Falling from the Top

Chapter 26

"Teach me, Rodolfo," I said as I threw myself into Jack's arms.

"Are you certain, Catherine?" Jack replied. For once he wasn't wearing his usual black makeup but simply a light touch of foundation.

I nodded and he squeezed me tighter. He led me to the back of the stage, where the supposed bedroom was. The audience was silent, apprehending the rest of the play.

A few seconds later, I went back on stage, my dress ruffly thrown above my head and a staggering figure entered made its appearance. I pretended to look embarrassed.

"Cathy? Is that you?" The figure said.

"Eddie! You're drunk!"

He took a step towards and Jack appeared behind me. Our acting was on point. Honestly, Jack was a wonderful performer. In the last few weeks, I had discovered that playing with him was more enjoyable than with any other. When he played, he was this whole other person, confident, even charming. I was glad I had the chance to meet him and perform with him so freely, which in truth was a bit thanks to Etienne. But I won't tell him that.

The rest of the performance was smooth. Cherry, who played the wife, was amazing really. I loved the way she moved around like the stage was hers even though her character was supposed to be sad. She just had that presence, you know? She played the end beautifully, her broken-hearted cry echoed through the whole room.

We lined up and bowed for the last time to the crowd, our crowd and to the school. This was our final performance. We moved off the stage under a rain of applause and I hugged Cherry so tight she told me to stop. We both laughed.

"You were amazing. More than amazing actually, and I can't find the words. You blew me off." I told her loosening my hold.

"Me? Thanks. You were amazing too. But you know that. You always are." She said.

We broke apart and we talked with the others. The room was abuzz, excitement filling the air. We never thought there would be so many people.

Jack came over to me. "Hey, beautiful. What are you doing alone in that corner?"

In truth, I was alone just not in a corner but in the middle of our group. Therefore, I laughed.

"Waiting for my prince charming." I pushed him lightly. "You did great. I really loved our rehearsals and playing together was more than great."

"Well, I should be honoured that I got to play a love scene with the queen of my high school."

"I am not the queen anymore. We all know that."

He laughed, a laugh that erupted from the heart and pure joy. "If we do a survey, I'm pretty sure everyone would vote for you. And not just for your pretty eyes, oh no, but for the deadly punishment that would inevitably come if you ever learned we didn't vote for you."

I laughed at how stupid that sounded. Well, until I realized that the "old me" would've probably done exactly that. We moved towards the changing area which was basically a simple screen separating us from each other. Since all the space was already taken by blabbering students, including Cherry who talked louder than all the others, we waited patiently, already taking our makeup off.

"So Jack, Etienne told me you applied to France. What discipline?" I asked as casually as I could.

"Theatre. What else?" He laughed. "Since I applied only to France, I don't want to be stuck here forever, I applied to a few universities. Including the most famous one."

"I heard about that one. It looks great." I said and as soon as I said it, I knew that had sold myself out. I mean anyone else would've simply nodded, but Jack? He knows how to read between the godforsaken lines.