Play Dirty (20 page)

Lynn laughed. “Right. Well, we’ll see. You know what the play is about. She’s definitely very ...
awakened
.”

“Right. By half the football team. Extracurriculars don’t mean you get the role. Duh. Now face forward, I need to work on my profiles.”

Lynn obliged and resisted the urge to chew her nails to pieces. She felt the need to cry and pee all at the same time. Tryouts never made her nervous, not here in the school that she practically dominated. But this was different and there was no sense in pretending it wasn’t. She should make it realistic—she wouldn’t get the lead, but she was also using this to prove Mr. Flint didn’t play favorites and was fair, right?

She wanted everyone in that damn school to know she deserved every fucking lead ever, in every production, but that her sexy lover of a teacher wanted to teach everyone, not just coddle the sexy superstars like herself. The constant warring about it, though, made her queasy.

Dana had a point. Aria was their enemy and letting her just walk off with the lead would make her horribly unbearable. The stakes were high, but Lynn couldn’t force herself to allow Aria to walk all over her. She wasn’t that much of a martyr.

“I hope that face means you’re getting ready to murder Aria. You know, like, musically.” Dana interrupted her thoughts. “Because I’m otherwise terrified of what is going on up there.”

Lynn squared her jaw. Aria was going to have to earn it. End of story. She had no idea the gift she was about to be given, and she better deliver. Lynn turned to smile at her best friend, best cheerleader, and tiny savior. “Oh, she’s going down.”

Dana clapped. “That’s my GIRL. Please tell me you decided to do Defying Gravity. Aria could never hit those notes in her freaking dreams.”

Lynn flashed a sharp grin and said, “I need to join the others up front.”

“Ooo, kill ‘em!” Dana called after her. “Metaphorically!”

Matthew, looking as scruffy and delicious as ever in his plain button-down and tight jeans, cast a glance backwards. “Let’s keep the violence staged, shall we?”

“I just meant musically!” Dana hollered. “A verbal onslaught, if you will!”

“Thank you, Miss Crofton.”

Matthew shook his head and shuffled through his notepads. Lynn watched him, waiting for the moment he came across the note she’d doodled on one of them before everyone else arrived and while he was in the light booth. Right on cue, the corners of his mouth tugged into a sweet smile. He tore off the sheet and folded it up. It went right into the pocket over his heart, which he loved to pat when the class did something he loved. He patted other things when
she
did something he enjoyed, but she loved that her series of hearts kissed the skin where his own beat.

Try to get that close to him, Aria. Just try.

“Welcome to the auditions for
Spring Awakening
!” Matthew said as he climbed onto the stage. “This is a great turnout today, and I’m thrilled to see what you’ve all got. I hope you all read through the script beforehand, but as a refresher for those who forgot, or lied—”

A chorus of snickers threaded through the auditorium. Lynn allowed herself to smile. He really was funny.

“—Spring Awakening is a story of rebellion, heartache, and lust. There’s art, there’s music, and there’s a whole lot of weird shit we’re going to be bringing to life.

“As a forward, I’d like everyone to know each role in this production is vital. Some of our supporting characters won’t be in every number, but still have a major impact on the story development. Every piece is here for a reason, just like
Romeo and Juliet
, but on a somewhat grander scale. There is no shame in any role. Moreover, I’d love to change up our cast and give some new faces time to shine. So hit me with your strongest auditions, guys. I want to be wowed.”

“In bed!”

“Thank you, Mr. Smith.” Matthew shook his head of beautiful curls. They were partially hidden in a beige slouchy beanie. He looked very hipster, in a hot way. “Okay! I’ll call your name, one by one, for your tryout. Please sign in now, if you haven’t already, in order to perform.”

A few people shuffled around his desk, set up in the center of the auditorium. Aria turned to her friend, Margaret, and whispered loudly, “He makes that hat look
good
.”

Lynn gritted her teeth. Oh, hell. This was going to be a long, torturous afternoon.

Overall, Lynn was impressed by a lot of the auditions. A lot of choir members showed up, and their vocal superiority over the most of the department was pretty evident. Not that Lynn was worried.
Defying Gravity
was her secret weapon. She’d let them know she could have spent her time in choir … if she wasn’t already too busy chasing down the starlit dreams of Broadway.

