Blue Sky and Other Things That Are Good For You

Chapter Two

“Turn the lights off in this place and she shines just like a star” Closer-NeYo

My least favorite class was theater. I needed to have a fine arts credit and before photography opened up, this was the only one I could take. Now though, since I’m taking photography, I don’t actually need this class. But they didn’t have any other classes for me to take at this time, making it so that I was stuck in here.

Mrs. Bergs gets up on stage, “Okay everyone!” the room goes silent, “I’ve chosen the play for this year.” Everyone was hoping for Romeo and Juliet, since we’ve done Shakespeare forever, it would only make sense. “I decided to get off of the Shakespeare trail,” there were some groans from the class, “and moved to Jane Austen.” I wasn’t much of a reader, but I knew who Jane Austen was. “Working with Katie from creative writing, we’ve put together a script for Pride and Prejudice.” Katie, a senior who I guess also takes creative writing, hands out the scripts to everybody. This is how I chose a character, I flipped to a random page of the script and the first woman character on the page was who I would audition for. The booklet opens to a page near the end of the story. Elizabeth was the first woman, so I guess that’s who I was going for.

“I want you all to read the lines of the character you have chosen to audition for. Let’s start.” Mrs. Bergs was the one teacher who picked randomly. She’d see a name and decided she liked it at that moment.

“Blue Sky.” She calls, “that makes me thirsty.” A common joke following my name.

I step up onto stage and tell her that I’m auditioning for Elizabeth. Mrs. Bergs looks surprised for a second and then gestures for me to begin. “From the very beginning, from the first moment I may almost say, of my acquaintance with you, you manners impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form that ground-work of disapprobation, on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.”

The class was silent, all staring at me. “um, yeah. So, can I go back to my seat now?” I ask.

“you’ve got the part.” All the girls’ eyes went wide.

“what?”

“you have this charm that is needed for the character.” She says.

“but Mrs. Bergs. Every girl in here is auditioning for her, you haven’t seen anyone to compare me to.”

“nonsense. You were perfect Sky. You will be playing the part of Elizabeth Bennett.” She says, “now the rest of you girls, please choose one of the sisters or friends. I’m sure you have all read the book by now. And you Sky. You’ll need to watch the movies if you haven’t already.”

“there’s movies?” this again silenced the class. I should’ve kept this conversation for after school.

“well of course there are movies dear.”

“I haven’t even read the book and you want me to watch the movie?”

“okay. Read the book, watch the movies and study the differences between each Elizabeth character.”

I sigh. “fine.” I step down from the stage and go back to my seat in the corner. Amanda, Ryans girlfriend was next.

“before I start. Could I just point out that Blue Sky here doesn’t even appreciate Jane Austen let alone want the part. Why don’t you give it to someone like me who deserves it.” Stuck-up bitch.