SCENE 2
The camp looked massive on the outside when Craig first pulled up and parked. He could only imagine what the inside was like. He pulled his boulder-heavy luggage from the trunk of his car and ran for the entrance doors. His heart raced as he pushed the doors open and walked into the phenomenal building. The walls were a beautiful shade of white and the floor was covered in a thick blanket of blue-gray carpet. Short wooden tables and chairs sat in a straight row to Craig’s right in an orderly fashion. Craig started looking around for Jerald. “Where is he?” Nonetheless, Craig was almost overwhelmed by the happiness overloading his heart. It wasn’t long until Jerald finally walked in through the entrance doors, also pulling an epic bag of luggage behind him. “Finally! My dream has come true!” He pauses for a moment. “That sounded very cliché!” Jerald was well-known for his humorous self-awareness since it was one of his most interesting qualities. Craig walked over to him and they gave each other high fives. “No kidding. So… we’re finally here. At the camp we’ve been dreaming of for what feels like years!” Craig exclaimed.
“I’m guessing you feel like singing right about now?” Jerald added.
“You know me so well.”
“Oh, great.” Jerald chuckled.
Craig started dancing as if he were a cartoon character from the 90s. He then began to sing. “I’ve been excited since the day, the day that we were told that this is the camp to which we have been enrolled. Now we’re here and it’s so exciting and the people seem so inviting! Singing has been the one thing we’ve dreamed to do, and now that dream has finally come true! Singing is the one thing I could do all day! Here at camp, I may be the one to sing in the play! But first, the auditions I must attend and give the judges 100 percent! Because singing is why I’m here, and here, I have nothing to fear! Here at camp, I can sing A Capella and perform a singing extravaganza! Or even rap with some friends, all the way until the end! Maybe even vocalize, with my friends to socialize! I can even beatbox and rap, making my singing look like a snap! But if I don’t make it into the play, then I might have a singing rage!”
Jerald decided he should step in and sing with Craig, and make sure he doesn’t have a temper tantrum. “If you have a singing rage, you may be placed inside a cage!”
“And then, I may cry, not being in the play would make me mentally die!”
“But if being in the play isn’t God’s will, it’s no reason for you to be a pill!”
“Not being in the play would make me so mad, but getting angry would be really bad!”
“Not being in the play is not a big deal, and that is how I really feel.”
“When I think about it all I need is practice, and when I practice, I know I’ve got this.”
“All I want to tell you is that I know, and I believe you can do this!”
“Here at camp, I can sing A Capella and perform a singing extravaganza! Or even rap with some friends, all the way until the end! Maybe even vocalize, with my friends to socialize! I can even beatbox and rap, making my singing look like a snap!” Craig stopped singing and continued as if the singing never happened. “All right, now that that’s done, let’s go get ourselves signed in.”
Jerald scoffed. “You think?”
“Your sarcastic comment is sarcastic.” Craig told Jerald as they walked up to the sign-up desk where a big, well-dressed man in his mid-40s sat, checking off people’s names until he noticed the two. “Well, hello. Who might you two be?” The man asked.
“My name is Craig Stevenson, and this is my friend Jerald Peter.” Craig answered. The man checks both Craig and Jerald’s names off the list. “All right. Now all you’ll need is a mark to show that you are a part of the Filming Arts & Acting Industry.” Craig and Jerald instinctively hold out their right hands with the palms facing up and laid them on the desk. The man pulled the lid off a marker and drew a cross on each of their wrists. “You’re all set! I hope you gentlemen have a wonderful experience.”
“Thank you, sir. We will.” Jerald responded as he walked away with Craig, both still dragging their overloaded luggage bags. Craig strained as he looked around, noticing the minimal number of teenagers in the building with them. “There’s a surprisingly small number of teens who enrolled into this camp.” Craig uttered.
“You just now realized that?” Jerald asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.
“Don’t judge me.” Craig and Jerald kept walking until they approached a tall, slender teenager with short, greasy blond hair holding two massive bags of luggage. He didn’t exactly look like the type that worked out, but he seemed to be fine with holding a bag of luggage in each hand. The teen had a somewhat high voice for his age. “Oh, hello there!” He waved his right hand wildly and smacked his lips which deeply disturbed Craig and Jerald, but they tried to keep a smile on their faces. “My name is Zachary! Zachary Flaughy. But most people call me ‘Laughy.’” Craig and Jerald exchanged quick glances at each other before Jerald spoke up. “Cool. My name is Jerald Peter, and this is my friend, Craig Stevenson.”
