Fabulous Five 020 - The Witches of Wakeman Read Free

after
auditions.
    "Yeah, congratulations," said Jana. "We knew
you could do it."
    Christie and Melanie patted Beth on the shoulder and
grinned.
    Beth beamed. "At least my name's on the list," she
said. "It says here that Mr. Levine will tell us which part we have at the
first rehearsal today after school."
    "Of course, you'll be one of the emcee witches,"
Jana said.
    "I hope you're right," Beth said.
    "And look who else is on the list," Christie said.
"Paul Smoke made it, and so did Chet Miller, Shelly Bramlett, Lisa Snow,
and Dekeisha Adams—"
    "Good," Beth said. "They're all nice."
    "—and Laura McCall," Christie said.
    "Yuck," Beth said.
    "But look," said Katie, frowning. "You five
girls made it and some variety acts, but didn't you say there were two skits,
also? Shouldn't the cast be larger?"
    "Right," said Beth, peering closer at the list. "I
see what you mean. The cast should be larger. I wonder what happened.
Lots of kids tried out."
    "Maybe everybody else dropped out," offered
Melanie.
    "That would explain why Laura McCall got a part,"
said Jana. "Her witch reading wasn't all that great."
    "It really wasn't," Christie agreed.
    Beth rolled her eyes. "Laura kept grinning like an
idiot at Mr. L all through the auditions."
    "Well, even though she's a rat," Melanie said, "you
have to admit that she's pretty."
    "I don't have to admit any such thing," Beth
sniffed.
    Jana nudged Beth and mumbled out of the side of her mouth, "Speak
of the witch herself."
    Laura McCall, followed by her friend Tammy Lucero, elbowed
Christie and Melanie aside to get a look at the cast list.
    "Yes ," she said when she found her
name. Then her smile faded and she stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Oh-h-h,"
she said with exaggerated disappointment in her voice, obviously for the
benefit of The Fabulous Five. "Looks like Beth's in the show after all. I
sure didn't think she'd be cast."
    Beth's face grew hot in about two seconds. "We'll see,
Laura McCall," she said, her voice rising in anger. "We'll see who's
the real actress around here! If you watch me carefully during
rehearsals, you just might pick up a few acting pointers. Messing up your hair
doesn't make your character if you can't act in the first place! And you sure
didn't show anyone you can act at the auditions!"
    Beth turned on her heel and stormed off down the hall.
    "Apparently Mr. Levine disagrees with you," Laura
called nastily after her. "He cast me, didn't he?"
    Beth ignored Laura's remark as she hurried along the
corridor toward her math class. She was sorry that she had let Laura get to
her. She could handle Laura most of the time, but the theater was different.
Beth loved the theater. If things worked the way she planned, she would become
a professional actress someday. "Laura just wants a part because she likes
to show off," she muttered.
    It took about three or four minutes for Beth to calm down.
She took a deep breath and sauntered along toward her math class trying to find
something more pleasant to think about. Suddenly the first bell rang. "Oh,
my gosh," she said aloud. "I'm going to be late."
    Picking up speed, she raced down the hall and careened
around the corner. She juggled her books to keep from dropping them and slammed
into someone just outside the classroom door.
    "Keith!" Beth cried, looking up to see whom she
had bumped into.
    Keith Masterson grinned. "Hi, Beth," he said. "I
always did say you could knock me off my feet. Now you almost did it."
    She laughed sheepishly. "Sorry about that."
    "I hear congratulations are in order," Keith said.
"You made the cast of 'The Witches' Caldron.'"
    "That's right," Beth said. "And there are
going to be some good acts in the show! Wait till you see Paul Smoke and Chet
Miller."
    "Don't tell me about those guys," Keith said, his
smile fading slightly. "I'm just interested in seeing you." He
slipped an arm possessively around Beth's shoulder and steered her into the
classroom.
    Keith had been Beth's boyfriend since grade