The next week was home to one of the busiest weeks in the entire school year: audition and tryout week. Anita would be trying out for the basketball team on Monday; the play would be holding its vocal auditions on Tuesday and dance auditions on Wednesday; and Rose was going to try out for the swim team on Thursday. The coding club didn’t have tryouts, so Trinity didn’t have to stay after school at all that week.

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     Anita went into tryouts as confident as she could be, but afterward, she angrily took a call from Rose asking how it went and had to vent.           

     “Well, first off, I didn’t know when my turn was, so I was actually late to my tryout because I went to the bathroom and didn’t hear my name get called! Then, I had to dribble, and it went really well until I had to move the ball between my hands. Somehow, the ball managed to slip from my fingers and roll under the bleachers. We had to completely pause so someone could lift the bleachers and get the ball! Then, it was time to pass, and that part was going great until I did a chest pass a little too hard and the coach didn’t catch the ball before it hit her face…. Oh, no, no, no, Rose, it got worse! The coach next asked me to make a regular shot, then do a lay-up and a free throw. I did the free throw and regular without a hiccup, mind you, but when it came time for the lay-up? I tried to impress them by dunking the shot, and I accidentally pulled the rim down too hard and bent it!... Yeah! I bent the net! Gosh, Rose, I don’t even think I need to see the list. With all the ways I delayed the thing, or worse, there’s absolutely no way I made the team!”

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    Blaine had much better luck that week. He did great at both the vocal and dance auditions.  
                                         
    After the vocal auditions, he bumped into a student he had never seen before. He looked about his age. He wondered if he was a transfer student.   

   “Hey, dude,” he greeted him. “You here to audition?” He then leaned in and whispered, “Be warned, our music coach is really tough.”       
       
    This made the kid laugh. “Thanks, but I’m here to walk my sister home. I heard you, though. That was amazing! What part are you going for?” 

     “No part,” he explained. “I mean, I like acting, but I’m much more of a singer and a dancer. Especially a dancer. I’m up for captain.”
               
    “Oh, sweet!”
                                             
    “Noah!” called a girl Blaine immediately recognized. “You’re early. I haven’t gone yet!”
                                           
    “Well, better to be early than late; don’t you agree, Mel?” the kid responded.

     “Woah!” Blaine cut in. “Your sister is Melinda Williams? She gets the leading female role every year! Well, except for last year’s Cats performance, when that was Kat Cruz.”
                               
    “Hey, I’m the one who has had to hear her 'rehearse' over the phone while I was in Wales and give feedback every year,” Noah laughed. “Were you captain then, too?”

     “Uh…” Blaine was embarrassed but knew Noah would be able to tell if he was lying. “I actually auditioned with a number from The Lion King by accident, so I got disqualified.”
                                   
    Noah giggled, but in a warm, “that’s-a-funny-story” kind of way, not in a way that felt like mockery. “Well, I’ll bet you had a great performance of it, anyway, if you sounded anything like you did in there. I would cast you, anyway.”

    “Thanks! My name’s Blaine, by the way.”

    “Nice to meet you, Blaine! Oh, excuse me. I just remembered I had to take a call.” With that, Noah stepped away and took out his phone.
           
    “Hmm? Oh, hey, No!” Luke responded, picking up his friend’s call.
       
    “Hey. So, I came to pick up Mel from the auditions, and, dude, I think I just found the most amazing singer in the entire school!”

    “Hey!” Though it was obvious that Luke wasn’t really offended. “So, you called me just to rave about some random theater kid?”
               
    “Well, not really,” Noah replied, slightly hesitant, but willing to go through with it. “I was thinking...what if we got another member?”
           
    “What? Why?” Luke seemed hesitant, too. “I thought this was going great with just you and me!”
                                       
    “I’m not saying it’s not,” Noah explained, “but this man isn’t just talent. He has experiences that we don’t have, too. Musical theater experiences. As in choreographies and being taught by a music coach.”                  
    “Noah, I just...I just don’t know, alright?”

    “Look, I have to pick Mel up from her second night of auditions, too. I’ll record a video of him, and maybe that’ll convince you. Deal?”
           
    Luke sighs. “Fine. Fine, but don’t expect anything, alright?”
           
    Noah smiles. “Only if you’ll keep an open mind.”
                   
    “Deal.”

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    That Wednesday, Noah snuck into the auditorium and quickly pulled out his video recorder. The auditions were already in progress, but Noah was lucky enough that Blaine’s group was the last one to go on. “Dancing Queen” blasted through the producer’s CD player as the kids burned through the routine. After Noah had pressed record, he positioned the camera on Blaine and zoomed in on him. When he and Melinda got home, he wasted no time in sending the video to Luke.
                       
    Luke enjoyed the video. He thought that Noah was absolutely right about Blaine’s talent. But there was a sense of hesitation and doubt within him. So much so that he felt like he had to make up an excuse as to why Blaine couldn’t join:

     “How does this kid sing like?”

     “What?” Noah was clearly confused. “I told you!”
                   
    “You told me, yeah. But you didn’t show me.”
                       
    “Come on, dude!”
                                             
    “Until you can show me, I’m sorry, but the answer is no.”

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    That Thursday, it was Rose’s turn to go out for the swim team. Most of it was a blur for her. For several minutes, she felt nothing but the water over her body and head as she pushed through as quickly as she could. She was surprised at how much effort it seemed to take her when swimming normally felt so natural. Despite this, the coach still smiled warmly at her at the end of it, and told her, “Relax. You did great tonight.” So, Rose still left the pool feeling fantastic.