“It’s just so frustrating! Like, the school knew our show was coming up. Why would they give the auditorium to the band kids?” Julian laments to his parents during their Wednesday Family Night.
“Mijo, maybe the band kids need to practice for something too?” his mom offers softly.
“Mama! I asked the band kids and they said they don’t have their competition for another month! We have our show next week!”
His father sighs heavily from the other end of the table. “Julian, I’m sure it will all work out. Why not just trust the director lady?”
Julian grumbles something in Spanglish while poking at his dinner.
“Honey, I know we know nothing about theatre… but we do know that your club is very dedicated,” his mom says, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Even if the show was tomorrow, I’m sure you all would pull it together.”
Julian takes a huffing breath and sets down his fork. “I’m still nervous. The set pieces aren’t even finished yet, and Mr. Hart can’t get into the auditorium to paint them while the band kids are practicing their stuff. And Miss Matilda hasn’t been able to run through the show with our cues once.”
“Who is this Miss Matilda?” his father asks through a mouthful of food.
“She’s friends with Mrs. Reba. She does the lights and sound for us since we don’t have tech crews,” Julian explains.
“Well, I think if your teacher director trusts her, you should too. There’s no point in worrying when nothing has gone wrong yet,” his father says. “Pacience y fe, mijo.”
Julian whines in his father’s direction before putting his face in his hands. Obviously they don’t get why he’s so stressed out, but he can’t just “relax” until he knows everything will be okay. Luckily, the cast has their lines and blocking down. But all the technical elements, a.k.a. the stuff he was in charge of, seem to be lacking. What if after three months of rehearsals, he is the reason the show falls apart?
~~~
The two following days were blocked off for the band kids as well, making Julian feel especially twitchy. Mrs. Reba tried to reassure him that everything would be fine, but he could tell that she was close to panicking too. Mr. Hart tried to convince the school administrators to let him come in over the weekend to finish painting the set pieces, but they said there was a school sponsored event happening in the auditorium. Julian was growing increasingly upset with the people in charge of booking the auditorium spots.
Over the weekend, the cast decides to meet at the park to practice, but they end up spending their time commiserating with each other and eating snacks that Susan made. Theo doesn’t understand why they are all on edge, since their run-throughs have been going very smoothly in the classroom. Val explains to him that the actual performance is really only a small part of the whole picture, and that there isn’t much they can do other than wait to hear any news from Mrs. Reba.
The following Monday, Mr. Hart finally manages to make his way into the auditorium to paint after a long discussion with the band teacher. Miss Matilda has started coming to watch their run-throughs, comparing notes with Mrs. Reba about lighting cues and microphones. The cast has started bringing in clothing pieces from home to possibly use as costume pieces. They all have fun with their “costume parade,” walking their imagined runway wearing different costumes for different scenes while Julian takes pictures.
On Tuesday, the auditorium is finally available for them to practice in. Miss Matilda spends all her time in the tech booth in the back of the huge auditorium while Mrs. Reba spends most of her time in the front row. Mr. Hart kneels in the background during their rehearsal to stay out of the way while continuing to paint. Julian sits in the stage right wing wearing a headset, calling cues to Miss Matilda in the back.
At the end of their extended rehearsal on Tuesday, Mrs. Reba gathers the cast on the edge of the stage.
“Okay everyone, I know you’re tired. There are a few things I want to go over before our second and last dress rehearsal tomorrow,” she starts, adjusting her reading glasses on the bridge of her nose. “I want to start off by thanking you guys for your patience while we figure this mess out. I know it’s unfortunate that our practice time in here was cut short, but I think you all are doing a wonderful job adjusting to our circumstances.”
Julian sighs heavily from his seat on the edge of the stage, still upset by the predicament.
“Miss Matilda has told me that the lighting cues should be pretty straightforward. The ends of scenes are marked clearly in the script, and with Julian helping her out today, we should be okay in that aspect.” The group collectively takes a relieved breath. “However, microphones might be a bit more complicated.” The group grumbles briefly.
