Post by Sweet Meat aka CC on Sept 19, 2006 23:21:33 GMT -5
Several minutes later in between bickering over why I was playing the hard-to-get role with Mario, Charli and returned from the bathroom and noticed that Cassidy was standing alone at the doors leading up into the balcony of the auditorium.
“See girl, I told you. You done ran him off,” she joked as we went to stand at a nearby wall since my turn would be coming soon.
“No, crazy. It must be his turn,” I sighed with a roll of my eyes although we both began to giggle.
“Yeah, he just went up onstage,” Cassidy stated while watching us with a small grin.
“See?” I teased Charli.
“Oh,” she blushed while looking at Cassidy.
“He told me to tell you to go up to the balcony so you could have a good view of him.” When I looked up at him, he was staring at me.
“Who, me?” I proceeded to point to myself with a puzzled expression.
“Yup.”
“Ah shit, girl,” Charli whispered with a big old grin while nudging me with her elbow. I sucked my teeth and rolled my eyes at her before looking over at Cassidy again.
“What makes him think I wanna see him audition? And anyway, no one is allowed in there.”
“I’ono…maybe it’s because he told me to let you know that he’s definitely gonna stick around to check yours out. Besides who’s gonna know you’re up there besides him?” he grinned. But before I could answer his question, he went on.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’d like to get to know your friend here a lil’ betta. W’sup, love. I’m Cassidy.” He proceeded to walk up to Charli and extend his hand to shake hers.
“Hi, I’m Charliza” she blushed as they shook hands.
The only thing I could do was walk away from them with a shake of my head. However, I did find myself making my way up the stairs to see Mario. After sticking my head just inside the door to make sure I was alone, I crept inside and took a seat in the back row of the dimly-lit balcony on the far end that was darkest so I couldn‘t be seen.
And damn, I can’t even lie…Mario was looking and sounding something serious onstage while the stage lights shone down on him as he sang an accapella version of Michael Jackson’s “Lady In My Life”.
When he was done, I was about to applaud until I remembered that I wasn’t even supposed to be up here. Instead, I settled back in my chair and propped my feet up on the back of the chair in front of me; not to see the rest of my competition though. I just felt the need to relax since there were only five students ahead of me now. Just as I was closing my eyes to meditate, the sound of the door opening up startled me. I immediately sat up and was as stiff as a board until I realized it was Mario. I let out a sigh of relief while settling back in my seat.
“I see you made it back in time to see me,” he grinned as he came to sit down next to me.
“Yeah I admit that I did. You were great though. I’m sure you’ll ace the part you goin’ for,” I smiled with a nod of my head.
“Thanks. So are you gonna tell me now?”
“Tell you what?” I smirked as I placed one of my feet back up on the chair in front of me.
“You know what,” he smirked back.
I replied by shaking my head as I looked back down on the stage while the next student walked up on it. “I don’t wanna juss be the name of anotha female in your mouth for you to run back and tell your boys about.”
“So that’s all you give me credit for?”
I turned back around to look at him. “I know what I've seen with my eyes, twice, since runnin' into you today.”
“Twice?” he asked while trying to think back.
I decided to help him with his memory. “Yeah; once while you and I were talkin’ in the lobby and before that, when you spoke to me while anotha girl was clingin’ to you tighter than Kim Porter clingin’ to Diddy’s fortune.”
“Damn,” he laughed as he turned to face me while placing his arm across the top of my chair. “I happen to have a lot of friends; that’s all.”
“Oh, aight…whateva you say,” I chuckled with a shrug of my shoulders as I returned my attention to the stage.
“So you’re sayin’ you don’t want to be my friend?”
“No, I’m not sayin’ that, but what I am sayin’ is I don’t wanna get lost in the crowd in the process. So I’ll make a deal with you. You still interested in wantin’ to get to know me in three days then maybe I’ll give you my name.”
“But what if I don’t want to wait that long?” he asked while proceeding to reach over and flick my large hoop earring back and forth with his finger.
I moved my head out of his reach before speaking. “We can’t always get what we want.”
“I ALWAYS get what I want,” he grinned while letting his eyes travel from my face down to my foot that was still propped up on the back of the chair before letting them return to my face.
“Oh wow,” I laughed with a shake of my head. “So that’s how you do it, huh?”
“Do what?” he asked with a faint smile.
