Chapter 10 - Sleepy Beauty
"Come on, AJ! You're so slow!"
I dragged my feet after Jade, but she was too fast for me to keep up.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," I mumbled and jogged with her. "We're not late yet"
"Yet," she pressed, and I rolled my eyes.
Jade is that one person who gets everywhere early. I didn't find it strange that she wanted to fit into the perfect student role. After all, she got lectured if her grades were anything but A's. Luckily, her parents have the money to pay for the therapy.
We walked through the gigantic doors of the theatre room and joined our colleagues in the audience.
Besides Yuki, Jade and I were the only second-graders in the play. I can't believe we're doing this without Courtney!
Miss Wick and two others were on the stage and the chatting quieted down at her presence. As usual, the Wicked Witch started this entire speech and gave us instructions on what we were supposed to do.
It was our first rehearsal. Beth, as expected, is playing Aurora. I'm Merryweather and Jade is Flora.
There was a commotion because of us getting good roles instead of being just extras, but it was quickly dismissed as Miss Wick didn't care.
We had our tasks, so while some discussed figurines and all, we went up the stage to do it for the very first time.
While the first scenes were happening, Jade and I stayed backstage, watching.
"Are you nervous?" Jade asked me.
I shook my head and offered her a cheerful smile.
"Nah, it's just a rehearse. I'll only get nervous when I see a crowd"
Miss Wick has a computer and someone was trying to help her figure out how to use it properly. Their voices drew my attention from the play for a second.
"And how do I do the mirror thing? From my phone to the computer?"
The guy sighed in desperation. I recognised immediately the voice when he finally spoke, explaining to her in complete boredom.
"Can I go now aunt Julia? I have to practise with Kyle for the game next week"
"I already told you to not call me that when we're at school," she warned him, and he rolled his eyes.
"And I told you to not call me by my name, but you've been doing it all day," Reed bit back.
She ignored him and waved dismissively for him to go.
He passed by me with the annoyed look I'd got used to seeing him with.
"Hey Reed," I called upon him. It's the first time I'm seeing him since winter break.
He stopped and looked at me. His face seemed to ease, and he smiled at me, a small smile but the only one I ever saw him with.
"Hey, kiddo. What's up?"
"The ceiling"
He blinked, and then his smile grew a little, allowing me to see his teeth adorned with braces.
"Should've known you'd say something like that. How were your holidays?"
I shrugged. Spend them mostly alone. Mum came for Christmas and to yell at my dad a little, watched tons of films... but I wouldn't tell him that.
"It was cool, nothing interesting really. You?"
His eyes seemed to darken.
"They were okay, I guess." he looked tense. "Well, I gotta go. Are you going to see the game on Monday?"
"Yeah, of course," I smiled.
I don't know what game is it but I'll certainly be there.
Reed had to go, and I watched as he went down the stairs and left the room to the shiny day outside.
"What are you looking at?"
Chris' voice echoed right beside my ear, startling me, and making me jump backwards. In consequence, or perhaps karma on his side, hitting my head on his chin and stepping on him.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry," I apologised, clamping my hands against my wide-open mouth. "You can't scare me like that, dammit!"
Chris' eyes were shut and his face was pained.
"You mae me bi ma ton!"
"What?!"
"You mae me bit ma tong!" He repeated, now more explicit and looking at me in the eye.
Jade was laughing at the ridiculous expression Chris had. He didn't look pleased by the attention, or rather the fact that he was the reason for Jade's laughter.
Our attention was rapidly directed to the stage as it was our - mine, Jade's and some other girl's - time to execute the next scene.
I breathed in and out before stepping on stage and performing my part. Although I said I wasn't nervous, when I saw myself up there, I couldn't help the knot forming in my stomach at the thought of the future. Would I like it? The people watching me from the rows and rows of seats? Would I enjoy the attention?
Of course, I would. Who doesn't love to feel seen?
In the end, I think it went well. I mean, besides the part when Jade broke down and ran to the bathrooms as fast as she could to get rid of lunch. I get it. Today's food looked like it was taken out of the rubbish and it tasted even worse. And the food here is usually pretty good; well, better than the frozen food I eat when my dad is working.
Scene over, we sat back on the audience after tending to Jade, who was now in the infirmary, just in case.
"Miss di Laurentis," the Wicked Witch sitting next to me touched my arm to get my attention, "Could you go ask Mr Albertelli if he can lend us another spotlight? He's probably in room 37 preparing his next class."
I bit my cheek. I wanted to finish watching the play, but I can't refuse her order and there will be plenty of times for me to watch it.
I left the auditorium and saw myself far away from the main building where I have to be. Students were walking around from a place to the other and I took the pathway that goes around the garden, circles the sports field and leads me to the boys' side of the building.
Walking close to the fields, I stop for a minute, looking at the girls playing volleyball. All the other courts were empty but that one and the tennis field where two guys were playing not so friendly.
I looked at that one court, the one with a guy shouting threatening encouragements to the other.
"Come on, you little girl, you call that tennis? It looks like you're trying to kill flies!" the one with the man bun yelled.
Reed threw the ball so hard it went directly to the guy's stomach and he crouched down.
"Fuck off, Kyle! When the basketball season starts, you're fucked, so shut up!"
I chuckled and kept walking until I got inside. Now facing the glass door with the number 37. Three soft knocks and the door opened to let me inside. Or to not let me inside.
