✮Ｓｔｅｐｈａｎｉｅ✮

CH.15: COUNTERPART

He peeked into the scripts before my eyes each time I made a positive comment.

"I think you're just the right person for the role of Lilly."

"Yeah, I think so too. But the character isn't black, is she?... No, she's not."

"Which is why I'm running some edits on this thing," he took the scripts from me. He riffled through the papers with his slender fingers then he looked at my face, "You and I can make it. We can bring our dreams and imaginations to life. I could be the counterpart you been seekin'."

I giggled, "my counterpart?"

"Come to think of it, we make a pretty good team," he said to my face with a smile. "One day, the world will know our names and we'll feed 'em with our imaginations. We both have a story to tell."

"Wow..."

"What?"

"I guess I've just never seen you this zealous about your ambitions."

"That's because we've never really had a deep conversation. I don't get to reveal to you the thoughts of my heart. You're always too busy with Arthur. You know eachother like you can't separate the metal from the magnet."

"How does that make you feel?"

"Like an expired can of tuna, considering the fact that you knew me first."

"Oh, Emlyn."

"You'll get a hang of the plays eventually," he said. "And as for me, I'm saving this baby for the future. I don't think it's ready for the world just yet," he heartily said.

He wasn't willing to reveal his story to the Drama Club yet, claiming he had so much to work on and he desired for the play to take the stage and stun the audience. "Now's not the time for that."

"Hey, unrelated question; what do you think about Nicole?"

"Stay away from her."

Emlyn said and walked off.

                      ***
We had been in the theater working on a school play for hours and I was thoroughly exhausted. Rehearsals began immediately after school until five and I was willing to make that much sacrifice of my time and energy; passion was my guide and strength.

Passion was to me like a pill for anxiety and sadness. Whenever I felt drooped, I would ponder about that which I loved to do and what it meant to me. It drove energy down my bones, like a powered engine.

I would bask in that euphoria of love and passion and suddenly, it gave strength to my muscles to do more. As an ambitionist, passion made me feel alive. It was a sense of hope in my dreams. This, I felt each time I stood on that stage to perform.

At first, I didn't want to join the Drama Club at school because it seemed boring and there were too much singing... of boring songs. The students working on set, on-stage and back stage were lethargic about every single task.

"What's going on?" I had asked a group of students who were working on set. I was referring to the frustration of the judges and the flub being made during auditioning. Their faces were tedious and cheerless, so was the atmosphere.

"Welcome to Drama Club," said Michelle.

"Well, Mr Benson Henderson writes the scripts and for the first time, this isn't what anyone wants. No one is intrigued by the storyline. Think about how the audience would feel that day. We all voted the famous Romeo and Juliet but he opposed it. So here you go."

"Nicole had challenged us once. Maybe she's right, maybe we need to step up our game and stop acting amateurish plays. Perhaps she has also influenced the people's thoughts and emotions."

"Lemme see those," I said and the other girl, Amber gave me the scripts.

"Next!" I heard Mr Benson call and immediately, I stepped out front, having gone through the scripts in a minute. I didn't go directly to the judges, I paced around while everyone stared at me confoundedly. I turned to the next auditionee and said, "I'll take it from here." She gladly stepped back.

Suddenly, I cried passionately and loudly, "I just can't take it any longer!" At this point, Mr Benson and his colleagues slowly raised their heads from gazing at the scripts below; Emlyn dropped the costume he was holding and turned around, Arthur stepped into the place. Everyone looked intently at me and the hall was so silent that you could hear a pin drop.

"My heart has been ripped open and I can feel the thorn in my flesh. It's not broken, it's ripped open, vulnerable to pain and sadness." My eyes were moist and I looked into the eyes of the judges. "Who do they say I am? Who am I?"

"They say... good things," I heard a voice say behind me. It was that of Emlyn and he drew nigh with a script in his hand. "They say you are noble, trustworthy, with an affectionate heart of loving kindness."

"What is termed as kindness makes you vulnerable to all kinds of deadly arrows of treacherousness and brokenness. Now, you take your things and get out of my life you deceitful nitwit!" My eyes were glowing with fury and it looked like I was going to rip Emlyn's face apart if he didn't exit my presence.

Then I turned to the judges with a smile and everyone applauded our performance.

"Now, that's what I call acting!" Mr Benson exclaimed and threw his hands in the air. The students cheered more.

"Woo-hoo! Way to make the boring unboring!" Some random boy commented.

"That was amazing," Emlyn said to me aside with an enchanting beam on his face. "Told ya I am your counterpart."

"Okay people, settle down. We've wasted enough time. Stephanie, you got the lead."

Yes!

And that was how I and Emlyn changed the course of the Drama Club for good in preparing a school play for the fall. Mr Benson didn't want to do the conventional musical or comical plays or historical, but one that would prick the hearts of the audience; a tragic play.

After rehearsals, I received a phone call from my mom and told her that we would speak better when I arrive back home.

Arthur was still busy with a project and he asked me to wait for him for only a few minutes.

So, I stayed back practicing my lines on a bench in the theater when suddenly, I felt a presence around me. I lifted up my eyes and behold, standing there was Nicole.