“Since our cast is small and we won’t be sharing microphones, Julian has marked in Miss Matilda’s script when each character enters and exits. However, with our very limited time for practice, there is still the possibility that your microphone will remain turned on while you’re offstage. Because of this, I need you all to behave as if your microphone is always on. Do not speak while waiting in the wings unless it is absolutely necessary.”
Theo nods with the rest of the cast, suddenly feeling nervous. He is learning that the backstage parts of a show are terribly complicated, and he hopes he won’t step on anyone’s toes while figuring out the rules. He glances in Julian’s direction and sees the tan boy with his arms crossed, tapping an annoyed finger on his bicep as Mrs. Reba continues to speak. He wonders who Julian is upset with.
“Lastly,” Mrs. Reba cuts into Theo’s train of thought, “let’s all give some huge thanks to Mr. Hart for making time to make such beautiful flats for our show!”
Despite the tense atmosphere, the girls erupt into cheery applause as Mr. Hart takes a comical bow.
A little later, the girls have meandered to their cars and headed home. Theo hangs back, double checking his props and wardrobe in case there was anything missing or out of place. When he walks through the auditorium to exit the building, he notices Julian still sitting in the wing, pouring over his script with a clip-on reading light.
“I think they set the alarms in this building,” Theo says as he crosses to Julian with his hands in his pockets. “You look like you need some rest.”
Julia looks up from his script and sighs. “Did everyone leave already?”
Theo nods.
“Damn,” Julian sighs again. “So stressed I forget to notice how quiet it got.”
“You seem more stressed than the rest of them,” Theo observes.
“Well, yeah. All the technical stuff is going wrong, and that’s the stuff Reba trusted me with! We have one more dress rehearsal with the actual cues and finished set pieces, which means any adjustments from that run-through will have to be made on opening night. If I had double checked with the administrators about who booked the auditorium, and scheduled for Mr. Hart to come in sooner, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
“You know it’s not your fault, right?” Theo asks, stepping closer to place a hand on Julian’s shoulder. He tries to push down the fluttery feeling that erupts in his chest at the slight contact.
“I… I know. Deep down, I guess I know. It still just feels like I contributed to how big of a problem it became.”
“Well, I’m just gonna tell you that’s not true. Even if it feels that way,” Theo looks at Julian and hopes that his eyes can convey how serious he is. He realizes that Julian was probably upset with himself earlier during Mrs. Reba’s announcement.
“T-thanks,” Julian mutters, caught off guard by the sudden heated stare.
“Want me to drive you home? It’s dark and I think everyone’s already gone,” Theo asks.
“Yes, thank you.”
After a quiet drive home, Julian collapses onto his bed, feeling especially exhausted. Regardless, he tosses and turns for another solid hour due to nerves before finally drifting off to sleep.
~~~
The following day, Theo makes a beeline to the auditorium as soon as the final bell rings. The sooner everyone makes it there, the sooner they can start. Yesterday during their first dress rehearsal, he learned the order of operations for preparing for the show.
The first step for a dress rehearsal was to put on his stage makeup and costume for the first scene. Being the only boy in the cast made the dressing room feel lonely, but it also allowed for fewer distractions. He finished getting ready in maybe fifteen minutes, but he noticed the girls usually take thirty minutes or more while singing along to showtunes together.
The next step is to retrieve his microphone from Miss Matilda from the booth in the back of the auditorium house. This is his favorite part of the prep, because it means that he will ask Julian for help using the mic tape on his cheek and behind his ear. Yesterday when he asked for help, Julian got all shy and nervous while he was standing so close, Theo couldn’t wait to see his adorable sheepish grin today.
The days following his breakup with Jess were uneventful, meaning he made no movement toward Julian. Knowing you’re into someone and acting on that feeling are two VERY different things, and Theo realized after driving Jess home that he has never asked anyone out before.
He didn’t want to treat Julian like an experiment, either. He is too important for that. Theo needed to plan something nice. Maybe ask him on a date after the last night of the show? Maybe take him to a nice restaurant? It couldn’t just be a casual, drive-by thing. Not when the feelings felt so big.