“Run game. You lay down what you think are a few smooth lines on a female until you get what you want if she‘s weak-minded enough to fall for your shit.”
“Oh? So I’m runnin’ game although YOU’RE the one who’s playin’ around when the only thing I’ve asked for is your name? That’s coo’ with me though; I’ll leave your ass alone from here on out if that’s how you feel. Good luck with your audition.” I could tell from the expression on his face that he was pissed off with what I had told him. When he was about to stand up, I quickly grabbed up to his arm.
“Wait, wait, wait…Mario, I’m sorry for how I came at you. Okay? And just so you know, my name is Kiandra, but everybody calls me Kian.”
I watched him as his slow smile spread into a grin. “Nice name.”
“Thanks.”
Afterwards, there was an awkward silence between us for at least ten seconds. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I began to gather my backpack and purse together as I spoke. “I guess I’d betta go back downstairs since it’s almost time for my turn. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
When I stood up, I noticed that he didn’t budge. Instead he sat back, stretched his legs out in front of him, threw his arms across the top of the chairs on either side of him and smirked at me while leaning his head to the side as if he was contemplating something.
“Is there somethin’ you wanna say?” I huffed impatiently since there were only three more students ahead of me now.
“When you said that maybe you’ll see me around, how soon do you think that would be?”
“Man, I’ont know. All I know is that I have to hurry up and get back downstairs.”
“Okay, but if you promise to give me your number the minute we see each other again, I’ll move out of your way. If not, we can sit up here for the rest of the afternoon so I can get to know you better this way.”
I let out a frustrated sigh while looking upwards. “Okay, I promise.”
“Aight…well I’ll see ya and good luck again,” he chuckled while sitting up so I could walk past him.
“Thanks,” I mumbled as I left him alone in the balcony.
When I was downstairs, I looked out of the window nearest me and saw Charli and Cassidy sitting on a bench in the enclosed garden. From the look of things, they seemed to be hitting it off. I hated to interrupt their flow, but I wanted to get her attention to let her know that I was about to go in for my audition within the next few minutes. I pulled out my phone and dialed her up.
When I saw that she wasn’t picking up, I knocked rather hard on the window until I had her attention. As soon as she and Cassidy looked up and saw me, I mouthed to her to pick up the phone while I pointed to mine.
“Damn, what she want?” She giggled as she flipped her phone open and placed it up to her ear. “Hey, girl. W’sup?”
“Don’t ‘hey girl’ me,” I huffed. “I hate to mess up your lil’ flow with your new man, but I wanted to let you know that I’m about to go in if you wanted to wish me luck like I called to wish you luck when I was on my way home to change today when you had your audition.” However, after using my salty tone on her, we both started laughing.
“Whateva, girl. You know I got’cha back though.”
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Well lemme get over here near the door since they just announced that 204 was up now. Bye.”
“Bye.”
For the next few minutes, I felt myself turning into a nervous wreck which is why I continuously said a silent prayer to myself to calm my nerves; well that is until I heard my number called. Before stepping inside the auditorium, I quickly lifted my crossed fingers up on both hands and tightly shut my eyes.
“Hello, Kiandra,” the drama coach, Professor Kutledge, stated as I walked over to where he was seated in between Professor Smith, the dance coach, and Professor Landers, the vocal coach.
“Hello,” I faintly smiled as I handed Professor Kutledge the paper I had been given earlier with my name and number I had been assigned.
“So what will you be doing for us this afternoon, Kiandra?” he asked after taking my paper although I noticed he didn’t take as much as a glance at it.
“I’ll be dancing.”
“Good choice,” Professor Smith smiled as she watched me.
I returned her smile.
“Okay, Kiandra…whenever you’re ready,” Professor Kutledge announced.
“Okay.” I proceeded to climb the steps that led me onto the stage. Walking over to the CD player that was provided on a nearby table off to the side of the stage, I felt butterflies in my stomach as I placed my backpack and purse down on it; but it wasn’t because I was nervous, but because I knew Mario was up in the balcony watching me. But because I didn’t want to give anything away, I managed not to look up in his direction. It wasn’t until I pushed play after selecting my song of choice and walking to the center of the stage that I saw he was joined by two other people which happened to be Cassidy and Charli.
“You can do this,” I silently encouraged myself while lowering my head as I waited for the song’s intro. As soon as it came on, I forgot all about where I was as the intoxicating rhythm took over my mind, body, and soul. I never missed a beat as I danced along with Ciara’s lyrics.
