Shooting Stars

Thursday, August 10

Hunk's POV

The day of the auditions arrived more quickly than expected and Hunk knew for a fact how stressed out and panicked his best friend always was before events like this. Especially when he wanted a role as badly as he did this time. So Hunk decided that even though he being a double-major and having a ton of assignments to do, that Lance's saneness mattered more. Therefore he prepared a special "pre-audition-fun-and-distraction-packet". And surprisingly it helped more than he first anticipated. The two friends spend last night at the McClain-house with a mixture of good food, games, and movies, always including his siblings (or at least the ones that are still living at home – Veronica and Rachel). Like Lance himself said before going to sleep last night, he barely wasted any thought to the auditions. So Hunk gladly declared his plan as a full success.
Yet the next morning was not characterized by fun and good-vibes. Lance was a mess. Still, Hunk tried his very best to cheer him up. Cooking his favorite omelet for breakfast certainly improved the actor's mood a tiny bit. Hunk knew that Lance's snappy attitude was nothing personal, he could clearly see that Lance had the worst case of stage-fright. He was sweating, his hands fidgeted like crazy and his voice was shaky on top of that. If Hunk didn't know any better he would have thought Lance had an anxiety attack, which luckily was not the case. Lance repeatedly assured him of that. But it was still not great to see your friend in that state.
"Lance I know you are very nervous. I totally get that! Remember the Garrison, when I almost puked before every show we had?" Hunk said chuckling along to the memory in his head. "Of course I remember… I was the one who held your hair back for you" Lance reminded him, making a disgusted face, but then also breaking into a smile. Oh yes, he is smiling! That is good… Now he just needed to continue with the story and hopefully, that'll keep Lance's mind away from any bad thoughts. "Yeah you did, buddy! And Pidge stood just next to us taking a Polaroid picture… I still have no idea where she got that, by the way..." Hunk continued. "Wait I didn't even remember that she caught that on camera… But she definitely snapped a pic of me when I fell down the stage that one time." the brown-haired boy added, having a shocked expression on his face. Yes, that were good times back then at the Camp. God is Hunk glad, that he found his friends there, or else he would have probably given up after one week. With the team on his side, even a mistake or failure was so much fun, that he decided that he wanted to a part of crews like that for the rest of his life. Even if it wasn't as an actor or different performer, but as a stage manager and a part of the tech-team.
"Good morning you two! Hey Lance today is the big day, isn't it?" Lance's Mom greeted as she walked down the stairs "Oh Hunk you did not have to cook breakfast, you are our guest, sweetheart.". "Oh Miss McClain don't worry about it. You know I love to cook for more people than just myself" Hunk quickly assured her and gave her a plate full of his culinary creations. She thanked him again before she sat down at the table next to her youngest son, who gave her a short hug. She immediately could sense the worry present in Lance's aura. "Oh, honey please don't trouble yourself too much with this audition. You will do amazing! I am so sure you will! I know my little star and I also know how much you trained to get this role. Nobody will even get close!" She reassured him, as she rested her hand on his back and rubbed it in a circling motion. Hunk nodded in agreement. "Thanks, Mama… I just- I am still not sure if I did enough." Lance said letting his head sink into his hands. Now Rosa's look shifted to resemble the one of her son. Worry was present in her eyes, not wanting Lance to continue cutting himself short.
"Mi Hijo you put all the effort a person could into your performance, and if the jury won't see that, they are blind!"
