bananas. Most of the girls had whipped out brushes and were frantically working on their hair. Others ducked behind the seats in front of them to peek into mirrors and apply eye shadow or lipstick. The boys were mostly horsing around and acting like jerks—as usual, thought Taffy.
Beside her, Mrs. Sinclair squirmed nervously. " I don ' t understand what ' s going on here. He wouldn ' t dare replace you in the starring role of Tiffany Stafford, " she whispered angrily.
" Merry Chase said he ' s just looking for more kids to fill other roles, " said Taffy with a trace of annoyance at her mother. " Naturally a TV series would have a bigger cast than a movie. "
" Humph. I certainly hope that ' s what it is, " grumped Mrs. Sinclair.
Taffy scrunched down in her chair. She had never considered the possibility of losing her starring role. What if she blew this audition on purpose and Mr. Crandall picked someone else?
At least then I wouldn ' t have to leave home again just when I ' m starting to fit in, she thought. I could keep my best friend and my boyfriend. And I could replace Kimm as the band ' s singer. The idea seemed suddenly appealing.
Channing Crandall moved to the center of the stage. " Boys and girls, " he said in a booming voice, " so that I may see each of you at your best, I ' m going to ask you to do some improvisation. Who can tell me what improvisation is? "
Hands shot up all over the room, but Mr. Crandall chose an especially pretty brunette in the front row named Summer Lacey. Taffy had never liked Summer. She was too conceited. Taffy would die if Summer stole her part.
Summer stood and flashed a big smile at the casting director as she told him her name. " Improvisation is acting without a script, " she said importantly. " It ' s making up the story and the lines as you go along. "
" Thank you, Summer. That ' s exactly right, " said Mr. Crandall. " Improvisation lets you use your imagination to the fullest. I ' m sure Merry Chase has told you the importance of imagination in becoming the character you ' re playing. "
Kids nodded all around the room. Taffy bit her lower lip and thought about how easy it would be to improvise poorly. Then perhaps Channing Crandall would decide to cast someone else in the role of Tiffany Stafford. She stole a glance at her mother, sitting beside her, and thought about how disappointed she would be. She would just have to understand, Taffy thought stubbornly.
" Summer, since you ' re already standing, won ' t you go first? " asked Channing Crandall.
Some of the color drained out of Summer ' s face, and Taffy thought she saw her flinch slightly at his words. It was awful to be first, and Taffy almost felt sorry for her. Nodding slightly, Summer went to the front of the room.
The casting director rested his chin in his hand and looked at her pensively for a moment. " You are a babysitter, " he began, waving a finger in the air as an orchestra conductor waves a baton. " You are caring for three preschoolers who are each trying to get into mischief. "
Giggles rippled through the room.
" One is getting into the refrigerator. Another is climbing up the front of the cupboards. And the third has the cat by the tail. The phone rings. It ' s the children ' s mother. You must stop all three disasters while talking to her and not let on to her that things are out of control. " He paused for Summer to visualize the scene and then gave the signal for her to begin.
Summer looked flustered for a moment. Then she began swatting the air around her ankles and grabbing for imaginary children as she kept a pretend telephone receiver clamped between her shoulder and her ear.
" Hello, Mrs. Jones, " she said. " Yes, everything ' s fine. The little angels are behaving perfectly. In fact, they ' re coloring a picture for you right now. "
Watching in amusement as Summer continued to improvise, Taffy joined in the applause when Mr. Crandall indicated she could return to her seat. Summer was
Beside her, Mrs. Sinclair squirmed nervously. " I don ' t understand what ' s going on here. He wouldn ' t dare replace you in the starring role of Tiffany Stafford, " she whispered angrily.
" Merry Chase said he ' s just looking for more kids to fill other roles, " said Taffy with a trace of annoyance at her mother. " Naturally a TV series would have a bigger cast than a movie. "
" Humph. I certainly hope that ' s what it is, " grumped Mrs. Sinclair.
Taffy scrunched down in her chair. She had never considered the possibility of losing her starring role. What if she blew this audition on purpose and Mr. Crandall picked someone else?
At least then I wouldn ' t have to leave home again just when I ' m starting to fit in, she thought. I could keep my best friend and my boyfriend. And I could replace Kimm as the band ' s singer. The idea seemed suddenly appealing.
Channing Crandall moved to the center of the stage. " Boys and girls, " he said in a booming voice, " so that I may see each of you at your best, I ' m going to ask you to do some improvisation. Who can tell me what improvisation is? "
Hands shot up all over the room, but Mr. Crandall chose an especially pretty brunette in the front row named Summer Lacey. Taffy had never liked Summer. She was too conceited. Taffy would die if Summer stole her part.
Summer stood and flashed a big smile at the casting director as she told him her name. " Improvisation is acting without a script, " she said importantly. " It ' s making up the story and the lines as you go along. "
" Thank you, Summer. That ' s exactly right, " said Mr. Crandall. " Improvisation lets you use your imagination to the fullest. I ' m sure Merry Chase has told you the importance of imagination in becoming the character you ' re playing. "
Kids nodded all around the room. Taffy bit her lower lip and thought about how easy it would be to improvise poorly. Then perhaps Channing Crandall would decide to cast someone else in the role of Tiffany Stafford. She stole a glance at her mother, sitting beside her, and thought about how disappointed she would be. She would just have to understand, Taffy thought stubbornly.
" Summer, since you ' re already standing, won ' t you go first? " asked Channing Crandall.
Some of the color drained out of Summer ' s face, and Taffy thought she saw her flinch slightly at his words. It was awful to be first, and Taffy almost felt sorry for her. Nodding slightly, Summer went to the front of the room.
The casting director rested his chin in his hand and looked at her pensively for a moment. " You are a babysitter, " he began, waving a finger in the air as an orchestra conductor waves a baton. " You are caring for three preschoolers who are each trying to get into mischief. "
Giggles rippled through the room.
" One is getting into the refrigerator. Another is climbing up the front of the cupboards. And the third has the cat by the tail. The phone rings. It ' s the children ' s mother. You must stop all three disasters while talking to her and not let on to her that things are out of control. " He paused for Summer to visualize the scene and then gave the signal for her to begin.
Summer looked flustered for a moment. Then she began swatting the air around her ankles and grabbing for imaginary children as she kept a pretend telephone receiver clamped between her shoulder and her ear.
" Hello, Mrs. Jones, " she said. " Yes, everything ' s fine. The little angels are behaving perfectly. In fact, they ' re coloring a picture for you right now. "
Watching in amusement as Summer continued to improvise, Taffy joined in the applause when Mr. Crandall indicated she could return to her seat. Summer was
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