up.â
âI did it at home,â I lied again.
âOh, whoops,â she said, turning back to pick up a bottle from the couch. âPineapple juice. It helps smooth out your throat.â She took a delicate sip, and then started to walk back and forth across the room, sirening.
As Iâve recently found out from my singing classes, sirening is where you try to make a sound in your throat that goes up and down, kind of like an actual siren. Then she sang phrases like âred leather, yellow leatherâ, and âone, one two one, one two three two oneâ, switching her register.
For such an annoying know-it-all, she sure had a pretty voice. It was sweet and clear. My voice was powerful, but it was much deeper than Cadenceâs. I bet when Cadence was a baby she didnât even have a first word, she just had a first note.
I knew I should get up and warm-up too, but I felt self-conscious. Instead I brought out the script I had to read Janeâs part from and studied it without much going into my head at all.
The door to the next room opened and a boy came out, very red in the face.
âHey there,â said Cadence, as he went down the stairs. âHow did you go?â
âThey make you do a British accent,â the boy groaned. âMine was so bad!â
âOh well,â said Cadence cheerily. âItâs not over till itâs over.â
âYeah,â said the boy, putting his cap back on his head. âThanks. See ya.â
Cadence waved daintily at him while I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I took a nervous sip of my water. Straight away I needed to pee.
The door to the auditorium opened again and the stage manager poked her head out. âCadence Kohdean?â she asked.
âRight here,â trilled Cadence. âHello!â
âYouâre next, sweetheart.â The stage manager beamed at her.
âPerfect.â Cadence beamed back.
âPerfect,â I grumbled to myself, and then switched to a smile as Cadence turned to me.
âWell, this is it!â she said. âGood luck, Ellie! Hopefully Iâll see you at rehearsals.â
âHopefully,â I said back, wanting to tip the pineapple juice all over her dress.
But there was only one way I would ever want to see her at rehearsals. And thatâs if I was playing Jane.
Chapter Nine
After Cadence had skipped into the room like nervousness was allergic to her, I got up off the couch. The air smelled like her cherry blossom perfume. I took out my strawberry vanilla body spray (my signature scent) and used it to remove all traces of her.
I walked around the foyer, humming to myself.
I went to the toilet, where I found out I didnât need to pee after all.
When I came back I could hear Cadence singing. She could have made the rotten fruit in the bottom of our fridge turn ripe again. Her voice must have been made out of sugar and candied flowers.
Perfect Cadence Kohdean. My biggest rival for Jane. And the worst thing was she was much harder to hate than, say, Jasmine. Cadence was never outwardly snotty to me; she was always nice and happy and super talented.
I kept doing my slow hums and sipping my water, but really I was listening to Cadence sing and then read off the script in a British accent so perfect it was like sheâd been born there.
I almost freaked myself out but then I remembered Paigeâs voice saying, âSheâs good but youâre good too, Ellie. In a different way.It just comes down to whoâs the best fit for the role. Donât be so hard on yourself. This is your first musical theatre audition. Just to get in the chorus is great.â
So I took a big breath, straightened my tights and told myself that even if I didnât feel confident I had to act like I was, because my first rule of showbiz was to fake it till you make it.
So I beamed as brightly at Cadence as she did at me when she came out of her audition, and when