• The rush of the footsteps running through the halls filled my head with thoughts. I was walking outside of the school wearing my polyester skirt. I was so glad I wouldn’t have to wear this for 3 months. While everyone else was running, wanting to get home, my friends Amy and Jessica caught up to me as it began to rain.
    “Hey, Annie, why are you so sad? Aren’t you happy? It is Summer Vacation and we will be seniors next year!” cheered Amy.
    “Yeah, all day you have been moping around. What’s up with you?” Asked Jessica
    “Well I found out that I didn’t get the part I wanted in the play, so I’m not doing it,” I cried. My friends began to apologize, but then came the awkward silence.
    The town we where walking through was a part of Baltimore that had townhouses and apartments. I noticed that their where many lawn ordainments, especially pink flamingos. I noticed that there were people crowding around someone’s house. We all ran to the house and there was a man that kept receiving questions, and he was busy answering them. My eyes were quickly drawn to his upper lip because there was a dark shading. Wait it was a mustache?
    “Excuse me Mr. Waters! What are you planning to do for your new movie!” cried an interviewer, who was being very rude trying to push everyone out of the way so he could be in the front. What? A new movie! I pushed everyone out of the way.
    “Mr. Waters! Are you casting?” I cried out of breath.
    “What? Oh well I do need two girls for the parts of Amber and Penny in Hairspray, my new movie,” answered John Waters.
    “Mr. Waters-”
    “Oh please, just call me John, hun!”
    “John could I possibly try out for you’re movie? I’ve been acting since I was 5! Oh please John Waters! Please?”
    I was begging for him to say yes! If he didn’t I’m sure I would have started bawling my eyes out even though I was not a crybaby. It’s just, this was one in a lifetime opportunity for me!
    “Well, I suppose you can. Come here on Thursday and you can read this script.”
    John Waters pushed all the paparazzi out of the way, he went inside of his house. After he came out he handed me a script that had lines highlighted.
    “You’ll read this before I see you next, but you have to be there or else I won’t be able to help you.”
    “Yes sir! I won’t disappoint you I promise!”
    I turned and ran 30 feet away and I squealed with joy! I can’t believe it I got it! I got my chance in a million! Then I noticed my friends had left me. I couldn’t blame them, but I still had a feeling in my gut of betrayal.
    It was Thursday, and I was ready. I was so nervous though, but I knew I had to stay confident and strong so I can focus. I walked in and there was John Water, sitting there with his pen in his mouth, that mustache was still bothering me though, it looked like he had drawn it on there.
    “Hello Emily. Alright lets make this fast and I’ll tell you right away. Oh and I’m sure you’ll do great.” Alright here I go I was as nervous as ever and I spoke my lines and as I went along his grin grew bigger then before.
    “Emily.”
    “Yes Mr. - I mean John Waters?”
    “How would you like to play the part of Amber?”
    “Oh wow!!! Are you kidding! I would love to! Oh Sir it’s my dream come true!” as he started writing on a piece of paper and told me to him at the set tomorrow.
    The next day I went to the set, wow! There were so many people there! I met so many people and became friends with them! I met Ricki, Michael, Leslie, and Debra who played my mom. I had a lot of fun with all the people I met, they where great actors, and I though John did a great job with casting all the characters. Out of all the people I think I became best friends with Ricki Lake, she was so nice and sweet, and she actually made me feel better then how my friends make me feel. Ricki had the same attitude as I did for everything, we had so much in common!
    Being here on the set makes me feel free, I was doing what I was born to do! I was sick of school, school was just time where you sit and learn, and for what? Acting is for peoples’ entertainment, when people are feeling gloom and they need fun, they should see a movie or a play! I really hope I can do this for the rest of my life! Ricki and I where goofing off when we weren’t on set, but when we were are faces glowed with excitement, and we were ready to act! I knew all my lines in about a month, with Ricki’s help of course, and in return I helped her.
    I always though Michael and Ricki were a cute couple together especially when they are in the scenes where they fall in love, I actually think Ricki likes Michael more than how she does on the set! Either she’s a really good actress or she’s a sucker for blue eyes. Ricki wishes to become a famous actress when she grows older, she wants to be known through out America, as for me, I’m more into Broadway, and theater, but I would love to be in a movie anytime.
