The Plays the Thing

The Cast List

And then things only got worse because my former best friend and nemesis walked up. Ann Morris and I had been best friends for two years after I moved to Minneapolis. She got the lead in every play in middle school and then got the lead in every play in high school even when she was a freshman. She was tiny and blond and she hated me. Why? At the beginning of freshman year, a boy asked me to Homecoming. I said yes. Then she told me she liked him and demanded I tell him I would not go with him.  I have two older stepbrothers.  I knew you could not back out of a date with a boy once you had said yes.  It was mean to do something like that and I told her so.  But I told her I would not go out with him again.  That was not good enough for her.  She has hated me ever since, even though the date was a disaster.

She took one look at the cast list and turned on me.

"You got the lead? The ice queen is going to make out with a boy on stage?" She said in a vicious tone.

Ice Queen. Yes, I had heard the whispers. Sean was a sophomore and I was flattered and scared when he asked me to Homecoming as a freshman. I'm 5'7 with brown hair, gray eyes. I did not have a lot of curves then, I have a few now but honestly the best I can hope for is to be called willowy or slender (fingers crossed not skinny or boyish). So, I was really thrilled any boy had noticed me. My dad had not wanted me to go but my stepmom had talked him into letting me. I was only 14 and had never been on a date. He was 16 so he could drive. He picked me up and we went to the dance.

The dance went alright. His hands went lower than I really liked during the slow dances but I was 14, I had no idea what to say. I just hid in the bathroom a lot.  And since my so called best friend was not speaking to me I had no one to ask what to do.  Things went really wrong when he drove me home. He parked the car a couple blocks from my house. I was super nervous. He leaned over and kissed me. It was gross, all slobbery. And then he immediately put his hand up my dress. I panicked. I pushed him away.

"Please, I want to go home." I whispered

"Don't be that way." He said and grabbed me again. I shoved him. Hard. Really hard. Did I mention I have two older step brothers? I have been in some mean wrestling matches for the TV remote control and bags of chips. He bounced off the car door.  Yeah, well, no means no.

"You don't have to be a bitch." He sounded pissed but he drove me home.

A week later he and Ann were dating. She stopped speaking to me and the whispers of "Ice Queen" started. 

So, Ann is my nemesis. I was pretty sure she started the rumors. And kept them going. She still liked to hum songs from Frozen when I walked past. Hold a grudge much? She was a total biach.

 And no one had asked me out since then. After all, who wants to date an ice queen? 

I also have a temper. It does not show often but when it does I lose all sense of fear and reason.

"How is Miss I'm always in the chorus" going to carry the whole play?" continued Ann warming up to a full dramatic rant.

OK, she was clearly pissed at not getting the part and I should have just risen above it but did I mention I have a temper?

At some point during our fight Xander and my stepbrother Jack had walked up.  

And then Ann went one step too far.  "A sad little no talent like you? You only get the little pity parts.  Stick to playing witches and plants where no one can see how bad you really are."  

I saw red.  I really thought that was just a saying up until that point but really, I was so angry the world did blur a bit. I may not have ever gotten the lead before but I was a good actress.  I work hard at my parts and I do them well.  I put everything I have into them.  "I can't act, can I?" I bit out.  

Then I whirled to Xander, went up on my tip toes, wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. At first, he seemed stunned. Then everything else dropped away. His mouth was so soft, it opened under mine. He smelled like something spicy and, well, boy. His arms wrapped around me and he kissed me back. It was nothing like kissing Sean.  I lost track of time. Finally, we broke apart breathing hard. I stared into his eyes not sure what had happened when everyone started clapping. Reality came crashing back and I realized what I had done. I dragged the remains of my sanity back around me and turned to Ann.

"I'm ready for my spotlight." I said as I turned on my heel and walked away. I was pretty sure I had lost my mind. The theater geek, the nerd, the ice queen had just made out with the most popular guy in school in the middle of the hallway. I needed to find some place to hide and hope the floor opened up and swallowed me.

Hi! I have a new story that I just put up called Opposites Attract if you are interested in reading something else I have written.