“Close your mouth, man,” Cassidy chuckled when he glanced at Mario and saw him sitting forward with his eyes glued on the stage.
“Can’t help it! You see how she movin’?! It makes me wonda about some things.” When he looked over at Cassidy, they both gave each other a pound while laughing.
“Ummm, excuse me, but that’s my FRIEND you’re talkin’ about,” Charli snapped while sitting up in her seat to give them a pissed look. “Get your minds out the damn gutter.”
“We juss keepin’ it real, ma,” Cassidy chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Yeah, real stupid,” she snapped once again with a suck of her teeth.
Cassidy was about to say something else until the three of them noticed that the music had stopped. When they looked up, they saw me heavily breathing as I pulled my CD out of the player and gather my backpack and purse together before returning back to the center of the stage.
As I danced, I made sure to keep my eyes on the Professors. When Professor Kutledge held up his hand while watching me, I knew that was his cue for me to stop.
“Very well done, Kiandra. If we choose you, your name will be on the roster that we’ll have posted up right outside my class on Friday afternoon. Thank you for your time.”
“And thank you,” I smiled with a head nod before leaving the stage and heading back out into the lobby.
No sooner than I was heading back over to the entrance of the balcony, Charli was the first one out the door to greet me.
“Girl, you’re sure to get a part…correction, we’re both sure to get a part,” she giggled as we gave each other a big hug.
“Thanks, girl,” I grinned as we stepped out of our embrace. We were about to turn and walk away until we heard Cassidy calling her. When we turned back around, he and Mario were approaching us.
While he and Charli stood off to the side so she could see what he wanted, Mario came up to me wearing a devilish grin.
“So you weren’t gonna leave without givin’ me your number, right?” I watched him as he pulled his phone from his belt clip to store it in.
“Oh yeah…sorry I almost forgot. But listen, let me get yours instead.” I proceeded to pull my phone from my purse.
“That wasn’t how the deal was gonna work,” he smirked with a shake of his head. “You were gonna give me your number.”
“Well I have a right to change my mind,” I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. “Now, here’s the two choices that are facin‘ you: you can let me walk outta here with YOUR number orrrrrr you can let me walk outta here without your number. The choice is yours.”
“See girl, I told you. You done ran him off,” she joked as we went to stand at a nearby wall since my turn would be coming soon.
“No, crazy. It must be his turn,” I sighed with a roll of my eyes although we both began to giggle.
“Yeah, he just went up onstage,” Cassidy stated while watching us with a small grin.
“See?” I teased Charli.
“Oh,” she blushed while looking at Cassidy.
“He told me to tell you to go up to the balcony so you could have a good view of him.” When I looked up at him, he was staring at me.
“Who, me?” I proceeded to point to myself with a puzzled expression.
“Yup.”
“Ah shit, girl,” Charli whispered with a big old grin while nudging me with her elbow. I sucked my teeth and rolled my eyes at her before looking over at Cassidy again.
“What makes him think I wanna see him audition? And anyway, no one is allowed in there.”
“I’ono…maybe it’s because he told me to let you know that he’s definitely gonna stick around to check yours out. Besides who’s gonna know you’re up there besides him?” he grinned. But before I could answer his question, he went on.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’d like to get to know your friend here a lil’ betta. W’sup, love. I’m Cassidy.” He proceeded to walk up to Charli and extend his hand to shake hers.
“Hi, I’m Charliza” she blushed as they shook hands.
The only thing I could do was walk away from them with a shake of my head. However, I did find myself making my way up the stairs to see Mario. After sticking my head just inside the door to make sure I was alone, I crept inside and took a seat in the back row of the dimly-lit balcony on the far end that was darkest so I couldn‘t be seen.
And damn, I can’t even lie…Mario was looking and sounding something serious onstage while the stage lights shone down on him as he sang an accapella version of Michael Jackson’s “Lady In My Life”.
When he was done, I was about to applaud until I remembered that I wasn’t even supposed to be up here. Instead, I settled back in my chair and propped my feet up on the back of the chair in front of me; not to see the rest of my competition though. I just felt the need to relax since there were only five students ahead of me now. Just as I was closing my eyes to meditate, the sound of the door opening up startled me. I immediately sat up and was as stiff as a board until I realized it was Mario. I let out a sigh of relief while settling back in my seat.
