I had a good start of my Saturday morning. I woke up in a sunny day and when I walked to the bakery shop at exactly eight fifty-nine, the guard just finished turning the CLOSE sign to OPEN.
"Goodmorning," he said, showing his perfect white beam.
I smiled back. "Any treat for your first costumer for today?" I joked.
I heard a cling and I turned to the cashier. She was laughing. "Buy one of our cakes and get a heartful of happiness, miss." I waked to the glass stand. I was sad to see it was almost empty. "The other cakes will be available in thirty minutes," she said with an apology.
"It's okay. I'll just... uhm," I read each of the labels in front of each cakes. Hazelnut, Green tea, Pistachio... "I'll just take this."
"Pistachio roll?" She pointed to the green cake roll with white ice cream and pistachio toppings. I paid and went to the door. It was when I already walked several feet away and turned back to the bakery did I felt a heartbreaking deja vu. I remembered the Old Man's café. If he was as real as I was now, I hoped he was in the world where the person he was waiting for was as as real as Marvin. No one else's could see, only the two of them, but it did not matter because they loved each other far more than reality.
I waved the thought out of my mind. "Anyone's birthday?" Marvin appeared beside me.
I took my phone to my ears and talked to him. "I just want to congratulate my friends and an apology gift as well."
"Don't forget to congratulate yourself as well," he reminded me. The pride of it vanished in my thoughts but my friends, parents and Marvin made it sound special over and over. I was afraid that I might give them the expectation of having that article published but then disappoint them and myself later on. "What do you plan on writing?"
"Still thinking about it. They needed the submission three weeks from now and it will be published for the end-of-school-year issue. I'm afraid that I might get pressured by the deadline. I often experience mental block whenever I'm pressured."
Marvin placed his arm around my shoulder. "Don't be, I got your back. We'll surely support you all the way."
~
This Saturday was the first practice and preparation for the Play two months from now. I accepted the offer to be part of the backstage crew as Props and Costume staff. Bea, who turned out to be the president of the club, said that she would be busy being the character director so someone else would be the props and costume head, also known as my mystery boss. I got a memo that I should be on Room 319 at EXACTLY 10:00. It was only 9:45, that means I still had fifteen minutes before the emphasized exact time to go to my friends and give them the cake.
I called Liam and he said they were in Room 517, the room next to the balcony of the auditorium. The elevator left me and I did not want to waste time waiting so I ran through the stairs. It was strange that the building seemed empty.
Their room was not hard to find because there was a golden star posted on the door and above that was a sign that read ORGANIZATION ROOM 7. I knocked. A guy from the senior year opened the door, he clearly didn't have a clue who I was. "Steve, that's Ella," said Bea standing from the couch. Liam and Aly saw me too. "Ella!" They exclaimed in surprise. "You did not tell us you accepted the offer." Aly said, hugging me.
"Another adventure," I smiled and gave them the cake.
"Come inside," said Bea. "Welcome to the theater club room."
"Thanks," I said and offered the cake to her too.
"What is this for?" Liam asked as he placed the box on the table.
I shrugged. "Just wanted to congratulate and give you all the best."
"Aww, Ella, that's so sweet."
Liam opened the box and sneered at me. "Wow," he said and sneered at me. "It's so..."
"I know! It's cute and unique. I don't always see green cakes." I said. Bea gave us paper plates and fork from one of the boxes they brought with them and Liam stepped aside to let the others get their own first.
I never had an idea on how complete this club room was. There were props all over the floor but organizely placed, a couch for resting, mirrored desks, full of make ups and a long table probably used for group meetings or celebrations like this. I refused to take a slice, explained my time memo and how I planned to just deliver the cake.
"Just a small slice!" Aly insisted.
"Or else we'll assume that you put a poison in this." Steve laughed and winked at me. We had a proper introduction.
I was about to tell goodbye when I saw Liam just sitting on the couch holding his empty paper plate. "Hey," I sat beside him. Right after I sat, my eyes widened and it hit me that he hated green. "Oh my gosh! I'm sorry Liam!"
Liam just shook his head and chuckled. "It's just so green."
"That's what you were about to say earlier, isn't it?" I recalled the moment I interrupted him.
I placed a hand on my forehead. "Sorry, sorry. I should have remembered. I should have picked the hazel nut. The bakery just opened and --"
Liam turned to me and held my shoulders. "Ella, calm down. It's all right."
