Disaster Class

12. as straight as

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟐
" 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐬 "
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            According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word "later" means "at some time subsequent to a given time". Pretty clear-cut, right? Only problem is, it's not very definite; doesn't specify how long "later" actually happens.

When Mack told me he'd call "later", I assumed later that night. But it's been almost a week and I haven't heard a word from him.

I didn't really begin to notice the lack of Mack until after Christmas, after all the noche buena festivities Mom does every year. It's hard to notice anything when you're cooking lechon paksiw for the fifth row in a week. But it's nearing New Year now and his absence can't be ignored or overlooked anymore.

"Nicholas!" Veena, Mack's lawyer mom, answers the door when I decide to pay a visit. It's weird seeing her home. Almost like mama, Vee practically lives at work. I guess she's home for the holidays.

"Hi, Vee. Is Mack around?"

"No," she replies. "He's at community theater. He's been rehearsing real hard since – I don't know – a week ago, maybe? Hasn't been home much. I thought you knew."

I shake my head. "Rehearsing? I didn't know he had a play coming."

"Neither did I, but you know Malik. Very committed to his craft."

"He is," I say, nodding my head, even though I smell something fishy about this. Veena's right, of course. Mack is as obsessed with acting as any theater kid out there. What's off about is that he usually gushes about his roles with me. Suddenly I don't even know that he has a play going on. We haven't even celebrated his casting like we always do – with a milkshake at Topnotch and his favorite frosted cupcakes.

"Did you say he's at the theater?" I ask Vee, who nods, and that's really all I need.

Mack was pretty weird about that kiss. I was reveling in the fact that we've driven Uncle Victor away that I haven't really stopped and thought about the blowbacks of it. What if Mack misread it? That would definitely make things weird.

I reach the Montaño about fifteen minutes later. The show marquees are unlit, the front doors are closed, the ticket booth unmanned. So I circle around to the backdoor.

Sage Dewirth, one of Mack's theater buddies is out there taking a phone call. Okay, so the troupe really seems to be rehearsing. I'm glad Mack didn't lie about, but still, him not telling me about it doesn't make sense.

"Oh, hey, Nico," Sage greets, momentarily covering her phone. An affronted guy's voice buzzes from the speaker. Her boyfriend, probably.

"Hey, Sage," I greet the short blonde back. Tipping my head towards the backdoor, I ask, "Is Mack here?"

"Yeah, they're running lines," she says, then returns to her call with Trenton or whatever her boyfriend's name is.

When I step into the theater, people are running around making props and painting backdrops. In the midst of all, Mack is up on stage with the other thespians. Even in complete chaos, he's hard to miss. It's like your eyes get immediately drawn to that perfect face shifting in emotions as he reads through his lines.

I'll never get tired of seeing Mack act. Not only because he's good at it, you can also tell that he loves what he's doing.

I sit in the backrow, hidden by the shadows, as Mack laughs at some blunder he committed on stage. All the other theatergoers laugh with him. He's totally in his element. The Montaño is a like a second home to him.

Sometime later, Sage reenters the building and goes back on stage, passing beside me on her way there. I see her talking to Mack and pointing at my direction. The golden boy squints at the backrow.

I wave.

"Five minutes," I hear him say to his peers as he jogs down the steps, through the aisle, towards me.

I head out to the backdoor. He follows. Once we're out in the daylight, neither of us really know what to say. Why am I here again?

"Hey," he says, leaning on the railings. "Sorry I haven't dropped by in a while. There's this project the troupe's working on, and it's super immersive, the pre-production is going crazy! But anyway." He shrugs, but I can tell that he's really excited about it. "I've been really busy with rehearsals."

"It's cool, it's cool," I say, playing it casual like he is. Mack's such a better actor than me, though. I can tell that he's see through my façade, so I just drop it completely. "I was worried."

"Worried?" he repeats. "About me?"

"Yeah, you were acting kinda iffy after that kiss. I thought you were having some kind of crisis."

"Me? A crisis?" A manicured hand lands on his chest, then waves the notion off as preposterous. "Pfft. No, I've just been really busy here."

He's repeated that twice in the last minute. Must be true, I guess. Besides, there's no reason for Mack to lie to me. He can tell me anything.

"Good," I say. "I'm relieved. For a moment, I thought you were freezing me out."

Mack laughs, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Dude, I'd never do that."

I laugh as well, mostly out of relief. A lot of things have gone to shit already, I can't bear for my friendship with Mack to crumble, too.

"So we're cool?" I ask.

He looks at me like I've asked the dumbest thing in the world. "Of course, we're cool! Why wouldn't we be?"

He's right. There's absolutely no reason at all. "I was just overthinking," I confess. "You left pretty quickly after that kiss and didn't text for days. So you know..."

"Oh!" he exclaims like he's just getting the drift now. "You thought I was acting weird about the kiss. Nah. Nah, nah, nah. You did that to get Uncle Victor off your back, right?"

"Right," I reply. So he does understand. Thank God!

"I get it," he says. "That kiss was just a ruse."

"Exactly!" We're on the same page. "You know I'm not gay."

Mack nods. "Yup. You're as straight as... pasta."

That's a stupid analogy, but I think he means well.

"Look," he says, stealing a glance at the backdoor. Oh, right. His rehearsals. "I'm gonna be busy with this thing for, like, another week, but I'll see you at school, okay?"

"See you at school," I echo.

I'm glad everything straightened out now.

In a few days, midterms will begin. I'll be back at St. Madeleine with a score to settle and a class of misfits to recruit. It seems like a daunting task, but at least I'll have Mack by my side.

a/n: Do you think there's really nothing wrong or, is Mack just a good actor?