3AN: This is the first chapter where you really need to read chapter 1, so... (zombiequeen13. deviantart gallery/ ?catpath=scraps#/ d30gfn9)
*Teo*
"Hey, Ty Lee?" I yelled down the hallway, sprinting to catch up with her.
"Hm?" she asked, turning around, much to Mai's annoyance.
"I, uh," I started, gasping for breath, "I was wondering if I could still audition for the musical."
Mai rolled her eyes as Ty Lee beamed, then thought a moment.
"Well," the brightly-dressed girl started, "the deadline was yesterday, but we don't have enough guys, so… Sure!"
I smiled. "Great. When?"
"Just come by the choir room after school," she said, grinning, before turning around and walking in the other direction as her conversation with Mai restarted.
"Alright, now I just have to not mess up," I said to myself, taking off running as I realized the bell was about to ring and my next class was halfway across campus. My eyes widened as I realized something else. "And think of a song to sing. Crap!"
Four hours later I was in the choir room, sweating bullets as I waited for Ty Lee to show up. I'd tried to use the image of the girl onstage to build my courage, but it'd only made me more nervous. I was nowhere near that good. My limited knowledge of show tunes didn't help, either. I'd had to pick one of the only songs that I could remember all of the words to and that wasn't sung by a girl.
"Sorry I'm late!" Ty Lee almost sang, walking in. "Mai and Azula needed my help with something."
I flinched at the mere mention of the latter, trying to keep flashes of the past five years of her torment from crossing my mind. I stood up and walked to the center of the room just as Song slipped in.
"Oh, hi, Teo," she said, smiling at me. She seemed a bit surprised.
"Hey," I said, smiling back.
"So, what are you gonna sing?" she asked, setting her stuff down and sitting at the piano.
"Uh, Razzle Dazzle from Chicago," I managed, trying to swallow and failing.
Ty Lee grabbed her clipboard, jotted something down, and looked back up at me. "Whenever you're ready."
I gulped, looked over at Song, and nodded. She started playing.
"Give 'em the old razzle dazzle
Razzle Dazzle 'em
Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it
And the reaction will be passionate"
I closed my eyes, bringing the image of the girl to the front of my mind, to give myself a little motivation, if nothing else.
"Give 'em the old hocus pocus
Bead and feather 'em
How can they see with sequins in their eyes?"
I thought of her voice, the way she managed to practically stop my heart on that last note.
"What if your hinges all are rusting?
What if, in fact, you're just disgusting?
Razzle dazzle 'em
And they'll never catch wise!"
My eyes flew open as I suddenly felt determined. I needed to do this.
"Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle
Razzle dazzle 'em
Give 'em a show that's so splendiferous
Row after row will crow vociferous"
I tried to throw a bit of dramatization into my movement, gesturing with my hands and praying to the Spirits that I didn't look like an idiot.
"Give 'em the old flim flam flummox
Fool and fracture 'em
How can they hear the truth above the roar?
Throw 'em a fake and a finagle
They'll never know you're just a bagel"
I did a little spin, slowly forgetting my audience.
"Razzle dazzle 'em
And they'll beg you for more!
"Give 'em the old double whammy
Daze and dizzy 'em
Back since the days of old Methuselah
Everyone loves the big bambooz-a-ler"
Ty Lee and Song were all but gone from my mind as my usually-awkward-and-half-hearted dancing got a bit more complex.
"Give 'em the old three ring circus
Stun and stagger 'em
When you're in trouble, go into your dance
"Though you are stiffer than a girder
They'll let you get away with murder
Razzle dazzle 'em
And you've got a romance"
I didn't even see them anymore. I was completely into the words, unaware of what my feet were doing.
"Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle
Razzle dazzle 'em
Show 'em the first rate sorcerer you are
Long as you keep 'em way off balance
How can they spot you've got no talents
Razzle Dazzle 'em
Razzle Dazzle 'em
Razzle Dazzle 'em
And they'll make you a star!"
I froze up as I stopped, my surroundings crashing back onto me. I quickly directed my eyes to the ground, breathing too heavily and blushing fiercely, unable to believe that I'd just done that.
I finally managed to force my eyes to them. Song looked stunned, while Ty Lee was beaming at me.
"Wow, you're amazing!" the director said happily, jotting something down.
Song got up, ran over, and threw her arms around me, making me stumble backwards out of surprise and almost lose my balance. "I didn't know you could sing!"
"I-I, uh…" I started, not quite sure what to do.
"I'm sure we can find something great for you!" Ty Lee said as Song let me go.
"On Ji and Jin will be so surprised when I tell them!" Song said, beaming at me.
I gulped at the mention of my best and only friends in school. "Oh, please don't."
She looked confused for a second, then seemed to catch on. "Stage fright, huh? Alright, I won't tell them. But they'll find out at rehearsal." She smiled kindly before going back to the piano.
I froze. I'd forgotten that they'd auditioned, too. "Oh, that'll end well," I muttered.
"Well, that's it," Ty Lee said brightly, not seeming to have heard.
"Seriously?" I asked, surprised. "I don't have to read anything?"
She shook her head. "These are voice-only auditions. It's an idea I came up with!"
"Oh," I said, still confused and put a bit off guard by her all-too-happy expression. "Okay." I grabbed my backpack and started to leave, but paused halfway through the door. "Hey, Ty Lee?" I said, turning back around.
"Yeah?" she asked, looking up from where she was showing Song her clipboard.
"Um, there was a girl auditioning a couple of days ago," I said, my curiosity getting the best of me. "Black hair, pale, really light eyes… What's her name?"
"Oh, you mean Toph?" Ty Lee asked. "Yeah, she was great!"
"Thanks," I said, smiling at her. "Later." I walked out the door, trying to remember where I'd heard that name before.
"Wait, how'd you…?" Ty Lee started.
I ignored her and started walking faster.
AN: I've finally introduced the main character. ^^ Full credit for this chapter goes to Zomz, along with the entire idea, even if she doesn't read this. She'd originally planned a Glee-esque discovery of his voice (a la Will/Finn, courtesy of Sokka), but I have my own plans for Sokka. :3
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