“I see you made it back in time to see me,” he grinned as he came to sit down next to me.
“Yeah I admit that I did. You were great though. I’m sure you’ll ace the part you goin’ for,” I smiled with a nod of my head.
“Thanks. So are you gonna tell me now?”
“Tell you what?” I smirked as I placed one of my feet back up on the chair in front of me.
“You know what,” he smirked back.
I replied by shaking my head as I looked back down on the stage while the next student walked up on it. “I don’t wanna juss be the name of anotha female in your mouth for you to run back and tell your boys about.”
“So that’s all you give me credit for?”
I turned back around to look at him. “I know what I've seen with my eyes, twice, since runnin' into you today.”
“Twice?” he asked while trying to think back.
I decided to help him with his memory. “Yeah; once while you and I were talkin’ in the lobby and before that, when you spoke to me while anotha girl was clingin’ to you tighter than Kim Porter clingin’ to Diddy’s fortune.”
“Damn,” he laughed as he turned to face me while placing his arm across the top of my chair. “I happen to have a lot of friends; that’s all.”
“Oh, aight…whateva you say,” I chuckled with a shrug of my shoulders as I returned my attention to the stage.
“So you’re sayin’ you don’t want to be my friend?”
“No, I’m not sayin’ that, but what I am sayin’ is I don’t wanna get lost in the crowd in the process. So I’ll make a deal with you. You still interested in wantin’ to get to know me in three days then maybe I’ll give you my name.”
“But what if I don’t want to wait that long?” he asked while proceeding to reach over and flick my large hoop earring back and forth with his finger.
I moved my head out of his reach before speaking. “We can’t always get what we want.”
“I ALWAYS get what I want,” he grinned while letting his eyes travel from my face down to my foot that was still propped up on the back of the chair before letting them return to my face.
“Oh wow,” I laughed with a shake of my head. “So that’s how you do it, huh?”
“Do what?” he asked with a faint smile.
“Run game. You lay down what you think are a few smooth lines on a female until you get what you want if she‘s weak-minded enough to fall for your shit.”
“Oh? So I’m runnin’ game although YOU’RE the one who’s playin’ around when the only thing I’ve asked for is your name? That’s coo’ with me though; I’ll leave your ass alone from here on out if that’s how you feel. Good luck with your audition.” I could tell from the expression on his face that he was pissed off with what I had told him. When he was about to stand up, I quickly grabbed up to his arm.
“Wait, wait, wait…Mario, I’m sorry for how I came at you. Okay? And just so you know, my name is Kiandra, but everybody calls me Kian.”
I watched him as his slow smile spread into a grin. “Nice name.”
“Thanks.”
Afterwards, there was an awkward silence between us for at least ten seconds. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I began to gather my backpack and purse together as I spoke. “I guess I’d betta go back downstairs since it’s almost time for my turn. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
When I stood up, I noticed that he didn’t budge. Instead he sat back, stretched his legs out in front of him, threw his arms across the top of the chairs on either side of him and smirked at me while leaning his head to the side as if he was contemplating something.
“Is there somethin’ you wanna say?” I huffed impatiently since there were only three more students ahead of me now.
“When you said that maybe you’ll see me around, how soon do you think that would be?”
“Man, I’ont know. All I know is that I have to hurry up and get back downstairs.”
“Okay, but if you promise to give me your number the minute we see each other again, I’ll move out of your way. If not, we can sit up here for the rest of the afternoon so I can get to know you better this way.”
I let out a frustrated sigh while looking upwards. “Okay, I promise.”
“Aight…well I’ll see ya and good luck again,” he chuckled while sitting up so I could walk past him.
“Thanks,” I mumbled as I left him alone in the balcony.
When I was downstairs, I looked out of the window nearest me and saw Charli and Cassidy sitting on a bench in the enclosed garden. From the look of things, they seemed to be hitting it off. I hated to interrupt their flow, but I wanted to get her attention to let her know that I was about to go in for my audition within the next few minutes. I pulled out my phone and dialed her up.
When I saw that she wasn’t picking up, I knocked rather hard on the window until I had her attention. As soon as she and Cassidy looked up and saw me, I mouthed to her to pick up the phone while I pointed to mine.
“Damn, what she want?” She giggled as she flipped her phone open and placed it up to her ear. “Hey, girl. W’sup?”
