SZNS SERIES 1: Summer

by Maria Writes

  Free me, free us.

  As Jesse go on with the song, Chloe can't help but close her eyes and let her mind lose at the voice she's hearing. She's forcing herself not to tear up because the song is very close to her heart.

  Is this a coincidence or Jesse is doing this on purpose? Maybe he saw my audition tape on the Thespian hall? I must check it later. She is feeling uneasy. This can be done on purpose or Jesse just didn't know about it. Maybe he saw the movie that is why he had an idea about the song? Maybe. There are a lot of questions running on her head but she decided to shrug it off and pay full attention to the man singing on stage.

  Suddenly the moment's here, I embrace my fears.

  More than I have been carrying in all these years.

  Should I risk it all?

  Come this far just to fall, fall.

  Chloe can feel every emotion Jesse is exerting as he hit every notes of the song. She just closed her eyes and sang with him silently. Suddenly, the song came to its end. She took a deep breath and just let Caroline do all the comments. Jesse then proceeds to his acting piece, but her thoughts are still on the song he did.

  Her thoughts are all jumbled. She quickly excused herself, she rushed outside of the audition hall to breathe. She needs tons of air. She doesn't know why she's feeling like that over an audition song. Surely it was just a coincidence.

  To clear her mind of any confusion, she ran toward the drama hall, to see if her audition tape is there on display. She was panting as she opens the door which was luckily unlocked. She rushed to her portrait and checked the small table below it.

  Her first script was still there, together with her photographs. But the CD containing her audition clip is missing. I knew it. She checks Caroline's portrait to see if her audition tape was there and it is. So that means someone took her audition tape and showed it to Jesse, or maybe it was him who actually took it.

  But why? Why does he have to sing the same song I did before? What is he trying to say?

  She went out of the room and proceed to the audition hall. Caroline must be looking for her. The people inside the hall is now decreasing and Jesse is nowhere to be found. She sat on her chair and Caroline just smiled at her.

  The audition went on for a few more hours. There's still a lot to do after that. After lunch they'll be announcing the accepted auditionees, then they'll help them move in to the boarding house, then at 8 pm they'll be having their initiation night, which is basically just a party on the school grounds. Then by tomorrow, they're going to have their first meeting.

  By next week, everybody is going to be super busy because the classes will finally start. So, she has to balance everything or else, she'll lose her mind.

  "Let's go get some lunch, Chloe. I'm very exhausted this week. Good thing we'll have some drinks tonight." Caroline said while shoving all her stuff in her purse. She stood up and followed her out of the audition hall. They walked side by side until they reach the cafeteria.

  People are looking at them as they walk with grace across the hall. It's really weird because people think that Caroline and her are some sort of the university's mean girls when in fact their just humble drama students. They just have their own stylish ways but they're far way better than those plastic Barbies as seen on the movie.

  They turned left for the cafeteria when an arm was drape on her shoulder. She glanced on her side and saw Jesse smirking at her. Caroline then rushed to the food section and left her with Jesse. "What do you want, Jesse? And why do you have your arm on me? Remove it."

  Chloe shrugged Jesse's arm off her shoulder, but the latter just keep on putting it back so she just shut her mouth.

  "Ginger! How was my audition? I killed that song, right? Am I in? Tell me I'm because there is no way I'm failing that audition. I had a good voice. And I'm good looking too."

  Chloe rolled her eyes at Jesse "Wait for the announcement after lunch for the results, and as for your piece, do you know that I did the same song on my freshman year? And my audition tape is not in the drama hall that means someone must have took it. Did you?"

  "Okay, why would I do that? I didn't know you did that song as well. I'm a fan of Xtina, you know. Hey, have you seen that movie? You should see that, it was awesome."

  "I've seen that movie, a thousand times if you may ask. I'm a fan of her as well. And that song is really strong. It triggers tons of emotion that is why I chose that before. I'm sorry, I thought you messed with my audition tape, someone took it for sure, I'll just ask the security for the footage to see who stole it." She saw Jesse's eyes widen. Gotcha!

  He led her to the food section to choose her lunch. She asked the cafeteria lady for some pasta and garlic bread. Jesse chose the same. While waiting for their order to be ready, she notice a bunch of girls staring at her with their envious eyes. What is there to be envy about? Then she notices Jesse's arm is still draped on her shoulder. She slightly bumped her elbow on Jesse's side and signaled him to remove his arm but he held her closely to him even more.

  "You now, you really have to remove your arm over my shoulder or else I'll tear it off of you." Good thing Jesse removed his arms, but to her surprise, Jesse held her hand. This guy is so persistent, so instead of telling him to let go, she decided not to give any attention to it. She's just getting tired of telling Jesse what he shouldn't do.

  Finally, their lunch is ready, they quickly grabbed their trays and took a seat beside Caroline where she's talking to Max, one of the auditionees. She can still feel the prying eyes of the ladies earlier because Jesse is sitting beside her.

  "You should keep your distance from me, Jesse. I don't want those ladies to kill me. They've been looking at me weirdly, as if I did something wrong to them. I hate when people give me sharp gazes, it makes me feel uneasy."

