AC/DC

Chapter III

"Alright everyone," I said to the group of 25 students who had attended the auditions in the school hall, "Welcome to the auditions for our school play- The Englishes!"

"The title sounds weird," said someone in the crowd.

"It's supposed to sound weird," I told them, as Connor beamed, "But it's going to blow everyone away when we perform it."

For some reason, the group of students gave me a resounding "Wow" that lasted for 10 seconds. I was unsure whether they actually meant it or were being sarcastic.

"Here's the completed version of the script for everyone to go through," said Connor as he passed a copy of a script to each person, "We will be finalizing the parts today." 

"All of you are given 10 minutes to go through it and choose the character you'd like to audition," I said.

As Connor came back with an extra script, I asked him quietly, "Where's Juliana? She was supposed to be here half an hour ago."

"I have no idea," admitted Connor, "Why don't you try calling her?"

"She'll be here," I assured him, "Let's just cast the other roles first."

 I turned towards the group of eager students, hoping to find the right people for the roles I had in mind. 

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"Wow," said Connor in amazement right after the audition had ended, "I think we really hit the jackpot with the cast."

I nodded my head, and continued, "I really hope that they can pull it off."

Connor and I smiled at each other once more, proud of the work that we had done.

"Mark!" said Madam Mallory in a loud voice as she entered the school hall, ending our moment, "I thought lazing off with your comrades was not the job I gave you to do."

"Sorry Madam Mallory," we said simultaneously and jumped up like bullets, "We were just taking a break from the auditions."

"Then I suppose you've got the whole cast for the play," said Madam Mallory.

I bit my lip as I realized that Juliana had still not arrived.

"Yes, yes we have." I replied to Madam Mallory, as Connor pulled a face full of horror.

"Show them to me," she ordered.

Connor and I showed her the cast that we had recruited for the play.

"There's going to be 15 people in the entire crew, including those who are working backstage," I told Madam Mallory.

"How many cast members are required in the script?" she enquired.

"Eight," said Connor as he put up eight fingers to indicate the number of cast members.

"But I only see seven of them here," protested Madam Mallory, as my face and Connor's both turned pale.

"What do you mean, Madam Mallory?" questioned Connor innocently as he jumped to my rescue.

Alas, Madam Mallory saw through our lies easily, as she approached the seven cast members and cross-checked the roles they were playing.

"Where's the girl who's supposed to play Isabella Cortez?" she questioned, with a sense of urgency and apprehension in her voice.

Connor was about to answer for me, but I prevented him from doing so by telling the truth.

"That role's meant for Juliana Alejandra," I explained, "She's not here today."

Madam Mallory was not amused by my explanation.