Sincerely, Yours

6. Back to the Grind

The week off seemed to fly by too fast but Luan still felt grateful he got it at all. His costars seemed to mirror his contentment and everyone walked into play practice in high spirits. That was until they got an announcement from Mr. Wilder.

Luan had never seen him so unkempt nor irritated. He explained to them that though there wasn't a set day for the play to be performed, he was all the more aware of how unprepared we were.

Thus began strenuous and constant practice. No one was allowed to leave, even if they had a minor part. Also Mr. Wilder wanted to start us all on the 3rd act already, though most of the talent had only skimmed the pages past the 2nd act.

Luan began to worry for morale and worked twice as hard to show everyone that it wasn't as bad as it seemed, nor was it as hard as it could be. Part of him wanted to sit down with Tommy and try to reason with him, but there was such a deep sadness behind his eyes that Luan didn't dare bother him. He just didn't know him that well, and he'd already made Tommy feel uncomfortable.

Finally after the last practice for the week was over and everyone was packing up their stuff to leave, Luan requested a private conversation with Charlie.

"I'm sorry to bother you sir but I think Mr. Wilder's behavior needs to be addressed. I'm doing all I can to boost moral but the strenuous practices are taking a toll on everyone." Luan explained and Charlie nodding seeming to already know what he was talking about.

"Tommy is going through a lot currently so I understand his attitude, but I do apologize about how it is affecting you kids. I'll talk to him about slowing down," Charlie said and Luan couldn't contain his curiosity.

"Is Tomm - Mr. Wilder okay? I did wonder how he's been doing but I understand it's not my place as a student and well... I feel like the problem might've started with me," Luan said bashfully and Charlie tilted his head.

"What makes you think that?" He asked inquisitively but Luan had barely gotten a word out before Mr. Wilder made his way to where they were.

"What're you guys whispering about over here?" Thoma asked but Luan looked away and Charlie explained for him.

"Luan was just checking to see if everything was generally okay with the production and you and everything." He said but it apparently wasn't subtle enough. Thoma furrowed his brows and looked past Charlie to Luan.

"Do you have complaints about my directing. It's nothing I haven't heard before. So, spit it out," he said harshly and Luan wanted to roll his eyes.

"Asshole."

Luan stood up straight and said with no emotion, "My apologies sir. I was only inquiring about your well being because you seem to have not been doing well, emotionally speaking, and it's affecting the cast. I was explaining to Charlie that I feared I might have triggered your horrible behavior by asking you about college that day last week in the coffee shop. Sorry for the inconvenience, I will be on my way now." Luan said grabbing his stuff and pushing past Thoma to the door.

Thoma watched Luan walk out and was left speechless. He turned when he heard Charlie poorly trying to hide his laughter.

"Shut up," Thoma grumbled, but the menace in his voice was gone.

Charlie ignored him and barely gasped out, "I can't believe that kid just said what we all were thinking. And you just LET him. Hahaha wow that kid is something else. He must really not like you." Charlie continued to laugh but Thoma was getting increasingly annoyed.

"Shut up. It was a misunderstanding." He said trying to defend himself but the words "he must really not like you" stuck in Thomas mind.

Why did they bother him so much?

Finally Charlie stopped laughing and got more serious.

"What did he mean by talking about college? You guys meet up outside of practice?" Charlie asked innocently but Thoma felt defensive, as if he'd done something wrong.

"No, he just was sitting at a table at the coffee shop I frequent. There weren't any available tables so I just sat with him and we got on the topic of college because he was doing homework." Thoma explained and Charlie nodded.

Okay good he's not weirded out by it. Wait, the fuck?

Thoma began to feel weird, like he didn't want to share more about that day. It felt private somehow.

"Anyways, he asked me about college and the first thing I thought of was Ellie." Thoma said and Charlie nodded.

It'd been a while since Thoma had thought of her, but even now he still felt a little sad when he thought of how they were in college.

"Anyways, I couldn't recover so I just left. I guess the kid thought he really bothered me but that's not what it is at all. I would've gotten over it all of my mother hadn't sent me a picture of Ellie and her new husbands baby over the weekend. It made me lose my footing a bit. So that's why I feel like this," Thoma finished saying and Charlie patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry man. I don't suppose you'd consider explaining any of this to Luan? He has been working extra hard to keep everyone from quitting altogether. Or have you not noticed?" Charlie said.

Thoma had in fact noticed. It was weird how much of what the kid did he paid attention to.

"I have and I'll thank him for it next time I see him," Thoma said, admitting defeat.

"Good. It's getting late, wanna grab a drink?" Charlie offered and Thoma nodded. He hadn't felt like himself for a while and needed a change of scenery.

"Alright, just let me grab my coat."