Jade Awakening

Questions

The entire way home, I felt nothing but sheer disbelief. I just could not fathom that someone could be compelled to ridicule another person in front of the whole school -- or the entire internet for that matter! On my way out the doors of Hollywood Arts, I felt several more rude eyes on me and heard more knowing snickers.

I also, for the life of me, could not comprehend why I would be chosen for the lead role of Spring Awakening. Sure I always hope for the best, but I didn't even bother preparing myself for the audition. I even blatantly ignored a direction in the script when the opposite character was supposed to kiss me. Surely another girl auditioning would have been able to act out the scene correctly.

In any case, I was thrilled. Stunned, but thrilled. My head swirled the entire way home trying to make sense of this day.

When I reached the front door of my house, I was hesitant to go inside -- would it be safe to enter, or would Mom and Dad be in the midst of World War III? I braced myself for the worst before going in.

Thankfully, there was no screaming match. Mom was sitting on the couch, looking forlornly out the window and not taking notice of my presence. And I could hear Dad walking around upstairs in their bedroom. When I dropped my school bag by the corner of another chair and sat in it, closer to my mother, I could see that she had been crying recently. Her eyes, though dry, were puffy and more bloodshot than usual. To soothe herself, she was holding onto her gold, cross necklace -- rolling the cross between her finger and thumb.

Few things could make me more uncomfortable than seeing one of my own parents cry, so I chose to not to ask about whatever happened earlier. It seemed that she was also trying to repress what had transpired between her and her spouse and tried to make simple conversation with me instead.

"How was school, dear?"

"It was fine," I lied.

"Hm. Did you learn anything new?"

No, because I spent the entire day in the janitor's closet avoiding being seen by everyone who saw Ryder's tweet.

"Tons."

"I don't care for your sarcastic tone, Jade."

It's a small correction, but it still irritates me that everything I do needs to be commented on. I could hear Dad coming down the stairs now.

"Well actually, I got some great news: I'm going to be the lead in this semester's show."

I tried not to sound overly excited, because I had a feeling that, somehow, I would be made to feel foolish for having hope as Dad entered the room. He held his vintage Samsonite suitcase in hand -- perhaps he had a business trip to go on. Mom perked up a little bit for me, but was still a little melancholy.

"Oh, that's exciting! Congratulations!"

"Did you hear that, Dad?" I said a little louder. "I'm going to be the lead in a big show."

"Yeah, okay, nice."

"It's a big deal," I stress. "I'll be the youngest on the cast and I got the lead."

"That's nice, Jade," he repeated.

"Nice. You know, you could at least pretend to be a little more excited for me."

"Whoopie," he said sarcastically while picking up his jacket from the back of a chair.

I echoed my mother's correction to him. "I don't care for your sarcastic tone."

"And I don't have time to pretend to care about your school's little play. There are more important things."

"You got everything you need?" my mother interjected to stop a fight before it started. He didn't answer.