When it was her turn, all the churning in her stomach ceased. This was her home, under these lights. If the bastard who was out to ruin her life was here—ahem, Aria—it didn’t faze her any longer. This was her house and nothing happened here without her permission.

And she gave herself permission to knock it out of the freaking park and remind every last one of them who the hell she was. Lynn Maria Viggiani was, and continued to be, a star.

She plugged in her phone on the small radio on stage and paced for a minute to mentally prepare herself for the audition of her lifetime. Ophelia had nothing on her Elphaba. As the music began, she channeled every lesson Matthew had ever given her, let the auditorium and school fade away, and pictured herself in a place of perfect mental clarity.

And god
damn
, did she nail it. The song was her anthem, her promise to break the shackles of high school and teenage bullshit and the petty drama everyone liked to stir, and soar into something better. Because she
was
better.

She channeled the first night she met Matthew, when they were twirling around the rooftop gardens. He had positioned her like the ballerina in the fountain, ready to break her shackles and soar off into the sky. Lynn felt like she really could, as the music swelled and dipped, rocketing her through the highs and lows of being shackled to her life.

She related so deeply to Elphie. Maybe she wasn’t an outcast, but she knew the pain of never quite fitting in, of being painted as something she wasn’t. Everyone expected her to be just like Aria, another snotty rich girl from the Island, with a golden spoon in her mouth and daddy’s wallet in her grasp. But Lynn wasn’t a part of that life, just as Elphalba wasn’t involved in the life society told her she had to have.

It was no longer a song, it was a personal anthem. She, too, would defy gravity and expectations and carve out the life she deserved, full of brilliant colors and bright lights and orgasmic sex with a man who loved her. As the song progressed, she matched its journey. She cried, she laughed, she felt the addictive rush of self-empowerment. It was incredible.

When she snuck a glance out at Matthew, she could feel his pride oozing towards her. This was her moment. This was her earth shattering promise to the world.

And then came the high C, because fuck you, Aria Levens.

The song ended, and Lynn bowed her head, soaking in the applause and cheering around her. Through her lashes, she saw the look of pride on Matthew’s face as he clapped along with everyone else. Satisfied, she curtsied and left the stage. Dana was waiting with a high five and a huge hug.

“I am so fucking proud of you!” She squealed in her ear. “Oh my god, I think Aria shit herself halfway through the song. And then that note at the end, oh my god,
that note
. You’re incredible. You’re a star.”

Lynn was so happy, nothing could take away her elation. That moment was incredible and intoxicating, and she fucking
nailed it
. It felt amazing. As if she could have ever doubted, but the hunger to tear up Broadway was further solidified in her mind. This was her dream and no one, not even Aria Levens, could take it from her.

“Very impressive, Miss Viggiani. That will be hard to beat. Let’s see what Miss Levens can do.”

Lynn snorted. Let her try.

Aria took the stage with a smirk on her face. The bitch didn’t even look ruffled. Well, Dana saw her freak during Lynn’s audition and that was all that mattered. Aria could peacock all she wanted, but it wouldn’t change the fact someone had already smelled her fear.

Aria set up her phone took center stage with none of the prep that Lynn did. She looked like she was ready to kill everyone with a single glance. It was sort of creepy, actually.

The opening notes played, and Lynn’s jaw dropped. She. Was. Not.

Last year, the theater girls had a sleepover to celebrate the end of the school year. It was tradition, where the senior girls symbolically passed on the torch to the junior girls. There were lots of wine coolers, popcorn, and dirty movies. On the list was
Nine
starring Daniel Day Lewis and Penelope Cruz, a saucy movie about an aging director. Penelope Cruz’s scene was one of the sexiest in the movie, and they spent all night crawling over one another while cooing, “I love you, Guido!”

And this bitch was already sliding around the floor, hands in her hair, and singing about how badly she wanted “Guido.” And it looked an awful lot like Lynn’s Ophelia monologue from the previous set of auditions.

That. Bitch.

Aria was pure sex on the stage, rubbing herself and moaning, which, Lynn noted, was entirely inappropriate for high school. And, she further noted, every last innuendo was aimed directly at Matthew. Every tit grab. Every ass grab. Every moan.