Hunk now took a step closer to Lance's side and put his arms around his shoulders. "Lance you are one of the most talented people I know in this world. And you will show them exactly that, okay? If anyone can do it then it is you!". At that, Lance raised his head again and nodded, "You know what? You are right! I worked so hard and that will pay off!" Lance announced in a solemn tone. "Yes!" Rosa and Hunk said in unison. After that, all of them continued with their breakfast and chatted about some random things, like Hunks family or school. But as about half an hour passed Lance and Hunk had to leave. Lance's audition was coming closer and closer, and Hunk could feel the panic starting to grow slowly again. So he played out his final card for today.
"Lance before we leave, I wanted to give you this." Hunk took a small bag out of his backpack and gave it to his best friend. Lance slowly started to open it and what he found inside made his heart swell. The small present Hunk had made him was a "good-luck-cupcake". It was decorated with all kinds of symbols, like a lucky clover, a ladybug, or crossed fingers. "Oh thank you Hunky! That is so cute! I can't believe you put all of this effort in all of this. Not only this beautiful cupcake but also yesterday night. God, who would I be without you? You are the best Hunk..."Lance exclaimed and gave Hunk a huge hug, which he gladly returned.
"May we get in there, too" Veronica and Rachel, who suddenly stood right behind them, asked with big smiles on their faces. Both Hunk and Lance opened their arms for a group-hug. "Lance we wanted to wish you the best of luck for today! Even though you don't need that anyways… you can do it without luck!" Rachel told her brother to which Veronica added: "You are going to blow them all away!". "Thank you guys so much for always supporting me… You can't imagine how much it means to me, that you are always there for me," Lance said at last before he and Hunk left through the front door.
They made their way over to Hunk's car, but this time his thoughts were racing madly. Because Hunk hasn't been exactly honest to his friends these last couple of weeks and it was eating him alive. But always the planner, Hunk figured out exactly how he was going, to tell the truth to everyone. And the first one he wanted to talk to, was his impersonated emotional support -Lance. The car was obviously the best place for a confession since nobody could get up and just storm away. Not that he thought that Lance would actually do that to him, nevertheless it was just relieving to have this safety. He knew that right now would be his best chance at getting it off his chest. So once they started to drive, Hunk took a deep breath and spoke up.
"Lance I got a confession to make. I have been lying to you for quite a while now honestly. And I am very sorry..." Hunk said grabbing onto the staring wheel tightly. "Wait what? What did you lie to me about Hunky?" Lance asked confused but in a very calm manner. "I told you I handed in my applications for the tech-team…. Well, I did not do that." Hunk rambled out trying his hardest to not look at the boy next to him. "Did you forget? Did you not want to? Dude if you didn't want to be part of the production, you could've just said so… nobody would be judging you for that, trust me!" Lance said putting a hand on his shoulder. "No Lance that is not what it is… I did apply for a different job." He finally managed to say. Lance just raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything so he could continue. "I applied to be Assistant Stage-Manager. I wanted to since the very beginning, but Pidge was so excited about us working together, that I could not tell her the truth. And then it just grew to be a bigger and bigger lie, with each passing day. I know it was a horrible thing to do, but I just didn't want to disappoint you guys.". "Hunk please don't be so hard on yourself, because of that! You are a double major in stage-management for a reason! If you ask me, I'd say that it was a very good choice for you, since you are crazy organized and always have the best ideas! Yes, you would have also rocked as a part of the tech-team, but honestly? You are made for the job of a stage-manager." Lance assured him and gave him a huge smile. "Thank you, buddy... I really needed to hear that." Hunk said, with obvious relief in his voice. "Oh and Hunk, trust me Pidge won't be mad at you for this either. We all love you, no matter what!"

