Hope you enjoy! the picture on the side is precisely how I imagine Isis, like, down to each and every freckle! is that weird?! haha, anyway, thank you SOOO much for the comments, I love you all <3
Isis couldn’t stop the feeling of excitement mingled with the sensation of butterflies in her stomach the next day. She wanted a part so much that she’d even dreamed about Romeo and Juliet last night.
As she made a packed lunch for both herself and Freya, she hummed a little tune to herself, imagining the dream way in which today could turn out. In an ideal world, what character would she be assigned? The answer came immediately to her. Juliet.
Smiling, she indulged herself in a daydream of what it would be like to play Juliet. Imagine what her mum would say! She might even persuade her to come out and watch it… Isis imagined looking out into the audience and seeing the outline of her mother, silhouetted by the bright lights, and grinned to herself. That would be perfect.
Coming back and hitting the reality rather quickly, Isis stared at the bread she was meant to be buttering. This was only if she got the part, she realised. Mm.
Quickly buttering the last of the bread and starting to put in some filling to distract herself, Isis tried to take her mind off of what would happen if she didn’t get a part, after all. She wasn’t sure she could really cope with it if she didn’t.
Freya appeared in the kitchen, bleary eyed with sleep. Giving her a smile, Isis pointed out the toast she’d made for her. ‘Did you sleep well?’ she asked her, as Freya started to munch on it.
She shook her head. ‘No. Mum was talking in her sleep again.’
‘She was asleep?’ Isis beamed. That was brilliant news. She had been wondering if she’d have to slip sleeping pills into her mother’s drink, or something.
Freya nodded. ‘But she kept murmuring Dad’s name,’ she told Isis. ‘All night.’
Looking into her younger sister’s blue eyes, Isis was suddenly aware that they too were full of concern and worry. Freya was just as worried about her mother as Seb and herself were, she realised. It didn't seem right for such a little girl to bear such a worry.
‘Mum’s going to be alright,’ Isis reassured her. ‘I promise.’
Freya twisted her lips, looking as uncertain as Isis felt.
‘Come on then,’ Isis said, reaching for the hairbrush in an attempt to distract the little girl. ‘What would you like in your hair today?’
Freya shrugged. ‘I don’t mind.’
Brushing back the long, blonde hair, paler than her own, Isis began to plait it, her hands deft with practised ease. The different colours of Freya’s hair really shone through when plaited, the white blonde against the darker yellow contrasting strongly with each other. Isis had always had her own hair in plaits when she had been younger, but now she barely had time to brush it, let alone put it up.
Sending Freya off to brush her teeth, Isis finished packing the lunches and slotted them into each respective bag, her stomach tingling with excitement. When she ate this lunch, she should know whether she had the part or not. It was almost too much excitement to bear.
Heading out of the door a few minutes later, with Freya in tow, they began the descent of the several flights of stairs that lead to their flat. Each staircase was cold metal, tiled walls and a tiled floor; not something that looked particularly appealing at all. Isis was so used to it that she barely noticed how unpleasant and dark it was. This was probably best; whenever she looked too close, the dodgy stains and needles turned her stomach.
Pulling her coat on more tightly as they stepped out into the cold November air, Isis clung onto Freya’s hand, her fingers red with the icy weather. Her coat had been bought too big, so it would hopefully last, but sadly she hadn’t grown since its purchase, and it still almost reached her knees, the blue colour it had once been now having faded to a dirty grey. It kept out neither the cold nor the rain, but at least it was an extra layer.
As she breathed, her breath clouded out around her as if she was smoking. When had it gotten so cold? She swore that autumn had only lasted a few days, the weather slipping into frosts and threatening snow far earlier than usual.
Dropping Freya off at school, she headed through the winding alleyways she knew so well. They creeped her out sometimes when she was walking home during winter evenings; they got dark, and the people who lived there were less than friendly. This morning, a mob of boys were hanging around one of the corners, this time the cloud around them most definitely cigarette smoke. Isis resisted the urge to pinch her nose.
Ducking her head, she made her way past them quickly, but not before one of them could spot her, and with a cry of ‘Isis!’ reached out and caught a strand of her hair.
Isis sighed. If only there was another way she could go, but, short of walking the much longer way via the main roads, she was stuck with this.
The boys had gone to primary school with her, and, unfortunately, they had remembered her name. Despite the fact that she was not only extremely small, but hardly attractively shaped either, it was rare for them to let her pass by without some comment.
‘Let me go,’ she said firmly, determined to not show how vulnerable she felt. She didn’t think she could really take on seven boys by herself.
The boy holding her hair gave it a tug. ‘Give us a kiss, Isis,’ he said, with a cruel smile that revealed yellow, crooked teeth. ‘Then I’ll let you go.’
The rest of the gang laughed as the smell of cigarette smoke starting to make Isis’ head feel funny.
