Temptation (Larry Stylinson) ✅

12. Drama

"Alright, class. So today we're running scenes from an American in Paris. Can anyone do a French accent?" Louis asked, scanning around the room for a willing volunteer. As usual, no one raised their hand -- perhaps because they were scared of him or perhaps because they truly couldn't do a French accent -- but Louis didn't mind calling on someone at random. The best way to learn is through improvisation anyways.

Liam and Harry were sitting in the back of the room, slinking down in their seats so Louis wouldn't be able to call on them. "Alright, Jenny Simmons. Get on up here. You'll be Lise, the French dancer," Louis said, rolling his eyes as he chose a name by random off the class roster. A blonde girl quickly stood up and scurried to the stage, standing next to Louis with her hands behind her back.

"And can anyone do a thick 1950s New York accent?" Louis asked, unhopeful. "If you don't know how to do one, you're all going to learn today. And you'll be tested on it, so be ready!" Louis tried to hold back laughter as he mentioned testing. There really was no testing in this class -- students' grades were mostly based off of their effort levels and how much they improved, not how good at acting they were. But he liked to scared them sometimes, as he knew it would make them jittery and boosted their motivation. As predicted, a bunch of students began to raise  their hands.

"Alright. Very good. I think I'll choose..." Louis began. He scanned around the room at the raised hands, mostly guys who he knew from the frat, including Liam, who was raising his hand and flailing it wildly -- perhaps to mess with hin. But he already knew all of the Zete men could act well, and didn't want to choose them. He wanted to choose someone else, someone with less experience.

"Harry Styles? Is that you?" he said, his eyes widening as he spotted Harry, halfway sunken in his seat next to Liam. He jumped down from the stage, landing Spiderman style with one hand on the floor and hopped up, jogging down the aisle. "You decided to take my course after all. You got the last spot. Rather lucky, isn't he ladies and gents?"

The other students -- there were about 50 of them -- nodded in unison, smiling a bit too widely for Louis' liking. Kiss asses, he thought, rolling his eyes. Though if he was being honest, he did enjoy having people butter up to him from time to time. He loved the power.

"Alright, Harry, let's see what you've got," Louis continued, motioning for him to get up. Harry was frozen in his seat, staring at Louis like he had just told him he was going on death row. His mouth was hanging wide open and his green eyes were unblinking as he looked up at Louis.

"Oh- okay," Harry stammered. Liam started pushing him to get up, hurrying him along, and he rose to his feet, nearly stumbling over his long legs as he followed Louis to center stage next to Jenny.

"Alright, so Harry, you'll play Jerry Mulligan, the protagonist. He literally is an American in Paris. So when you read this, do a thick New York accent. And Jenny, you're gonna be super French, and very dramatic -- so lots of 'oh my goodness' and 'I musn't' and all that. Ready?" Louis asked them, though by the astonished looks on their faces, it was very clear that they were far from ready.

Smirking, he handed them each a script, opening it to a scene where Jerry and Lise meet for the first time in the dance studio. Jerry had just gotten done watching Lise dance and was complimenting her, flirting in a very formal way, like they did back in the 1950s.

"Well, let's get too it. Harry you start. Jerry's first line. Chop, chop. Let's not stand around with our balls in our hands," Louis quipped, snickering at his own joke. Some of the students laughed nervously, while others stared at him incredulously. Was he really saying such vulgar things in front of the class?

"Uh, right," Harry said, nodding and stepping towards Jenny. "Hello. I'm Jerry. Jerry Mulligan," he said, his deep voice lowering even further to form the New York accent. It wasn't amazing, as Harry had to work double time just to do an American accent in the first place, but it wasn't bad either. Decent.