Story, An Untitled

Part XIII of a work in progress.

Copyright Julia Bydulia.

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The school day passed slowly.

Michelle noticed that Kayla was in her geometry class. If she was honest with herself, then she would know that she had seen Kayla walk in every day and barely given it a second thought that she was also the girl from her chorus class. She found herself wanting to say hi to Kayla in the halls. She even opened her mouth to do it a few times, but, all that would come out was a cough.

She was tired all day. Teachers caught her yawning. Kids asked if she was sick. She couldn't explain the exhaustion that had come over her, but, she hoped that she could get over it by the time the real work on the play started.

Every time she found herself alone in the bathroom or in the halls, she started to go through the warm ups that they had done on the first rehearsal.

"Ten, nine, eight...seven..."

After school, she waited with Ryan in the hall, staring at the wall as Ryan went on and on and on about the book The Outsiders and the movie of it that they had watched in their seventh grade language class. Then, the jokes they had made about the movie were hilarious. Even in eighth grade, they were funny. But, now Michelle found herself getting sick of the punchlines. She tried to smile but she knew it came off wrong. Ryan didn't seem phased by it, though.

Other kids were gathered in the hall around them, immersed in their own conversations.

One of the Tinas and Summer were huddled together in one corner. When Ande walked into the room, she walked right past Gerrard, Ryan, and Michelle and sat down a few inches away from Tina and Summer. The act seemed useless to Michelle. Why even pretend not to want to be part of the conversation? After a few seconds, Ande butted in and made her presence quite clear.

Atta girl, Michelle thought spitefully.

Suddenly, the doors to the chorus room opened and Mr. James waited, holding the door open for everyone while they gathered their books and filed in.

Elena sat down in the second row, so Michelle sat next to her. Ryan sat one row back, and Ande, Tina, and Summer one row forward. On the other side of Elena was Taylor and the rest of the girls playing the sisters in the play.

With nothing to say, Michelle stared at the door and wondered if she would get a look at Pete or Keith during the rehearsal.

She got her answer to the second when Keith came waltzing through the door, his book for the play tucked under one arm, and a cigarette tucked behind his left ear. Michelle stared at him, wondering if she would reach that level of cool by the time she was 21 years old. Doubt it, she answered herself plainly, leaning back in her chair.

There was no fluttering of her heart or anything romantic, like she used to feel with Vince or any of the guys before him. Still, she felt like what Keith thought of her mattered. She just wasn't sure how yet.

The lights of the chorus room felt harsh and unforgiving. Michelle had that feeling in her stomach as though everyone in the room knew exactly what she was thinking and what she was feeling. In her head, she played out romantic scenes that she could write during any of her free time.

He laughed and bent his head back slightly, whispering so that no one in the classrooms they were walking by could hear them. "Frankly," he told her, grabbing her hand, "I don't give a fuck whether we get caught or not."

"Then why are you whispering?" She shot back in a whisper of her own.

Mr. James walked with confidence, but, not so much ease, to the center of the front of the room. He cleared his throat, making it just as obvious as he could that he wanted all eyes on his bloated self. "I believe we are going to attempt reading through the book today, correct?" He stared at Lee as if she had just made the announcement, rather than having been sitting there and hearing it for the first time like everyone else.

"Um, sure," she answered, her voice dripping with unease.

I would hate to have to "co-direct" with him. I bet she'll do all the work, she made the silent bet to herself, still doing her best to listen to everything that was going on.

When Mr. James finished leading himself in circles, everyone took out their books. And so the reading began.

Keith's attempt at an accent made Michelle laugh softly to herself. She could hardly tell if it was supposed to be German or Italian.

The sheets were soft and comfortable. She could hardly peel herself out of bed, but, she sat up and looked over to the window, where he was sitting and staring out. "What are you looking at?" She asked, smiling and stretching.

He turned to her, looking a lot more awake than she felt. "Outside," he told her, quietly.

The image stuck in Michelle's head like a cheesy song from the 90s. Her concentration faded slowly as everyone but Keith read their lines. Kayla's conviction did catch her attention, and Elena's attempt at a whine made her smile. Lee did fantastic, as Michelle expected. But, Keith surprised her. Maybe, by the end of the play, she would know him better than she ever could have in the seventh grade.

The room felt like a tent, flimsy and unsure as Michelle looked all around it, only listening to everyone. There were shadows in the small practice rooms, but, the room itself was almost violently lit up. Her shoes were dark and black against the white of the tiles. Her fingernails were choppy and uneven as she bit them down.

This is going to be good, she told herself as Joanna and Daron ran their scene. Each of them stumbled over words and phrases, but, they still made Michelle smile. This is going to be good.