  "Don't mind them" was all Jesse said and continued eating.

  While Caroline on the other hand is being talkative, which is very unlikely of her. "So, after lunch we're going to announce the result of the auditions. You should be back in the audition hall, I assure you, you're in."

  Max's eyes widen at what Caroline said, and so is hers. "Care, why are you spilling the results of the auditions? It's not yet time."

  "Oh, you silly, it's fine, they'll know it any way. So, what's the deal with you and my brother huh? Are you together now?"

  Jesse chokes on his food while she almost spilled her coffee. "Oh, no. We're not. He's my bodyguard today. He keeps on following me, right Jess?"

  "Yes, I'm like Ginger's personal bodyguard." he said while smirking.

  She finishes her lunch the same time as the bell rings. She instantly got up from her seat together with Caroline, Jesse, and Max. Side by side, all four of them head out of the cafeteria. They were walking towards the audition hall when she remembered something.

  "You guys should go first, I'll just check something with the security. I'll be fast." but before she could turn, Caroline grabbed her wrist and pull her inside the hall. "You could do that later, a lot of people are waiting for us now, I'm sure whatever you'll do could wait. Security won't run away. Don't worry"

  And Caroline was right, when they entered the hall, it is already crowded, some were already standing because of the lack of chairs. Chloe and Caroline went up the stage to announce the results.

  "Welcome everybody, today Caroline Reed and I are going to announce the results of this year's audition for the HFThespians. If your name is called please proceed to the seats in front."

  She then gave Caroline the honors to announce the result. "Let's start off with the ladies. First on our list is Britney Davis, Ashley Smith, Katherine Lewis, Ally Hammond, Barbara Heinz, Nadine Hudson, Kayla Clark...”

  Caroline went on with the list of the ladies who got in. So far, they accepted 15 ladies to participate on this organization. She just listens as Caroline read the list and every lady being called approach the stage in glee.

  "Now, let's go with the male participants for the HFThespians this year." When it's h
er turn to read the list of the male participants, she read it slowly to see if the name she's looking for made the final list.

  Caroline did the last check because she was busy with their script and the list of competition, they'll join throughout the school year. "the last five will be David Young, Paul Justin Smith, Max White, Blake Campbell, and Jesse Reed. The rest you can try again next time or reach out to us if you want to be a part of our production team. Thank you everybody and congratulations to the organization's newest set of actors and actresses."

  Chloe and Caroline went down the stage to congratulate the people once again, "Okay, so go back to your dorms, and prepare to move in with us in the boarding house. Be there in an hour or two."

  "And tonight, we're going to have some party, that'll be your initiation. We are going to drink till we drop. Then tomorrow, we're going to start our meeting before classes start next week." Caroline added.

  Everybody is in delight including her and Caroline. All of them are talking about

  "Chloe, I told you we can do it." Caroline gave her a very tight hug. It made her tear up but she quickly shed it away.

  "I can't believe we did it, Care. Let's go back to the boarding house and prepare for tonight. Let's buy some groceries, we should cook them dinner. To welcome them to their new home and their new family." Caroline nodded and agreed with her idea. She clung her arms to Caroline's and they walked together out of the audition hall.

  She still can't believe they did it. The past three years' auditions were a mess because of the seniors who's been handling them. But luckily, they didn't have a hard time with it. The nervousness she felt the entire week completely vanished, as if she never felt it.

  After buying stuffs in the grocery, she and Caroline grab some coffee in the café nearby the head home. They were nearing the boarding house when Jesse caught up with them with a backpack on his shoulder and a trolley bag on the other hand.

  "Someone looks excited. But that's okay, you can help me and Caroline cook dinner for the others." She smiled at Jesse.

  So far, she's getting used with Jesse following them around. Caroline was busy opening the door when she saw the lady who was glaring at her earlier at the cafeteria. She was eyeing her and Jesse. So, to piss her off more, she wraps her arm around Jesse's that made the latter look at her with shock.

  She leans toward Jesse's ear then whisper "Remember the lady I told you about in the cafeteria earlier? She's glaring at me now, looks like I pissed her more when I went close to you."

  Jesse looked at their back and gave the lady a smug look, she just laughs and went inside the house. She ran to her room to change her clothes. She has to be presentable tonight because she'll be facing tons of people tonight, and that bitch might attend the party as well.

  And of course, Jesse will be there.

  CHAPTER 6:

  Makeup, Make Out

  Chloe and Caroline just finished cooking dinner while Jesse is arranging the table, some of the thespians are already here in the boarding house and fixing everything in their respective rooms. For dinner, they cooked a Spanish dish she taught Caroline, some desserts that are placed in cute little dessert glasses. She came from a Spanish bloodline so she knows a bit or two about its culture.

  Loud knocks were heard from the door so she quickly wiped her hands and welcomed the new comers.

