Episode 1 - The Audition

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As I waited in the lobby of that needlessly, luxurious hotel for my number to flash up on the screen, I found myself tuning out the other people around me and tried to calm down.  It’s not like I hadn’t been to an audition before. This was different though, and no matter how much I tried to convince myself that it was just another audition, my mind knew better. It was a Shinhwa Academy audition after all. The only people that could afford to go to that school were politician’s children, big name CEO’s children, millionaires’ children and, well, you get the picture. Basically those kids were going to run our economy and quite possibly the country one day. Even when they were still in school, they graced the covers of magazines, went to award shows, rubbed elbows with celebrities and influential leaders from all over the world,  they even walked on the runways of famous fashion designers. Only the privileged go to the academy, which starts from kindergarten all the way up to high school. From there they can transfer to Shinhwa University, which is impossible to get into if you never went to school at the academy.

It’s the school that everyone wanted to go to. Not necessarily because we wanted to run the country and its economy but because we knew that if we could attend this prestigious school, our lives will be paved with gold. It’s Shinhwa Academy after all. If that name alone was written in a resume, someone could go from simply washing dishes at a dinner for minimum wage, to being the manager with excellent pay. The name Shinhwa is very influential regarding where you work and how much you make.

So how do we mere mortals enter this school filled with gods and goddesses? Wouldn’t it be impossible? Well that’s almost true, but there is one day that everyone knows about, whether you want to go to this school or if you simply do things like turn on the TV or go to the grocery store. August 11^th. One day out of the whole year, about three weeks before classes start, there is an auditioning process in which many hopefuls send in their transcripts, along with videos of them singing, dancing, talking in as many languages they know. Some even send in short films good enough to be full length movies. They send in anything that they think will give them an edge over the cut throat competition to get admitted. Of course the Shinhwa faculty only take in four new students every year, one person for each grade in high school. Although it would be nice to get in during the elementary years, the people who do get in with the auditions have the chance to go to the university which, in my opinion, is better than nothing.

So did I feel like it was a glorified talent show as I warmed up and stretched next to someone doing vocal exercises? Well, yeah, it’s kind of hard not to feel that way, but you have to understand that for some of us it was the only shot we had at our dreams. Sure there were people there who might have wanted to become famous and adored, or maybe they just wanted to marry into a rich family, but that’s not what I wanted. I never had a desire to audition before, but there was one thing that would make me go try out in the first place; my love for dance.

 I was small when I saw street dancers for the first time, and I found myself in complete awe. I wanted to be able to spin and glide like them. I went back every day and would copy them from an ally way out of sight, so people wouldn’t see me mess up. I’d take what I’d learn from them that day and practice the moves in my room at home. I fell in love with dance from that moment and it only grew from there to different types of dances. However my family couldn’t afford to put me into actual classes.

I knew they felt terrible about it because they knew how much I loved it, but since they couldn`t afford it, it was like they had to give up on making my dream come true. I couldn’t let it go though, so I taught myself every dance I could from the internet while occasionally sneaking into a class here and there. As much as I loved dance, and as much work as I put into it, I knew that without formal training my chances of becoming a dancer or choreographer were slim to none. That`s why I found myself fidgeting in the waiting room with about a hundred or so other people, guys and girls, all striving to get the same thing I wanted; a chance to make our dreams come true.

I saw my number flash up on the screen telling me to prepare. After the next person was done, it would be my turn. My hands started to get clammy and I felt my insides start to shake. Looking around, I saw a lot of other people were doing dancing too, but they probably all had some sort of training at one point right? Maybe my dancing wasn’t good enough. What if I made a fool of myself? What if-

“Excuse me,” I heard someone in front of me say. I looked up from where I was stretching and saw a really cutesy girl staring back at me. Like really cutesy; poofy dress, curly ponytail, fair skin, bright blue eyes and all. She smiled gently before continuing. “I’m sorry but my purse is on the chair behind you.”

I glanced over my shoulder and saw a nice, but worn, purse. I mumbled a quick “sorry” before I tried to scramble to my feet.

“No, it’s okay! You don’t have to get up,” she said while reaching over me to grab it. She smiled down at me again. “I thought it would be rude to just reach for it without giving you some warning.”

I gave her a crooked smile in return. “Thanks… so… what grade are you aiming for?”

Her smile got bigger as she sat down in a chair across from where I sat on the floor. “Grade ten. What about you?”

I sighed in relief when she said that she was trying out for a different grade. If I had to go up against trained dancers AND a really pretty girl, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“Grade eleven,” I replied.

She let out a sigh of her own before leaning back into her seat. “Thank God. Sorry, but I was watching you practice a while ago and I felt so intimidated. I mean there are people around here that are really good at singing and dancing, there’s even a girl here with a photographic memory that’s going to be acting from a play she’s never even looked at before.”

