mine. Though maybe thatâs too tricky, playing and singing?â
âOh no, not at all.â Aaron considered his performance options. âDoes it matter what I play? I have some stuff memorized, but itâs pop.â
âDonât worry about that. Like I said, if youâre a guy who can hit the notes, youâre in. Itâs a lot more difficult to get into the Ambassadors, but thatâs only sixteen guys and mostly upperclassmen anyway.â She bounced a little. âI canât believe I stumbled into an accompanist in line for auditions. I hope weâre both in chorale together.â Rocking on her heels, she glanced ahead at the line. âIâm starving. I should have grabbed dinner first.â She smiled apologetically. âSorry, Iâm a total spaz when Iâm nervous. I canât stop talking.â
Jilly was cute and sweet. It occurred to Aaron how convenient it would be if he found her attractive, because he could ask her to dinner after the audition, and they might even end up dating. Aaron knew that route wasnât for him, though. He wasnât sure he was ready to be out, but he wasnât lying anymore.
âHow was your orientation tour?â she asked.
âI didnât go,â Aaron confessed.
âWish Iâd skipped. Totally worthless. What about your roommate?â
âI havenât met him.â Realizing their conversation was almost one-sided, he forced himself into a more active role. âWhat about yours?â
Jilly shrugged. âSheâs nice enough. A little fussy, but Iâm hoping thatâs just nerves. Sheâs from some small town up north.â
Aaron asked where Jilly was fromâMankatoâand they spent the rest of their wait chatting easily about their pasts. Jillyâs parents were divorced as well, but she had three younger siblings. Aaron asked about them, and that opened a floodgate that lasted until they were standing in front of the double doors, waiting their chance to go in. As soon as she was about to perform, however, Jillyâs panic returned in full force.
âIâm going to suck.â
âYouâll be fine. Heyâitâs only an audition. And if it helps, Iâll be there the whole time.â
She nodded, but she still looked pretty wrecked. âI really want this.â
âThen go get it. Being nervous isnât going to help.â He remembered his horrible encounter with Giles, and his stomach plummeted. He repeated to her what Walter had said to him. âMaybe itâs meant to be, and maybe it isnât, but you need to try. Go in there and be fabulous, whatever the outcome.â
Before she could reply, the doors opened, and an upperclassman ushered them in.
The room was smaller than Aaron had thought it would be. Most of the space was tiered riser seating full of black chairs, though only a few of them were occupied. A mustachioed man sat in a chair in the middle, flanked by two young women and three men. One guy had a slight geek-cool thing going, another was fresh off the cover of J.Crew, and the third was all angles and styled hairâand a pair of dark sunglasses. They were all cute, an assorted-chocolates box of young men.
The mustachioed man had to be the conductorâhe was older and had a sense of ownership about the room. When he spied Aaron and Jilly, though, he was a welcoming king, rising and shaking both their hands.
âSo good to have you here.â He asked for their names and where they were from and what kind of history they had with choir, and as Aaron and Jilly answered, the men and women behind him took notes.
The geek-cool guy spoke up. âDr. Nussenbaum, are they both auditioning?â
âYes,â Jilly said before Aaron could answer. âAaron is accompanying for me, but he has something to perform too.â
âFantastic.â Dr. Nussenbaum beamed at Aaron. âWere you in the choir in high
Tiffanie Didonato, Rennie Dyball