FLIRT (Phan)

huit

"Another deep breath in," Becky commanded, popping her gum in her mouth, "And let it out." Honestly, this class on Alexandrian breathing techniques would have been a whole lot more relaxing if she hadn't been smacking a giant wad of Double Bubble through the entire lesson. 

"Another breath," she said, "Prepare your body. Really engage your core!" I could hear her smacking getting louder and I could tell she was standing directly above me.  "Hey!" I opened my eyes and, sure enough, there she was, staring down at me. "Your spine doesn't look very elongated."

"It feels elongated to me," I replied, trying not to sound annoyed. 

"Well, try to elongate it more," she huffed, rolling her eyes. "And engage your core." 

"Really helpful advice," I mumbled under my breath as she walked away, instructing the class to take another deep breath in. 

"Hey." I turned my head to the side to find that Jessica had appeared next to me.

"Hey," I whispered back, a little confused. 

"Sometimes it helps to bend your knees and put for feet flat on the floor. Like this," Jessica laid down next to me, demonstrating what she meant. "It helps with the, you know, spine elongation. Thing." 

"Thanks," I replied, smiling at her. She smiled back as she got up and returned to her usual place at her Macbook. 

"Okay, one last breath, all together now," Becky announced, "In!" She inhaled loudly. "And out," she exhaled, smacking her gum all the while. "Okay, that's time! See you guys Wednesday! And don't forget to do the reading."

There was a general clamor of groans as the entire class began to peel themselves off of the floor after an hour of "elongating our spines" and "becoming one with the ground beneath us" as Becky put it. 

As the rest of the class began shuffling out of the studio, I hung back, taking my time to put my street shoes back on. When most of the class was gone, I finished tying my laces and crossed to Jessica who was still sitting in the corner of the room, her nose buried in her laptop. 

"Thanks for the tip," I said, causing her to glance up at me. "Y'know, for the spine elongation. Thing." 

"It's no problem," she chuckled, "Alexander is confusing. And the breathing stuff and 'becoming one with the space,' can be a lot. It took me forever to get it."

"Well, thanks for helping me," I smiled. "It means a lot."

"Anytime," she replied, returning her attention to her computer. 

"Can I ask you a weird question?" I asked. 

"You mean besides that one?" she joked, but immediately blushed with embarrassment. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay, that was funny!" I laughed reassuringly. 

"What's your weird question?" she asked. She closed the lid of her laptop, giving me her full attention. 

"Well, I feel like everybody else in the class have already paired up with each other. You know, for auditions," I said, kicking at the ground with my foot, "And I don't really know anybody else in the department yet. So I was wondering if you would maybe wanna be my audition partner?"  

"For the winter musical?" She raised an eyebrow. 

"Yeah," I replied. "I know I'm only a freshman, but I'm a really hard worker and I have a lot of vocal training and I think if you give me a shot-"

"I don't know," she cut me off. "It's not you. I just don't know if I want to audition." 

"Don't you have to?" I inquired. "Like, for your scholarship?"

"Technically, yes," she replied, "but we're really short on stage managers and I have a lot of experience so my advisor told me I would be exempt from the audition requirement if I agreed to be on the stage management team." 

"Well, how about this," I proposed, thinking on my feet, "You be my audition partner and if you don't get cast, you can still be a stage manager. And if I don't get cast, I'll volunteer to help out too if you still need people."

"Really? You'd do that?" She asked, her eyes widening.

"Yeah, of course. I mean, it's good experience, right? Especially if I don't get cast in a show." 

She snorted. "Sorry," she said, covering her face with her hands, "I don't want to laugh at you."

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said, still giggling. "It's just, well, I kind of assumed you'd be a total diva. But you're the only acting freshman in two years whose even remotely shown interest in helping with a show if they aren't cast."

"Sorry?" I said, unsure how to respond.

"No! Don't be! It's refreshing," she reassured, "just a little surprising. Sorry for the stereotype." 

"No, I get it," I smiled, "it happens all the time." 

"You know that the odds of getting cast in this show are, like, minuscule, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, duh, I'm not totally oblivious," I reassured her, though deep down, something inside me was stirring. Chris was right about me: I was fierce. I wanted to take down Becky and I wasn't scared fo the challenge. But, for now, it helped to play dumb.  

"Okay," she said hesitantly, "okay, I'll do the audition with you." 

"Woah, really?" I asked, giddy.

"Yeah, really," she said, smiling. "It'll be fun, right?"

"Yeah, for sure," I replied, excitement building in my voice. 

"Give me your number," she said, handing me her phone, "I'll text you and we can set up some times to get together and rehearse."

"Awesome," I said, taking her phone and punching in my number. "And thanks again. For real, it means so much to me that you're willing to do this," I said, returning Jessica's phone to her. 

"It's nothing. Just helping out," she said, standing and gathering her things, "I've gotta run. Class. But I'll text you and I'll see you Wednesday!" 

"Okay, see ya!" I called after her as she headed for the studio door. 

I glanced at myself in the studio mirrors. "I am good," I whispered to myself. I pulled my phone out of my bag as I exited the studio. I had to text Chris; he was going to love this. I checked my notifications and was surprised to see that I had a text from Phil. 

What are you doing later? 

it's a monday I replied. It was barely a minute before he responded.

I didn't ask what day it was, I asked what you were doing later ;)

idk. homework probably. why?

Wanna work together? I miss you.

I grinned and rolled my eyes as I typed it's literally been 2 days.

So? I can't get you outta my head. Wanna meet at the library?

I felt my face flush. The feeling was obviously mutual on my part, but I couldn't believe that he was feeling it in the first place. I wanted to be skeptical, but I was feeling confident and decided to throw caution to the wind, just this once.

chris has a night class on mondays so we could do homework at my place if you want. there would be more privacy that way.

That sounds nice :)

ok, cool. wanna come by around 6ish?

Can't wait! 

cool. see you then x

I hesitated, but I sent the message anyway, kiss and all. It wasn't long before he responded.

XX