Mr Albertelli was a stocky, small man with hair only on the sides, an enormous belly under an oil-stained shirt and a greeting scowl.
"Who are you?" he asked in a hoarse voice, his body blocking my way in.
I didn't let myself get impressed so easily and kept my voice even. He was more ridiculous than scary, but I wouldn't falter.
"Uh, hi to you too. I'm Avery di Laurentis, from Miss Wick class. She wants to know if you can lend us another spotlight." I passed the message.
He turned around and walked back in muttering, and I followed him.
"I already gave you fourteen spotlights. What does she need another one for? Hey, careful where you touch. You break it, you pay for it! God, you, attempts of actors, always thinking you're such big artists, but you need us to do everything for you. You just ask and ask and ask... Fourteen! Fourteen spotlights and she needs more! God!" he kept saying, "Touch nothing! You break it, you pay it"
"Yeah, you already said that." I rolled my eyes. "I touched nothing"
"Just don't do like the other guy"
I nodded and followed him to some sort of storage room full of... I do not know what the heck was all that.
I leaned against the wall just outside, waiting for him. The space was a regular classroom, but the desks were full of half-made projects and scattered pieces. In the far corner next to the teacher's desk was a paper pinned to the wall, it had the word "BANNED" in capital red letters followed by black coloured names, the first one harshly underlined as if that one was the worst of them all.
He got out hobbling and put the black lamp-like device in my hands, and went back to his table.
I looked at one of my hands, now full of a dark, sticky, stinky liquid, and complained.
"This is full of... moisture" I didn't know what to call it.
"Then clean it up. I don't have to do all your work," he said and pointed me a piece of tissue already stained. "Be careful, you break it..."
"You pay it, yeah, yeah, I got it," I interrupted him.
"Cheeky, are we?" he complained. "Exactly, you break it, you pay it," he repeated for the millionth time. "Just don't do like Wick"
I ran through my mental basis, trying to find who Wick would be. "Do you mean Reed?"
"Is that what they call him now, huh?"
I looked at the board of the 'BANNED'. The name J. Wick was the first on the list. It wasn't R or anything of sorts, and that made me question what could his name be. Unless it was meant for a sibling or cousin.
"What are you muttering over there?"
"What's Reed's first name?" I asked.
He looked at me with that frown of his and then retorted, "I don't know, that's not how I know my students, I just know that guy is trouble and almost destroyed my room!"
"What did he do?"
"What did he do? Are you kidding me? He almost destroyed my room! The kid is crazy!"
He didn't answer me. You noticed it, didn't you?
"Hey, hey! Careful! How many times do I have to warn you? You break it, you pay it" he shouted at me and I looked at the light that I was trying to clean without understanding what I did wrong.
He came hobbling to me and took the tissue of my hand and cleaned it himself, muttering something about students being useless.
When finished, he put it back in my hands and I went back to the safety of my colleagues and less crazy teachers like Miss Wick. Kyle was still shouting at Reed, but the girls had already left.
Everyone was leaving, so I just dropped the light with Miss Wick and left with Jade and Yuki.
"Are you okay?" I asked her.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just freaked out a little," she laughed weakly. I know how much this means to her. If she screws up, her parents will go feral on her.
"Come on, let's have dinner. The last one to get there is a rotten egg!" I yelled and sprinted to the canteen.
Yuki was fast and surpassed us, but at the last minute, I won. We all leaned against the wall and panted.
"Guess I'm a rotten egg," said Jade, out of breath, "But with that actuation, no one doubts it"
"Oh, that was uncalled for!" Yuki argued. "You were great. Until you puked your guts out. But besides that, it was great"
We laughed it off and went to get dinner.
Opposite of lunch, dinner was superb. Courtney wanted to know all the details, and we spent the meal talking about it.
Upon finishing eating, I saw Micah getting up and leaving his friends to go somewhere.
"Where are you going?"
He stopped and looked at me. I know we're not particularly friends, but maybe we could be. He seems to be a decent guy, after all.
"Just going for a stroll around campus. Do you want to come?"
Did Micah just ask me out?!
Okay, calm down, it wasn't like that. Stop giving so much importance to simple things.
"Yeah, sure" I played it cool.
We got up and walked through the paths that crossed the school property. The silence was killing me. He didn't say a word, and neither did I.
Reed and Kyle were still playing and Beth was sitting in a corner trying to convince them to go have dinner.
"Come on, babe! You need to eat! You won't pull an all-nighter playing again, are you? That's bad for you! You need to rest. Besides, you know what happens if you're caught out after 10 pm!"
Neither of them was listening.
"Maybe I should've gone to Sports," Micah broke the silence. "Maybe I was more cut out for it"
"You should change if you..."
"Why?" he interrupted me. "You had another choice, too. Why aren't you studying to dance? I've seen you, you're amazing. Why aren't you there?"
"I already know how to dance, I don't need to study it," I answered "But I need someone to teach me how to be a talented actress"
He shook his head. I didn't open my mouth.
We still could hear Beth's voice along with the sound of the ball hitting the ground "I swear to god, if you don't come with me right now I'm calling your aunt!"
"I want to watch the game," Micah said, and I nodded.
We sat next to Beth. She didn't even pay attention to us. "I'm serious!"
"Shut up!" Kyle yelled.
We spent the night watching them.
☕☕☕
Hello guys!
We just reached half of the story, if you're still reading, what's wrong with you? This is terrible!
Anyway, if you're reading, thank you