In the Spotlight Read Online Free PDF

Who’s next to audition for Chad?”
    A few more guys tried their hand at Chad’s part, but none of them came close to Josh’s smooth tone. I shifted anxiously, wishing Ms. Bard would skip right to Kyle’s audition. When Kyle’s turn came, I could feel the anticipation in the room. It followed him as he climbed the stairs to the stage, and it reached a near frenzied pitch as the pianist warmed up.
    Kyle opened his mouth, and the audition song spilled out. I waited for the swirl of amazement to hit me, but it never did. Kyle’s audition seemed flat to me. There was no emotion in his voice, no connection to Chad. I found myself stealing glances at Ms. Bard, wondering if she felt it too.
    When Kyle finished, the applause was polite. A few girls gushed to him as he came back to his seat. From the look on his face, it was clear that Kyle sensed defeat, or at least near defeat, because he immediately went to Ms. Bard. The two of them held a tense, maybe a little terse, conversation before Kyle stalked back to his seat and sat down, arms crossed.
    “He wasn’t as good as I thought he’d be,” Kaylee whispered.
    “I know what you mean,” I whispered back reluctantly, my eyes straying across the room to Josh. He was leaning slightly forward in his chair, his hands laced together, resting on his knees.
    His posture gave me the impression that he was tense, and I guess he was because he was sort of out of his element. Or was he? What if Josh had been some amazing drama geek back at his old school?
    And when he transferred here, he decided to remake his image into that of a jock? It was a nice theory anyway. But if he was trying to remake his image here, why would he be auditioning for the musical?
    “Hey, Mags,” I whispered. “Have you heard anything about why Josh is trying out for the musical?”
    Maggie shook her head. “Not yet, but don’t worry I have my ears open.”
    For a first class gossip, Maggie could be surprisingly disappointing at times. I was trying to mull over some possibilities when Maggie leaned over to me again and in an excited whisper said, “Do you think it’s because he’s on the injured list for basketball? You know, ever since he heroically saved you.”
    I rolled my eyes. When were people going to stop talking about that? The guy had knocked a basketball away from my head, not pulled me from the clutches of a runaway train. And besides, what was the worst that could’ve happened to him? A bruised knee? What a baby. Although he had been in a walking boot for a few days. Whatever. He was still a big baby.
    “Whatever, Mags,” Kaylee whispered from my other side.
    Thank goodness for Kaylee. “He’s probably just trying to prove that he’s good at everything he does.”
    Frowning, I glanced back over at Josh. He didn’t seem like he was trying to prove anything to anyone. He sort of looked like he really wanted the part. In a way, I felt sorry for him.
    Thankfully, Ms. Bard interrupted our ponderings by announcing that the Kelly auditions would begin. Kaylee and Maggie squeezed my hands. They were the only people, aside from Ms. Bard, who knew I’d decided to audition for Kelly in addition to the role of Kelly’s little sister. Claudia was called first to read and sing. Not to sound petty or anything, but she was terrible. Her reading felt like she was auditioning for a role on some MTV reality show, and her song sounded like a dying giraffe; giraffes don’t have vocal chords.
    I watched with relief as Claudia got off the stage to a rather disapproving look from Ms. Bard. Only one other girl signed up to audition for Kelly. Michelle Martin was a senior, and in my personal opinion, amazing in all things drama related. Plus, she had a really sweet demeanor, and every time she was up against anyone for a role, she cheered louder for her competition than anyone else.
    And her audition was close to miraculous. I actually closed my eyes while she sang because I loved listening to her voice.