I grabbed some lunch in the canteen quickly, a quick sandwich that I unwrapped and ate in the hallway. I didn't even want to talk to my Dad.
I was grateful to slip into the familiar theater, at school, and clamored on the stage where I knew my place. Liam and Deon were already there, with the rest of the cast. They had started half an hour earlier, allowing me time for lunch. One of the stage assistants was reading my lines, and I tapped her on the shoulder. She smiled and nodded, and I turned my attention to the scene.
“The soup is delicious."
"Only the best for you." They said in unison, and I burst into laughter, the first time I had laughed all morning. With Liam doing only one show, and directing the rest, I knew he wasn't as strong on the lines yet. Clearly, they had decided to do a run through. Sitting on the stage, as they weren't going through formal blocking, I fed them lines and let them reply together; each one helping the other when they got stuck. They sounded like a two headed dragon, and the rest of the theater was soon giggling along with me.
"I love you ... Beasts," I said, with a grin on my face as I closed the scene. The rest of the cast burst into applause. Even Liam met my eyes and smiled. It was the nicest we had been to each other in weeks, but I couldn't help it. I felt so relieved to be here and not screamed at every four minutes.
"Thank you, Deon," Liam said. "That helped, a lot."
"It got a pretty good reaction. Let's do the shows like that." Deon replied as he wandered over to me. "Hey Amy, how would you like to be double-teamed?"
"Whaaa?" My jaw fell open and he grinned, offering me a hand up.
"How was rehearsal with the pros?"
"I don't really want to talk about it," I said, and Liam looked over. The concern in his eyes was prominent, and it was a look I hadn't seen in a long while.
"What happened?" he asked softly. I was tempted for a moment not to tell him, but it all came tumbling out.
"Everything I did was wrong. Shannon did a full run through and told us to do what 'feels right'. But apparently everything I did felt wrong to her. She called me out every second."
"Shannon has some strange ways," Liam said. "No one else I know has ever done that. Don't worry about it, Amy, doing something like that will come with time."
"But I..."
"She cast you and she doesn't even cast the Chorus unless they are amazing," he assured me.
"Thanks," I replied, quietly. We met each other's eyes for a moment and I couldn’t help but feel the urge to reach out and touch him again. Then the moment was broken by the flickering of the stage lights.
"So today is going to be a bit different," Liam said, as the rest of the cast gathered around. "We're running out of time, and I admit part of that is my fault. So we’re just going to do a run through, scene by scene, once with Deon and then once with me. It'll help all of you, because you get two chances to work on things. Now, I know Deon and I play very different Beasts. So I want you to react differently to each of us. Just do what feels right, and I'm positive it'll be just fine." His eyes met mine again and I smiled, softly.
"How late are we going to go tonight, with two run throughs?" Someone asked, and Liam answered without ever taking his eyes off mine.
"I guarantee you'll be done by sunset," he said, and I couldn't help but smirk. We met eyes, sharing a private secret, and just for a moment, I moved my mouth, baring fake fangs at him with a hiss. He struggled to contain his laughter.
"Alright, Deon, let's have you go first so that I can have a bit more time to frantically memorize." He said, and everyone laughed as he shooed us off stage to our respective places.
"I sure hope he's serious about finishing by sunset, I have an audition tonight,” Deon said, as he stood beside me in the wings.
"I'll bet you money we'll be done by sunset," I said, turning to him. "What's your audition for?"
"TV," he said. "It would conflict, but I'm not going to get it. One role, open call. Every actor in the area will be trying. I'm just going to practise auditioning for when we're out there in the real world and have no choice." He smiled at me. "Although apparently you needed no pro audition practice."
"There's some sort of stigma attached to winning a scholarship here," I replied. "And it could be good or bad."
"Looks like it's good in this case," Deon said, as the lights dimmed and the opening music started.
They were very different Beasts, as Liam had mentioned, but I felt like it gave me more freedom. I tried a few things, timidly at first, and then with more courage the second time as Liam nodded approvingly at me. This rehearsal felt so much better, my character flowing through me.
At the end of the last scene, Liam took my hand, turning me towards the nearly empty audience.
"The multi talented Amy, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, and they applauded. I blushed, taking a clumsy curtsy.
