Superimposed

26

Three weeks on and the entire cast had been selected and it was the first round of rehearsals as it was already mid-November.

"Look, I gotta go. Everyone's already inside!" Taron said down the phone to Belle
"Alright show biz boy" Belle teased and Taron could almost feel the smirk on her face as she said it.

They had met up a few times over the last couple of months and Belle had insisted that she came to see the show, as did Lisa. Which would mean that Taron's girlfriend could meet his mum at a show that he was playing in - the perfect date?

"I can't miss the show that my boy plays the lead role in" Lisa had said and that filled Taron with so much joy. He was finally doing what he wanted to do and succeeding at it. All he ever wanted was to make his mum proud. Lisa had also mentioned that she might invite her mum and they could make a thing of it. But that did make Taron a bit nervous, he hadn't seen his nan - or any of his mum's family - for a while now. Phil had always controlled what Lisa did and told her that 'they weren't worth the time'.
Imagine that, being told by your husband that your family is not worth the time.

But then again, if Lisa was bringing her mum, that meant that Phil wasn't being as controlling as he once was. Or maybe he didn't know about Lisa's plans.

"Well tell me all about it afterwards," Belle said and Taron agreed to
"I love you," He said with a little hesitation. It was the first time he had said it and although it was over the phone Belle knew just how much he meant it; because she meant it just as much when she said it back.

Taron shoved his phone in the back pocket of his black jeans and headed into the hall to be greeted by everyone already on the stage.
"Ah Taron, the leading man" Graham beamed, his eyes lighting up when he saw Taron coming in.

Taron smiled and nodded in his direction.
"We're going to start with the middle scene, it's the one that'll need the most work to perfect" Graham pointed towards the stage, "Everyone's back there getting ready now, I trust you know the lines?" He raised his eyebrows
"All I've been doing for the last three weeks is reading the scipt," Taron said and that made Graham crack a smile
"Now go up there and introduce yourself to everyone"

Taron made his way to the backstage door, brushed his black t-shirt and opened the door. There was lots of chatter, but it fell silent as soon as he walked in.
"Hi, I'm Taron" He announced to the group of around eight people.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Lizzie" One girl said, emerging from the group and Taron let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
The two shook hands and this made Taron feel a little more at ease with all these drama kids he wasn't associated with.

Once Lizzie had said something the rest went back to chatting amongst themselves, clearly all friends and knew each other.

"Don't worry about them, they're so up themselves" Lizzie smiled, standing next to Taron, "I think they're jealous you got the leading role" She said a little more quietly which made Taron scoff - people were jealous of him?

But Taron said nothing he just smiled politely.
"Don't look so scared" Lizzie said, putting her hair up in a bun
"Am I that easy to read" Taron jokes, biting his bottom lip
Lizzie laughed showing her perfectly straight teeth and Taron's eyes traced the rest of her face. Taking in her brown eyes and round face, she was pretty and friendly.

The rest of the rehearsal went well, everyone seemed to be on the same wavelength and Graham was happy with their performances which was all they really wanted.
"This is just how I imagined it, guys!" He said excitedly as they broke for lunch.

"So how come I haven't seen you at RAD?" Lizzie asks as the two walk out together through the back doors.
Taron immediately takes a cigarette from his back pocket, now he's earning money he can actually afford Sterlings again and god did he miss them.

"RAD?" Taron furrows his eyebrows, lighting his cigarette and taking a drag
"Oh, that's what we call the drama school - Royal Academy of Dramatic Art" Lizzie waves it off
"Student slang eh?"
Lizzie laughs, watching as Taron takes a second long drag and exhales the smoke into the crisp air.
"Sorry, did you want one?" Taron quickly offers the packet to Lizzie but she shakes her head
"Never smoked"
"Really?" Taron's shocked, surely everyone's smoked?
"Kind of intrigues me though - what's so great about it?"
Taron puts the packet safely back in his pocket and shrugs, "Takes the edge off daily life"
"Is daily life really that bad?" Lizzie asks carefully.

As soon as she saw Taron she was drawn to him, not necessarily attracted. Just drawn to him and she wanted to get to know him, he seemed like he had a bit of history to him and she liked people like that.

"Not anymore, since moving here it's like I've started a new life," Taron said honestly, looking ahead at the busy street. People with prams and children pacing around, getting from place to place. Businessmen and women carrying briefcases and on the phone, always on the go.
Then there was them, standing right outside an assembly hall whilst everyone else was still inside. Why did Lizzie follow him out?

"So why aren't you at drama school?" Lizzie goes back to her last question, not wanting to take the second one any further."I'm gonna go for it next year, but I just moved here a few months ago and wanted to work for a while to get my funds up" Tarons laughs
"Smart move - where are you from originally then?" Lizzie moves to lean against the wall of the hall and Taron throws his cigarette on the floor to put it out."Only Dulwich so not massively far" "Ah, my nan lives there. It's a really nice place, did you move with your family then?"
"What's with all the questions" Taron jokes heading to the back doors
Lizzie shrugs, "Just intrigued"