“So, what brought you to this camp?” Craig asked.
“Well, I’ve loved singing since I was about two years old and I’m only singing more the older I get. And that’s pretty much the main reason I’m here.” Zachary stated as if he had practiced that sentence a hundred times to himself in front of a mirror.
“That makes three of us.” Craig said.
“By the way, what do you guys plan on doing when it’s time for auditions for the upcoming Musicale?”
“We plan on performing A Capella. Although now that I think about it, what kind of A Capella should we perform, Jerald?”
Jerald finally got a chance to talk. “Hmm… I’ve got an idea! We could perform a popular theme from a popular video game. And I’m pretty sure you know which one I’m talking about.”
Craig knew exactly what Jerald was talking about. “Does this video game’s main character’s name start with an ‘m?’”
“Indeed, it does.”
“We’ll show everyone who does A Capella the best.” Craig’s pride was interrupted by four teenagers approaching them. “So, you must be the new arrivals. My name is Jerald Harriet, and these are my friends.” Jerald H pointed to his friends as he introduced them. “That’s Mary Ferill. John White. And finally, Marcus Bett, but we call him ‘Mute,’ since he sadly cannot talk, but he kills it on the drums.” Jerald H was the second tallest of the group. He had long dark brown bangs that swooped across his face matching the color of his slim eyes. Mary was the shortest; her hair was long, silky, and black that gave Craig the chills. John was barely shorter than Jerald H, but he had a shaved head that was covered by a smoky gray fedora. The guy was always grinning and showing his braced teeth. Mute was by far the tallest, and the buffest. He had strawberry blond hair that was pulled back into a bun that only made the walking muscle look more intimidating. But, Craig was thrilled to have met so many new people already, he couldn’t help but introduce himself and his friends like the other Jerald did. “Awesome! I’m Craig Stevenson and my friends are Jerald Peter and Zachary Flaughy. So, are you guys like a band or something?”
“That’s exactly what we are. We are the Jesus Jammers. We all agreed on that name since we’re all Christians.” Jerald H replied. Craig was intrigued to hear more when Jerald P spoke. “That sounds pretty catchy.”
“Thanks. If you don’t mind me asking, what do you guys do?” The surprisingly low voice came from John.
“Jerald, Zachary and I can all sing, and Jerald and I can do A Capella.”
“That’s neat.” Mary added.
“Students of the Filming Arts & Acting Industry please be seated in the stage room. I have an announcement!” Everyone was startled by Christopher’s booming voice coming from the stage room. The stage room was filled with purple cushion chairs all lined in rows of 7 and columns of 6. There were 3 different sections, a large group of chairs to the left, in the center, and to the right all facing the stage, which had a standard black drum set, an electric keyboard, a red electric guitar, a synthesizer pad, and a small group of amplifiers grouped up by the drums. Everyone took a seat as the man walked onto the stage and got ready to give a speech. “Now as you all know, the summer Musicale is at the end of the week, in approximately seven days. Although, we cannot have a Musicale without singers! So, in about an hour, auditions for the roles in the Musicale will be opened!” The man proclaimed as everyone cheered gleefully, especially Craig. “I know you’re all very excited, but patience is a virtue. In the meantime, do whatever you tend to do while waiting whether it’s singing, vocalizing or whatever you want. Students dismissed.” With that, the students stood and did exactly what the man said they could do: sing, vocalize, or whatever they wanted. Craig left the room with Jerald P and Zachary as they began to converse. “I seriously cannot wait for auditions! Plus, if I don’t get the lead role in the Musicale I might lose my mind!” Craig stated.
“Craig, we sang about that earlier. There’s no need to again.” Jerald P said as they continued walking.
“Still, you would probably feel the same if you wanted the role as badly as I do.” Craig bumped into a young girl with long, bright brown hair with a pair of green eyes and a charming grin, who was talking to a well-built boy who had pimples covering both of his blood-red cheeks. He looks infuriated when Craig bumped into the girl. But Craig knew that he needed to handle this calmly. “Oh, my apologies!” was all Craig could think of.
“Oh, you’re fine. I forgive you. By the way, I’m Stacy Vulgan and this is my step-brother Walter Petersburg.” Stacy had a soothing voice that seemed to make Craig’s heart warm up. He didn’t feel the same when Walter spoke up. “What’s up?” He said, keeping a blank look on his face. Craig was officially intimidated.
