"Fuck," Kata muttered under her breath.
School had just ended and already all hell was breaking loose in terms of preparation for the performance. Such was the way of opening night Kata supposed. There were already props missing, an LED in the wrong place, and a group of sixth-graders playing bumper cars with the cafeteria tables that folded into benches which they were supposed to be setting out so that the audience would have a place to sit for the show. Kata huffed in annoyance as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She walked over to the sixth graders as a boy ran up to her eagerly tapping her on the shoulder.
"Hey Kata, I have to go to a tutorial for math I'll see y'all soon!" He said then promptly ran off.
"No!" Kata yelled after him. "Chewie get your ass back over here!" Chewie just continued his sprint down the hall. Kata could practically feel the steam coming out of her ears, but she forced herself to take a deep breath.
"Hey Kata-"
"I swear if one more person comes to me with a missing object-" Kata stopped mid-sentence as she saw a nervous looking Alex in front of her. "Oh sorry Alex I don't really have time to help with anything right now, I've got about 2 million things that need to get done." Alex smiled.
"I was just gonna ask if you needed help with anything." Kata smiled gratefully and felt the pressure in her chest relax a little bit.
"Yeah, could you go get Zoe- oh wait crap no she's dealing with the LEDs- um, go get Carmen 'cause she's our ASM and have her deal with those sixth graders over there," Kata said, gesturing to the intense game of bumper tables going on behind her. "And could you get a group of people to check the props table and locate any missing props please?" Kata paused, running over the ever-growing list of things that needed to get done in her head. "And I'll go get that little dickhead- oh wait no I need to direct the chair set up and make sure all the techs know their cues and- oh shit concessions!"
"Kata," Alex said calmly. "Take a breath. Everything will get done okay? It always does. This is just what happens with theatre. Now, who do you need to get?"
"Oh Chewie ran off to go to a tutorial but no one is allowed to miss any part of this rehearsal," Kata said with panic lining her voice. "He's in one of the math classes in the seventh-grade hall, I have no clue which one though." Alex nodded.
"I'll go grab him and then come back and Carmen and I will gather up people who aren't doing anything and direct them to you," Alex offered and Kata gave her a relieved look.
"You're the best. Thank-"
"Hey look there's a penis on this one!" one of the sixth boys playing with the tables shouted, pointing to the backside of the bench/table. A chorus of laughter followed him.
"Hey!" Kata yelled. "Dirty tables go in the corner! We've been over this!" She looked back to Alex with wide annoyed eyes. Alex gave her a sympathetic smile.
"I'll grab Chewie and get back ASAP," she said, empathy filling her eyes.
"Look, this one says fuck!" the same boy called, motioning for his friends to look at the bench. Kata marched over to the group with a huff.
Opening night. Both a blessing and an absolute curse.
***
"Twenty minutes!"
"Thank you twenty!"
Twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes until showtime. Kata felt like her heart was about to beat out her chest. Zoe came up to her and propped an arm upon her shoulder.
YOU ARE READING
Dear Ocean Sky
Fiksi Umum[first draft - this story will be edited later on] "I just worry about people. Especially my friends." "Friends?" Alex looked over at Kata with kindness in her eyes. "Of course."...
