Pine Hills Camp

Chapter 6: Drama

Me and Tina enter the school theatre hall through the back door, avoiding the ever growing crowd at the front. I let Tina in first then I sneak to the front and grab some quick pictures of the audience talking and eating and drinking as well as some shots of the decorations they put up. Everything looks perfect for tonight's show.

I jog up the stairs to upstairs soundbooth. I grab some pictures of Charlie with his headphones on, mixing the sound volumes and fixing the cameras. That's his job for the show, mixing and fixing. My job is to nose around and take pictures for the yearbook. So that's exactly what I do. I leave the soundbooth and go to the backstage area where I find Madison putting on her costume and makeup.

"Madison! You look amazing!" I call her as I step into her room. She's changed into her costume, a dark blue dress that just touches the floor. I bring my camera to snap a picture when someone runs into me, making me drop my camera. My hands reach out to grab them, but not before they hit the edge of the table. I examine the lens, cradling the precious equipment in my hands. The lens is cracked. I turn around, ready to make the person apologize, only to see Abbott standing there, her arms folded across her chest, a smile forming on her lips.

"Oh my gosh! You almost broke your camera." She throws her hands up in mock surprise. "You know, you really should be careful with your things Gwyn, money doesn't grow on trees." I grit my teeth as I think of a comeback but nothing comes.

"Me? You should use your eyes, look at where you're going. YOU broke my lenses!" I put the camera back in my bag and hand it to Tina. I don't want my camera anywhere near Abbott.

"It's not my fault you were in my way." She places her hands on her hips, her voice increasing in hatred in each word.

"Rebecca, apologize. Now. You were the one who walked into her. On purpose as well." Madison gives Abbott a stern look and her expression softens.

"She's right. Gwyn, I'm so sorry." I wonder what she has in store this time. "I guess I just don't see trash." Her head tilts to the side with fake sympathetic eyes. My cheeks start to burn up. I turn around and grab my things from Tina and start towards the door. I leave just as Maddy and Tina team up against Abbott and her friends. I swing through the door and lean on the wall. I let myself fall, bringing my knees close to my chest.

Why does she have to be here? Why today? Why does she have to be such a-a... there's no other word for this. Bully. It sounds so childish but that's what she is. A bully. I rack my brain to think of what I've ever done to hurt her. It's been two years and I can't think of anything that I've done to her. On the other hand, if I've think of what she's done to me, the list is endless.

"Gwyn, you okay?" Charlie comes and sits next to me beside the wall. I shift to give him some space. "Abbott?" He only has to ask once. I nod in reply. "Rebecca Abbott, school popstar diva. Big headed bully." I laugh at the last statement. "Feeling better now?" He punches me playfully in the arm. I hit him back. "Atta girl. Come one." He nods towards the backstage area and stands up. "The others will be worried." He says, extending a hand to help me up.

I follow him back into the room. When I get in, Abbott has already left. Relief floods over me, at least I can enjoy the rest of this evening in peace. Throughout the rest of the preparations, I grab quick pictures of actors and actresses getting their costumes ready, practising their lines, people running around, the lights, everything.

I look at my watch. 7.57pm. The show is about to start.

"Tina, let's grab a seat in the front. It's starting in three minutes." We both nod and weave our way through the tangle of people in the hall.

Standing on my tiptoes to see the very front, I find Luke sitting by himself on the front aisle. Most people sit a few rows back. Tina and I jog up to him and take the seats next to his.

"Hey." I tap him on the shoulder as we sit down. "All by yourself? Not like Luke Hemingway is it?"

"That's not true and you know it. Right, Tina?" He turns to Tina for support. Too bad Luke, she's my little sister. I know she has my back.

"Yeah!" My head whips round to Tina.

"What? Tina, whose side are you on?"

"It's true. Lately, he hasn't been the player he usually is. You're available Gwyn, so is he. What a coincidence!" Before I can start to argue that I'm not all alone, she gets up. "I'm going to get some drinks for us, popcorn too. Just chat." She leaves, skipping past the rows and rows of people. The air is buzzing with excitement but on our row, it's silent. Not that kind of romantic silence either, it's more of an awkward silence.

"So..." I start. "What time did you get here?"

"Around 7pm."

"Did you find Rebecca by any chance?" I hope he has.

"Yeah, I saw her push back upstairs. I was going to say hi to you guys then I saw what happened." My face drops down slightly, unsure of how I feel about him actually seeing it. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Which is more than I can say for my camera." I show him the old lens that just broke. It's a good thing I have a spare one in case I ever did break the first lenses.

"Oh my..." He flips it over in his hands. The pieces that are broken inside it roll around, making a racket as they move. "Yikes. Just hearing that hurts." He hands the lens back to me.

"Let's enjoy the show." I put the lens back in my camera as the curtains open, indicating the start of the play.

A round of applause rises as the director (our drama teacher) walks out onto the stage and thanks everyone for being here. The lights dim, leaving just the stage spotlights. It shines on Madison as she walks down the set of stairs. The lights reflect off of the glitter in her dress, making her shine as she makes her way to her spot. I've seen her performance twice, this is the third time and she still manages to take my breath away with her talent every time.

Tina creeps to her seat, trying not to spill the three drinks and popcorn. I take two of the cups and pass one to Luke.

"What'd I miss?" she leans over and whispers to me. She hasn't seen Madison's show yet, this is her first time.

"Nothing. She just came down the stairs." Luke tells Tina, but a bit too loud. The couple behind us shushes him, looking severely annoyed.

We watch the rest of the show in silence, occasionally glancing at each other to see each other's reactions.

After the show finishes, we rejoin Madison back at the changing rooms.

"Madison! That was amazing! You were born to act." Tina gushes over how great the play was. Maddy blushes, a rare thing.

"Thanks Tina." I turn around to help Maddy pack her stuff up. Makeup, clothes, notebook, phone, chargers. Something's missing.

"Hey, Madison." I bring her the bag that I just packed up for her. "Are you wearing your bracelet?"

"No. I had to take it off for the play. Why? Is it not there?" A worried look apears on her face as she rummages through the sack for her diamond bracelet. "I swear I put it in there right after I took it off." She frantically looks around her changing table for the precious jewelry.

"Come on. It has to be here somewhere. We'll help you look for it." Luke offers to help Maddy as well.

For the rest of the night, we search through the entire school for the bracelet. Usually, our school never has a problem with thieves, but there's a first time for everything.

Sorryyyy... I've been working so I haven't gotten a chance to upload. Sry...