    Ricki and talked to Clayton Prince, the actor who plays Seaweed. He told us some history about his family, apparently his dad was on the “Buddy Dean Show” and that only on Fridays could he be on the show because the network wouldn’t allow African Americans and white people to dance together at the same time, so the only time African Americans to dance were on Fridays. In the movie there was the “Corny Collins Show” which talks about the same issue, segregation. Ricki and I were totally anti-racist people. We supported all racist with all our hearts and we frown upon racist people. Why couldn’t all racist join together hand-in-hand and make peace? I just wish racism couldn’t have existed in the first place. That’s why I loved this movie, I love that we try to gather up the races in the cast and be together to make everyone equal. This movie, I knew was going to be a great movie and be a hit to watch. I was right.
    As the weeks went by all our friendships grew, especially the couples in the cast. Now I could tell that Michael really had feelings for Ricki and so did Ricki! I had to make sure that they would be a couple. I asked Clayton Prince to help me set Ricki and Michael together. He walked over to Michael.
    “Hey, you know, I think Ricki might like you more than a friend, you should try to ask her out.” He gossiped.
    “Oh does she really? Ok I will!” he replied with happiness.
    I was sitting with Ricki as Clayton was helping me with Michael, and just as Clayton was done talking Michael rushed over to Ricki and I, and Michael held Ricki’s hand and confessed his feeling for her. I thought it was so romantic, even I started to blush a bright pink. Ricki fell deeply in love and they planned a date together to go to dinner at Louie’s Book Store. I couldn’t believe that he was taking Ricki to Louie’s Book Store! What a lucky girl, I promised her I would help her get ready and help her makeup.
    On Friday night Ricki and I went shopping, and picked out a dress that was white with black poke-a-dots. We went back to her house and did her make-up, we made her look spiffy. Next was her hair she put her hair up in a tight bun, it took a lot of hairspray, and a lot of work.
    About an hour later we heard a car horn, here came Michael! Michael looked very nice and the last I saw of Ricki that night was her driving away in Michael’s convertible.
    The next day on the set Ricki looked madly in love, I guessed she had a wonderful night, and yes she did Michael and Ricki were the perfect couple. She was so lucky she found a boyfriend, but she didn’t realize it was thanks to me.
    Clayton Prince told Ricki and me that there was a demonstration going on in Downtown Baltimore and we were invited to protest with him. Ricki and I really wanted to, this was just like Hairspray coming to life, this was so cool! Ricki invited me over again to make posters. I like the poster I made, it had a chessboard pattern on it and it said “Let there be color!” Ricki’s said “Black and white unite!” Ricki wore her black and white dress we bought a couple weeks ago and I wore a white button down shirt and a pretty black skirt.
    When we met up with Clayton we all walked and met with his friends who had posters, then we waited for the whole group of protestors to come, and man, there were a lot of people! I couldn’t believe there where so many people all singing, and marching, and now I am a part of it. We marched from evening to night, I actually had a lot of fun with Ricki by my side I felt indestructible. Clayton seemed like we had pride and glory in his eyes, which made me feel really grateful and happy inside. The part I loved best was that as we walked through Baltimore, more people joined in, from rich, to poor, from Black, to White. I loved this day and I know I would never forget a life changing day like this. That day made me realize that racism is just plan stupid, I already knew that, but now I think of it in new way. Just because someone is a different shade of skin than you, it doesn’t mean that they are not a human being. We are all one kind of thing which is a human being. Human beings are all people, they are all people of different colors, there is a Varity of people, and that’s what makes us all special! I was really happy I got to experience that moment. It changed my way of thinking about things.
    At night it was really pretty everyone lit up Roman Candles, this light glowed everywhere, like little fireflies in a swarm. Then it got late and Ricki and I could not walk anymore, we thanked Clayton and left. Ricki thought that it was a very powerful and moving moment for her, I could tell she got the same reaction as I did, speechless, you can’t explain what you felt, all you can say is that it was a powerful and moving experience.
    It was the last day of filming. Everyone was spraying their hairspray, and makeup, and throwing their clothes around, trying to look pretty and the best they can for the camera. For me I just had to change my attitude I was in a really good mood but now I have to get sassy and mean. Ricki and Michael were sad that they wouldn’t be able to act anymore together, but they will see each other at school. For I, I was just excited for my friends to see me in the movie, I’d missed a couple weeks of school since the filming took a little longer than John had hoped for. John seemed very happy with the outcome of the movie, and I thought that this is one of best movies John Waters had made, I couldn’t wait to see it in theaters. heart 4laugh