“Just waiting for auditions to start up. Oh, my name is Craig Stevenson, and these are my friends Jerald Peter and Zachary Flaughy.” Craig said while Zachary waved his hand crazily.
“So, why are you guys here? Can you even sing or act or anything?” Walter asked abruptly. He clearly is dealing with some anger issues.
“Be nice, Walter!” Stacy threw out. Craig could’ve sworn the two teenagers were trying to play good cop, bad cop because of how ridiculously angry Walter was and how remarkably sweet Stacy was.
“Oh, no, he’s fine. Because in fact, my friends and I can sing quite well if I do say so myself.” Craig replied.
“Really? Can you prove it?” Walter added.
“Yes, we can, once auditions open up.” Jerald answered politely.
“Unless you get passed by.” At this, Craig’s blood was reaching boiling point. He just wanted to grab Walter and exchange some words with him. But, making a scene wouldn’t be the wisest choice. Stacy firmly spoke interrupting Craig’s train of thought. “Walter! Remember what mom said to us?”
“About treating others kindly?” Walter became ominously relaxed.
“Yes! She said, ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’ That’s Luke 6:31.”
“Sorry. I’ve got a bit of an anger problem that I’m currently dealing with. So don’t so surprised if I’m acting like a jerk.”
“It’s all right. We’ll still hang out with you, but in the meantime, we should all be practicing for the auditions.” Zachary said after being quiet for some time.
“Agreed. Well it was nice meeting you, Stacy and Walter.” Jerald said.
“It was nice to meet you as well, Craig, Jerald and Zachary. Good luck with the auditions.” Stacy responded, still smiling with her shining teeth.
“Thanks, you too.” Craig said with his mild sense of pride returning. Stacy and Walter then walked away towards the nearby tables to practice for auditions. “Okay, so we both already know what we’re going to do for auditions, but do you think it’s going to be good enough for us to get the lead roles in the Musicale? Because we’ve got some tough competition.” Craig continued, his pride and confidence both growing like a weed.
“We’re not ‘competing’ for the lead roles, Craig. We’re just auditioning for any part in the Musicale. And our friends are not competition.” Jerald P clarified.
“Maybe not to you.” Craig was getting more aggravated by the second.
“Anyway, Zachary, would you like to join Craig and I when we audition?” Zachary’s face stretched into an unsettling wide grin. “Oh, absolutely! What are you going to be doing?”
“It’s going to be awesome!” Jerald P then whispered what he and Craig were gonna do for the auditions, which made Zachary’s excitement skyrocket.
“Yes! I love that!” Suddenly, the man’s booming voice came from the stage room as he was about to make another announcement. “All right students of the Filming Arts & Acting Industry, I am proud to announce that the auditions for the Musicale are officially open!” The man said. Everyone cheered for a moment before the man proceeded. “Auditions will take place right here in the stage room, or as we shall call it, our performance room. Now that auditions are opened, I have placed a sign-up sheet for the auditioning which is located directly in the main lobby by the entrance doors!”
“Why didn’t he just put the sign-up sheet there before everyone started arriving?” Jerald P whispered.
Craig chuckled quietly and nudged Jerald P. “That’s a good point.”
The man spoke again. “Now, go on and get yourselves sign up!” The students ran like cheetahs, so they could sign up for auditions. Craig knew that everyone wanted to be in the show, but for him, this was a problem, and the problem needed to be solved. Before he did anything, he spotted Jerald H and his friends, who happened to be the first ones in line to sign up for the show. Could this day get any more frustrating? Craig thought. He turned to Jerald P. “Hey, Jerald.”
“What’s up?” Jerald P said, getting a concerned look on his face.
“Jerald Harriet and his little ‘gang’ are the first in line for the sign ups. They must really want to be in the Musicale.”
“You do realize that the list doesn’t actually go in order, right?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, sometimes the manager of the Musicale just picks auditionees at random.”
“So, there’s a chance that either we might get to audition first, and/or they might audition last?”
“Yes, there’s definitely a chance.”
“Sweet! I really want to go first, honestly, because I’m dying just sitting here, waiting to perform!”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. We’re not performing, we’re auditioning.”
“He’s got a point, Craig. I mean, don’t get your hopes up for the Musicale because what if you don’t get the lead role or even a role at all?” Zachary stated after being silent as a cat.
“Then I’ll just have to persuade him into giving me the lead role.” Craig countered.
