Get The Girl ✓

38 | puck's poison, pt. 2

    "Lysander, where are you going?"

     He drags his arm back. "Away from you."

    "Why have you grown so rude?" She gives an affectionate brush on his bicep, and I know Trey is frozen under her touch because he just blinks at it. "What change is this, sweet love?"

    "Your love?" He scoffs. "You must be mad."

     If she's faking the hurt expression on her face, then I'd throw the freakin' Oscars at her already. "Oi, you!" She shouts at Liv. "You thief of love! Have you come by and stolen my love's heart from him?"

    "Good Hermia, do not be so bitter with me!"

    "Go away, Hermia," Trey lets out, "and leave Helena alone!"

     Everyone's literally hanging up on her. Is that what Justine felt?

    "Do not speak of Helena!" Vic returns as Liv's knight in shining armour again. "Do not take her part, for if you intend to show love to her, you shall pay for it."

    "Follow me if you dare to see who deserves Helena best."

    "Follow you? I'll go with you!"

     Exit Lysander, Demetrius, Helena and Hermia.

     TJ and I appear on stage again amidst the verbal battle, utter guilt shining down me. "Believe me, King of Shadows, I made a mistake." Pause. I hesitate to say the next words. "But I'm glad this happened, it's fun to watch them quarrelling!"

     Jeez, could it be any more on the nose?

    "Fill the night with a thick black cloud. Lead the two men far from each other. They will tire, lie down and fall asleep — only then can you pour this magic liquid on Lysander's eyes. It will make his old love to Hermia come back to turn when he wakes." For once, I agree with the words coming out of TJ's mouth. "Everyone will be happy, and they will think all this has only been a dream."

     If only it were that easy.

     And with a little bit of fairy magic and shape-shifting, I'm able to apply the antidote to the love juice on Lysander's — Trey's — eyelids.

    "When you wake, you shall take true delight in the sight of your former lady's eye..."

A C T  IV ,  S C E N E  1

     The Duke of Athens (remember him during the first scene?) sees the sleeping lovers and wakes them up.

    "I pray you all, stand up!" this random underclassman bellows, shaking awake the actors, specifically the males. "You two are rival enemies, so how come you're sleeping next to each other?"

     Trey puts a hand over his chest. "My Lord, I cannot truly say how I came here. But, as I think, I came with Hermia... with the intent of leaving Athens to get married."

    "And you?"

    "Helena told me of their escape, my lord, and I, in fury, followed them," Vic explained, "Helena followed me also because she loves me. But my love to Hermia has melted as the snow, and the power of my heart is only to Helena now."

     The Duke of Athens could only blink. "Well, okay." The whole auditorium chuckles. "Fair lovers, if you will, come the temple with us... for you all shall eternally be joined."

A C T  V ,  S C E N E  1

     We finally come to full circle: the Duke's wedding.

    "Here come the lovers, full of joy and happiness," the Duke rejoices in front of the crowd, "may joy, gentle friends, joy and fresh days of love accompany your hearts!"

     The wedding is an extravagant celebration — thanks to our wonderful prop team and the Student Council's budget plans — where all the performers are in their fancier costumes. I try not to bite my nails as the scene goes. I'm delivering the last lines of the play.

     That's not daunting at all.

     When the lovers are asleep, put to beds that are lined up at the centre of the stage, Mr. Allen stands next to me and whispers, "It's show time."

     Enter Puck.

     I say some pretentious lines like presence of the sun and darkness like a dream that more or less come to my mind by instinct. I have some extra fairies with me to "bless" the marriages, but then they slowly step back, leaving the spotlight to only beam at me.

     My nerves are on a high.

     I inhale a deep breath.

    "If we shadows have offended, think but this, all is mended... so, good night to you all; give me your hands, if we be friends, and Puck shall restore amends..."

     My voice dies down as my mind wanders. Puck's monologue is written so that people will forgive my character for what he did, and that it was never intended for harm. That he has created chaos and, with the blessing of the audience, hopes to restore amends.

     But it's not these strangers that I need to restore amends with.

     I lick my lips.

    "From the bottom of my foolish heart, it is in my deep regret that I inserted myself in situations that never concerned me at all," I continue, dutifully ignoring Mr. Allen's gaping face and my cast mates' confused expressions. "It was false of me to act on behalf of my own mischief and entertainment. Of my own... speculations." 

     I glance back nervously to see Mr. Allen frantically waving his hands at me right now, doing the cutting-his-neck gesture. Yikes.

     Quickly, I turn to the stage. Trey, Justine, Vic, Liv — all sound asleep.

    "I played you all like flimsy strings on marionettes, and mistakes I have made because of it. I promise myself not to do so again and meddle between love affairs without the proper course of my judgement."

     Justine coughs in her sleep.

    "I mean, er — never again. Never."

     I can't tell people who they can love. That's selfish. Liv can learn how to love Lic with however way she wants to; Vic can start to accept that or choose to not. Either way, it's not my business and I'm realising that it shouldn't be, as much as I want to look out for my best friend.

     As for the Golden Couple themselves — Trey and Justine — they should be able to have a chance to figure out who they are and who they can be together without a third party around. Without me.

     Maybe they'll work. Maybe they won't.

     But that's the whole point of love, isn't it?

     I let myself bow.

     The audience cheers and gives a standing ovation.

     All the while, I glance at my friends. My dear friends who I don't want to lose for a long time. What I said wasn't one of my tricks. I wasn't being Puck. I was being me. Addie Hale. Their eyes might be closed, but their ears were open for me.

     I just hope they listened this time.

A/N: Writing this makes me feel like I'm a Shakespeare expert now. Thanks SparkNotes.