Isis rolled her eyes. ‘Let me go,’ she repeated. ‘I need to get to school.’
‘School? What’re you bothering with school for?’ The boys before her had dropped out of school as soon as they could, some of them probably before they were allowed.
Isis shrugged, realising that offending people who were not only much bigger and stronger than her, but also had a back up team of more, big, strong people probably wasn’t the best of ideas. ‘Let me go.’
‘Alright, alright.’ At long last, the boy let her hair slip from his fingers. Isis almost jumped with relief.
‘Thanks.’ Pulling up her hood, she headed off without a backward glance.
‘You’ll give me a kiss one day, Isis!’ the boy shouted after her.
She paid little attention. Although she was slightly alarmed about the fact that her lip virginity could be stolen from her in a dark alley by a boy who would most likely taste of cigarette smoke and other suspicious substances, she’d coped for the past few years walking through here alone, and she was pretty sure she could cope for one more.
Yes, her lip virginity. Isis had never been kissed, but neither did she really feel the urge to. She had little interest in boys, not really feeling the need to have a romantic experience with one of them. Whilst most of the people at her school spoke explicitly about their adventures in dark rooms with random strangers, or dropped out of school due to pregnancies, Isis was perfectly content to not know the reality of that sort of thing. What people said just put her off and made her feel slightly sick; making the entire thing into some scandalous, dirty act she didn’t want to experience.
Being in a relationship would be far too complicated, Isis contemplated, as she continued down the alley ways. She couldn’t imagine how she’d even fit it into her already packed schedule.
A packed schedule that could get about ten times more busy if she did get the part. Chewing her lower lip, she wondered if she’d be able to cope with doing so many extra after school rehearsals. She’d have to discuss it with Seb. If she got the part, of course. She shouldn’t let herself get carried away.
Finally, the school was in sight. Isis was absolutely freezing; she couldn’t even feel her feet, they were so numb with the cold. She was shivering as she went through the door of the school, but that was only partly to do with the cold. Soon she’d be finding out if she had gotten the part, and she couldn’t wait to discover…
*
Kael opened his eyes blearily as the alarm clock rang, way too noisily for his liking. Sitting up amongst the tangled covers, he looked around the room in that dazed state between being awake and being asleep, and blinked several times.
It took him several moments, but eventually, he hoisted himself out of bed, making his way over to the large wardrobe in one corner. Changing out of the boxers he’d slept in, he pulled out a neatly ironed plaid shirt, and his favourite jeans, leaving his dirty washing on the floor to be picked up by the cleaner who came in during the day.
Quickly running a comb through his dark hair, he headed downstairs, his cooked breakfast waiting for him on the table. This was the only real reason he got up on time in the mornings: the knowledge that his fried egg would be cooling, along with the sausages if he didn‘t get a move on.
After gobbling down the food, he took his bag from the side (already neatly packed with his lunch) and made his way into the garage, swinging his car keys around his index finger.
Damn. Today was the day that the casting sheet would be up, and he was not looking forward to it. He could only hope that he hadn’t got a major part.
He wondered what part he had got, as he slid into the shiny car that had been a seventeenth birthday present from his parents. He hadn’t had much chance to use it at boarding school, but it was handy now, driving it to school. He’d had to park it in a rented garage nearby, however, as he didn’t want the ratty pupils of the school wrecking it, which, judging by the tatty old cars that were parked in the school car park, they had a habit of doing.
The drive to school only took five minutes, and as he made his way from the car to the school, a whole one minute walk, he cursed the cold weather. It was utterly freezing, and he’d had to walk all this way. It was bad enough having to get up, but having to then walk? At least at boarding school everything was indoors and had central heating. This school had radiators which looked as if they were about to fall off of the walls, and pulsated only the very slightest heat. Kael thought perhaps he should come in wearing one of the thick rugs his mother had bought on their holiday to Morocco. He’d be wearing far better clothes than the majority of the students. And he’d be warm.
Going through the main entrance, Kael spotted the familiar long blonde hair of a certain girl and sighed. Bloody Isis. She was probably all excited about the casting. In fact, he could tell she was excited; she was almost skipping along the corridor, dressed in a ridiculously hideous old coat that almost reached her knees.
For some reason, he found himself speeding up a little so he was walking beside her. She turned to look at him, and beamed at him. For a moment, he was so dazzled that he had no idea where he was, what he was doing, even what his name was. Her smile lit up her entire face, the warmth of it filling up her blue eyes. For a crazy, insane moment, Kael wondered what it would be like to be the cause of that sort of expression, to have done something to make her entire face glow like an over the top Christmas tree.
‘Kael, Kael, have you seen the list?!’ she asked, excitedly. ‘Have you seen the casting list?!’
Kael realised he was meant to answer and shook his head, partly to answer, and partly to dislodge the strange feeling that her smile had given him. Something about having the full intensity of her smile directed at him had made him go temporarily insane.
‘You haven’t? Come and see it! Quick!’