“Craig, Proverbs 3:5 and 6 say ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.’” Zachary and Jerald P had one thing in common so far: their Christianity.
“I know you really want this role, but don’t confuse God’s path with yours.” Jerald P noted.
“I’ll try not to.” Craig sighed.
“We really want to be in the play too, don’t get us wrong, but it’s really not a big deal if we don’t make it in. I mean we’re still talented whether we’re in the Musicale or not.” When Zachary finished, the three of them finally approached the sign-up sheet. There was one problem though, they didn’t have a name for their group. “Should we just sign our regular names, or should we come up with a group name?” Craig inquired.
“Ooh! I’ve got a good one!” Zachary cried out.
“What is it?” Jerald P wondered.
“How about ‘A Capella Auditionees?’” No surprise that Zachary came up with such a quirky group name, but it fit, and Craig liked the way Zachary was thinking.
“That’s pretty catchy. I like it. Let’s do it.” Craig said as he wrote down their group name on the sign-up sheet.
“All right, A Capella Auditionees, who’s ready for auditioning?!” Jerald P said as they cheered and gave each other high fives. Jerald H and his friends then walked up to Craig, Jerald P, and Zachary looking like the cool kids on the street. “Well, well, well. I didn’t expect to see you guys again so soon. Signed up for auditions I’m guessing?” Jerald H asked.
“Yes, Craig just finished writing our group name on the sign-up sheet.” Jerald P interjected.
“What’s your guys’ group name?”
“It’s A Capella Auditionees. I think it’s got a nice ring to it.” Zachary answered.
“That name sounds ridiculous!” John exclaimed, only to receive a nudge from Mute as he shook his head in disappointment.
“I think it’s pretty catchy.” Mary said.
“Thanks. By the way, what are you guys doing for your audition?” Craig asked in an unrelaxed manner.
“You guys will have to wait and find out for yourselves, but I can guarantee it’s going to be spectacular.” Jerald H said, seemingly playing with Craig’s emotions.
“I bet it will be.” Zachary replied. The man walked out of the stage room before anyone else could talk and he had to make yet another announcement. “All right, everyone! Sign-ups are closing very shortly and then the auditions will start!” With that, the man casually walked back into the stage room. And before Craig could even think of what to say, Jerald H spoke up. “It was nice talking to you guys again. I’m sure we will again some other time, but my friends and I have got to go practice our song.” He said.
“Okay, we’ll catch you later.” Craig responded.
“Sounds like a plan.” Jerald H then walked into a desolate room back behind the stage room. Craig didn’t bother to go check it out given that he and his friends only had a short amount of time to practice for auditions. Jerald H and his friends can go be weird somewhere else for now. “Is it just me or is that Jerald already starting to act strange?” Zachary questioned, almost fearfully. Craig was glad he wasn’t the only one who thought Jerald H was strange.
“It’s not just you.” Jerald P said, relieving Zachary immensely.
“Oh, thank goodness! I thought I might have been going a bit insane there for a moment.”
“Strange or not strange, we’ve got some auditioning to wait for.” Craig stated impatiently as the man walked back into the main lobby. He made a bee line towards the sign-up sheet. He grabbed it and looked up at Craig and his friends, who were looking right back at the man. “If you gentlemen signed up for auditions, I’ll be looking forward to seeing how you perform.” The man said.
“Thank you, sir. I can almost guarantee you’ll be blown away.” Jerald P said confidently.
“I’m hoping to be.” The man let out a short laugh then smiled. “Good luck.” The man walked back into the stage room and shouted what seemed to be the tenth announcement. “Auditions are now beginning! I repeat, auditions are beginning now! You may wait in the performance room until you are called or in the back room to practice.” Craig grew worrisome. Every second they didn’t practice was a second wasted. “Where do you guys think we should go?” Zachary had asked.
“We should go in the back room, so we can practice our A Capella.” Craig didn’t care if they’d be near Jerald H and his friends at this point. He knew they didn’t have much time left in their hands before they were gonna get called on. “That sounds like that’s the only choice we’ve got if we want Mr. Bartholomew to be blown away.” Jerald P said. Craig and Zachary were dumbfounded when Jerald P said Mr. Bartholomew. “Wait a minute. His last name is ‘Bartholomew?’” Zachary asked still greatly amazed.
“Yes, it is, now…”
“How on Earth do you know that?!”