“Seriously? That’s crazy!”

“Yeah it totally is! She’s going for the twelfth grade spot, and everyone is pretty sure she’s going to get it. Her marks are at a four-point-oh, she can act and she’s pretty!” She sighed while glancing at said girl. I quickly glanced at her and saw what she was talking about. The girl had raven coloured hair in a pixie cut that looked more edgy than cute. She flipped through a book, glancing at each page for no more than three seconds. When she reached the end, she placed the book on a growing pile to her left and grabbed another book from a bigger pile to her right. She looked completely bored, like the wait was killing her.

“Wow…” I said while looking back at the girl in front of me. “Some people just have it made I guess… so what are you going to be doing?”

She sighed again and pouted slightly. “Nothing. My singing is okay but it’s not something to use at an audition. I can dance at a club, but I can’t do anything close to what you and the others do for a warm up. All I did was model for an ad, but it was a long time ago and my face wasn’t even shown…”

I stood up and started stretching my upper body. “So why are you trying to get into Shinhwa, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well… people usually tell me I should try to become a model, and I did, but to be honest I prefer to make clothes rather than model them.”

“Really? What do you make?”

She smiled again while sitting up straighter. “I can make everything. Dresses, shirts, pants, bags, everything! Actually,” she stood up and did a small spin in front of me. “I made everything I’m wearing right now.”

I felt my eyes widen in surprise. I stopped stretching and started to inspect her clothes. She was really good… great even. I couldn’t even see the seams in her dress no matter how hard I looked.

“You made this?” I asked, looking at her in disbelief.

She nodded proudly. “I’ve been making dresses since I was ten, so this dress was pretty easy. Shirts and blouses are easy too because it’s like a dress but it’s shorter. Pants and bags are a little more difficult for me though, but I think I’m getting better at it.”

I shook my head and smiled at her. “You’re going to get in. There aren’t many people here who can make their own clothes, so I’m sure you’ll stand out to the faculty. I have it harder because there are at least twenty other dancers here.”

This time she shook her head at me. “No way, you’ll totally make it! Yeah there are other dancers here, but compared to you, they’re not very… eye catching.”

I let out a short laugh. “You don’t have to try to be nice. You can tell me straight out I look like a fish out of water.”

“No I’m serious. Like, they’re good dancers too but they look kind of… stiff. You look like your dancing on ice. How many years have you been dancing? Who’s you teacher?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess six years? I’ve been teaching myself since I was eleven, so yeah almost six years now.”

She raised an eyebrow at what I said. “You mean to tell me you’re self-taught?”

I nodded and looked away awkwardly. “Yeah… I know I’m not that great but I put my heart and soul into every dance I do.”

“That’s crazy! These people have probably been going to classes since they were kids! You never set foot in a class room before?”

“Well… I snuck into a couple of classes here and there but other than that, no.”

She looked like she was going to say something else when I heard my number being called from the entrance. I looked and saw a dejected looking girl come out of the room and my heart started to beat fast again. I quickly turned to the girl I was talking to and smiled nervously.

“That’s me… well, good luck. I’m sure you’ll get in.”

She smiled back at me. “Thanks. I’d wish you luck too but you don’t need it. If I get in, I’ll go looking for you at school, okay?”

I laughed. “Okay, sounds like a plan. Hopefully I’ll see you in three weeks!”

I waved over my shoulder at her and headed to the door. The woman who stood there gave me a stiff smile. Normally I would have been annoyed but I knew it couldn’t have been easy standing there for hours forcing a smile to every new hopeful.

“Are you ready, Miss?” she asked. I took a deep breath and nodded my head.

“As ready as I’ll ever be…”

“I so failed that audition!” I yelled as I walked through Shelbie’s door after she opened it. I went straight to the living room and flopped onto the couch.

My best friend followed behind me and sat on the couch where my feet where.

“Why? What happened?”

I covered my face with my hands before replying. “I choked, Shel. As soon as I got in, they asked me to get right into the dance so I didn’t have time to take in my surroundings or anything. I gave them my iPod with the song I was going to dance to and I started out great! Then I fell on my halfway through my routine because the floor was slippery and after that I was so stiff because I didn’t want to fall again. Then they had a quick interview with me. They pointed out that I left my training section blank and asked me where I trained and who I trained under.”

I peeked at Shelbie through my fingers. “Oh my God, Shel, I should have just lied! I told them that I was self-taught and they looked at me like… ugh!” I covered my face again. “I am so not getting into that school…”

“Maybe you’re just over reacting?”

I shook my head. “You didn’t see their faces…”

Shelbie spoke again after a long silence. “How soon will you know…?”

