Second semester of junior year in high school. Back to boring uniforms with white polos, black sweaters, and tan uniform pants. I had French with Alina. Alina was by far the most beautiful girl in school. She had perfect golden skin, warm, whiskey brown eyes, and wavy, chocolate brown hair that was usually hidden in a hijab. The only time she didn't cover her hair was when it was too hot, but she looked just as beautiful. Her makeup was always perfect with eyeliner so sharp, it could cut a man. Not only was gorgeous, but she was also very cunning. If someone crossed her, she would strike them down herself.

"So Nathan, I'll see you after school for practice," Alina leaned on my desk as class finished.

Today was the first day of practice for the spring musical, Phantom of the Opera. I, of course, got picked to be the phantom. I was always the star of the show in every play we've had. Since I am amazing.

"Of course," I said.

...

Lunch time, my favorite time of the day. My parents gave me $20 to buy a sandwich, some chips, and a water bottle. After purchasing my food in a very long line, I walked out of the cafeteria to find my group. The sun was out and there was a slight breeze. Dozens of kids sat outside in the open area. I scanned the area to find my group sitting on a table in the far corner underneath a tree. As I came closer I noticed my twin friends, Adrian and Amelia, arguing.

I walked over behind them. "What is it this time?"

Amelia looked at me, with the identical eyes as her brother's, "Food as always."

She has black hair like her brother's except in a pixie cut with small streaks of purple. Her skin was also paler than her brother's. They may be identical, but they were polar opposites. Adrian was always the carefree beach boy, but Amelia was the aggressive badass girl.

"She's just jealous because mom forgot to pack her kimchi," Adrian teased Amelia.

"Adrian, I swear to god," She threatened.

I tuned out their bickering to look around the table and sat down. Hassan sat next to Adrian. He was on his phone as always, just texting away. He had golden skin, black hair, and chocolate eyes. Hassan was the social butterfly with millions of followers in every social media site.

There was one more person that sat to the right, but I didn't know who they were. They had beige skin and curly auburn brown hair. They tapped their fork on a plastic container.

I looked at the group and cleared my throat, "Um, would anyone like to introduce me to the new person at the table?"

Amelia looked up, "Oh right. Nathan this is Emily." She gestured with her hand towards Emily.

She looked up with hazel eyes and waved.

"Sup," I said.

"She can't talk," Amelia added.

I made a face, "What?"

"She's mute, dude." Adrian said and he shoved a fork full of white rice in his mouth.

I looked at Emily, "How?"

She looked at Amelia and made some gestures with her hands. Then she stared back at me.

"Vocal cord deformity." Amelia answered.

I stared at her and then back at Emily, and then back at Amelia.

Amelia must have seen my confused look because she answered my other question, "I took sign language for two years."

"Why'd you transfer in the middle of the year?" I asked.

Emily moved her hands again and Amelia answered, "Long story."

The group then continued to chat with each other. Emily paid attention to everyone and nodded along. This continued for 40 minutes until it was time to get to class.

...

Physics was my next class. I sat in the middle of the room at a lab table, as another student joined me. My classmate Hector. He had reddish-brown skin, with curly, mocha colored hair to his ears, and chestnut brown eyes. He was pretty ripped, since he works in his dad's car shop, but at the same time he was really gentle. He excelled at math and science, specifically physics. He sat right across from me, leaving two open spots left.

"Hey, Hector. You ready to start building the set for the play? I need it to be perfect since I am the star," I said proudly.

"Still see you have a stick up your ass," He responded.

I was just about to make a rude remark when I noticed Emily walk into the room. She looked around the room for an open seat and caught my eye.

"Who are you looking at?" Hector turned around, "Oh, is that the new girl. Dude, invite her over."

Hector motioned her over to our table and patted the stool next to him. She gingerly walked over, dropped her backpack to the floor, and took a seat.

Hector brought out his hand for Emily to shake, "Hector Diaz and this is-"

"She knows who I am," I cut him off.

"Like I said, stick up your ass."

...

I watched Hector and Emily work during class. Since Amelia wasn't here to translate, Emily wrote everything out on paper. She wrote in cursive with perfect loops. She was also surprisingly extremely smart. We were doing a lab to find the acceleration of a car and blah blah blah. I wasn't paying attention, but Hector and Emily were really into it. I sat back and let them do the work until the end of class.

"So, I guess we're a group," Hector declared.

"For what?" I said.

"Aye dios mio. For the project that was just assigned."

"Oh, right."

"He's hopeless," Hector turned towards Emily.

Emily smiled a little.

"I'll see you later then," Hector said as we were dismissed.

I looked at Emily, "Uhh bye," and walked out.

...

It was finally the end of the school day and I raced to the auditorium. Excitement running through my veins. I burst through the doors and sat in the chairs in front of the stage. Alina, Adrian, and Persephone were all sitting together. Persephone was an actress in our group. She had dark almond skin and chocolate brown eyes. She had coily dark brown hair up to her ears that she always decorated with flower crowns. Persephone was the sweetest and most optimistic person here. She also rocked pastels anytime.

"Nathan," She extended her hand towards me, "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"That's because of winter break," I said flatly.

There were other classmates sitting in the chairs, but I didn't pay attention to them. The director, Ms. Rhea,  began to distribute our scripts. She was a short woman with pale skin, green eyes, and blonde hair.

"Now, since you all were assigned your parts after thanksgiving, I expect you all to begin practicing. Understood?" Ms. Rhea eyed each of us.

We all nodded.

"Good, now I except you all to be here everyday after school. Should any of you cause any ruckus or require disciplinary actions, you will be immediately kicked out of the play. Is that also understood?"

We nodded again.

"Now that we have that settled, I have some news. Juilliard School in New York City will be sending representatives here to observe our play."

We all leaned in with amazement. Juilliard is the one of the top performing arts schools in New York. They have a 6% acceptance rate and high standards for those in drama, dance, and music. This was my chance to get my chance to start my career.

They are looking for the best performers to apply for their school. So I want all of you to make this your best performance. Practice dismissed." Ms. Rhea turned to get a different stack of papers.

I got up and headed back towards the door, with my script in hand. This news just made this whole play so much more stressful. This was now my top priority. I was going to give those representatives the best play they have ever seen and then they'll accept me in their school. I read over the cover as I thought of my whole career, but I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking before bumping into someone.

"Hey, watch it," I looked up and saw Emily.

She mouthed "sorry".

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

She moved her hands, but I couldn't understand.

"Uh..." I started.

She sighed through her nose, and pulled out her phone and started typing quickly. When she was done, she faced the screen to me.

"Stage crew"

"Oh," I nodded.

She looked behind me then back to me, waved, and mouthed "bye".

I turned to watch her walk away towards the chairs that I was sitting. Except this time, Hassan, Parker, Hector, and Amelia were there. Amelia introduced her to Parker, and translated anything she said. I watched for a moment longer before finally leaving.