“His name tag says his full name. Now, let’s hurry into the back room before we get called on for auditioning.” Jerald P was always one who had a good eye for spotting the smallest of details, but in this case, Craig and Zachary just hadn’t noticed something so obvious. The three rushed to the back room, abandoning their luggage that they had been dragging this whole time at a nearby table. “I just love the fact that we carried our luggage everywhere until just as we’re heading back to practice for auditions.” Zachary pointed out as he continued running alongside Craig and Jerald P.
“Now’s not the time to point out what we did in the past.” Craig argued. They came to a stop beside an emergency exit leading to a parking lot behind the building. Craig’s adrenaline was beginning to kick in as his time to shine grew closer and closer. “All right, guys. We’ve got to practice non-stop until we get called on! Are you guys prepared?” Craig exclaimed.
“Well…” Zachary said before Craig interrupted him.
“That’s the spirit! Now, if everyone knows the theme we’re doing an A Capella for, then Jerald, would you like to do bass?”
“Sure thing.” Jerald P replied, wanting to get the practice done and over with.
“And Zach, can you do the percussion?”
“I thought you’d eventually ask!” Zachary cheered. Well, at least he said eventually instead of never.
“Great! Now on my count, we’ll start. One, two, three, ba-ba, ba, ba-ba, ba!”
“Ba.” Jerald P’s pitch was a couple of notes too low. “Oh! Dang it!”
“It’s fine. Let’s do it again. One, two, three, ba-ba, ba, ba-ba, ba!”
“Ba.” Jerald P’s pitch was perfect. Zachary then started beatboxing to the rhythm Craig was leading, while Jerald P continued doing his vocal bass.
“Ba, ba, ba, ba ba ba-ba, ba-ba ba-ba, ba-ba ba, ba-ba-ba. Ba-ba-ba-ba ba, ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba. Ba-ba-ba-ba ba, ba, ba-ba! Ba-ba-ba-ba ba, ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba. Ba, ba, ba!” Craig vocalized joyfully.
“Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba ba. Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba ba. Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba. Ba, ba, ba! Ba-ba ba ba.” Jerald P vocalized simultaneously with Craig while his voice shook the walls. Zachary then stops beatboxing, Craig and Jerald P stop vocalizing. Craig nearly cried from overwhelming contentment. “That was great! That’s exactly how it should sound when we perform!” Craig cried out, trying to not shed any tears.
“I’m a bit surprised at how fast we were able to do the theme correctly.” Zachary pointed out.
“Well, we are the A Capella Auditionees.” Jerald P stated.
“Touché.” Zachary said, not knowing what else he could’ve said. Craig knew they needed to practice again to make sure they don’t make a single mistake. “Now, do you guys want to practice again just to make sure we’ve got down perfectly?” He asked, hoping his friends would say yes or not say anything at all.
“First up to the stage, Stacy Vulgan and Walter Petersburg!” Mr. Bartholomew’s booming voice made Craig’s heart skip a beat or two. He was more than relieved to hear that he and his friends weren’t the first ones up to audition. Even though they got the practice down, Craig wanted to practice more and more because he wanted—needed—the lead role in the show and he wasn’t gonna let a lousy audition get in the way of that. Jerald P let out a relieved sigh. “Whoo! I was a bit worried for a second.” He said.
“If you want us to rehearse the theme once more then I’m totally fine with doing so.” Zachary confirmed.
“It just has to be perfect.” Craig complained.
“Craig, I know that we told Mr. Bartholomew that we would blow him away but that doesn’t always mean it has to be ‘perfect.’” Jerald P sighed.
“Yes! It does. If we want to be in the Musicale, then we mustn’t have any mistakes!” Craig was getting irritated with Jerald P for not feeling the same way he did about getting into the show and having the perfect audition.
“Fine. I’ll do it once more, only because we’re friends.” Jerald P knew he couldn’t convince Craig that their practice was good enough. It’s like nothing is good enough for Craig.
“Okay. We’ll do it just like before. On my count. One, two, thr…” Mr. Bartholomew’s voice could be heard from outside the stage room it was so thunderous. “Thank you, Stacy and Walter. Harold, Karry, what’d you guys think about their act?” Harold was a short redhead who thinks everything must be sophisticated, whereas Karry was most likely the perkiest individual in the building. “I felt that it was quite… sophisticated.” Harold said.
“Harold, you and your sophistication!” Karry groaned. “I honestly think you guys were fabulous!”
“I think it could have looked more professional even though she thinks it’s ‘fabulous.’”