I sighed and sat up, glancing at the clock. “You know how this works. They hold the auditions all day and then they announce the people who got in on the six o’clock news. So they’ll announce it in five minutes…”

“Then what are we doing?! Turn on the TV!”

Shelbie reached for the remote and quickly the TV to the six o’clock news. The news anchor’s face flashed up on the screen.

“As you all know,” the announcer started. “The auditions for Shinhwa academy were held today as they are held every year. Here with me is Mr. Parker, founder of Shinhwa academy. It’s great to have you here again Mr. Parker.”

“It’s a pleasure to be brought back,” he replied with a polite smile.

“Enough with the small talk!” Shelbie yelled at the screen. “Get to the announcements!!”

The announcer smiled back at Mr. Parker before speaking again. “Well I guess it’s time to announce the four new students to enter Shinhwa academy. I’m sure our viewers are beside themselves.”

“Yes, of course. We wouldn’t want a riot on our hands now would we?” Mr. Parker turned to look directly at the camera and smiled again. “This year we had a vast amount of applicants, the highest it’s been for the past five years, and unfortunately we had to narrow it down to just three hundred people for the auditions. We saw a great amount of talent and promise in each and every person that auditioned today. I would first like to say this to each of the candidates; if you’re name isn’t one of the four we announce tonight, please know that the decision was not unanimous and the faculty and I spent hours going back and forth on who we would admit into the academy. Now without further ado let’s begin with the ninth grade applicant.”

By this time I was already sitting on the edge of my seat, a cold sweat running over my body as I bit my nails to the stubs. I was a mess, and I was reminded of how the year before I didn’t really care about who was selected. Now I was hoping and praying, by some miracle, that my name and picture would be flashed on the screen.

“And the ninth grade applicant, who will have the honour of studying at Shinwa this fall and for the rest of their high school career, is… Eli Moore!”

The guy’s face flashed up on the screen but I didn’t recognize him in the least bit.

“Do you remember him?” Shelbie asked while pointing at the screen.

I shook my head as the anchor asked what he had done for the audition. Mr. Parker explained that he had showed a short film for the faculty. He also praised that he had a three-point-eight-five GPA.

“Taking what we were looking for in our applicants this year into consideration, Mr. Moore fit perfectly into our selection for this year’s ninth grade applicant.

“Next we have the tenth grade position. This year’s choice is… Sarah Whittle.”

“Oh my gosh! I know her!” I yelled as I saw the cutesy girls face flash up on the screen.

“Really?” Shelbie asked. “What did she do? She looks like a model or something.”

I shook my head. “She’s not a model, she’s a designer. Like she makes everything! She said she can makes bags, shirts, pants but her favorite seems to be dresses. All the clothes she was wearing at the auditions were designed and made by her! She had on this big poofy dress with all sorts of frills and ribbons. I knew she was going to get in!”

Shelbie nodded her head thoughtfully. “It seems like they’re focusing more on the arts side for this year’s applicants. I mean last year they focused on pure academics and the year before that was music. This year they seem to be more lenient to-”

“And now we’re at the tenth grade applicant.”

Shelbie and I both turned our heads to the TV so fast, I was sure our necks would be sore in the morning. My heart was beating so fast I could hear it in my ears, my palms were sweaty again and I started feeling shaky. This was it.

“Our choice for this year is… Jelena Derman.”

I don’t know who screamed louder, me or Shelbie, but right after my name was announced we found ourselves jumping around the room, laughing and crying while Mr. Parker explained why I had been chosen. I didn’t hear a word he said though, because I was crying too much. I mean, I did it; out of all the people that applied, I had made it to the top three hundred; out of all those people who were more talented, smarter or prettier than me, I was chosen!

“Ena! You did it! You got in!” Shelbie screamed over and over. She was so loud that I almost didn’t hear my phone ring. I quickly reached into my bag, looked at the caller ID and answered.

“Dad,” I said between my tears. “I did it. I’m going to Shinhwa!”

The other end was silent for a moment before I heard my dad clear his throat. “Yeah, I saw. I’m so proud of you baby girl.”

“Dad, are you crying?” I asked while laughing a little.

“No! I’m just… it’s a… Here’s your mom, she wants to talk to you.”

“Ena?” I heard my mom say.

“Mom!" I yelled into the phone. I laughed out loud before continuing. "I did it! I’m going to Shinwa!”

“I know baby! The whole neighborhood knows! All the neighbors are planning on having a barbeque in your honor tonight! So you better get yourself home and don’t forget to invite Shelbie, okay?”

“Okay mom, I’ll see you in a bit!” I hung up and turned to Shelbie. “Want to come to my celebration barbeque?”

She laughed before shaking her head at me in disbelief. “Do you really need to ask? Give me five minutes to clean myself up!” She bounded to her room and I sat in the couch again, smiling in disbelief.

Episode 1 - The Audition End