Sophisticated Sharks and I'm Soaked and Covered in Glitter

Chapter Eight: Complete and Utter Shock & Don't Look at Me I'm not Even Pretty

That morning I knew immediately that something was off. Very off. It wasn't my clothes, no. I was wearing my typical 'farm girl' attire, hair braided back. It wasn't my face—I'd washed it this morning in the shower. I took a quick look behind me to make sure that my hair wasn't dripping water across the hall. It wasn't. Everyone was looking, so I did the only logical and reasonable reaction: bow my head and cover my face with my hands and run down the halls, which totally doesn't sound stupid! (It does) And yet somehow I was surprised when I had crashed into someone and fell onto my back.

"What were you doing, Elaina?" The familiar voice of Chandler made me much less ticked at the fact that I'd fallen over. Mom had refused to get out of bed this morning, so I had to walk, which irritated me because I had to pass by these skateboarding boys who my Uncle Tom would call 'white trash', even though some people's definition of 'white trash' is Uncle Tom. If that's what a hangover is like, I'm never drinking.

"Oh, you know, just... Um.... Praying," I lied, trying to be all cool and nonchalant about it, and totally failing.

"Why would you be praying with your hands covering your face?" He teased. Darn the fact that he's known me long enough to see right through my lies!

"Oh, shut it." I said in a gruff voice standing up. "Why'd you try to find me or whatever? You usually wait until homeroom to talk to me." I ask.

"The cast list was posted today, stupid! C'mon, let's go!" He said grabbing my hand and forcing me down the hallway. Why Chan would care this much about theatre casting for the school's play I have no idea, but I choose to roll with it.

"I'm too short. Gimme a boost?" I ask, smiling.

"You want me to piggy-back you in the hall?"

"That is correct."

"Just so you can see over people?"

"That is also correct."

"I didn't know a piece of paper would be so important to you."

"It was your idea to come look at it!" I insisted, jumping onto Chandler's back and peering at the cork board.

The list was printed in bright red ink, and it took me awhile to get past the ensemble members. And there I saw my name where I never in a gazillion, trillion, bajillion years thought it would be.

Janet Van De Graaff- Elaina Ann Pick

I screamed, left off of my best friend's back, and performed a backtuck right there in the hallway, hopefully not kicking anyone in the face. Seemingly avoiding the face-kicking portion seeing as no one was holding a bloody nose, I kept doing backbends and kickovers until I crashed into the wall and crumpled up on the floor. I looked closer at the list, and my heart literally stopped for a solid two and three-fourths of a second.

Robert Martin- Chandler Riggs

"What?" I yelled as I turned around to see him smiling like an idiot. "Why didn't you tell me you were trying out?" I wasn't mad or anything. I just wished I could've been there for moral support.

"I wasn't about to let my best friend go on a stage by herself for fear of fainting!" He explained dramatically, placing a hand to his forehead in a melodramatic gesture. "Rhett, Rhett, whatever shall I do, wherever shall I go?" He says in a horrible falsetto, quoting Gone With the Wind.