  Outside their house are more thespians that she greeted. "Oh my god! Come in. We already prepared your rooms; this house is enormous so we have tons to rooms to choose from. Come on, I'll show you upstairs"

  She guided everybody upstairs to let them choose their room. When everybody is settled, she went downstairs to fix the final touches of their dinner. She was putting everything on the table when Jesse entered with carrying a beer dispenser. It seems like they're really going to get wasted tonight.

  After everything was settled, they all had a hearty dinner. Everybody enjoyed the dish that she and Caroline cooked. So far, everybody here is very friendly. And she likes that. Now, they are talking about everything under the sun, getting to know each other, and knowing their expectations.

  "Well, my father had always wanted me to become a lawyer, but I wanted to become and actress or a teacher maybe, my mother doesn't give a damn about what I want, so I gathered all the courage and strength I have and told my father what I wanted.

  Good thing he agreed, but that earned me a slap in my face. I'm already over it." Everybody is looking at Barbara, or Barbie as she like to call herself, as she shares her experiences before going to Heighfield. Barbie is the youngest, she is one of the freshmen and at the age of 19, she can see that this kid has the potential in the limelight.

  Next to share is Allison Hammond, or Allie for short. At the mention of her name, she quickly took a glance at Jesse to see his emotion, his mother had the same name, so maybe it might sour his mood. Good thing it didn't "Well, I came from a well-known school somewhere in Hollywood, then we moved to San Diego, then moved again here to Los Angeles. I never imagine that I'll be entering a school like this, I've always wanted to be a singer so I entered this school. I never thought I'll end up being an actress. But that is great right? I'll learn not just to sing but to act as well, so maybe after college, I'll be joining some musical theater. Or create my own play. We never know, the possibility is endless. But I declare, that chapter of my life starts now."

  Chloe is happy that every one of them already have a goal in life. Most of them will purse acting, some wanted to be singers, and dancers. A few of them will go into directing, while she will be pursing her dream of being an author and a playwright. She is happy for them; she is happy for the family they've created this year. She knows that these people still have a lot to unveil and she can't wait for their stories to be told.

  "What about you Brit? We really love hearing you manly voice." Everybody laughs at Caroline's description of Britney's voice. But that's true, how can a voice like that fit for a woman with elegance coating around her. Looking at Britney, she can sense that the lady has the potential to own the stage and make a name for herself.

  Britney smiled at them then sighed before talking. "Well, there's nothing much to know about me. I was an orphaned at the age of 7. My parents died from a car accident. No one from my relatives wants to take me in, so I was in and out of foster homes. Being in foster homes was pretty cool at first, honestly. Maybe because I was too young that time. They clothed me, feed me, send me to the school that I want, but I was never happy. At the age of 15, I decided to go on my own. I want to do something for a living, not just obey rules inside an institution that felt like it's channeling you to be perfect. So, I ran away from the foster home where I was living. I have nothing with me. So, I did everything to survive. Then I came across this cabaret club and they were hiring that time. I took risk even though I was still a minor back then."

  They can sense that Britney is having a hard time telling her story but she still continued "I looked older than my real age, so I go on with it when I heard that they are not looking for any credentials, which is beneficial for my part because I don't have any. They let me audition, so I did my best to showcase the best sing and dance I can do. I got accepted. Then, Audrey, the club owner, she instantly knew that I was underage. But I told her I love what I do. So, she let work, she let live with her, she fed my, she clothed me, she even insisted me to go back to school. She provided everything for me. But she's not controlling, that's what I love about her. She pays me every time I perform and handmade every costume, I use for her shows even though she already did too much for me. Those money that she gave me is what I use to get in here. And that's me. Told you there's nothing much to know but me."

  Everybody is looking at Britney with awe in their face. She'd been through so much. Britney immediately notice the stares at her. "If you guys think that I'm not part of the virgin society because I worked on a club, then think again cause I still am. So, stop looking at me like that." Then out of nowhere, she spoke with her iconic voi
ce that got everybody laughing "And besides, my manly voice creeps the hell out of the dudes in the club. They thought I'm gay."

  All of them are laughing, they passed time for a bit by getting to know each other, after she led everyone out of the house, toward the school grounds. The initiation happening tonight is a secret event that the school administrator never knew. Barry, one of the seniors of the Harmophonics; a vocal group of the university, turned off the school camera so no one will know about their spree tonight.

  The school ground is already crowded, the music is blasting everywhere. Beers are being passed to everyone who enter the vicinity of the grounds. Everybody is dancing, some are shouting over the music. While she was just standing there, looking at the excitement on everybody's faces while she drinks her beer.

  She was about to get some more beer when Jesse approaches her. She laughed at the way Jesse sway while walking towards her. "You're drunk, and we've been here for what, an hour?" Chloe supported Jesse from falling by holding his shoulders and guided him to sit on the pavement with her.

  "Nope, I'm not drunk, Ginger. Just a bit." Jesse closed her eyes and lean toward her, making his head lay on is shoulder. "Ginger, remember in the café, when we had our first date, I asked you something. Remember that?" Jesse might not be aware of what his saying right now. It's been weeks, but why bring that up now?