Moonsland (EN)

Emily (XXX)

  I see James running down from the stage.
- James? - I call out. He doesn't hear me. He goes out through the main doors without talking to anyone. I get worried. I look at the front row and don't see his parents. Could something have happened? Was it the kiss? No, it couldn't have been. They know it was an act, even if it wasn't the kiss. There's no way they could have known, they haven't read the script. Maybe I'm imagining scenarios here and it was no big deal.
As we left the stage, the main curtain closed behind us.
- What happened to James? - asks the teacher. - I saw him run out.
- I don't know. You haven't told me anything. - I reply.
- I hope you haven't left; you haven't even returned your microphone yet. They weren't cheap. - say.
- I'll send him a message. - I'll let you know. - I'll let you know.
- Okay, see you soon.
  I go into my dressing room and look everywhere for my cell phone, until I remember that I left it in my robe, which is lying on the floor. I try to unlock it with my fingerprint, but I don't succeed because I'm sweating, so I enter the password with some difficulty because I'm shaking. I send him a message to ask if everything is all right and it comes back as delivered. It's a start.
- Lis! - I shout, already in the corridor.
- Yes, friend. - she replies, coming out of her dressing room.
- Help me out of this dress, please. - Without James, I'll have to ask her.
- I'll help. - he says, entering my dressing room.
With some difficulty, she managed to unfasten her dress and take it off over her head.
- No wonder James likes you. - he says, looking at my body. I blush.
- Thank you so much. You're very sweet.
- Now I'm going to change. - you say. I can't even think of asking her if she wants help. Her dress is a lot less voluminous, but I could use it.
  I dress quickly and enter James' dressing room. It's empty. I look at the table and there's his cell phone with my message. That's great. I almost run back to the stage, past the curtains and down the side stairs. Hardly anyone is in the theater anymore and there's a small queue of people still leaving.
- It was incredible, congratulations! - says a middle-aged woman.
- Thank you so much! - I said thank you, stopping running. - That means a lot to me.
- I loved it, everyone acted very well and the final kiss was beautiful! I even got emotional.
- I really appreciate it. - I reply. I'm in a hurry, but I don't want to rush this dear lady. - I wish you happy holidays, in case I don't see you before Christmas.
- Happy holidays, darling. Happy work. - says. I run back down the corridor to the exit door. As I leave, I shout James' name, causing a few people to look at me, but that's not important now. I run down the corridor in the opposite direction to the exit, while looking at the rooms. Nothing. I go to the center of the school and look at the second floor and the elevators. Nothing. I run towards the exit and happen to see his microphone, lying in the hallway. I put it in my pocket and leave, pushing past a few people. It's raining heavily, which makes me drip water in just a few seconds.
- Get in, daughter! - calls my father, stopping his car in front of me. - Didn't you see the message? I told you to wait inside.
- Sorry, I didn't see. Have you seen James' parents?
- Yes, they were right next to us. - replies my mother. - Why were they there?
- And did you see them leave? - I ask, ignoring his question.
- No. We were applauding you and when we looked away, they weren't there anymore. I even commented to your father that it was a bit strange. - replies my mother. - But is everything all right?
- I don't know. James ran out and didn't even change his clothes, didn't take off his microphone and even left his cell phone in the dressing room. - I say, showing it to him.
- That's strange. - says my father. - But did you look for him everywhere?
- I've looked, I haven't seen him anywhere and I don't know which car his parents have. Can we stop by his house to see if everything's okay and give him his cell phone?
- Not now, child. It's late and it's storming. - replies my father. - Tomorrow morning I'll take you to his house, okay?
- Okay. - I reply. I won't be able to sleep a wink.
- Look at an accident. - says my father suddenly. - It looks serious.
  I look ahead and on the other side of the intersection there's an SUV stopped, perpendicular to our lane, its front completely destroyed. Further ahead is another SUV, from a more expensive brand, overturned and almost missing its right side, such must have been the impact. The police are controlling traffic and there's no sign of ambulances, so the accident must have happened a long time ago.