“I enjoyed it greatly. But the question is, do you think they would be good in the Musicale?” Mr. Bartholomew asked.
“Of course!” Karry declared, lacking any hesitation.
“Well, I think with a bit more practice, you guys could definitely pull it off.” Harold informed.
“Thank you so much!” Stacy roared as she hugged Walter.
“You’re very welcome. We expect big things from you guys, like today, in the Musicale.” Mr. Bartholomew announced.
“We’ll do our best.” This came from Walter, who sounded happy for the kind of guy he is.
“Okay. You are dismissed.” Mr. Bartholomew said as Stacy and Walter exited the stage and into the back room, where everyone seemed to want to go. “Next up is, the A Capella Auditionees!” Craig’s worst nightmare is coming true, not being completely and utterly prepared for an audition. “Oh, great. We needed to practice our A Capella again!” Craig exclaimed angrily.
“It’s too late for that!” Jerald P turned Craig around to face a door leading to the stage room and onto the stage. “Our time is now!” The A Capella Auditionees walked into the stage room and onto the stage.
“Hello, gentlemen. What will you be performing for us today?” Mr. Bartholomew queried.
“You’ll have to see. But I’ll give you a hint: we’re going to be doing an A Capella of a famous video game theme.” Craig answered.
Karry squealed in excitement while Harold talked. “I hope you guys sound great.”
“Me too.” Craig said as he gave Jerald P a quick glance, then looked back at Mr. Bartholomew and the others in the seats.
“All right. You may begin whenever you like.” Mr. Bartholomew said as he and the others took a seat and waited for Craig and his friends to perform.
“One, two, three, ba-ba, ba, ba-ba, ba!” Craig started.
“Ba.” Jerald P began, correctly pitched and Zachary started to beatbox.
“Ba, ba, ba, ba ba ba-ba, ba-ba ba-ba, ba-ba ba, ba-ba-ba. Ba-ba-ba-ba ba, ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba. Ba-ba-ba-ba ba, ba, ba-ba! Ba-ba-ba-ba ba, ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba. Ba, ba, ba!” Craig vocalized. This was his moment. He dreamed of this day for years. It reminded him of the middle school years all over again. Jerald P would always beatbox with him and vocalize and make up new songs to sing with him. For Craig, this brought a sort of nostalgia.
“Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba ba. Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba ba. Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba. Ba, ba, ba! Ba-ba ba ba.” Jerald P sounded like a pumped-up bass the way he used his vocals.
Zachary stops beatboxing and the other two stopped vocalizing. Craig had never felt so alive from vocalizing. Now, he just waited to hear applause filling the room. Mr. Bartholomew and the others stood and applauded Craig and his friends. “That was brilliant!” Mr. Bartholomew exclaimed.
“You guys nailed it! You guys have got some skills.” Harold said.
“You guys could establish a quartet if you get one more person to join.” Karry stated.
“You guys will definitely be in the Musicale!” Mr. Bartholomew’s words were music to Craig’s ears. He cheered louder than the roar of a crowd. This was the best moment of his life happening right now. “Thank you, sir!” Craig couldn’t think of anything else to say. His mind was still trying to process the thought of being in the Musicale. “If you don’t mind me asking, which roles do we get in the Musicale?” Zachary asked.
“You guys will do A Capella in the Musicale.” Mr. Bartholomew answered. Craig’s moment had just shattered into pieces. He wanted the lead role in the show, not to do A Capella. Craig decided enough was enough. He couldn’t take it anymore. “Wait a minute. That’s it?” Craig complained.
“I believe so. Is there a problem?” Mr. Bartholomew questioned.
“No, there isn’t.” Jerald P interjected, hoping Craig wouldn’t carry on.
“Yes, there is definitely a problem! How did I only get the role of doing A Capella?! I should’ve got the main character’s role in the Musicale!” Craig roared.
“Now, Craig, your guys’ audition was A Capella, not acting.” Mr. Bartholomew stated.
“He’s got a point, Craig.” Jerald P specified.
“I don’t care! I want the main character’s role in the Musicale and I’m going to get it even if I must use force!” Craig’s burning words were flowing from his mouth like a stream of lava at this point. He couldn’t hold his words back, he needed everyone to know how he truly felt.
“Use force you say?” Harold said firmly.
“I could call my parents and let them know what mistake you’ve made, or I could even sabotage the Musicale!”
“Craig! Sabotaging the Musicale will only make things worse!” Jerald P shouted, trying to find the right words that will snap Craig out of his tantrum.