"Alright, that's it for today," he said, clapping his hands. "Everyone out and lock the door behind you. Amy, stay a bit longer to go over a few things?"
"Uh..." I glanced at the setting sun, raising an eyebrow. He held my gaze pleadingly, and so I shrugged. I guessed what was coming, but I was in too good of a mood to care.
I sat on the edge of the stage, dangling my legs and saying goodbye to the rest of the cast. When we were finally alone with the door locked, he spoke.
"You were spectacular today," he said softly, and I just shrugged, watching the sunset out of the window.
“Well, at least for half the day."
"Amy," he came to sit beside me. I could already see the beginning of the transformation in his face. “I wasn't there, although I'm sure I will hear it from Shannon later. But I will say this: your talent is beyond belief and everyone knows it. I have never seen anyone with such natural talent and ability. If your technical skills are a bit rusty, then that's fine. Most performers train for years before getting their first job. You know this industry is more than just talent."
"I just felt...like a fish out of water," I said, sighing. "Everything I did was wrong."
"Did she ever call you out on your acting ability? Or just your technical skills?"
"Just tech," I said, and he nodded.
"See."
A silence fell over us, and I turned to face him. I could already see his fangs starting to grow.
"Do you want to go?" I asked, and he sighed, shaking his head.
"No. If you're alright, I'd like to keep going. But only if you're alright, Amy. Because you being tired may help me, but not you."
Realizing he was talking about the quality of my blood at the moment, I took a deep breath.
"I'm tired, but...why? Can't we do this in the morning when you're not..."
"The show runs at 8pm at night, Amy," he said. "Under the Beast makeup, I'll be in full transformation. So I have to get used to feeling this way now."
"What about when you're the prince?" I asked, and he smiled.
"I'll have my own private dressing room, and Porsche the multi-talented will do my makeup."
"But with all those...humans...in the audience..." I said, and he stood up, grinning.
"I have two ways around that. The first is that yes, there will be private citizens and media in attendance. But they will be sold seats in the back row and even then, the prices will be so high, barely anyone will come. It's a media stunt, that’s all."
"And the front row?" I asked, and he grinned.
"It's being billed as a charity event. Rich snobs will purchase a ticket to donate to a child; a sick child who wants more than anything to see their favorite actor up close and personal. Win win."
I laughed out loud. It was genius, even I had to admit it. With rows and rows of excited, infected children, Liam would be fine.
"But what's the second way?" I asked, confused. He smirked, going to his bag on the stage. From it, he pulled a bottle of wine.
"Booze, my dear, is the solution to all the world's problems."
"Classy," I said, getting up. Around other people, I would have to control my sarcasm, but I felt Liam always knew when I was being funny and not being hurtful. Liam smiled, taking a mock bow.
"Do you want some? Or perhaps?" he reached into his bag, pulling out a bottle of water. I took the water, unscrewing the cap. "A toast. To the magic of theater," he said, and I grinned, clinking my bottle against his.
"The magic of theater," I said, and we drank.
We rehearsed until 10pm, although as it got later, it mostly became conversation and giggling, exactly what I needed after a horrid day. Liam went through the whole bottle of wine, and by 10pm, I could see it was time for me to go.
"Shall I call someone for you?" I asked, as we finished the scene. "I really should get to bed."
"Like the phantom of the Opera, I can make my way to my cave through the bowels of the theater,” he said, reaching out to kiss my hand.
"Ok then. As long as you don’t go strangling people with nooses or obsessing over Chorus girls." I didn't draw back as quickly as I should have.
"Chorus girls can be very enticing,” he whispered, meeting my eyes. I stood rigid, fighting hard against giving into the feelings that I knew we both shared. The warmth was back, the sparkle, and I knew it. “Thank you, my dear," he said. "Not all would put up with what you have put up with."
"I didn't," I reminded him softly, meeting his eyes. "I ran away, remember?"
“I do," he whispered. The pain tracing his eyes made me look away. But as I did, I suddenly noticed a pale face at the door of the theater. I screamed, my muscle's freezing. Liam grabbed my arm, startled and half pulling me behind him as he looked in the direction I was staring at. He laughed then, heading to the switch board to push the button to open the theater.