Part 1: Wrong Number
Song: 20th Century Boy
Artist: Girlschool (Originally by T. Rex)
^^^
"So, you're gay then."
"Well, I'm bisexual."
"Then why would they cast you as a gay character? Isn't that just perpetuating the problem of casting straight people in gay roles?"
"I'm not straight, though."
"But you aren't gay either."
My grip on the red solo cup tightened along with my smile. While I appreciated this girl's enthusiasm, she wrongly directed it at me. I agreed Hollywood needed to stop casting straight people to play gay characters, especially whenever they made them a stereotypical, flamboyant gay, but this wasn't Hollywood. It was public high school theatre.
"I don't think the teachers can ask what a student's sexuality is and then force them to come out by making them the gay character," I slowly stated. "Besides, the whole point of the scene is to represent two best friends falling in love with each other. It doesn't matter that they're gay. That's not the point."
"Still, I think they're only half ass-ing it if they won't give the role to an actual gay person," she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking her nose in the air.
"Serafina, for fuck's sake, just shut up," the girl with long, bubblegum pink hair standing beside her groaned as she wrapped her arm around Serafina's shoulder. "It's high school. No one gives a fuck about that but you, you self-righteous bitch."
"Do I have to remind you I'm your girlfriend?" Serafina asked, smirking at the girl as she snuggled up into her arms.
"Personally, I think the play is cool," the girl said, shrugging at me. "I'm totally going to come see one of the shows. When is it?"
"It's in four weeks from now, actually."
"We'll come, and we'll enjoy it. Regardless of casting," she stated, glaring at Serafina.
"Well, thank you." Glancing behind the girls, I noticed Simon wildly waving his arms, gesturing for me to approach him. "Sorry, I think my friend is broken," I chuckled, pointing over at him. "It was nice talking to you two."
Leaving the girls and approaching Simon, I exhaled in relief as he patted my back. "I could see you seething over there. What the hell happened?"
"Just complaints about me being cast as a gay guy."
"But you're bi."
"It's... Never mind." Clamping my hand onto his shoulder, I laughed. "What the hell are you panicking over?"
Harshly turning me around, Simon pointed at a very attractive girl. A black headband pulled her auburn hair back, allowing the long strands to droop over the left shoulder of the red turtleneck sweater. Her slender legs dressed in a black and white plaid skirt and black tights, and red flats covered her feet.
I noticed her earlier in the night; the freckles coating her face being hard to miss. She continuously glanced at me throughout the night, and the more I glanced back at her, the more I found her smile to be contagious. As we stared at each other, she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, gazing back at me from under her eyelashes.
"The two of you have been staring at each other all night. When the hell are you going to go talk to her?"
"I'm sorry, that's why you wanted me to come over here?"
Simon tilted his head. "What's wrong with that?"
"You were making a huge deal about it, waving me down like that. It's like you're being desperate for me."
"Well, I think she's adorable, and she seems like your type, and you're single, and she's interested." He pushed me towards her. "Talk to her already, or I'll drag her over here."
Knowing he wasn't joking, I walked over to where the auburn-haired girl leaned against the wall. When she noticed me approaching her, she kicked herself off the wall, excused herself from the group she was talking to, and strolled up to me.
"Hi," I greeted, holding out my hand. "I'm Damon."
"Clara," she replied, awkwardly shaking my hand.
"Sorry," I sighed. "I'm not used to greeting people like this at parties. I'm not used to parties, really."
"Neither am I. At least not the kind where there are boys."
"Oh, strict parents?"
"No. I go to the all-girls private school a few towns over."
"That would make sense then," I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. "What brings you to this party, then?"
"My cousin is the host, and I'm staying with him for the weekend. What about you?"
"I go to school with him. We're both in the theatre department."
She pointed at me with a curious smile. "Cast or crew?"
"Cast."
"Are you in the upcoming play? What was it again? Something with Maine, right?"
