copyright 2013 Faeriemage
Mirror, Mirror on the web...

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The next morning there was a crowd of students pressing up against the doors of the auditorium. The hopefuls made their way toward the front and either gave a quiet cheer, if their name was on the list, or a quiet moan, if their name was not.

Karen stood back watching the pageantry with a slight smile on her face. The Dwarves were there around her for support and they joked a bit as they all waited for the press to die down. Angelica was about to push in when she noticed Karen standing back. With a toss of her head she moved over to stand at the other side of the crowd. If Karen noticed anything, she didn’t let on as she waited for the students to thin out and make room at the front. Almost as if it were choreographed Karen and Angelica stepped forward as one and stood almost shoulder to shoulder looking at the list.

“Congratulations,” Karen said with a genuine smile when she noticed Angelica’s name on the list. Angelica made a noncommittal grunt as she looked desperately for the other girls name on the list, hoping that she wouldn’t find it.

Karen smiled and walked away, nodding to the Dwarves. Her name was there. She was getting a call back. Angelica huffed and walked away. Karen looked appraisingly at Angelica as she walked away.

***
“That should show her a thing or two,” Candy said as she sat down. Much like the day before Karen was the first of the group to arrive in the lunch room. Unlike the day before, however, she was sitting at one of the round tables. It wasn’t the table that the AV club staked out for themselves, but at least it wasn’t one of the long tables.

“Who,” Karen asked. She’d been lost a bit in thought, wondering what she’d be singing tonight, if she was even called to sing.

“That little witch Angelica. I mean, just judging from your performance last night you’re sure to get the leading role,” Mindy said.

“I don’t want the lead,” Karen said with a smile.

“Why not, Karen? You’d be a great Cinderella?”

“I don’t want to be ‘that girl,’” Karen said simply. “I mean like Cinderella.”

The twins looked at her like they’d lost her completely.

“Cinderella is so passive. She lets life happen to her. Sure, some of the remakes were designed to give her some degree of control of her life, but she lets her stepmother turn her into a servant, and then her fairy godmother turns her into a Beauty Incognita. The only action she personally takes is to run away, which in a story which is trying to tell us that love conquers just adds to how passive of a character she is.”

“And when the prince finds her and she tries the shoe on?”

“The prince found her, not the other way around. Let me be the stepsister instead. This is acting isn’t it? I don’t want to just go up there and be the same person I am. I want to be evil for once, especially since I can leave it behind when I leave the stage.”

“You’ll pretend to be evil and Angelica will pretend to be good,” Mindy said with a smirk on her face.

“Mindy! Be nice. Just because you don’t like her,” Karen began.

“It’s not that we don’t like her,” Candy began.

“It’s that she doesn’t like us,” Mindy finished.

“Hey, Snow!” Harry said as he sat down next to the girls.

“Snow?” Karen said. He seemed to be looking at her so she assumed he was talking to her.

“Yeah, Snow. Apparently Angelica says you are a bit of an Ice Queen so they’ve taken to calling you Snow.”

Karen looked a little confused at that.

“Why snow, though? Why not Ice or something like that.”

“That’s actually my fault,” Thomas said as he sat down on the other side.

Karen had to laugh, “I thought you all sat at that table,” she said pointing to the table in the corner.

“We normally do,” Harry said. “Thing is, we are your friends.”

“And friends don’t let friends eat alone,” Mindy said in an announcer voice.

Karen just looked at her as if she were insane and she blushed. Everyone else at the table laughed and it was Karen’s turn to feel a little embarrassed.

“Getting back to Snow…”

“Well, with your black hair, pale skin, and blood red lips you have to admit that you’re sort of the spitting image of a certain Fairy Tale heroine.”

“Better Snow White than Cinderella, right Snow?” Mindy said innocently. There was an impish gleam in her eyes.

Karen glared at her for a moment before her gaze softened.

“I can live with that,” Snow said after a moment or two, “especially since she was considered to be the most beautiful in the land,” she finished with an impish grin of her own.

The others at the table joined in the laughter.

“What’s so funny,” Brad said as he walked up.

This started a fresh round of laughter as Brad and Able just stood there looking confused.

***
Snow was nervous. She never let on while sitting there waiting in the darkened auditorium, but she was all the same. Angelica was good. She might not be the best singer in the world, but she was good enough. Where she really shone was in her acting.

Snow had assumed, incorrectly, that today would be singing again. The reason that she’d tried in the first place was that singing shut off the world for her. When she sang, she wasn’t the girl who had lost both parents. While she was singing there was just the next note and the one after that. Singing put her into a space where nothing in the world mattered except for the pitch and tone of the words that she sang.

Acting was obviously Angelica’s world and one in which Snow was a novice. For a moment, when she was giving her lines Angelica became another person. Angelica wasn’t reading her lines. She had already memorized the part and was simply up there acting the role.

While it was true that Snow didn’t really want to be Cinderella it wasn’t for all the reasons she’d mentioned earlier. While she’d have liked the leading role she didn’t feel like she’d be able to do a credible job at it.

She was here, though, and she would give it whatever she had.