Lynn’s throat turned to cotton. It was impossible to separate fiction from reality because she had witnessed Aria’s flirting winks and hair twirls in class. As Aria spun around the stage, and the boys in the audience grew louder with hoots and hollers, hot jealousy poured through Lynn’s veins.

Matthew was completely captivated. His hands were clasped under his chin, his leg twitching, and he was
glued
to the stage. Did he look at her like that while she was getting ready to soar off the stage?

The sex appeal of
A Call from the Vatican
was undeniable. And, Lynn grudgingly admitted, applicable given the play they were auditioning for. But who did she think she was kidding? She blatantly ripped off Lynn’s monologue and was practically masturbating on stage.

Dana couldn’t work her jaw, either, until the music finally ended and all the boys and some of the girls leapt to their feet for thunderous applause and cat calls. Aria soaked up every second of it with her nose in the air. She sauntered off stage and flashed a shark-like smile to Lynn and Dana, and then winked at Matthew.

Lynn’s Matthew.

And that asshole,
her asshole
, actually stood and clapped as she took her seat. What. The. Actual. Fuck.

“Wow!” He said, and then whistled loudly to quiet everyone. “Thank you, Miss Levens, for that … interesting audition. Very nice vocals. You certainly met the challenge Miss Viggiani presented!”

Lynn kept her face pristinely clear, but in her head, she was using every nasty word she could think of and hurled them like arrows at the man she had previously liked to fuck. Oh, he was going to pay for this shit later. She would make sure of that.

“That was … ah.” Dana flailed her hands around in shock and finally just let them fall into her lap. “I got nothing.”

“Yeah.” Lynn nodded. She was afraid to talk because of the volcano smoking within her. “Yeah.”

“I mean, that can’t even be school-appropriate. She was like two inches away from fucking herself on stage. What the hell?”

“I … yeah.” Lynn knew, too, that Aria was dreaming of fucking Matthew in those moments where she was all hot and bothered. This wasn’t a love letter to their director, it was a slutty promise. And that shit was
not okay
.

“Okay.” Matthew cleared his throat. “Next up, this should be good, is Mr. Smith.”

Aria whooped and cheered, still looking smug as hell, tossing her hair around and grinning like an idiot to the crew around her. She clapped loudly and yelled out, “Go Brad!”

Brad mimicked a few tap dance steps, spun around in a circle, and bowed low. “Thank you, peons, thank you, thank you.” And then he rubbed his hands all over his chest and moaned loudly.

Matthew rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. Aria, on the other hand, clapped wildly and pumped her fist.

“I’m going to throat punch her if she doesn’t sit the hell down,” Dana muttered. “This shit is embarrassing.”

Lynn looked over at the drawing on Dana’s sketchpad. It was of Aria, impaled on a stiletto. She snorted in laughter and had to cover her mouth.

Brad theatrically cleared his throat with his hands over his heart, in a very Matthew way. “I’ll wait, guys.”

Dave whooped.

“So, I don’t have any music for this, because I’m not a goddamn professional like these hoes up here—“

“Fuck you!” Aria called out. Still grinning.

Lynn sunk into her seat and covered her face. This was a nightmare. Maybe she shouldn’t even do this goddamn show. There was no way she could endure this if Aria made lead. None. It was suicide.

Matthew stood and clapped his hands. “Guys, I appreciate the humor, but let’s keep in mind that this is an audition. Please be professional.”

“Sorry, Mr. F.” Brad shook his arms out. And sang
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
. To his credit, he acted out the entire thing and was funny as hell, but it was still
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
.

Dave followed. With the alphabet. His range, though, was surprising. Even Dana clapped afterwards and cheered for him.

The rest of the audition was much tamer. No one else fucked the stage or sang children’s’ songs acapella. The choir sent out their best people, who slowly chipped away the hard exterior Lynn was developing about the entire production.

But then there was Aria. Always fucking Aria.

Once everyone was finished, Matthew thanked them and said callback auditions would be held the following afternoon. “Be on the lookout for the list tomorrow after lunch. We’ll be running through songs from
Spring Awakening
, so be prepared for that. Callbacks will only be for leads, so don’t give up just yet if you don’t make the list. There are plenty of roles to fill, and they will all be a lot of fun to play.”