“Theoooooo!” an excited voice calls as Theo is still walking towards the tech booth. He turns around to see Elena standing on the stage, waving excitedly while wearing her costume skirt and a camisole.
“What’s up, Elena?” he hollers back, waving back at her.
“Just coming for my mic! You wanna be my tape buddy?” she asks, hustling towards the stairs on the left side of the stage. Theo tries not to feel disappointed about missing out on a moment with Julian.
At that moment, Miss Matilda calls out on her headset, “blackout.”
The entire room becomes pitch black.
Theo hears a sharp shriek followed by a thud.
Then he hears a wail of pain.
The house lights come back on only a moment later, revealing Elena huddled in a ball at the foot of the stairs, clutching her ankle.
“Elena! What happened?” Theo shouts, running towards her from the back of the house.
“Holy shit dude, I think I took the ‘break a leg’ too seriously from my dad this morning,” she sniffles, trying to choke out a laugh through her obvious pain.
“Mrs. Reba! Reba, come quick!” Theo hollers while joining Elena on the ground, inspecting her ankle the way his mom had told him to for injuries.
“What’s going on? What’s all the shouting for?” Miss Matilda calls from the booth, unsure of why there is sudden chaos on the floor by the stage.
“Elena is hurt, she fell down the stairs!”
“Oh my god,” Miss Matilda says as she begins to dash towards them. “Was that during the blackout? I’m so sorry. Who should we call, honey? Mom or Dad nearby?”
“What’s all the yelling about?” Susan says as she enters with Tina, both wearing their costumes. Their eyes go wide at the sight of Elena cradling her ankle with smeared mascara.
“Honestly, I’m fine, look,” Elena says, brushing off Theo’s helping hands to attempt to stand, only to yelp and fall back on the carpeted floor.
“I’ll get Reba,” Tina says before turning to leave.
After only a few moments, the girls have teamed up like an army of ants to move Elena to sit in the nearest seat. Miss Matilda retrieved an icepack from the first aid kit in the classroom, sitting on the floor to hold it on Elena’s ankle. Elena calls her dad and insists that she’s okay, but he hangs up on her and arrives in the parking lot minutes later.
“Elena we need to take you to a hospital or urgent care to get that checked out,” Mr. Hart says as soon as he arrives. “I can’t return you to your mom’s house with broken bones.”
“It’s not broken, probably,” she waves a dismissive hand. “And I can’t just leave! This is our last rehearsal, and I don’t have an understudy.”
“Wait, Elena…” Susan cuts in, and rushes to whisper something in Elena’s ear.
Elena nods slowly at Susan’s words. “That could work, but only if Reba is okay with it…”
“Only if I’m okay with what?” Mrs. Reba asks, coming down the stage stairs Elena had just fallen down to join the huddle.
“Well, as you can see, gravity had its way with me,” Elena explains, “and my dad says I need to go get my ankle checked for broken bones and stuff. And I don’t have an understudy, but I do have the next best thing…”
“I’m not sure I follow,” Miss Matilda says from her spot on the ground.
“Miss Matilda, our assistant director is a jack of all trades. He rehearsed with Theo almost every day for the past three months during lunch, so he knows all of my lines. And he can probably fit in my costumes, since all of my blouses are cotton and the skirts have elastic waistbands,” she tells the entourage.
“You’re suggesting that I play Marissa?” Julian asks incredulously.
“Just for tonight!” Elena exclaims. “Just so everybody can run through with the cues. After I’m done at the hospital I will perform for the actual shows. Please, Mrs. Reba?”
Mrs. Reba has her arms crossed and a thoughtful hand placed under her chin. “I suppose that could work. We could record the rehearsal for you to watch…” She turns to Julian. “How do you feel about all this?”
Julian is beyond surprised at the suggestion. He probably could play the part, but does he want to be the leading lady? Couldn’t he be more helpful backstage with a headset and his script?
On the other hand, this could be his opportunity to help the show in ways he couldn’t while stuck backstage, right? It’s all your fault we’re rushing. This is how you can pull your weight, he thinks.
With a deep breath to center himself, he looks at his friends and gives a short nod. “The show must go on, right?”
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