Neighbors

T W E N T Y - N I N E

BECKETT

A week had passed since I last visited Piper and to say I was worried was an understatement. Not only was I worried about Piper's health, but I feared the show was going to be a train wreck because of Gabrielle's constant bitching. After only playing Ariel for fifteen minutes, she tried to redesign the costume and change the choreography for half of the dances. The cast and crew despised her much more than before; she acted like she was the queen of the universe or the biggest star on Broadway.

"Let's go people! I'm waiting!" Gabrielle squawked, snapping her fingers impatiently in people's faces.

"Thank god she doesn't talk for half of the show," Caleb grumbled in my ear. "I can't take another minute of this. I want Piper back."

Suddenly, our intimate conversation included five more cast members. "Yeah, Piper wasn't a bitch," someone agreed. The complaints about Gabrielle grew louder as more and more cast members wished for Piper's return.

"Guys," I spoke over the noisy chatter, "I know we all want Piper back because we're sick of Gabrielle taking over the entire show. But the thing is, Piper's health is more important than the show. And the last time I saw Piper, she was," I stopped when I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I let out a sigh of relief when I turned and looked at them. "Right behind me," I finished my sentence. Cheers broke out among the cast and crew.

"Piper, you're back!"

"How are you feeling?"

"Please go back to playing Ariel!"

Piper was bombarded by voices and I could tell she was a bit overwhelmed. I gripped her hand and led her away so we could talk privately.

"You doin' alright?" I looked down at her. She looked a lot better than she had the last time I had seen her.

She shrugged, "I guess so. I'm on a pretty good amount of meds so who knows what'll happen once those wear off. So how have things been here with the Prima Donna?" she asked nodding in Gabrielle's direction.

"Miserable," I answered plainly. "She's completely taken over."

"Why am I not surprised by that?" Piper cocked her head to the side with a small smile.

There was a brief pause in our conversation before I decided to speak up again. "So uh, are you coming back to the show?"

"I want to, but I don't know if my body will be able to hold up. My doctors are worried about me slipping back into my symptoms."

I nodded, understanding their concerns.

"They said I should ease myself back into things. I'm gonna try and hopefully my body doesn't try to kill me again."

***

Mrs. Raylen was relieved to see Piper back on stage. She was happy to see that her health had improved, but the entire cast and crew could tell that she was also thankful that she didn't have to deal with Gabrielle trying to take over.

Because she was sick and didn't want to overwork herself, Piper couldn't project to her typical volume. Jasmine notified her crew members in the booth to turn up the volume on Piper's microphone.

Although she was recovering from her illness, Piper still managed to keep up with the demands that came along with playing Ariel.

At the end of rehearsal, I caught up with Piper. "You killed it today," I told her.

"Thanks," she flashed a tired smile. I could tell her performance took a lot more out of her than it usually did. "Hey, can I get a ride home? I'm not allowed to drive yet."