It's Just Business (COMPLETED)

Chapter 3

Ace clapped their hands, getting the attention of everyone in the rehearsal room.

"Hi everyone." They said. "This morning we're going to do a basic read-through of the script, no action or anything, and then after lunch I was thinking we could start learning the first song. That sound fair to everyone?" A ripple of murmured agreements went around the room and Roman was reminded of his childhood theatre productions.

"Great." Ace sat down, cross-legged, in the middle of the room. "Everyone sit in a circle. Does everyone have their scripts? Good." All the cast member started getting up and sitting on the floor in a circle. Roman noticed Virgil twisting something around his neck between his fingers. The charm on a necklace.

"He's kept my necklace." Roman realised and the thought filled him with a bubbly feeling. He didn't know why Virgil keeping something he'd given him gave him so much hope but it did.

"Okay, the musical starts with a song, Aaron if you please."

"Oh, um, right." Aaron played a hasty instrumental version of the ending of a song.

"Thank you. Then the opening dialogue starts."

Roman looked down at his script as people started reading their lines.

"Did you hear?"

"I heard he's from a different country."

"No, county. Not country."

"Nu-uh, I heard he was from America."

"Please, why would anyone from the USA come here?"

"What are we talking about here?" Roman asked, adding menace to his voice with ease. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Virgil look at him in surprise.

"Uh, nothing."

"You're muttering an awful lot for nothing. Come on, what's so important that you've got to hide it from me?"

"Nothing, Nathan." Roman raised his eyebrow.

"You really think I won't see through your stupid little facade?"

"Great, great." Ace said, a big smile on their face. "The lights'll go down and then we've got another song."

"Two songs within ten lines of each other." Virgil laughed to himself. "Really must be a musical."

"After the song, Virgil, you come in."

"Right, um," he looked at his script, finding his line. Since there was meant to be a stage direction, he looked up at Roman and nodded slightly.

"What d'you think you're doing?"

"Why do I need to tell you? I'm going about my business, didn't know that was illegal in England." Somehow, Virgil had managed to change his tone from more nervous than anything to condescending with a touch of irritation. Roman hadn't known he was such a good actor.

"Hey, Virgil."

"What?" Virgil asked, shoving his script in his bag.

"I, um, you, er, you kept my necklace." Roman internally cringed. That wasn't what he'd meant to say at all. Virgil glared at him.

"So what, Roman?"

"I just... I just thought that if you'd kept the necklace..." Roman trailed off.

"You expected me to be holding on to something else from us?" Virgil guessed.

"I... I guess."

"Well you can stop that little fantasy right there, Roman. What happened between us after the bet-"

"Stop bringing that up."

"Well how else do you expect me to act about it?"

"It's been ten fucking years, Virgil." Roman snapped. "Let it go already."

"Why should I?"

"Jesus Christ." Roman sighed, rubbing his face. He was so tired. "Were you always this stubborn?"

"Were you always so..." Virgil apparently couldn't come up with a cutting comment so he trailed off into a hiss of annoyance.

"Little out of your comfort zone, Sunshine?" Roman sneered, mimicking probably the first thing Virgil had ever said to him.

"See, you hold on to things like that and still expect me to- shit." Virgil checked his watch. "I'm gonna be late." He shot one last scathing look at Roman before running out into the rain, pulling his hood up on the way out.

Any guesses as to what happened? Or what the musical's about? Because... I just wanna know.
Bye,
Blaize