Wrong Number

Cue

Song: Cue

Artist: Poppy

^^^

"I don't know. Just sometimes . . . I don't know why I bother goin' "out." I don't like it, Randy. I hate it. I hate goin' out on these dates. I mean, why do I wanna spend my Friday night with some girl I might maybe like, when I could be spendin' it hangin' out with someone I know I like, like you, you know?" Chad questions.

Randy nods and drinks his beer. "Yeah."

"I mean . . . that was rough tonight. In the middle of Sally tellin' me how she didn't like the way I smelled . . . I got real sad-"

"Aww, buddy."

"-and all I could think about was how not much in this world makes me feel good or makes much sense anymore, and I got really scared, 'cause there's gotta be something that makes you feel good or at least makes sense in this world, or what's the point, right? But then I kinda came out of bein' sad, and actually felt okay, 'cause I realized that there is one thing in this world that makes me feel really good and that does make sense, and it's you."

Chad stared at Randy in horror, unsure of what he just said. Randy stared back in just as much surprise, unsure how to comprehend what was just said.

"Well, I'm gonna head."

Chad sighed. "Yeah."

"I gotta work in the mornin'..."

"Well, I'm just supervisin' first shift at the mill, so I can pick you up anytime after three-"

"Oh, I don't know, Chad: Me and Lendall, we got a long day tomorrow – we're still catchin' up, fixin' roofs from all the snow in December- gotta do Marvalyn and Eric's, and-"

"Well, four- or five? Or six or seven?"

"Prob'ly busy all day, I don't know when we'll be done."

"Well, you just say when-"

"I don't know, I don't know! So..."

"Well-"

"Hey, hey! I'll see you later!"

As Randy began to leave, Chad mustered out a soft, "Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah... Hey, Randy-" Instantly, Chad fell to the ground.

Seeing Chad fall, Randy ran up to help him up. "Whoa! Chad! You okay?"

"Yeah..."

"What the-...Here." Randy reached out and helped Chad up to his feet.

"Thanks," Chad blushed. "Um..."

"What was that? You okay? What just happened there?"

"Umm... I just fell..." he replied, confused as well.

"Well, I figured that out..." Randy sighed.

Chad shook his head. "No... I just..." He looked up into Randy's eyes, gazing longingly at him. "I think I just... fell in love with you there, Randy."

Randy stared back incredulously. He didn't say anything, just stared at him.

"Sorry," I murmured. "Line?"

"Damon," our director, Ms. Lime, groaned from the audience. "I think it might be best if the two of you rehears your lines a little longer before you come up here and begin your scene." She stood up and folded her hands in front of herself. "I will expect the two of you to go at it again at the end of rehearsals, so why don't you to go backstage and practice a little more."

"Yes, ma'am," I replied.

Ethan clapped my shoulders and snickered. "You're at least doing a lot better than before. It's only that line that's really throwing you off, right?"

"Yeah. If Ms. Lime would have just said it, I would have been able to finish the scene." Yet with it being so close to tech week and the shows, she refused to read out anymore lines. Instead, we had to practice in private so we'd do better next time. While it made sense, it still would have been nice to hear the line and continue moving along with the scene so I wouldn't lose momentum.

"I'm going to use the bathroom. I'll meet you in Practice Room A."

Nodding, I walked through the backstage doors and entered the music hallway. All the practice rooms lined the hall, with the music rooms hidden in the back and the backstage doors in plain sight. Practice Room A was the first room in the hallway, the same room I met Tylor in earlier in the afternoon. When I entered, I could faintly smell the lingering scent of his cologne. I liked it.

Hearing someone slam their hands against the window, I jumped and jerked my head back. Simon burst into the room with a wide smile on his face and finger guns pointed at me. "I'm the fucking best, you know that?"

"Oh, god, what the hell did you do?"

"I talked with Chad, and he said that Clara waited all day for you to text and thought you weren't interested when you didn't."

"What are you talking about?"

"She might have entered her number in wrong. It was late, she was tired. She probably didn't double check her number," he suggested. "So, I had Chad give her your number. You should be receiving a text from her real soon."

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, a text notification from an unknown number lit up my screen.

Hey, it's Clara!

I'm so sorry! I must have put in the wrong number.

This is Damon, right?

"She texted me," I mumbled.

Simon huzzahed his hands in the air. "Good luck, man!"

As I looked at Clara's number, I noticed a few numbers were off, but it still seemed like the same number.

Hey, Clara. It is Damon.

Immediately, she responded.

Oh good! I must have accidentally put in the wrong number. What was it?

I texted her the number as Ethan entered the practice room. "Ready to memorize these lines?"

"Yeah," I replied, putting my phone back in my pocket. "Can you quiz me on the lines? I think it might help a little more."

"Sure thing."

For the next hour, Ethan and I rehearsed our lines. He luckily already memorized them a few weeks back, but I still mixed up my lines after the confession and would accidentally skip some lines when I yelled at "Chad."

To memorize the lines, I learned from the bottom up. By memorizing the end of the scene and working my way towards the beginning, I'd have a solid plan of where the dialogue flowed so I'd be able to keep up the momentum and confidence throughout the scene. It helped most when either dealing with large monologues or difficult text.

Soon after, we headed back to the stage to finish working the scene with Ms. Lime. While another group finished their scene, I pulled out my phone to check Clara's response.

Yeah. That's a little off lol

I must have been more tired than I realized. Hopefully no one was on the other line. That would have made things more awkward, huh?

Since I didn't want to make her feel bad, I didn't mention anything about my conversation with the other person.

Don't worry. It's all good. I've got your number now, right?

Of course! I've been looking forward to talking again.

Me too.

"Ethan, Damon. Are you ready?"

I'm at rehearsals right now. I'll text you after.

Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I followed Ethan on stage and relayed my lines perfectly.