memory (hiatus)

Chapter 11: Auditions are not fun

At the end, everyone burst into applause. Piper clapped eagerly. Jason came down from the stage, and sat down next to her.

"How was it?" Jason said, looking at her nervously. 

Piper smiled. "It was amazing! Where'd you learn to sing like that?"

Jason blushed. "Thanks. I don't know, I-"

Melpomene, one of the theatre teachers, shushed them, as Khione started singing. Khione was singing a song from The Music Man, 'Till There Was You.' Her voice was soft and silvery, pretty in its simplicity. 

When she finished, Piper could hear Euterpe, the music teacher, who was right behind her, say, "Sarah Brown, definitely" to Melpomene. 

That made Piper a bit nervous. Wait, why was she nervous? It wasn't that big of a deal.... right?

Drew was next. She sang 'Don't Rain On My Parade' from Funny Girl. Her voice was certainly powerful, as she belted it out. 

But Euterpe said "Adelaide" in a hushed tone to Melpomene. 

That certainly calmed Piper's nerves a bit. Why was she even happy about this? It was just a role, just a role. 

Piper was up next. Her hands were dry as she clenched the microphone. Her sweater was just an inch short, exposing her stomach to the cold air. Her hair was in an intricately braided ponytail, a few loose strands grazing her collarbone. Such random things that made her feel vulnerable. Her music started playing, and she started to sing. 

On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone
I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found meIn the rain the pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me forever and foreverAnd I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say, there's a way for usI love him
But when the night is over
He is gone
The river's just a river
Without him
The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangersI love him
But every day I'm learning
All my life
I've only been pretending
Without me
His world will go on turning
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never knownI love him
I love him
I love him
But only on my own

Something about the lyrics truly resonated with Piper. For her, Marius was her dad. And no, she wasn't thinking of him in that way. Not romantic love, but family love. He was always away, in his new world of Jane and Hollywood, a world that brought him happiness. So, sometimes, resorting to her imagination was the best she could do. 

When she finished, everyone was clapping loudly except for Drew and Khione. Euterpe said something to Melpomene, but Piper couldn't hear what it was over the sound of the applause. Hopefully she did well.....

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Jason's POV:

Everyone was talking the camping trip. Jason supposed it was exciting, as it was a two day and one night trip in the camp that the high school had been going to for three years. But really, according to Percy and Leo and Grover(especially Grover who had a very loud opinion), it was really glamping. After all, the cabins were customized, and they were sorted by personality type. Apparently, out of 20 cabins, Percy and Jason were both alone in their cabins. Apparently their personality types were rare or whatever. 

But that wasn't what they were talking about. They were talking about musical theatre. 

"Dude, I'm sure your audition was fine," Percy said.