I didn't go back to Drama like I was supposed to. I stayed in the hallway, waiting for the bell, waiting for Carmen... Possibly waiting for my death to come or even the death of Clarissa.
NO, I thought. GET YOURSELF TOGETHER. NO ONE IS DYING, NO ONE IS COMMITTING SUICIDE. I shuddered at the thought.
I couldn't bring myself to go back in though! A few times I attempted to open the door and act as if nothing happened, but even if I managed to cover up my... tantrum(?), I couldn't cover up the fact that I was fighting myself.
Before I could research and recite all the numbers in pi, Thursday came, meaning it seemed to come by slowly but all the same quickly. I had to enter Drama, if I went in late or was absent, my grade would lower due to my behavior yesterday. I walked in with my head down. I looked up, and everyone was watching me. Carmen looked at me with worry in her face, and pleasure on Clarissa's face. Luke was watching me but looked away when he realized I was was looking back at him. After, I realized, there was someone else in the room. It was Mrs. Keller.
"Hello," Mrs. Keller said to us, though it was directed to me. "I have an announcement." At this, we all turned to listen.
"As you know ten days have passed since you first were assigned this project. Unfortunately, you will only have 7 days left, not 13 days. The week that I would have liked to see your overall plays is the last week of school, having events that would interfere with your plays, so I pushed it forward. I expect you all to be AT LEAST half way through your rehearsing. Your final performance will be next week, the day you will perform will depend on how quick you finish. I will be checking up on your progress on Monday." With that, she left the room.
A silence settled in and no one spoke.
"I can't believe it!" Clarissa said, her voice full of anger. "We only have a week, a WEEK until we perform and we're BEHIND schedule!!!" She looked at me with fierce eyes. "This is all your fault! If it hadn't been for YOU we would be on track and possibly on the final scene!" She gripped her hair angrily.
"If it hadn't been for your moping about," she continued. "We wouldn't have to worry! We would be done with this play, but now we have to rush through it! You just HAD to make this all a big deal!!!"
I looked at her, apology settling in my eyes. I looked down.
"I'm sorry," I said to her. "I'm sorry I cause you so much trouble."
I kept my yes down but I could tell everyone was looking at me with shock. Even Clarissa was surprised at my apology.
"Can we rehearse now?" I asked hating the silence.
"Yes," Clarissa said softly, surprising me as much as she was surprising herself. "Yes, I suppose we can." What? Where the hell was Old Clarissa?
"Are we going to skip scene 4?" Carmen asked.
She nodded. "For now. Let's just rehearse scene 5."
Scene 5 was no better than scene 6, but I was determined to pull through with it. In scene 5, Michael would confess to Loraine that he firstly wanted to go to Prom with her, not America. Loraine would feel taken aback and force him to dance with America once before deciding if he truly wished to be Loraine or with America. And though the scene revealed that America ovule be heartbroken, I pushed the thoughts aside and watched Carmen and Luke rehearse together.
They stood facing each other, waiting for Clarissa to give the big "Now!" Or "Start!" shout, but none came. I looked at Clarissa who was still baffled by her soft tone while speaking to be. She looked lost in thought when she turned to me and realized she was supposed to give the cue.
"Start," she murmured, loud enough for. Carmen and Luke to get the message.
"Hey Loraine," Luke said.
"Hey Michael. So...I heard you asked America to the dance! I'm so happy for her, and you. You're a lucky guy." She looked at him as if to say, 'You'd be lucky in reality, too, of you had asked Miranda to Prom instead.'
"Actually," he said, uncertain. "I wanted to ask YOU to Prom?" It wasn't supposed to be a question, but Carmen continued glad to know Luke hadn't said the line with certainty.
"What!?" Carmen said. "You expect me to go to prom with you when you're ALREADY going to prom with AMERICA, my best friend!?" I could see the anger in Carmen. Either she was a good actress or she took this play as real life.
"Well," Luke said. "Right now I'm going with her." He looked at Clarissa, who hadn't noticed. "But when prom comes, I'll tell her she's not my type and I'll go with you instead." He spoke it to Carmen though it wasn't directed to her. He was looking and directing it to ME
STOP IT, I thought, tears rising in my eyes. I looked away from him. STOP MESSING WITH ME.
Carmen looked at me and saw that I was on the edge of crying. She slapped Luke. He stepped back in recoil, grasping his cheek where Carmen has hit him. I saw a large hand mark printed on his cheek. Luckily, the slap was part of the play, or else Carmen would've had detention.
"How dare you," Carmen said. "How dare you try to get me to go with you!!! Why would you ask America to prom if you wanted to go with ME!!??"
"Well," Luke said, trying to remember his lines. "I felt bad that she didn't have a Prom date, so I asked her. But right after I did, I regretted it and realized it was YOU I wanted to ask."
"And you expect me to believe you!?" Carmen said. She raised her hand to slap him again, making Luke cringe in fear. She put down her hand, realizing she'd get detention because it wasn't in the script.
"You have to at least dance with America ONCE. If you change your mind and want to be with her, that's fine with me. But if you don't, well you can do whatever you want." She said.
"It's a deal then," Luke said.
"Beautiful!" Clarissa said. "What an affect it had!" She was talking about the time I almost cried because of what Luke said. Old Clarissa is back... damn it.
YOU ARE READING
Heartbroken
Teen Fiction17-year old Miranda isn't the popular one, isn't the favorite. She's smart, but for some reason, no one cares. Shy and timid, Miranda has a crush on the coolest guy in school named Luke, who she's known since seventh grade. He's the most popular kid...