Happy Endings

#Chapter 2

      'Thanks, bye.' l say to Mandy as she drops me home.

     'Bye, assistant director.' she replys, grinning and drives away. She was very happy when l told her about the play. Even happier than me. She pointed out so many perks of being an assistant director that l couldn't help feeling lucky.

    'Maybe you'll get to skip some classes.' she said. I hadn't really given it a thought until then. Reharsals of plays are usually after the school, but who knows what will happen?

      'You'll be spending time with Ms James, Sawyer. There's a fat chance that she'll tell you about her boyfriend' Mandy's eyes were twinkling with hope saying this. She's such a gossip girl. But l'm definitely not interested in someone else's love life, especially if it's my teacher.

     'l don't care if Ms James has a boyfriend or not, Mandy. And why would she tell me about her personal life, anyway? We're supposed to work together, not have counciling sessions with each other.' l told her firmly.

      'Oh, come on Saw! You're her favourite student.'

      'Am l? Who told you that?' l said. l was surprised to hear that.

      'You're not my only friend who's in drama club. Rob told me that.'

      Oh God! Rob's got such a big mouth.

      'He must've had some misunderstanding. I'm just any other student to Ms James.'

      'Really? Then why did she choose you as her assistant?'

      l'd been asking myself the same question for past hour. Obviously, l didn't have an answer to that one. Mandy smirked at me.

      l remember that conversation as l enter my home. Though l'm still uncertain about why Ms James chose me as her assistant, l'm very happy about it. l rush to kitchen to tell my mom this news. She's not there. Maybe she's in bedroom. So l run upstairs and push the door of her her bedroom. Empty. I check bathrooms, my room, even store room, but no sign of her.

      'Mom!' l yell as loudly as possible hoping she'll here it even if she's in tartarus. But of course, she doesn't hear. l yell again. Still no answer. Maybe she's not at home.

      l throw my bag on my bed and go downstairs only to find my dad sitting on the couch, reading newspaper calmly. The sight of him makes me angry. lf he was home all this time, couldn't he just tell me that mom's not at home? l've been looking for her like crazy!

      'Dad?' l say, trying to keep my voice calm.

      'Yes, Sawyer?' he replys, not even looking at me.

      'l'm home.'  What else can l say?

   'l'm aware of that, Sawyer.' What else can he say? Maybe l was expecting something like,'Welcome home dear. How was your day?', but we're talking about my dad here. l know it's pointless to ask, but l still do.

     'Where's mom?'

     'Do you expect me to know?'

     'No'

    'Good.' The tone of his voice is screaming out loud, 'Leave, now!' and l too, have no inention of standing there for another minute.

     Well, this is my dad. He's not always like this. His behavior depends upon his moods. l assume that now is not a very good time to have a chat with him. The thing is, when he gets these 'bad temperament' attacks, he becomes VERY irritable. And l am not much of a tolorent person myself. To avoid tussling, l usually stay away from him when he's having a bad day.

    l go upstairs and lock myself in my room. I can feel my stomach demanding for food but l'm not feeling like eating at all. l try to call my mom even though l know it's going to be useless.

    'This is Gloria Blake. Please leave a message.' I hear mom's voice from the other side. l sigh. She never answers  when she goes on these little trips of hers. So l leave a voice mail.

    'Hey mom, its me. Call me when you get this message.'

    These trips of mom are happening too often these days. This is the third time in this month that l'm finding her gone after returning from school. She's been doing this for a long time, but never this often. lt's usually when dad's having mood swings she likes to go on excursions. l wonder why this affects her so much when they don't even say anything to each other, other than 'Pass the ketchup' and 'Pay the phone bill'. But even though this is about my own mom and dad, it's none of my business. At least that's what l was told.

<
<
<

    A few days later, l find myself sitting next to Ms James, no sorry, Hilary (that's what she told me to call her when we're not in class), auditioning for the lead roles of 'The Shorty and the Beast'. The rest of the memebers of drama club are sitting on the chairs behind us in the auditorium. And oh my God! This is,like,the most entertaining thing l've ever done! I've seen such sample pieces since this morning. Some people are really talented, though. But there's a shortage of talent in our school.  Matt Lee, who's a sophomore, has been chosen for the role of the Beast a.k.a. Ralph Van Pelt. He's a tall, tough looking guy with voice like a gangster, hence he's perfect for the role. Just a little more work on acting is needed.

    Now we're auditioning for Shorty a.k.a. Ellie something.

    'Sorry, dear. You're too tall for the role of Shorty.' Hilary tells apologetically to Clara, the girl who's been doing the roles in Mr Morrison's plays since forever and also, the diva of the school. Yep, she's the one who fell from the balcony last year. l personaly hate her and a wicked smile appears on my face as Hilary rejects her. She gives death glares to all the drama club members, especially to me and leaves, stomping her feet on the stage.

    'Next!' l say in a cheerful voice. l'm very surprised to see the girl who has just walked in.

    'l'm Mandy Jenson and l'll be trying out for the role of Shorty.' she says, smiling at me. l'm so shocked that l almost yell out loud.  How didn't this occur to me before? Mandy is perfect for the role of Ellie. She's only 5 feet tall and looks naturally pretty. l didn't know Mandy is interested in acting. l give her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up. Rob yells, 'Good luck!'.

     Mandy is unexpectedly good. Actually, she's the best in the girls who have tried out until now. l can see that Hilary is satisfied. Even if someone better comes for auditions, she'll at least consider Mandy before taking the final decision.

    'Very good.' she says after Mandy finishes her dialogues. 'Who's next?'

    'Actually, l'm the last one, Ms James.'

    Great. Now l'm totally sure that Mandy has got the lead role. Yessssssss!

    'We'll inform you about the decision. You may go now.'

    l can still hear Mandy's footsteps when Hilary turns to me and says, 'So? What do you think?'

    'Well,' l start to say but l'm interrupted by a loud 'Stop!'

    A guy has just came in running and he's standing before us breathing heavily. His hair is black and his eyes some kind of dark shade. And well, he's tall. l can't exactly say that he's good looking. He's okay, but definitely not hot. l've seen him somewhere, but l don't remember. Maybe we have some class together.

    'I'm Jessie Carter and I'm auditioning for any random role you can give me.' He says.

    And that's how kids, l meet Jessie Carter.

<
<
<

    Hey guys, how did you like this chapter? Please comment and tell me ;)

                                                                                                                    -Max