Deleted Scene from A PART TO PLAY by @frygurl
As Lucy clicked through her emails to delete them, she realized she'd missed one from the Edmond School for Performing Arts, or E.S.P.A., as it was more commonly known. It was a reminder of their spring open house for those interested in attending the school in the fall semester. She remembered the day she'd received her letter of acceptance to the school only the year before. It was one of the best and worst moments of her life.
Eighteen-year-old Kate ran into the house with the mail in her hand. “Luce!” she yelled up the stairs.
“What?” Lucy yelled back, annoyed because she was busy chatting with three of her friends online.
Her sister thundered up the stairs at full speed and burst into her room. “You got a letter from ESPA!”
Lucy's heart started pounding; she'd been waiting for this letter for three months. She suddenly felt frozen. What if she didn't get in? Behind her, chat notifications continued to beep as her friends chattered on, not realizing that Lucy was about to get the most important news in all of her fourteen years.
“Well, open it already,” said an impatient Kate. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes as she sat cross-legged on Lucy's bed.
“You do it. I can't.”
“Oh, for crying out loud.” Kate ripped open the envelope without ceremony. She scanned the letter quickly. “Hmm...” she said seriously.
Lucy suddenly knew that she hadn't gotten in to the school. Her dreams of becoming an actress were crushed. Tears welled up in her eyes. She knew she'd blown her audition, but still harbored a secret hope that the school would see her potential.
“Dear Lucy Carter, we are sorry to say that despite the fact that you are a big wimp, you are invited to be part of the class of 2014,” Kate read with a very serious tone.
At first all Lucy heard was the part about them being sorry and she actually felt a fist size lump develop in her chest. It took a moment for her to process the entire statement and register Kate's dimple as she started laughing.
“You got in dumbass. They love you.” Kate swatted Lucy with a pillow. Lucy wasn't ready and took the pillow full in the face, but she ignored it.
“What? I can't believe you did that! I got in? For real?” Lucy felt dizzy now. It was just like Kate to mess with her. She jumped off her chair and tackled her sister on the bed, reaching for the letter. “What does it really say?”
Kate giggled as she attempted to keep the letter away from Lucy. They wrestled a bit with Lucy finally getting the upper hand by tickling her sister on her side. Sitting up, she read the letter which didn't actually mention her being a wimp, but did in fact say that she had been accepted to the school. It didn't feel real to her. How could she possibly have gotten in with the audition scene that she messed up so badly.
“This is awesome, Luce.” Kate hugged her.
“Yeah, I guess it is.” Now she was feeling really anxious. She didn't have the skills to make it at this school. It was a mistake to apply.
Chat notifications continued as her friends wondered where she'd gone. “Oh my god, you have to shut them up! Tell them,” Kate said.
Lucy just sat on the bed. She didn't want to tell them. She didn't want to tell anyone, not even her parents. “Later,” she said.
“Luce, this is huge. What's wrong? You look like a deer in headlights.”
“I don't know. My audition sucked. There's no way I'm going to go there and be the worst one.”
Kate grabbed her shoulders to turn her around, staring into her eyes. “Don't start this crap again. You're going and you will do just fine. They know what they are looking for and you're it, babe.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Lucy averted her eyes. She hated when her sister did that. She sounded more like a mom than a sister.
“That's it.” Kate scooted into the desk chair and rapidly typed into the chat program, “I got into ESPA!” before Lucy could stop her.
“Hey! Get off of there.”
The replies were already coming back from her friends. “OMG”, “You ROCK”, “Wow!!”. That was it. The word was out and now Lucy really had to face this. It was strange how quickly she went from feeling excited to scared to depressed to thrilled to unsure. She was so confused.
“Kate, I hate you, get out of my room.” She grabbed her sister's arm and attempted to drag her out of the chair. The chair just rolled with her.
“Okay, okay. You better tell mom and dad when they get home.” Kate was standing in the doorway now. Lucy shut it quickly, but heard her say, “Or I will.”
And Lucy knew she would, so she didn't have a choice.
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