“If it can’t be my way, then it can’t be anyone’s!”
“Craig, who’s plan do you think it is for you to have the main character’s role in the Musicale?” Zachary asked.
“It’s mine!” The truth finally came out, and there was no taking it back now.
“Craig. I would like you to listen to me for just a moment, please.” Mr. Bartholomew grew tired of Craig throwing a fit. Craig’s anger still boiled, but he knew he had to calm down before he said anything else that could get him into more trouble. All he could do was breath and say okay. “Now, if you want the role of the main character in the Musicale, then we’ll see if we can work something out… under one condition.” Mr. Bartholomew ordered.
“What would that be?” Craig asked.
“No. More. Threats. Or there will be consequences.” The firm tone in Mr. Bartholomew’s voice struck fear into Craig’s head. He tried his best not to show it.
“Yes, sir. I apologize for my unsuitable behavior.” Craig said as polite as he could be currently.
“Thank you. You men are dismissed.” Jerald P, Zachary, and Craig walked off the stage and into the back room. Craig making a scene made Jerald P furious and Zachary fearful of what Craig could be capable of. Jerald P had never seen Craig so irate. He knew he couldn’t let something like this happen again. Not on his watch. He thought to himself that Craig was lucky enough for him to not step in and exchange words with him his own way. But that likely wouldn’t have been much help either. “Next is the Jesus Jammers!” Mr. Bartholomew called. The band walked out onto the stage and stood in a self-assured manner before Mr. Bartholomew and the judges. “Hello, gentlemen and lady. What will you be performing for us today?”
“We’re going to be playing an instrumental song that we’ve been practicing for months now and we believe that we can play it near flawlessly.” Jerald H answered.
“All right. You may begin whenever you guys are ready.”
“Good luck.” Karry said. Harold remained disturbingly silent. Jerald H turned and whispered to his friends. “All right. John, you got your synthesizers up and ready?”
“I most definitely did.” John replied keeping his demented smile on his face.
“Mary, is your bass connected to John’s synthesized amplifier?”
“You bet.” Mary confirmed.
“And Mute, are your drums synthesized?” Jerald asked with Mute simply nodding his head. “Sweet! Let’s show them what we’re made of!” The four of them walked to their places and were ready to start playing. The chords of John’s synthesizer pad sounded soothing, and before long, Jerald H started playing his keyboard, which gave out a nice harp-like noise from each note played. After a few seconds, Mary began playing her bass that sounded heavier and deeper than Jerald P’s voice. And lastly, Mute began beating the drums with his 12-inch drumsticks. “These guys are doing an amazing job, don’t you think?” Harold whispered.
“Yeah, it sounds like they’ve been practicing for quite some time.” Karry responded, still staring at the band as they perform. They continued to play for another minute before Mr. Bartholomew quietly spoke. “I already want these guys to play the background music for our Musicale! They’re phenomenal!” After the band had finished playing their 5 minutes and 17 second song, Mr. Bartholomew and the others stood and clapped powerfully in amazement. Jerald H and his friends stunned Craig and his friends with their performance as they listened from the back room. “Bravo! You guys were astounding!” Mr. Bartholomew cheered.
“Why, thank you very much, sir. We practiced pervasively until we got it just right.” Jerald H said modestly. You don’t hear the word pervasive used very often anymore. Jerald H could’ve just said continuously or have said ‘a lot.’
“And it turned out beautifully! And now, time to decide, which I believe was already made before you guys finished performing. How would you guys like to play the music for the upcoming Musicale?”
“Absolutely!”
“We would be honored!” Mary added.
“Splendid! I’m looking forward to rehearsals already! Now, you guys are dismissed.”
“Thank you again, sir.” Jerald H and his friends then walked off stage into the back room where Craig and his friends were waiting. “Hey, Jammers! You guys sounded fantastic up there.” Jerald P exclaimed.
“Thank you. We really worked hard on that song.” Jerald H said.
“We could definitely tell.” Zachary stated.
“So, how did you guys do? I’m guessing it didn’t go so well based on what everyone heard from Craig.”
“It went very well, but Craig wanted the lead role and threatened Mr. Bartholomew.” Jerald P pointed out.
“You had a temper tantrum just because you wanted some stupid role in the Musicale?!” John questioned. Craig frowned as he walked up to John and pointed at him. “Watch it. I’ve never been given another role other than the lead and I’m not starting now.”