“Thank you, Angelica. Karen, you’re up next.” Mr. Lief called out.

Snow took a couple of calming breaths and walked up on the stage. It was the same scene that Angelica had just done. She was about to give her lines, read from the page, when she had a thought. She didn’t need enemies, especially if they were going to be in the same production.

“Mr. Lief? Would it be okay if I read for the part of the stepsister opposite Angelica as Cinderella?”

Mr. Lief considered for a moment and then called out, “Angelica, if you’d kindly join Karen up on the stage?”

“Why are you doing this?” Angelica hissed. “Are you trying to make me look bad?”

“How would I do that by reading the other part? You already know Cinderella’s part.”

“I don’t know it know it, but I know the lines.”

“You know the part, Angelica.”

“Anytime you girls are ready.”

Karen was not perfect, but she read well. She interacted with Angelica, moving around the stage and making the other girl look good. When they were done everyone could see Angelica in the leading role. The students in the audience clapped and hollered for a moment before Mr. Lief had enough.

“If I have to I will make this a closed audition,” he said in a stern voice. The grin on his face let people know he was joking, mostly.

“Why did you do that, Karen?” Angelica said as they walked off stage.

“Because I could and because I don’t want to be Cinderella.”

“No, really. Why did you do it?”

“Really. Though there is another reason. You’re the best one for the role.”

“Seriously? You think I’m good?”

“You’re better than good, Angelica. I thought you knew that with the way that you act all the time.”

Angelica looked a little angry at the comment but then the anger faded and she just looked sad, “I know I’m difficult to work with. I try, but I’m so worried about failing that I push everyone else as hard as I push myself. I’m terrified that people will figure out that I’m not that good.”

“Angie, your singing could use some work, but no one will ever say you’re a bad actress.”

Angelica looked shocked. For a moment Snow was worried that she’d said something wrong.

“I didn’t mean…”

“Oh, about the singing? No, I agree with you, but then I’ve always been critical of everything I do. Why did you call me Angie?”

“Because I like it more? And if I have to call you Angelica one more time I’m going to scream. Do you realize how big that word is? It’s like having to say antidisesablishmentarianism every time I want to talk to you.”

Angelica giggled, “my name isn’t that bad.”

“No, but it feels that bad. Besides, if we’re going to be friends then I’m calling you Angie.”

“Ok, Karen,” Angie replied, exaggerating the name.

“Snow, please.”

“Snow?” Angie said a little unsurely.

“Yes, Snow. I like the nickname. The Dwarves think that I look like Snow White.”

“Oh emm gee, you’re Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” Angie said loudly. The auditorium burst out laughing and Snow just smiled. Angie blushed and tried to hide in her hair.

“Come on, let’s go have a seat,” Snow said and walked toward where the Dwarves were sitting.

“I can’t sit over here,” Angie said holding back.

“Why not?”

“Well, they don’t like me, and they’re a little weird.”

“Have you seen what I’m wearing?”

“Yeah, you have this whole goth fairy tale thing going on.”

“And that’s not weird?”

Angie chuckled and followed behind Snow to the Dwarves’ seats.

“Guys, this is Angie,” Snow said when they arrived.

***
A bodyguard has no place in a public school. James kept to the shadows in the auditorium, watching the interplay between Karen and the other students. He was beginning to wonder if maybe he had no real reason to be there.

He respected Karen’s father, and wanted to be there for him more than for her, but there was only so much of this he could take. None of the other students had bodyguards, and Karen seemed to be able to take care of herself.

Karen seemed to be able to get anyone together. She was integrating the other girl, Angelica, into her group of friends. The new girl seemed to still be a little uncomfortable, but was by steps relaxing.

Karen was called up another couple of times to read for various roles, but more often than not she was asked to read for the role of the elder stepsister. Angelica was asked to read a couple of other times, but she was always asked to read the role of Cinderella.

James was a little sad about that, but he had to admit that the girl could act, and you wanted a strong actor in the leading role. It wasn’t that Karen was bad. It was more that Angelica was just better.

“Thank you all for coming in today. We’ve simply run out of time. Tomorrow I’ll post the cast roles as well as those I would like to come back for further readings. If those of you with cast roles could come tomorrow as well it will greatly speed the process up.”

Karen said goodbye to her friends and walked over to where James was sitting.

“Hello, James,” Karen said with a glowing smile.

“Hello, Karen.”

“Actually, could you call me Snow?”

“Snow, huh, Any reason for that,” James said as he gathered his things in preparation to leave.

“I just like it. It’s a nickname they gave me today.”

“Whatever you say, Snow. It does seem to have a certain ring to it,” James said thoughtfully.

Snow just smiled at him as they walked out to the car. James opened the door for her and then closed it behind her before climbing into the drivers seat.

“I take it that you had a good day at school?”

“I had a wonderful day. So, you know I got a callback, of course, but…” Karen proceeded to relate the events of her day to James. He nodded and paid attention to her, trying in some small way to replace her father. He wasn’t going to be able to be her father, he knew that, but at least he could be a strong parental figure. He was going to be here for a long time after all.