A Little Trouble Will Do

Chapter Four

Dakotas POV
***

It was late Thursday night, and I was content with the fact that I had finished all my work early and that the kettle was heating up water for my tea. My laptop played music from the coffee table next to my couch. The kettle started to boil, and I quickly took it off the oven. I poured the sizzling hot water into my nice, big, purple, travel mug which already had the tea bag resting at the bottom. I left the tea on my small dinning room table and went to go change into my blue sweatpants and white t-shirt.
When I had changed, I walked back to the dinning room table, picked up my tea, and sunk into the couch near my laptop. All of the sudden, the music stopped and my laptop made an alert sound.
I looked at it and realized it was an email.
But not just any email.
One with the subject written as: 'Cast List.'
I gave a small, brave shutter and opened it. Now I was responsible. No longer would my mother tell me the results. I had to find them myself.
I started at it long and hard before catching my name... At the very top.
My eyes scanned over and I saw the name 'Maria...' In the same row.
I started shaking.
This had to be wrong.
I wasn't that good?
What about the others girls?
I'm so young, why me?
My counter part was a girl named Rose Wells, and I remember her as the very poetic one in callbacks.
I stared at my name longer and longer, and the more I did it sunk it. How? How did I obtain this role? Was I dreaming?
I sat there another thirty minutes before looking up and down the cast list to see who I'd be working with.
I was comforted to find that Blaine was casted as my Captain. Even though we had lost touch and weren't as close of friends as we were two years ago, since he was two years older and sent to college before me- at least I knew him.
I quickly picked up my phone and started frantically texting my friends in a group chat with all seven of us included.
'Guys, guess what?'
'What?' Ellen quickly replied.
'?' Was the next text from Ashley.
'WHAT?!' Was fittingly sent by Elsa.
'I'm Maria.' I said.
'Congratulations!' Was sent by Indigo, Ashley, Kassidy and Gia.
'Man, wish you were a nun. Congrats anyway!' Ellen sent. She thought the nuns were so funny, and had mentioned often during the summer how she hoped I'd be casted as one.
'Whose Maria?' Was sent by Elsa, which wasn't surprising.
'The lead. I don't know how I managed.' I texted back.
'Oh congratulations!'
'So whose the Captain?' Ellen sent.
'An old friend of mine named Blaine Hudson.'
'Oh... do you like him?' Ellen asked.
'As a friend, yes.'
'Just a friend?'
'Shut up! I haven't seen him in like, two years.'
'Okay...'
'Well good luck in rehearsal... Whenever that is.' Ashley chimed in.
'Tomorrow, and thank you.'
'Welcome.'
I turned off my phone and placed it on the table next to me. I sighed.
I was Maria. I was actually Maria. And rehearsal was tomorrow.
Below the cast list, a script was attached. The email said we were going to do a read through tomorrow and that we needed the script. I quickly printed it, hole punched it and stuck it in my binder. I grabbed a highlighter from my coffee table and started highlighting my lines, every once in a while stopping to look at the cast list pulled up on my computer again.
There was my name, right next to Maria. Unbelievable.
•••

Elsa's POV:
***
Classes ended again on Thursday except this time I was even MORE eager to study with Girard. We really didn't need it considering we always got bored since we knew everything; but it was just another excuse to see him for me.
We met up at the bench immediately after classes. I sat down next to him awkwardly, smiled and looked over at him. This was immediately more uncomfortable than I imagined now that I knew I liked him. He smiled at me, clenching his jaw and looking away afterwords.
"Hey did you hear about that United States History exam coming up Wednesday of next week?" He suddenly asked.
"Yea, why?" I asked, pushing my hair behind my ear.
"Well I was wondering if you wanted to study for it tomorrow?"
"Sure! Same place?"
"No actually... You know that cafe just off campus. I was thinking we could meet there."
"Oh sure! What time?"
"That's the thing. I don't know when I'm free. Could I have your number, and we can plan to meet up... Maybe?"
"Oh, okay. Here, give me your phone and I'll put my number in, then you can take mine and put yours in."
"Okay, awesome!" He said, unlocking his phone and then handing it to me.
I quickly typed in my number, handed his phone back to him and fumbled in my bag for my phone. After an awkward minute or two of me looking for my phone he said:
"Don't worry, I'll just text you first."
"Okay." I said hopelessly, placing my bag back down beside me.
What if I wanted to text him tonight?
"Hey, do you also want to do Homework tomorrow? I mean, we have all the same classes.
"Sure." I said, nodding. He picked up his bag to look for his math text book and I caught myself staring at his freckles as intently as if I was counting each one. His blue eyes shifted over to me, and I looked away. I could feel my skin growing hot and I was probably tomato red. Once I felt my heart stop beating so fast, I turned back to him and saw he had his textbook and all his notes out.
"Okay, ready?"
"Yup!" I smiled, as the sun which was sinking in the distance, dappled light across the floor, defining the shadows all around us.
Time seemed to go even faster now that I had caught up with my feelings.
---
When I returned home I realized that my dorm was empty. Lily was no where to be found. She was probably at the campus gym. I placed my bag down, took the advantage of having no one else here to take a long shower, and then dressed into my pajamas. I sat down to do homework but I found myself drifting off often in thought of studying with Girard tomorrow. At around nine thirty, Lily came back. I had just finished my homework, and went to go lay in bed when my phone buzzed. I was expecting more texts from my friends, considering all night through completing my homework I was in a group text with them. Dakota had told us she was the lead in her college play, and I was actually surprised. She had talked all summer about how she might not even get in considering she wasn't majoring in theater. I had also found out her captain was Blaine Hudson. The name was familiar but I couldn't quite put a face to it. As I thought more I realized he lived on my grand parents block when I was younger, and his mother helped run the nearby church.
When I opened my phone I was pleasantly surprised to see it wasn't my friends, but in fact it was Girard.
'Hi this is Girard. Just texting the number to make sure it's you.'
'It's me, Elsa.' I said, smiling to myself.
'Okay good.'
I sent back a laughing emoji, and placed my phone down on my small bedside table. I sat there for hours, watching my phone, hoping to see the screen light up. My heart kind of dropped when I realized it was now eleven o'clock and I hadn't gotten a text back. I reached over to turn my phone on 'Do not Disturb' mode when another text arrived.
'Good luck on the test tomorrow!'
It was from Girard.
'Thanks, you too. We've got this.' I texted back.
'Totally!'
'Anyway got to go to bed. Talk to you tomorrow!'
'Bye, see you tomorrow!'
I shut my phone off all the way and smiled to myself as I rolled over to try and fall asleep. All around me was dark and quiet, except my mind which was buzzing with a thousand thoughts about Girard.
•••

