Mr. DofGa clapped his hands and we all stopped rehearsing and turned to him.

           “Okay! I’d like one partner to write their names down on this paper and then we’ll go straight into hearing these auditions! You all sound great, by the way!”

~~~

Jeremy and I anxiously waited for our turn. Each audition seemed to get better and better as they progressed. Chelsie and Charles actually kissed while acting, and Mr. DofGa gave them a standing ovation while commenting, “So I guess my assumptions were correct! Nice job, Charles, for snagging such a pretty lady like Chelsie.”

Everyone laughed and Charles grinned at Chelsie, who proudly threw her arms over him and giggled. After the applauding subsided, Mr. DofGa called out, “Jeremy Kim and Kiara Lee! Let’s see what you guys have for us today.”

I tried hard to calm my pounding heart, and Jeremy seemed to notice my anxiety. He smoothed my hair out and whispered in my ear, “We’ll be fine. Just follow my lead and don’t get too surprised.”

I eyed him suspiciously- he wasn’t going to kiss me, right?

We made our way onto the stage, and Mr. DofGa whispered the magic words, “Action!”

Jeremy looked lovingly into my eyes and serenaded, “As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven. Would through the airy region stream so bright. That birds would sing and think it were not night. See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!

O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!”

            I gazed at him adoringly and swooned, “O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.”

            We went through the scene and at the end, when I glided down the stairs that the production crew had made, he engulfed me in his arms and caressed my cheek.

            “I will cherish you and protect you, my Juliet, with all my life.”

            Jeremy and I were getting lost in each other’s eyes, and then everyone erupted into applause.

            “Splendid! Absolutely prodigious!” He commended.

            Jeremy slowly let go of me, and while he did, he whispered, “I wasn’t joking about the last line.”

~~~

            The Romeo and Juliet Production Crew members apprehensively waited for the results on the next day. Mr. DofGa always gave out the results at next rehearsal so the play could get started quickly. He set up the PowerPoint and praised us before putting it on the big screen.

            “I wasn’t expecting very much at the auditions. I mean, you guys had known about it, but you guys weren’t expecting that whole, boy girl thing did ya?”

            Everyone shook their heads and Max, a hyper guy, called, “No we weren’t, Mr. DofGa!”

            Mr. DofGa chuckled and replied back, “I guess I took you guys by surprise! Well, that was the whole purpose. I wanted to see how well you guys could adlib and rehearse a whole scene in that short amount of time, and boy, was I blown away!”

            He chuckled and dramatically concluded, “Here are the roles for the 2012 Romeo and Juliette Musical!”

            When I saw “Romeo and Juliet” on the screen, I crossed my fingers and squeezed my eyes shut. A few seconds later, I heard a huge uproar of cheering and whistling.

I, Kiara Lee, was Juliet Capulet.

And

He, Jeremy Kim, was Romeo Montague.