Chapter 20

"You have to eat something," Marilyn fished in her purse again. She found a granola bar and handed it to the girl. A voice in her head told her this was her competition, but Marilyn ignored it. She didn't want to win thst way.

"Is there anything you don't have in that purse?" the girl asked.

"Trade secret," Marilyn grinned. "I like big purses, the little ones make me feel gawky."

"Deanna," the girl said. "I know we're competition, but I'd rather be your friend and worry about that later."

"Marilyn." She looked around at the people chatting and laughing. A group up ahead had a pizza delivered and passed slices up and down the line. Marilyn and Deanna both ate some. The other girl's color looked a lot better.

The line moved at a crawl. Anna went off to find some food, then Tavi called Erick on her cell and went to find him. Only Birungi stood beside her when they moved into the shadow of the huge theatre. Marilyn expected to see cameras all over.

"This is the audition for the audition," Deanna said, "a friend of mine made a show last year. She had to wait ages to find out if she made the televised show, then she wasn't allowed to tell anyone. If you wear a costume you need to wear exactly the same thing. The judges even asked the same kind of questions."

"Makes sense," Marilyn sighed and squashed the dream of running out of the building with a pass to the show. "But I was kind of hoping to know today."

"You and me both."

"Contestants only past this point," a guard repeated endlessly. Birungi hugged Marilyn and followed the stream of people who headed for the doors of the theatre seating.

"Ok," the woman at the table said, "here are the releases. You can take them and read them, but no one sings until they're signed. The short version is the judges can say whatever they want about you, your appearance, your singing, as long as it isn't illegal or against company policy. That means no overt racism or sexism, but if you're dressed sexy, expect to get oggled."

Marilyn and Deanna just signed the document.

"I didn't come all this way to go away without singing," Deanna said. Marilyn nodded. They followed the line to the next table were the staff pinned or taped numbers to the front of the contestants.

"If you're taking off any portion of your costume, please make sure you don't remove your number until after you start singing." The woman pinned the number to Marilyn's blouse. "Lovely scarf, darling" she said before she went back to her scripted sentence and pinned the number on the person behind her

They were called into side rooms in groups where they got to sing accapella for a few seconds while bored looking people at a table made notes. They handed papers to ushers who sent some people out one door and others through a second one. Marilyn was sent through the second door to join another line which snaked up the stairs to a big room full of contestants.

"All right," another person walked in to talk to them. "here's how it works. You walk out onto the stage and you get five seconds to get ready. Then your music starts, double check your backing file is the one you want before you go out on the stage. Do overs make the judges grumpy. After you've sung, the judges may or may not comment on your performance. We have a limited number of direct passes. That means a guaranteed spot on the live auditions. It doesn't mean a guaranteed pass through the live auditions. If you get a pass we ask you don't post it on social media. If it shows up before the live auditions, your pass will be revoked. This show is about singing, people, so sing. Some footage is being shot today and may be used on the live show if the producers feel it's appropriate. From this point on, you may be called out of numerical sequence so we don't get a long run of similar acts. If you made it this far, you will not go home without singing on the big stage. Try to relax and if you need to puke, use the garbage cans placed around the studio. We will let you wave off one call to sing, but not two. Questions?"

She waved them into the studio. The odor of nerves hit Marilyn, but nothing else. Either no one puked, or they cleaned up quickly. She looked down at her chest.

"Deanna, What's my number?"

"You're 19783, what am I?"

"19782," Marilyn grinned suddenly. "We made it, we're really here."

"Yep, we are." Deanna gave Marilyn a quick hug. "I wouldn't have made it without you. Even if I don't make it a step further, it was worth it to meet you."

Marilyn wandered aimlessly in the studio humming softly to warm up her voice. She sang a few soft scales and they blended with the sounds others warming up around her. The unconscious music made her shiver.

"782, then 783. You're up" the woman called through the studio. She waved them over. You have your thumb drive?" she asked, "only one file on the drive?"

Marilyn and Deanna nodded.

"Good, pass the drive to the computer guy. Wait to see that it is the correct file before you walk out on stage."

They nodded again and moved up to the stage. Deanna handed her drive to the tech. She looked at the screen to check and gave a thumbs up. The contestant before them buzzed out after a few seconds of nasal, not quite in tune singing. Marilyn handed her thumb drive to the tech.

Then Deanna started singing.

"Me, and my shadow..."

She had a glorious clear voice which carried the song to the rafters. It was the same song Marilyn had planned to sing.

"I need to change my song," she whispered to the tech.

"Sorry," the tech said, "we only can change the backing tune for an error, like if we got someone else's thumb drive. We can't let you change your mind. Isn't the first time its happened."

"Can you just not play any music at all?"

"Don't see why not," the man shrugged, "It's your funeral."

"I won the last competition where the tech guy said that to me."

"Well good luck then."

"So," one of the judges spoke. Marilyn could only see vague shapes, "tell me about yourself."

"I traveled all night to get here," Deanna said, "and I almost passed out in line."

"I hope one of our staff took care of you,"

"One of the contestants did. She gave me her water and food and everything."

"Sounds like an angel," the judge responded.

"I think so."

"We'll hope she sings like one."

The next judge commented about how beautifully Deanna sang and pulled from her that she was a farm girl and home schooled, but she wanted to sing for a living.

Deanna bounced off the stage and hugged Marilyn. They danced in circles for a few seconds, before the woman with the clipboard cleared her throat. She grinned at them.

"Now that's television," a man's voice muttered from behind Marilyn.

"Five seconds from when you hit the mark," the clipboard woman pointed out onto the stage.

Marilyn tapped her hand against her leg as she walked.

She entered the circle.

One, she breathed in,

Two,

Three, she breathed out

Four

Five, she breathed in and began to sing.