Smoke

23: Rehearsal

The rehearsals started today. The bell rang, and I walked nervously to the drama classroom, along with a large crowd of other drama kids.

I saw Oliver and walked up to him. He looked over and smiled at me.
"Are you excited?" He asked me, and we walked by each other.
"Yeah." I responded automatically, even though I really wasn't. I would much rather be home, I thought, than going to a theater practice where I don't do anything.

We walked into the drama room with the rest of the students. I looked around, unsure of where to sit, my usual spot taken. Oliver walked off and sat down with his friends.

For a moment, I was confused and nervous and alone, looking around, not seeing any empty seats. I felt the smoke thicken in my lungs.

"Cecil!" Danny's voice drew my attention. His green eyes caught mine, and I walked nervously over.
"Thanks." I said quietly, sitting down with Danny and the rest of the Tech Crew.
"We got your back." He said quickly in return, looking at me.

I glanced at him again, seeing his eyes filled with concern, but that was all I could manage. I couldn't handle someone reading my thoughts, giving me sympathy.

The teacher started talking.
"Actors and understudies stay here. Everyone else go to the auditorium, and listen to your Crew leaders." The teacher nodded, talking loudly. "I've talked to them individually, so they know what to do." He motioned for us all to leave.
The room filled with noises of kids moving out of their chairs, talking, shuffling.
I got up, leaving with the rest of the crowd. Looking at Oliver, who was looking back at me nervously, I gave him a quick smile. He smiled back, and I looked away, following the crowd to the auditorium.

Even if we were both nervous, I would pretend I wasn't.

I walked alongside the other Tech Crew kids and Danny.

I was silent, trying to keep my mind blank, but couldn't. It wandered and I worried and knew that Danny was listening in, whether it was voluntary or not. We were standing right next to each other, it would be hard not to hear my anxious thoughts.

He kept on giving me glances, and my mind would go blank, remembering he was listening. It was annoying, an invasion of privacy, but there was nothing I could do. I continued uncomfortably walking next to him.

In the actual time we spent in the auditorium, we just talked about our powers, what we were good at.

"I'm Danny. I want to be a- a linguist, when I get out of here. I can read minds. I try not to, but..." He glanced at me. "That can get difficult." He finished, eyes looking for mine. I stared down at my lap, not having it, not paying attention to anyone saying who they were or what their powers were until it was my turn.
"I'm Cecil. And, uh," I looked at them, my mind going blank when I looked at Danny. I took a breath, a pause, the silence growing. I looked away, gaining some of my thoughts again. "I don't really know what I want to be." I said, my voice dragging on. I would've said an actress or something, but I- and all of them- know how that audition went, so it would be better to not embarrass myself. "But I can control smoke and--" fire, the word caught in my breath. I swallowed nervously, dryly. "Uh, yeah." I glanced at them, back at my lap. They probably already knew the smoke part, from my audition.

The next person went, and I looked up again. Danny's attention was elsewhere, and I relaxed, leaning back into my seat, listening to the other people talk.

Danny later talked about our roles on Tech Crew, and how we would need to get more comfortable using our powers before the next rehearsal, which, for me, was easier said than done.