No Rules To Love

Chapter Eight:

I took in the cheering crowd as I grabbed onto my fellow cast members' hands and we took our final bows. The audience were all on their feet, whistling and hooting. Their rapturous applause filled my ears and caused the grin in my mouth to become ever wider.

This was the life.

We bowed once more after we stepped further back onto the stage. As the curtain came down, we waved at our adoring audience. We didn't move anywhere, as we all knew what was going to happen next. Sure enough, the curtain rose once more, so we could give one last wave to the audience.

As the curtain dropped for the second time — and we were sure it would not raise again — the stage was silent. Then we all burst out into screams, cheers, claps, and the occasional tear ran down someone's cheek.

That was it. Our time at Mountview was officially over, and that was our last performance ever on that stage. The only time we would go back on that stage would be when we graduated and accepted our diplomas. Quite a strange and unnerving concept.

Opening night was a massive success. The show almost sold out, and the performance was brilliant. We received rave reviews in the local newspaper and on social media. The matinee went as well, but we hadn't sold it out. Which we expected, as matinee performances weren't as appealing as evening performances. But we still received fantastic reviews from the audience.

The final performance — as always — was the best. It had completely sold out, which meant that we were performing to an audience of hundreds. It seemed like a scary idea at first, but once I got on that stage, all my worries disappeared, and I was in the moment. The show was flawless, and every second of stage time enthralled the already captivated audience. Industry professionals and casting directors filled the audience. That made the performance even more exhilarating.

"Talia!" I heard my name called. I whipped my head around to see Ashley running towards me. Her eyes were watery, and tears had caused tracks on her cheeks. She opened her arms and engulfed me in a hug. "Oh, my God! I can't believe it's all over!"

I felt a lump in my throat as her words sunk in. I would miss performing West Side Story. But I would miss the hilarity and familiarity of Mountview even more. It would be hard to move on, but I would do it eventually.

"Me either," I said around the lump that seemed to protrude from my throat unexpectedly. "Let's get to the dressing rooms, get changed, and then find our parents!"

I grabbed her hand, but before we could get anywhere, Michael came bounding towards us, a massive grin on his face. He always seemed to get excited after a performance and he was worse when the performance went well. So, you could imagine how ecstatic he was feeling at that particular moment. When he saw his girlfriend, he swept her up into his arms and spun around multiple times. All the while, he was ignoring the screamed protests from Ashley.

"It went so well!" He exclaimed as he put Ashley down. He then cupped her cheeks in his hands and looked her in the eyes. "I've told you this before, but you are the best bloody dancer that has ever graced this stage!" Yes, he always got a little over-dramatic after successful performances. He then bent down and kissed her square on the lips, which left me standing there, looking awkward. But I was used to it, considering I'd already had two years of impromptu kissing. It was times like this where I almost wished I had someone I could share an experience like this with.

Almost.

When Ashley and Michael had finished doing their thing, they stepped away from each other. Michael then made a beeline for me, holding his arms out wide. I stepped back in fright, holding my hands up in an almost surrendering position.