Dream Chaser

Chapter 3

When the final bell tolled ending the morning classes, Drew emerged from his classroom that contained the most monotone teacher in the school. His energy level sapped away any form of child hold wonder and now Drew had to go and entertain the english teachers, who were stricter beyond belief without a funny bone in their body taking the art of theatre completely seriously.

Sulking his way to the gymnasium, Drew's head was hung low as he pushed the handle of the swinging door and walked into the room, only to be greeted by the other grades english teachers as well as his own. It was like walking into a shakespearean fan convention as all of the english department was giddy with excitement.

He walked over to the desk where a collective of his peers stood around and signed their names for different parts. Picking a top three, he marked himself down for two supporting roles and as a woman character just for the hell of it, not expecting it to ever come to that or be any good at playing a girl if it actually came to that.

When they all finished up, they were put into a line as one by one they went up onto the stage. Drew being the shy outcast type that he was found himself at the back of the line, hoping that no one would see the outcome of his performance. One after another the students went up and performed for the bias of judges, who were already selecting individuals for the show, making sure those from the popular cliques of the school got lead positions to attract more attention to the performance.

However when is was inevitably Drew's turn to take centre stage in front of the teachers and thankfully only the teachers. A wave of relaxation washed over him as he stood there, it was like he was in his element and it was now or never.

"Alright Drew, so looking at the sheet here, it seems like your first and second options have both been taken already however the southern belle role is still available."

"Wait, but how can you cast the others before seeing everyone perform?"

"We're just doing whats best for business."

"But thats-"

"Drew, you will be auditioning for the southern belle, and that's final. I'm sorry you should have gotten in line sooner."

Drew reluctantly sighed knowing that he couldn't beat the corrupted system that they had at play in the school. The truth was and what everybody knew as fact was that the plays were a cash grab to mitigate the financial strain that the school acquired through the year. And due to that It was now or never as Drew stepped up and took the script flipping through the pages until he made it to the one singular line that he was meant to say, he continued to the end of the script and found nothing else.

"So just the one line?"

"That's it."

I think I can handle this. He thought to himself as he cleared his throat and felt the inner performer awaken in him. Drew took a minute to memorize the line and get into character as all the cliche imaging of southern belles that he had witnessed in tv shows resonated with him.

"You say I am stubborn, sassy, and difficult. I say maybe you just can't handle all of my southern charm, baby."

The teachers looked at the boy in awe, his delivery almost masterful. He had been the only student of the day to even try and take the line seriously and ultimately he nailed it, and he knew it to, as all of the people in front of him stood up and began to clap some more animated and enthusiastic compared to the others.

"Bravo, Drew."

"Well I'll say, I didn't take you for the performer type."

"Drew I think you just got yourself a part."

This was one of the most exhilarating moments of Drew's young life, as he finally felt accepted and appreciated for doing something. However one singular thought still weighed down on him, How would everyone view it. He descended from the stage and approached the table with the teachers sitting behind it. When he got close enough he could see a piece of paper laying on the desk with a pen on top of it.

"What's this?"

"It's an agreement form."
"An agreement form?"

"Basically it just says that you agree to uphold your position as the role of the southern belle and that you wont back out, but first you have to sign it."

"I don't know..."

"Drew you killed it out there you might even be the comedic humour the show needs, which is a good thing I assure you."

"Well I guess it can't hurt."

With a shaking grasp, Drew reached down and grabbed the pen, before clicking the back to eject the tip. He followed it with one last deep breath before signing his life away on the piece of paper, promising that he wouldn't back out of what was to come of the play.

"Alright Drew, you're free to go. Rehearsals start tomorrow after school and the show is in a week."

Drew nodded, still dumbfounded by the words the teachers said to him. Amazed that these individuals still seemed to have a caring heart on the inside, even though school was a literal hell.

Thankfully it was over, and only the teachers saw the initial performance so he was more then likely in the clear. However when he walked out the back entrance to the gym he felt something tap his leg as he stepped into the hallway. When he looked down he was surprised to see the fully covered girl sitting with her knees against her chest and her back pressed against the wall.

"Oh hey."

The girl continued to look at the ground as she retracted her arm from his leg and back into her personal space.

"You were good."

"Excuse me?"

"Your performance...I Liked it."

"Oh thanks, do you want to maybe get lunch or something?"

She didn't respond, disappearing back into her isolated abyss.

"Can I at least get your name?"

"Celia."

"That's a nice-"

Before he could finish she stood up and ran down the hallway, wanting to get away from the conversation. Drew could only watch as she practically jogged down the hall, not noticing what was coming up behind him.