Before he could utter another sound, she’d grabbed onto his wrist, her tiny hands barely fitting round it. It would have been all too easy for him to flick her flimsy grasp away from him, but somehow, it didn’t bother him. Leading him down the corridor, slightly awkwardly, Isis practically bounded along in front of him. Her enthusiasm made Kael smile a little; he wasn’t really sure why.
Reaching the drama studio, Isis pointed to a list on the door, and let go of him, biting her lip and looking expectantly at him for his reaction.
‘Casting List: Romeo- Callum White.’ Well, thank goodness he wasn’t Romeo at least.
‘Juliet- Isis McKinley.’ Well what a surprise. Turning to look at the girl next to him, he grinned at her, shocked to find that he was genuinely pleased for her. ‘Well done,’ he congratulated her. ‘I knew you’d get it.’
Isis beamed again. ‘Thank you so much! I’m so pleased.’
He scanned down the rest of the list, pleased that his name didn’t seem to appear at all… oh.
‘Mercutio- Kael Willoughby.’
Crap.
How many words did Mercutio even have? He looked at Isis. ‘I got Mercutio, then,’ he said, flatly.
Isis twisted her lips. ‘Aw, did you want Romeo? I’m sorry.’
‘Oh god, no!’ he protested. ‘I didn’t want a part at all!’
Isis looked so adorably baffled that it made his head feel funny. Wait, what? Adorably baffled?
‘Why did you audition, then?’ she asked slowly, as if she was talking to an idiot.
‘I had to,’ he admitted.
Isis still looked confused. ‘Why?’
‘I got kicked out of boarding school,’ Kael told her, surprising himself. He didn’t really want to tell anyone about what had happened, but he couldn’t help himself when it came to her. For some reason.
Her mouth formed a little o, her eyes widening. ‘Does that even happen?!’
‘Apparently so,’ Kael replied grimly. ‘My dad was pretty pissed off.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ Isis commented. ‘That’s quite an achievement.’ She paused, wrinkled her nose. ‘Well, not achievement.’
Kael’s lips twitched into an almost smile. ‘He said he wouldn’t keep me as heir to the family business if I carried on like I was. He said I have to show commitment. Hence the school play.’
‘Ahh.’
‘Ah.’
‘I GOT ROMEO!’
Isis and Kael both leapt out of their skin as someone behind them let out an extremely loud scream.
Turning round, Kael surveyed a tall, brown haired boy, with dark brown eyes, who was performing what appeared to be a celebratory dance.
Isis laughed. ‘Well done, Callum,’ she said.
‘You got Juliet? Congrats!’ Callum reached down and pulled her suddenly into his arms. Isis looked rather startled, but was smiling too much to seem to care.
Callum looked at Kael, grinning, and leapt on him too, giving him a hug. Kael stiffened, wondering what on earth was wrong with the boy before him. Was he totally insane?
‘I have to go tell my friends,’ he said, quivering with excitement. ‘I’ll see you guys later. I can’t wait!’
Dashing off, Isis grinned up at Kael. ‘I’m glad he got Romeo,’ she said.
‘Why?’ he asked.
‘He’s so sweet,’ she replied. ‘And he’s attractive too, don’t you think?’
Kael raised an eyebrow. ‘Er-’
She chuckled. ‘You don’t have to answer.’
‘Are you friends with him, then?’ he asked. He didn’t quite know why he asked. He didn’t want to find out anything more about her, did he?
She shook her head. ‘No. I’m not really friends with many people.’
Kael found himself surprised. She seemed like the sort of person to have a large group of people who absolutely adored her. Perhaps she was just being modest.
He looked at the list again. ‘How big a part does Mercutio have?’ he asked Isis.
Isis frowned. ‘I’m not sure exactly,’ she replied. ‘He has that fight scene with Tybalt, doesn’t he?’
Kael nodded, rather excited, despite his better judgement. Acting out a fight sounded pretty fun.
‘He does have one long speech, if I remember rightly,’ she went on. ‘And you flirt with the nurse, I think.’
‘Hot,’ Kael commented sarcastically. Isis smiled.
‘And you get to die!’ she remembered. ‘So it should be pretty fun.’
Kael shrugged. ‘I might as well make the most of it, I guess.’
‘You’ll make your parents proud,’ she told him, her face still radiant with her evident joy at being cast as Juliet. Patting his arm quickly, she swung her bag onto her back. ‘See you later, Mercutio.’
He smiled. ‘You too, Juliet.’
As she headed off, he found himself watching the way that her hair swung behind her as she walked. Even though the way that they had suddenly gotten on well was probably not going to last long, for some reason, being in the play didn’t seem so bad anymore. Perhaps the enthusiasm she’d had which had made her too nice to be stern with him had infected him too, but now, being Mercutio sounded much better than it had seemed this morning. He went off to his next lesson with in a better mood than he’d been in all week.