A Chorus Line-Up by Joelle Charbonneau

Author:Joelle Charbonneau
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-01-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

“Chessie, make sure you set yourself directly in front of the second set of risers.” I nodded as she shifted her position. “Does that look good to you, Devlyn?”

I looked out into the audience and cupped a hand over my eyes in an attempt to locate his position in the back of the theater.

“It looks good from here, Paige,” Larry yelled. “If you’re happy with it, we should start running the program. We only have thirty minutes to work out any problems before tomorrow’s preliminary competition.”

“Let’s run it,” I yelled back, pushing my annoyance at being ignored by Devlyn into the background. If he wanted to be unprofessional, so be it. I, for one, was going to do my job. “Places, everyone. Megan . . .”

She turned and looked at me. I could tell she was still struggling vocally, but I could also see how badly she wanted to do this rehearsal. If I pulled her in favor of her sister, I had a feeling she would fall apart. Not something I wanted for her in this last rehearsal of her senior year.

“You can dance the numbers, but I don’t want you to sing,” I said. Megan’s mouth spread into a delighted smile as she nodded and took her position. “Claire?”

“I’m back here.”

Claire stood up from her seat in the middle of the house. “Could you stand in the wings and sing Megan’s part? It’ll help me determine if we have the right balance between the choir and the band.”

Claire hurried down the aisle and climbed the stairs to the stage. By the time she was standing next to one of the curtain legs, the choir was in their opening poses, ready to go. I hopped down from the stage and stood in the front row as Jim raised his baton. The band lifted their instruments. Their hats sparkled in the stage lights. Jim counted off the tempo and motioned for the music to start.

The opening notes filled the theater. The kids began to twirl. I watched as they sang, shimmied, and strutted through the first song. Then the second. Finally, they performed the lifts of the last number and hit their final poses. Breathing hard, they waited for the band to cut off before dropping their positions and looking to me for what I thought.

Not perfect, but not bad. Exactly what a dress rehearsal should be. Performing in front of an audience always provided an adrenaline burst that gave the choir more energy and spark. If they sang this well tomorrow, there was no doubt in my mind that Music in Motion would make the finals on Friday. Unless, of course, Christine told the judges to score us down. I could only hope that either Millie worked her magic or I managed to single out the costume culprit before then.

“Everything looks good.” I checked the clock on my cell phone. We still had fifteen minutes of rehearsal time. Good. We needed another run. This time with Megan’s understudy. “We’re going to go through the program one more time.

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