I hated myself. I knew how he hated green. And I even let him open another box with green cake inside. "I hate myself."
"Don't, it's just a cake."But it's more than just the cake. I should have known his reaction after he opened and realized it was not amazement. "I'll just buy a new cake later."
Liam rolled his eyes. "I might manage to eat the green cake, though."
"Really?"
He shrugged. "I'll try."
"Now!"
He shook his head. "After you went out."
I pouted. "I won't see."
"You don't have to."
"Well I have the right to stay and see or else I'll spread the real story why you hated green." I blackmailed.
He glanced at my watch. "It's five past ten. I thought you have a strict time memo?"
I checked and realized I was late! I sighed, defeated and anxious. "I gotta go."
"Bye," Liam smirked. I bid them all goodbyes.
Next stop, room 319.
I had no idea where that room was but I was sure that it was somewhere in the third floor.
301
306
311
315
And finally,
319
I went to the second door as an etiquette for late comers. I didn't need to knock because the door immediately opened. An angry-looking ninth grade rushed out of the door, she stopped right infront of me that our noses almost touched each other. "Props and Costume?"
I nodded and she snorted. "GREAT! What took you so long to reach this room?"
I looked puzzled.
From inside, I heard a shout of orders like, "Where are they?!" I suddenly had goosebumps because "they" might include me.
The girl I bumped into rolled her eyes. "Run while you can, I'm telling you," she said and stormed off, banging the door behind her, that made me jump backward.
I let some seconds passed before I grabbed the handle myself. The first thing I saw inside explained the shout earlier and it made me realize why the girl was angry. Candice was sitting on the teacher's desk, pissed at the handful of remaining staffs sitting on the student desks. They turned as I came in.
"Ella Gomez, you're late." Candice raised a brow at me. Calm down, Ella. Why on Earth was I placed in the same room as this girl?! And worse was that she would be my head for two effing months!
I saw several ninth graders, eighth, two eleventh and some of my batchmates from the tenth grade. I walked towards Beth on the corner and sat beside her. Marc, one of Liam's friends with spiky hair, was also beside Beth. He glared at Candice who was busy staring at his manual or magazine, I did not care to know. "So this is all we'll do? Sit here and wait the others lose temper and leave?" he said.
Candice glanced up from whatever she was holding. She stood up. "Can't you wait?" She folded her arms. "We still don't have the materials and we couldn't go to the stage yet because the stage director is busy mopping the floor."
"So why the hell we had this meeting if we could not do anything?" It seemed like only Marc could stand up to her.
Go Marc! Beth and I together with the rest of the team are supporting you.
"Because the club president said so." She imitated the voice of a small girl.
A knock came and the teacher moderator of the club showed up. "Miss Candice? A word please," she smiled while scanning the whole room. They went out.
"What the hell!" Shouted Marc who was clearly losing control of himself. If it weren't because I've been in this club for two years, I'd walk out of this room before you came, Ella."
"We need a plan. Only seven or less more Saturdays before the play. And we couldn't guarantee meetings during weekdays."
"What should we do?" I asked them because all of these theater things were new to me.
"Fire Candice and find a new Team Head," an eleventh grader suggested from the front.
"She couldn't be that bad," said a seventh grader who clearly admired the physical appearance of the monster.
"Maybe she is being fired now!"
"Fired or not, we have to start planning today."
"I heard that she might be planning to buy everything and just collect the fund from us."
Someone from near the door hissed quiet as the door opened again. Candice and Mrs Gonzales came inside.
The moderator cleared her throat. "I talked to Miss Candice regarding the several complaints I received just this morning." She gestured to the best actress beside her. Candice seemed to be as good as impossibly as her. "It is true that the stage is not yet available at this time and we still haven't collected funds. However, here," she fished something out from her pocket and revealed a blackboard marker. She gave it to Candice with great poise and perfect posture who was as clueless as I was.
In a more polite tone she repeated, "A marker, ma'am?"
"Yes, a whiteboard marker." She nodded like what she meant was very obvious. "Write everything out, sort things in, make a clear schedule. Plan!" She said. Everyone panicked a little but when she smiled we all breathed out the air we took while she was firing those words to Candice. "That's all I have to say." She looked around the team and to Candice again. "I hope they're all in good hands."
Ironically, we believed that we were in the worst.