Pidges POV

Pidge was currently lying on Keith's bed in his dorm, staring at the wall. Originally her reasoning behind this was, that she wanted to make sure that Keith wouldn't freak out, because of the auditions. But turns out he somehow decided to be totally relaxed about them this time. Which was so uncharacteristic for him, that it almost scared Pidge. Usually, Keith is extremely nervous before he goes to auditions and on multiple occasions just got cold feet and didn't participate at all. Never in her life has Pidge seen him so content with a situation like this. It seemed off. Don't get her wrong, she was very happy that Keith was so calm, but it was so strange. Speaking of Keith… where did he go? He said he was going to the to get something like 10 minutes ago. Pidge pushed herself in an upright position on the bed and scanned the room for her friend. Well if he's not here, he must be in the living room or something. So she stood up and left the room. There he was, lying on the couch, scrolling through his phone. 'Pfff, did he forget I was here?' Pidge thought as she silently grabbed a pillow from the floor and threw it straight at Keith. He, on the other hand, completely not expecting an attack, was so shocked he let out a small cry. "What the hell? Katie! For goodness sake..." He squealed, as she chuckled, visibly satisfied.

Keith glared at her and threw the pillow right back on her face. However, Pidge was well prepared for a comeback and caught it in the air. So Keith took another pillow and chucked it in her direction again, which she could not catch in time. Consequently, it hit her in the face. "Hey! Kogane, what do you think you're doing? Just hitting a girl with a deadly weapon… did nobody teach you better than that, little boy?" she scolded him sarcastically. "You? A girl? Sorry my bad, I must have mistaken you for a gremlin there…. It won't happen again." He replied jokingly. They both looked at each other for a whole of 3 seconds before having a laughing fit.
God did Pidge loves joking around with Keith. You can seriously have so much fun with him! Some people might say that he is grumpy, which admittedly he is, but they often oversee the great sides of him. Like his great sense of humor and the fact that he is literally always there for you when you need him. That is probably the reason why Keith is Pidges best friend (and of course their conspiracies). But Pidge is also Keith's best friend, and that is why she had to break the good mood and ask: "Keith, why are you so calm about this audition? Normally you would be freaking out by now. I don't want say that it's a bad thing you are relaxed, but it's just so unusual for you...". Keith just smiled at her and replied: "Oh I just feel very prepared this time, that's all. Why waste my time on worrying, when I know I did my best at training? Also I don't freak out…". Pidge just raised her eyebrows disapprovingly. It doesn't quite add up in Pidge's opinion. He is not nervous, because he trained? He always trains before performances, so this is no argument at all. And now that she actually thinks about it, Keith didn't even prepare that much. These last three days they both were together on discord every night, playing video games until they were tired and wanted to sleep. And when Pidge asked about what he did all day, he never said that he prepared something for the auditions, just that he did random school work. Either Keith was lying about that or he is planning something right now… And Pidge will figure out what!
And the first step was to text Shiro about if he knew something.

Space Dad

(online)

Pidgey: Shiro.

Space Dad: What is it Pidge? Is everything alright?

Pidgey: yes I am okay… but I am worried about Keith.

Space Dad: Oh no… What did he do? Is he panicking about the auditions?

Pidgey: he didn't do anything and no he isn't.

Space Dad: So what is the matter?

Pidgey: that is my problem! He is so calm… too calm

Space Dad: Wait are you telling me he isn't nervous at all?

Pidgey: Yes! Apparently he "trained enough", and so he feels prepared. Funny thing is though, that I never saw him train at all this week… I think he is planning something.

Space Dad: Highly uncharacteristic for Keith, I agree. Any idea what he is planning?

Pidgey: Not a clue, but that's why I came to you. Do you know what exactly he is performing today?

Space Dad: Not really…

Pidgey: fuck

Space Dad: Language.

Pidgey: …

Space Dad: Oh but I do remember him reading Paul's monologue from A chorus line. But I doubt he picked that, because of how overdone it is.

Pidgey: Mmmmhhh… g2g I text you if I find out more

Space Dad: Okay! Good luck!

An extremely overdone monologue doesn't scream Keith, but so doesn't his behavior either. If anything it fits together like two puzzle pieces. Think Katie, think! Maybe Keith chose this text, to show the jury that he can even score with something that basic. But if he really wanted to pull off something like this why would he be so chill? In former auditions he sometimes did freaky stuff, too, that would normally be "no-goes", but he was particularly riled up before those. He also only did things like this when he wanted a role so badly, he would have killed for it. And this time he wasn't very enthusiastic about "Kayden", since it was not his first choice anyways. He wanted to be in the ensemble.
Wait, she got it! He's messing up on purpose and wants to-
"Hey Pidge it was nice of you to come over, but I still have a class before my auditions, which I really don't want to miss. So I really have to leave." Keith suddenly said ripping her out of her own little world. He was already standing next to the door with his bag in his hand, smiling at her sincerely. She smiled back, collecting her thoughts. Damn it! Now she could not confirm her predictions, and most definitely not change Keith's opinion if she was actually correct. It was stupid of him to throw away a chance like that so carelessly. But if he wanted to that so badly, she wouldn't snitch on him. But she will have a talk about that with him later… probably after the auditions. This boy will make her go insane, she was calling it. Nevertheless, she still wished him the best of luck and walked out of the dorm. The first auditions for "George" will start soon, hopefully, Lance doesn't have an equally bad plan as Keith.

