Driven To Tears

Chapter Six: Our Audition

"You like performing, right?" Robert asked.

"Yeah. It's like I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and it feels pretty good," I said smiling.

"Guess what?"

"I don't want to guess. I'm allergic to surprises." I whined. 

Robert rolled his eyes. "I got us an audition for the movie Annie."

I jolted a hundred percent awake in my bed. After gulping down the scraps of food I shoved in my mouth, I used the back of my hand to wipe my lips. "Are you serious? They're making that Broadway musical into a movie? It's about time!"

Robert chuckled. "Yeah, well, you're playing Lily St. Regis and I'm playing Daniel Hannigan or Rooster as everyone calls it."

"Isn't it convenient that I'm your girlfriend in the play." I muttered to myself.

"What?" Robert asked.

"Uh," I stuttered and added a tone of sarcasm to my voice. "I get to be your petty-thieving girlfriend and you're a con-artist! Isn't that great?"

"Those were the best roles I could get. Be happy." Robert snickered and crammed a couple of papers in my arms. "Here is the script for the audition. Now memorize."

"Yes mother," I mocked and continued eating my brunch, not caring about the piece of bacon hanging out of my mouth. I hummed to the song, Billie Jean, while kicking my feet in the air.

It was Saint Patrick's Day and school was out. Robert is relaxing at my house, sitting in my bean bag chair and flipping through the script like I do to a magazine. My fork stabbed the pieces of scrambled eggs on my plate and thrusted them into my mouth, enjoying the salty taste melting into my taste buds.

Robert looked up from his script. "I like Michael Jackson and all, but seriously shut up and stop humming. And you eat like a pig."

"Why you gotta be so mean?" I wailed. "MJ is the bomb. And I am not eating like a pig, I am eating a pig."

Robert rolled his eyes and continued to read his script. He's been so grumpy lately but he won't tell me why. I sighed and scarfed the rest of my food and settled the plate on a table beside me. I rolled off my bed and staggered onto the floor, walking to Robert. I stood in front of him while he continued to read his script, pretending that I wasn't in front of him with my hands on my hips.

"Why are you so grumpy?"

"I'm not." Robert said, still not looking up.

"Yes you are. And you've gotten mean too. Ever since two days ago. You were fine that night but the next morning when we walked to school, you've gotten darker."

Robert rolled up his sleeves and checked his arms, identifying it intensely. He arched a brow and finally looked back into my eyes.

I scoffed. "I don't mean your skin color. I mean your attitude."

Robert let the script slip out of his hands then brought them to his face. He hid his face behind his hands and pulled on the edges of his hair, rocking back and forth all over my bean bag. After a few minutes, when he stopped, I looked at him and somehow, he looked worse. It was as if he wiped off a mask that covered the face that I was looking at now. His eyes were red and bloodshot, his hair was really messy as if a combed had never ran through it, his lips were chapped, his cheeks were paler without the dash of blushes that he usually has, and his expression was hollow.

My stern stance lost its way and I knelt down, looking straight at Robert. He was looking into my eyes but he wasn't looking at me. He was looking right through me. I folded my hands over his and brought it to my lips which grazed his knuckles softly.