The Enchanted Christmas Skit...

Chapter 2

December 10th, 2024. This was the day we embarked on our skit practice journey and the beginning of an unexpected love story. Our skit presentation was scheduled for December 21st, giving us precisely ten days to perfect our performance. On this particular day, we headed to the auditorium for our first practice session.

As we entered the auditorium, we found Miss Aliya seated on a chair, glaring at us with a mix of impatience and frustration. It was obvious why she was upset—we were late. We were supposed to arrive at 2 PM, right after lunch, but we only made it by 2:30 PM, a full half-hour late.

Miss Aliya called us over, her voice laced with irritation. "Didn't anyone tell you when we were starting the skit practice?"

Jiya, trying to appease her, responded, "Yes, ma'am, you told us yesterday. We're sorry for being late."

Miss Aliya, still stern, asked, "What made you come late?"

Avani, ever the candid one, replied, "We went for a walk around the ground to digest our lunch."

At this, Miss Aliya's stern expression softened, and she burst into laughter. "Alright, just make sure you're on time for the next practice." she said, still chuckling.

She handed us our skit dialogue sheets and instructed us to take our seats and start reading. The 10th graders were already seated in front of us, engrossed in their dialogues. We all dove into our scripts with fervor, memorizing our lines diligently. Well, all except for Safreen. She was distracted, her eyes fixed on Sharith, a 9th grader, as he read his lines. A small, almost imperceptible smile played on her lips.

Noticing this, Hafza nudged Safreen and teased, "Why are you staring at him? Seeing your future in his face, huh?"

Startled, Safreen quickly looked around and retorted, "I wasn't staring! I was reading my dialogues. Stop talking nonsense."

Hafza laughed and let her be, but Safreen's cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink, a telltale sign of her embarrassment.

With everyone ready with their dialogues, Miss Aliya called for the skit practice to begin. Yash, our choreographer, guided everyone to their positions. Once the positions were set, the practice commenced in earnest. Everyone was immersed in their roles, bringing their characters to life with enthusiasm.

Then came the scene where Mary and Joseph travel together to Bethlehem. Safreen, playing Mary, and Sharith, playing Joseph, were performing this part when Miss Aliya interrupted, "This isn't looking quite right. Sharith, why don't you put your arm around Safreen's shoulder as you travel to Bethlehem? It will look more authentic."

Both Safreen and Sharith exchanged nervous glances before looking at Miss Aliya and reluctantly nodding in disagreement. Miss Aliya insisted they recreate the scene exactly as she suggested. With palpable nervousness, they tried the scene again. When Sharith placed his arm around Safreen's shoulder, they both stiffened, walking like awkward robots. Sharith's hand trembled, and Safreen blushed a deeper shade of red.

After the practice, Miss Aliya beamed with satisfaction. "Very good! You did it well. Excellent, but not perfect. Next time, do it more naturally, especially the part where Joseph puts his arm around Mary. Act naturally, not like robots. Okay, you can leave now. I appreciate your hard work today. Bye, everyone!"

As soon as the skit was dismissed, Sharith dashed to his friends, sweating from nervousness. Yash handed him a bottle of water to help him cool down. As Sharith took a sip, Aryan gave him a playful shove from behind and exclaimed, "Wow, bro! That was damn romantic."

Everyone burst into laughter, and Safreen, still blushing, smiled slightly, just as she had when she first saw Sharith...