The Show Must Go On! Read Online Free PDF

around and realized that everyone on the stage was wide eyed—and they were all staring right at her!

CHAPTER 5
    â€œThank you, Tiffany, for that very entertaining piece of folklore,” Ms. Hollows said as she came back into the auditorium. “As you can see, the problem with the lights has been resolved. Now if we can all get back to reality, I’d like to run through one more scene.”
    Bree did her best to focus as the rehearsal continued, but Tiffany’s story had really shaken her. Cursed! she thought. Could the play really be cursed? Was that what she had been feeling all along? Was such a thing even possible?
    Bree was by nature a pretty rational, straightforward person. She liked ghost stories but never truly believed in the supernatural. But a strange feeling of dread began to work its way into her subconscious. She was sure shewanted to be here doing this play. But there was something else . . . something she just couldn’t put her finger on that was making her question that decision.
    When rehearsal ended, she headed from the auditorium feeling unsatisfied. She thought that the first part of the rehearsal had gone very well. Then the lights had gone out and Tiffany had told her story. Bree was much less pleased with the quality of the scenes she had run through after that.
    â€œYou okay?” Melissa asked, catching up to Bree at the front door of the school. “You seemed kinda out of it during that last scene.”
    â€œI don’t know, Lis, that story Tiffany told about the play really freaked me out,” Bree explained.
    â€œOh, she’s just trying to get under your skin,” Melissa said. “She’s still all bent out of shape about not getting the lead. She’s probably trying to rattle you so Ms. Hollows reconsiders. Don’t let her mess with your mind. You’re doing a great job. You were born to be Carrie!”
    â€œThanks, Lis. I think,” Bree said hesitantly. She knew that Melissa’s comment was intended as a compliment, but it reminded her of what Ms. Hollows had said on the day of the auditions: The play has been waiting for you. Bothstatements carried a strange sense of destiny that made Bree very uncomfortable.
    Bree and Melissa stepped out of the building and into a raging thunderstorm.
    â€œOkay, well, that explains why the lights went out,” Bree said, looking out at the wind-whipped trees and sheets of torrential rain. She felt relieved to find a logical explanation for the creepy incident that had so closely mimicked the events in the play.
    â€œFor sure,” Melissa agreed. “I just hope I have power at home. I have tons of chatting to do online! See ya tomorrow, Bree.” Melissa trotted over to where her older brother waited in his car to give her a ride home.
    â€œHi, Gabrielle ,” said someone from behind her. Bree spun around and saw Tiffany standing on the steps of the school.
    â€œTiffany!” Bree cried, startled to hear a classmate calling her by her full name.
    â€œI have something to tell you,” Tiffany said.
    Bree thought she had said quite enough for one day already. Or was she actually going to apologize for always being so snotty?
    â€œOkay,” Bree said cautiously.
    â€œYou’re going to hate playing the lead,” Tiffany spat out, contempt dripping from every word. “In fact, you’re going to be sorry that you ever even tried out for this play.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” she asked.
    â€œThe amount of work is intense,” Tiffany continued, stepping up right next to Bree. “Learning all those lines. All the pressure of the whole play revolving around you. Everyone is depending on you, you know. That’s what comes with being the lead. And it’s so easy to let down the whole cast . . . the whole school, actually. One little mistake, one tiny thing done wrong, and you could ruin the play for everyone.”
    Bree was