"Almost, Maine, yeah," I nodded. "I'm playing Randy."
"What's the play about?"
"It's actually a bunch of vignettes about-"
"Vignettes?"
"Like short scenes? It's about all these different people who live in this town called Almost in Maine. They're short scenes about different types of love. We have a couple on the verge of divorce, a girl whose heart is broken and the man who tries to repair it, and friends to lovers, which is my scene."
"That's so adorable!" she gushed. "I love the friends to lovers' trope. Are you and your scene partner friends?"
"We are."
"Is there a showmance going on between you two?" she teased, and I laughed, shaking my head.
"No, no. We're just friends. He's straight anyway, so..." I shrugged.
"He?" she gasped. "Your school is putting in a gay scene? That's awesome!"
"Right?"
"Oh," she dragged out, nodding softly. "That's why Serafina was giving you a hard time, right? A straight guy playing a gay character."
"Actually, I'm bisexual."
"Then what's the problem?"
"It's... complicated. I get where she's coming from, but at the same time, it's public high school theatre, so it's not like they have a lot of open options, you know?"
"That makes sense," she agreed. "Our school doesn't do theatre anymore, because too many girls started hooking up whenever they were partnered together. It made for interesting gossip at lunch, but it's a sin, you know?" she mocked, rolling her eyes. "Personally, as long as you're not hurting anyone, love who you want. Be gay, straight, or whatever. Being bi just means you have twice as many opportunities to find someone, right?"
Smiling wide and nodding, I said, "Absolutely." It was nice to know she wasn't suddenly uninterested because I'm bisexual. Sometimes girls would think it's weird, sometimes girls would ask for a three-way, and sometimes they'd be as accepting as Clara. I was glad she was accepting. I may not have known much about her, but she was cute and sweet. She was already a lot of fun to talk with.
"I'm curious about this play now. It doesn't sound like the kinds you'd typically see. When is it?"
"It's four weeks from now."
"I was already planning to see it because of Chad, but I'm excited to see you in it now."
"I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully, if I make it in the school's musical, you'll come see that as well."
"Ooh, what musical?"
"Oklahoma. I'm hoping to play Judd."
"Well, I hope you get the role you want. I'm sure if they cast you in this play, you're a good actor, but hopefully you make the musical, too."
"Even if I don't play Judd, I'll be in the chorus, which is always fun."
"Out of curiosity, do the chorus members and the main cast hang out in different groups?'
"Not really. It's more the cast, the backstage crew, and the technical crew."
For the next two hours, Clara and I talked, eventually moving to the couch so we could sit and talk easier. There wasn't a single loll in our conversation, as we kept it going by asking multiple questions. Eventually we wound up talking about different TV shows, to books, to video games. We had similar interests, and it was fun to learn more about her specific tastes compared to mine.
When most of the guests left, Simon tapped my shoulder, saying he was going to bring the car around. I stood up from the couch, and Clara followed me outside, smiling giddily. "I'm glad you came to the party tonight."
"I'm glad my friend dragged me here," I chuckled.
"If it's cool with you, I'd love to get- Damn, I forgot my phone is charging upstairs."
Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I opened up my contacts and handed it to her. "Here. You can put your number in. I'd love to talk more, too."
Giggling to herself, Clara entered her name and number and handed my phone back to me. "I'll... talk to you later, then."
"Have a good night, Clara."
"You too, Damon."
Simon honked his car horn behind me, causing me to jump softly. Clara hid her giggle behind her hand as she walked back inside. Sitting in the passenger seat, I shoved Simon's head lightly. He laughed loudly.
"Dude, you actually hit it off with a girl at a party. How do you feel?"
"Good. She's really sweet. I like her." Waving my phone, I smirked. "She even gave me her number."
"Are you going to call her?"
"Probably more like text. I think calling her first would be weird."
"True. True. You want to make sure she's available to talk," Simon nodded. Slapping my shoulder, he smiled. "I'm proud of you, buddy."
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