BROWN HAIR, DOE EYES, ONE OF THE SMARTER KIDS IN SCHOOL BUT PRETENDS TO BE STUPID SO JOCELYN AND LUCEY WILL LIKE HER
 
BEN , THE NERD COMPLETE WITH GOOFY GLASSES AND LOW SELF-ESTEEM, COMES ALIVE WHEN HE SINGS, PROBABLY THE BEST SINGER OF US ALL, BUT UNFORTUNATELY A STIFF ACTOR AND NOT LEADING-MAN MATERIAL
 
FOSTER , SECOND-BEST GUY SINGER, GOOD LOOKING IN A PRETTY WAY, WANTS TO BE LADY GAGA AND WON’T LET HIS GENDER OR RACE HOLD HIM BACK
 
THE OTHER STUDENTS
LINDSAY , THE JOCK/CLASS CLOWN WHO DOESN’T CARE WHAT ANYONE THINKS OF HIM; SAYS HE DOES CDC BECAUSE WE GET CREDIT, IT’S AN EASY A, AND HE GETS TO HANG WITH ALL THE HOT GIRLS; A DECENT SINGER, MAKES UP FOR HIS LACK OF TALENT WITH ENTHUSIASM
 
AIMEE, DECENT VOICE, SHOCKING RED HAIR
 
EMILY, BEAUTIFUL BUT PAINFULLY SHY GIRL, TURNS INTO A DIFFERENT PERSON ON STAGE
 
JASON, KEEPS HOPING