Allura's POV

Allura sighed as she looked at the time on her phone. It was already half past 5 in the afternoon, and there was still a whole round of performers waiting for the jury to be judged. They just finished the auditions for the ensemble, which were probably the most exhausting for her personally, as she had to dance herself to show the group the choreography. Then again it was also the most fun she had all day. Going through the individual steps with all these talented people was an amazing experience on its own and helping everyone when they had questions was also very enjoyable. It made her realize, that teaching would be a great plan-B if the whole dancer and choreographer thing didn't work out. She sure would be very fulfilled by this profession, too. Maybe she should do it just like her father did. He was a director for the majority of his life, but after his father died he decided that he would continue leading the Five-Lions-College his great grandfather founded, as the principal and still teach his knowledge to the new generations. He often told Allura that if she wanted to, she would always be able to inherit the position he was currently holding. And right now she was very sure that it might be the very best idea to follow in her father's footsteps since it really seems like her guidance is helping her students. Lance for example nailed his auditions this morning! He surely was very nervous, but during his performance, you couldn't notice that at all. He chose fitting material, which he presented in a convincing and catching way. And his dance was breathtaking on top of that, and not only thanks to Allura. Lance must've felt bad for depending on her so much concerning his choreography so he even gave it his very own twist. In the end, Lotor, his assistant directors Narti, Ezor, and Zethrid, and Allura herself agreed to put him in their top 5 list. And if you ask Allura, between his components and him, he was clearly the best. But the final choice is more or less up to Lotor. Well, fingers crossed. Talking about fingers crossed, Keith is actually in the next and last group of actors. They are already sitting in the waiting room and going over their lines. It must be time to start soon.
Just as Allura finished that thought, Lotor walked into the room and announced that they will begin now. So they all sat down at their table and prepared their notes. Allura took out her phone to check the time, but before she could finish that motion Lotor was already growling at her "Allura we are starting! Put your phone away!". She just rolled her eyes and explained "I just wanted to check the time, Lotor". At which he shouted: "Wear a watch!"(Authors note: Here is an imaginary cookie for everyone who got that reference). Shortly after this short interaction the first guy entered the room and went up on the stage.
And then after the 13th guy, Allura lost count. But when Keith's name was called out she knew they were almost done, since he was the last one on the list. Keith slowly walked in and introduced himself. With each passing second, Allura got more and more worried. Why was she always so nervous when her friends were nervous? Well, she made it through Lance's audition, so she will get through this one, too.
"Hello, Kogane. I would like you to start with the monologue. After this, you will sing the song you picked out and in the end, you will present to us your choreography. Alright?" Lotor explained in a cold tone. Keith nodded and went to the center of the stage to start with his presentation.

"One day I looked at myself in the mirror and said, "You're fourteen years old and you're gay. What are you going to do with your life?" By that time I was in Cardinal Hayes High School. There were three thousand boys there. I had no protection any more..."

'Paul's monologue from A chorus line? Keith normally knows better than to pick something that overdone. Not to say it's not a nice text, but it is used so often. They actually heard it about 5 times today already. Of course it kind of fits, since Kayden is gay, too, but there would have definitely been better choices than this one. Why Keith decided to play it, even though there are so many other great options is a mystery. With his expertise this is a tiny bit disappointing' Allura thought as he began saying the very first lines. But after a short while, she was completely mesmerized. The very end in particular was so emotional. As he talked about "his" father calling him his son for the very first time, tears were streaming down Keith's face. They seemed so real because Keith made it seem like he actually didn't want to cry and was trying to hold back his emotions. He wasn't playing Paul, he was feeling him and it showed.
"He really captured the essence of that character..." Lotor whispered as he took down some notes. "Impressive how he

can bring such emotion in that text again after we've seen it so often today" Ezor agreed. So that was Keith's plan? Oh, this boy sure knows how to trick his audience. Allura was impressed. But let's see what he'll do for the next task.