Ellen
***
I took a deep breathe as the lights on the field went on and people started filing into the bleachers. I turned to my coach, who called us all over to talk.
It was so quiet you could hear every girls on the teams heart racing like a horse speeding through the great grassy plains.
"Okay, We are The University of North Carolina. Are we going to let these girls from Minnesota stop us? Of corse not! We have trained hard for this and I expect nothing less then what I see at practice, understand? Now I want everyone to get ready and don't forget to have fun and work together. Are you ready?"
"Let's do this!" I yelled, a little to enthusiastically, as all the girls heads swiveled to face me. The only one laughing was Indigo.
"Okay, Lane. You take the Draw."
"Got it." I said seriously, jogging over to the middle of the field.
A girl from the opposing team then jogged over to the middle as well, glaring at me the whole time. I smiled back, trying to spite her by acting kind.
Minutes later both teams were set up, and I was ready. The other girl performing the draw leaned forward, her lacrosse stick out. The ref came over and placed the ball in between the two heads of the sticks. The whistle screamed, echoing in the crisp air around us, and we both tossed the ball up. I caught it and immediately started cradling the ball down the field, Indigo close behind. The girl who did the draw for the other team was tailing me, so I sped up running as fast as I could.
My legs began to burn as I got closer and closer to the goal, thrust the stick forward, and just like that the whistle screamed again as I happily realize I scored a goal.
The girl who had tailed me down the whole field was glaring at me again. I pretended not to notice as we set up again. I was not doing the draw this time, but I was playing offense. The ref sounded the whistle again and I took off down the field. Moments later I felt a lacrosse stick smack me in the back as I fell face forward to the ground.
I lay there a minute, the metallic taste of blood trickling into my mouth. I sat up and quickly spit it out.
Indigo was the first by my side. She gasped.
"Your nose..."
"RED CARD!" The ref yelled.
I stood and felt my head spin. My back hurt and my nose continued to pour a stream of blood down my face.
"Sit down Lane." My coach said. I sat down for a couple of minutes before I spotted a girl and her family packing up to leave. She was in uniform, so she must have been the one to Red Card me.
Finally I could distinctly see her face and realized it was the girl who had done the first draw. I was anything but surprised.
She cleared off the field, and after the next score also made by UNC I hopped back into the field. I didn't want to miss anymore of my first game!
•••

Kassidy's POV:
***
It was eight o'clock on Thursday night and I was stressfully scribbling down answer to my homework which I had been doing non-stop since I got home.
I hadn't even had time to pick up supplies for tomorrow's baking lesson, which was the earliest class I had on Friday's.
Finally at around eight thirty I finished my homework. I was about to start making dinner for me and Gia to share once she arrived home from Jays, but my phone buzzed and I saw the banner heading:
Caleb.
So of corse I opened it.
'Hey,' it began. 'There's this neat ice cream parlor here and I was wondering if you wanted to meet up Saturday to hang. You don't have to if you're to busy.'
I waited a minute to reply, then started typing.
'Sure that sounds like an awesome idea! We can plan a time tomorrow. Thanks for the offer.'
'No problem.' He replied. I sighed, preheating the over for chicken with a crusty baked outside. Did I like Caleb? Was Gia right?
---
When Gia arrived home she silently plopped on the couch with only a simple hello. I looked to her, sighed and walked over.
"So..." I said sitting down next to her.
"Caleb asked me on a date."
"And?" Gia said eagerly, smiling.
"I'm going. I-" There was a beat of silence. "I think I like him."
Gia gave me a big hug. "My baby sister-" I cut her off.
"I'm younger than you by two minutes!"
She disregarded me. "My baby sister likes a boy! Soon she'll have a boyfriend and we can go on double dates and I can embarrass her all I want."
"Not unless I tell Jay something embarrassing first."
"You wouldn't dare..."
Suddenly the oven started beeping.
"THE CHICKENS BURNING!" I screeched, running over.
I opened the oven and a wave of hot smoke came out.
Once it cleared, Gia looked me dead in the face and said:
"If you do end up dating this guy... NEVER cook him a meal. You get distracted to easily."
And too that we both laughed.