“You may never start for all we know.” Craig then instinctively grabbed John’s shirt and pulled him closer, not letting go. “If you don’t shut up right now…” Before Craig could finish, Jerald P grabbed him by the shoulder. “Let go of him, Craig!” He said as he made Craig let go of John and pulled him away. “It’s bad enough you threatened one man today.” John felt like he was on a roll. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Craig would lose his temper again. “Yeah, Craig. Haven’t you learned your lesson yet? Or do you just keep hearing that singing voice in your head?”
“Don’t push it, John.” Mary said firmly and gave John a stern look.
“We should probably go put our luggage in our room before we forget about it.” Zachary said with his voice trembling lightly. Jerald P couldn’t agree more. “That sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it, Craig?”
Craig’s hands were balled into fists, his face was blood-red from how much anger burned inside of him, but all he did was growled under his breath and said sarcastically, “Sure. It sounds wonderful.”
“Good. Now, let’s be on our way. Take care, guys.” Craig couldn’t stop thinking about how auditions went, but all he could do now was listen to Jerald P and Zachary before things got even more hectic. But as usual, John was feeling quite energetic and just had to express his feelings with everyone instead of keeping his yapper shut. “Now that that’s done, I would say it’s time to celebrate!” John exclaimed.
“And how are you going to celebrate?” Jerald H questioned.
“You should already know this.” John’s ominous grin grew back on his face as he and Jerald said in unison, “Rapping.” There was no turning back now. Once John wanted to rap, he’s gonna start and he’s gonna kill it. “Cue the music!” He cries out as Mute starts beatboxing.
“I can’t believe that we are the band! In the Musicale instead of the A Capella man! Practicing that song got us in the show! I am truly grateful for the part we were bestowed! Rapping this song shows you how I feel! Us playing in the Musicale is for real! And I’m gonna tell you that I’m feeling great! Playing in the Musicale must have been our fate! We have made good use of our time! This is the opportunity of our lifetime! That’s the end of my rapping song! If only you guys would’ve sang along!” John stopped rapping and Mute stopped beatboxing. John still had it in him after months of not rapping. His parents aren’t exactly the biggest fans of rap. Why? John had no clue, it might be because a lot of rappers talk about money and getting girls. John wanted to use rap in a better way than that and he was excellent at it. “You still have it in you.” Jerald H said.
“And he always will.” Mary added, both comments making John’s grin increase in size drastically.
“Well, rap is my favorite genre of music.”
“That’s one thing you and ‘Mute’ have in common.” Jerald H noted as Mute nodded his head and let out a single ‘mm-hmm.’
“That is true. Speaking of truth, I think we’ve seen the true side of Craig today after what happened when he and his friends finished their audition.” John clarified.
“I agree with what John’s talking about. Craig must’ve seriously wanted the lead role in the Musicale if he’s being a menace towards the camp manager and the assistants.” Mary claimed.
“I think someone should be assertive and stand up to Craig.” Jerald H said. His friends knew he was thinking up a plan and when Jerald H thinks up a plan, that plan is foolproof. “It still ticks me off that Mr. Bartholomew allowed Craig to take the lead role by force!” John shouted.
“You know, I think I have an idea of what to do and who to talk to about Craig’s little ‘incident.’” Jerald H declared. He and his friends discussed that night what was going to happen, but he needed to contact someone for his plan to work. Craig needed to learn his lesson at some point. If he doesn’t learn it now, Jerald H thinks he never will. Craig’s time is coming, he just doesn’t know it yet. He’s going to deal with the consequences for what he pulled off during the auditions one way or another whether he wants to or not.
Craig thought about every event that took place today, all the good and all the bad, but concentrated more on the good. He acted as if his tantrum had never happened when he and Jerald P talked in their room. Jerald P had never been more disappointed in Craig in his life. Questions pierced his skull. How could Craig be so selfish? Why would Craig think threatening the manager would do him any good? Why are these questions floating in my head? Craig already knew how Jerald P felt, he just simply didn’t care. All he cared about was singing and being the spotlight in the show. Craig’s narcissism and perfectionism got the best of him and he made everyone else suffer from his hurtful decision making. But all of that was going to change soon. Very soon. All the singing, all the dancing, all the performing Craig wants to do will eventually no longer be in his best interest. Trying to be the best will hopefully no longer be his top priority, no longer his jam. He will find himself not wanting to sing his own songs, but singing someone else’s jam. Their killer jam.
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