Before he started he whipped away his tears and announced what song he will be singing: "I will be singing "Moving too fast" from the musical "The last five years"".

"Did I just hear an alarm start ringing?
Did I see sirens go flying past?
Though I don't know what tomorrow's bringing,
I've got a singular impression things are moving too fast..."


Well, the song certainly is not the hardest one but it still is complicated. Especially the rhythm and the high vocal range make it challenging, as far as Allura's knowledge goes. She took a quick glance at Lotor and saw him nod along to the music, which probably is a good thing. Allura herself isn't really the expert of singing, but their vocal coach Ellen also seems to be quite content with his performance. She smiled and gave him a thumbs-up, at which Lotor shot her a glare, that she happily ignored. Keith, who noticed the signs Ellen gave him, seemed more taken back than excited about them. The following parts of his song were unfocused, some tunes were not exact. Even though it weren't huge mistakes, it was still strange. Like he wanted to be worse after he saw that their vocal coach liked it. It almost seemed like Keith stopped giving everything he could. But who is Allura to judge?

She is a dancer! That's why she looked forward to the last part of these auditions the most. The choreographies and dances are her elements, so she will always be extra strict when evaluating them. She knows for a fact that Keith isn't the best dancer. His ideas and sequences are always adequate, but he is always so stiff. That's his primary problem- he can't relax and let go. Well, at least normally he can't… Allura sure doesn't know what he did in his training, but it made him a new dancer! The different variations of movements fit perfectly to the music and he goes through them so fluently and freely. It seems like he is just feeling and thinking about each move before he does it. It all has it's purpose. Normally he is a nervous mess but this gives the impression of a spontaneous performance. And not in a bad way! It is a big improvement and definitely not disappointing. He must have trained a lot to get to this point and it paid off. It was a very solid choreography.

Once he ended his dance Lotor thanked him for participating. Ellen chipped in and told him that he did a very good job, at which Keith smiled and left. He still looked disappointed while walking out. But Allura couldn't waste a lot of thought on it, because even though it was the last performance of the day Lotor decided they didn't work enough just yet. "Ellen, Allura? We made the decision that we will hold a discussion about our choices in about 10 minutes if you still have the time for it. We want to release the official cast tomorrow, at best." he asked, but it sounded more like they wouldn't have any other option anyways. "Sounds great! Like that, all of our impressions and ideas are still fresh!" Ellen exclaimed and looked at Allura as to wait for her answer. "Well I do have time, but don't you think tomorrow is a bit early. Don't you want to maybe sleep over it?" Allura said tiredly. "Well I want to put out the list as soon as possible, so we can start with rehearsals. I want this play to be perfect and we need all the time we can get! Like this, we could meet up the first time on Monday with everyone." Lotor clarified. "Allura just shrugged with her shoulders but went along with it. He wasn't wrong and the participants of the auditions probably want the notice to be released quickly, too. And all of the off-stage-workers already chose their assistants as well, so this procedure makes actually a lot of sense.

Friday, September 11

Nobody's POV

It was right after all classes ended before lunch-break, when Lotor made the announcement through the school's speakers, that the official cast-list and the list with all accepted non-performing-workers were released. It caught everyone off guard that all of the decisions were made so quickly, some cried, or screamed others jumped up and down because of excitement. But no matter the initial reaction, they all went to the blackboard immediately. Once, Lance, Keith, Hunk and Pidge arrived a huge crowd already formed itself in front of the notice, so they had to fight their way through it. Once they made it to the front they searched the lists for their names and found what they were looking for.

Lance was happy.
Pidge even happier.
Keith was confused.
And Hunk was totally overwhelmed.