What If... All the Rumors Were True by Liz Ruckdeschel

knew what was up. Mr. Lyons didn’t want to lose his funding, and at the same time, he didn’t want to direct a bomb.
    â€œWe have two more Titanias to audition, and then we’ll move on to Puck, Bottom and the lovers,” Mr. Lyons said. “Next up, Mary Fernandez?”
    â€œYou know what?” Whitney said. “I don’t think I want to audition after all.”
    Typical,
Haley thought.
If Coco’s not going to act, her mini-me won’t either.
    â€œGood thinking, Whit,” Coco said. “As assistant director I’d never give you a decent part anyway. Besides, I think you’d be much better on costumes.”
    Whitney let the original insult slide. “That would be a lot more fun,” she said, already thinking about fabrics.
    â€œI’ll tell Mr. Lyons at the end of auditions,” Coco said, writing
Whitney=costumes
in a notebook. “What about you, Miller? Ready to throw in the towel yet?”
    â€œNo,” Haley said. “I still want to audition. Just to see what happens.”
    â€œYour funeral,” Coco said, shaking her head.
    Haley had no idea how her audition would turn out. “I need a few minutes to concentrate and gather my thoughts,” she told Coco and Whitney.
    â€œGood luck,” Whitney said genuinely.
    Haley settled in the front row and watched the rest of the tryouts. Shaun mounted the stage in his donkey’s head and brought the house down with his slapstick reading of his lines. Afterward, Irene quietly went to Mr. Lyons and asked to scratch her name off the audition list. “I’d rather help design the sets,” she offered. Haley wondered if Irene had succumbed to stage fright. She certainly looked a little green.
    â€œExcellent,” Mr. Lyons told Irene. “We’ll need skilled artists to create the Athens I’m envisioning.”
    As Haley watched, she noticed what worked and what didn’t in various line readings. How speaking the unfamiliar Elizabethan lines naturally—but still with a dramatic flair—seemed to work best. Facing the audience, speaking clearly and moving around made an actor more interesting to watch than someone who just stood there like a wooden soldier, reading straight from the text.
    Haley paid extra attention when Devon took the stage, auditioning for Lysander and Demetrius. Devon had always been a little on the quiet side, so Haley was surprised to see him stride across the boards with great confidence. Mr. Lyons asked him to read one of Demetrius’s speeches for a second time. Devon took a breath, closed his eyes, then opened them and began to speak.
    â€œâ€˜O Helen, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine! To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyes? Crystal is muddy. O, how ripe in show thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow! That pure congealed white, high Taurus’ snow, fann’d with the eastern wind, turns to a crow when thou hold’st up thy hand: O, let me kiss this princess of pure white, this seal of bliss!’”
    The sound of Devon’s voice made Haley swoon. The words were so romantic, and he said them with such
passion…
She felt more determined than ever to win the part of Helena. Then, if Devon played Demetrius, he would say those beautiful words directly to her.
    Sebastian tried out for Demetrius as well. He read the same speech as Devon, though it was a touch harder to understand through his accent. But he looked magnificent onstage, his body moving gracefully across the platform, his hair gleaming in the lights.
What if he got the part instead of Devon?
Haley thought idly. Playing opposite Sebastian wouldn’t be the end of the world.
    Haley went outside for some air and to focus while Mr. Lyons auditioned boys for the part of Puck, the mischievous fairy. When Haley finally returned to the auditorium, Mr. Lyons announced, “We’re on our last Puck, so Hermias and Helenas, get ready, you’re next.