“Don’t ‘hey girl’ me,” I huffed. “I hate to mess up your lil’ flow with your new man, but I wanted to let you know that I’m about to go in if you wanted to wish me luck like I called to wish you luck when I was on my way home to change today when you had your audition.” However, after using my salty tone on her, we both started laughing.
“Whateva, girl. You know I got’cha back though.”
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Well lemme get over here near the door since they just announced that 204 was up now. Bye.”
“Bye.”
For the next few minutes, I felt myself turning into a nervous wreck which is why I continuously said a silent prayer to myself to calm my nerves; well that is until I heard my number called. Before stepping inside the auditorium, I quickly lifted my crossed fingers up on both hands and tightly shut my eyes.
“Hello, Kiandra,” the drama coach, Professor Kutledge, stated as I walked over to where he was seated in between Professor Smith, the dance coach, and Professor Landers, the vocal coach.
“Hello,” I faintly smiled as I handed Professor Kutledge the paper I had been given earlier with my name and number I had been assigned.
“So what will you be doing for us this afternoon, Kiandra?” he asked after taking my paper although I noticed he didn’t take as much as a glance at it.
“I’ll be dancing.”
“Good choice,” Professor Smith smiled as she watched me.
I returned her smile.
“Okay, Kiandra…whenever you’re ready,” Professor Kutledge announced.
“Okay.” I proceeded to climb the steps that led me onto the stage. Walking over to the CD player that was provided on a nearby table off to the side of the stage, I felt butterflies in my stomach as I placed my backpack and purse down on it; but it wasn’t because I was nervous, but because I knew Mario was up in the balcony watching me. But because I didn’t want to give anything away, I managed not to look up in his direction. It wasn’t until I pushed play after selecting my song of choice and walking to the center of the stage that I saw he was joined by two other people which happened to be Cassidy and Charli.
“You can do this,” I silently encouraged myself while lowering my head as I waited for the song’s intro. As soon as it came on, I forgot all about where I was as the intoxicating rhythm took over my mind, body, and soul. I never missed a beat as I danced along with Ciara’s lyrics.
“Close your mouth, man,” Cassidy chuckled when he glanced at Mario and saw him sitting forward with his eyes glued on the stage.
“Can’t help it! You see how she movin’?! It makes me wonda about some things.” When he looked over at Cassidy, they both gave each other a pound while laughing.
“Ummm, excuse me, but that’s my FRIEND you’re talkin’ about,” Charli snapped while sitting up in her seat to give them a pissed look. “Get your minds out the damn gutter.”
“We juss keepin’ it real, ma,” Cassidy chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Yeah, real stupid,” she snapped once again with a suck of her teeth.
Cassidy was about to say something else until the three of them noticed that the music had stopped. When they looked up, they saw me heavily breathing as I pulled my CD out of the player and gather my backpack and purse together before returning back to the center of the stage.
As I danced, I made sure to keep my eyes on the Professors. When Professor Kutledge held up his hand while watching me, I knew that was his cue for me to stop.
“Very well done, Kiandra. If we choose you, your name will be on the roster that we’ll have posted up right outside my class on Friday afternoon. Thank you for your time.”
“And thank you,” I smiled with a head nod before leaving the stage and heading back out into the lobby.
No sooner than I was heading back over to the entrance of the balcony, Charli was the first one out the door to greet me.
“Girl, you’re sure to get a part…correction, we’re both sure to get a part,” she giggled as we gave each other a big hug.
“Thanks, girl,” I grinned as we stepped out of our embrace. We were about to turn and walk away until we heard Cassidy calling her. When we turned back around, he and Mario were approaching us.
While he and Charli stood off to the side so she could see what he wanted, Mario came up to me wearing a devilish grin.
“So you weren’t gonna leave without givin’ me your number, right?” I watched him as he pulled his phone from his belt clip to store it in.
“Oh yeah…sorry I almost forgot. But listen, let me get yours instead.” I proceeded to pull my phone from my purse.
“That wasn’t how the deal was gonna work,” he smirked with a shake of his head. “You were gonna give me your number.”
“Well I have a right to change my mind,” I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. “Now, here’s the two choices that are facin‘ you: you can let me walk outta here with YOUR number orrrrrr you can let me walk outta here without your number. The choice is yours.”
[glow=green,1,200]***Part 2 Comin' Soon***[/glow]