Theatre Is A Lie ~ Joshua Burrage

Chapter 10

Ami laid in bed, reflecting on the events that had happened the previous day. She thought about Josh and began to daydream. She could see them going on cute dates and all the cute couple scenarios a 12 year old would develop in their prepubescent little brains. She laughed at herself, sitting up. She pulled up her phone and scrolled through some of her friend's snapchats.

She still was friends with people back at Clem and it was currently prom season so a ton of her guy and gal friends were prepping. Ami clicked through some of her friend's snapchat stories and sent messages to her friends about how cute they were, etc. She stopped on one story of one of her good friends, Sean. Sean was super close to her, despite their age difference and she would constantly jokingly call him "dad" and the girl he clearly had a crush on "mom." Surprise surprise, later on they actually got married.

Sean had posted some old memories of their prom together and I sent him a message.

TheatreGeekAmi
Wowww my parents are so cute wowie

Seanlikeshats
Hey, kiddo! How's Newsies? Got the NEWS from Rach.

TheatreGeekAmi
Kinda didn't have a choice because Rachel accepted for me... I'm not really sure how I feel about it.

Seanlikeshats
We'll be prepared because a whole lot of Clem kids are sitting at their desks waiting for y'all to come to Texas. I really need to leave the group chats...

TheatreGeekAmi
Well it's no guarantee I'll even be performing then... I just have to wait and see how these shows leading up to the end of my contract are. If they're good I guess I'll sign for the rest of the tour.

Anyways I gotta go, I have a two day show today and I should be getting ready to head to the theatre soon. Bye, dad!

Seanlikeshats
Bye, kiddo! Be in bed by 11! Text me or Melissa if you need anything! Good luck! Love you!

TheatreGeekAmi
You're such a dad omg

Ami contemplated texting Melissa about the whole Josh situation. After all, Melissa, Sean's wife, was practically her mother while she grew up performing in Clementine's productions. She looked at the clock and decided maybe she'll text her later. She slowly got up, taking a shower.

As she picked out her clothes for the day she help but wonder what it was that Josh saw in her. She pulled on a pair of shorts and an oversized Astros T-shirt she had stolen from her dad. She tied her Smithsonian Museum hoodie around her waist, just in case it got chilly.

She couldn't help but think of her family back home and all the friends she had left behind. Her father currently worked for the Astros, helping with all the equipment. She never got to see him much because of the constant travelling he did with the team and, if she was lucky, she could occasionally tag along on some of the trips. Her mother was merely a math teacher and constantly judged Ami for how she dressed and who she was as a person.

Ami never really felt comfortable in her own skin around her family. This is why she had "families" in theatre. They helped her feel as though she had a family with whom she could be herself around. She never really talked to her siblings growing up and they rarely wanted anything to do with her. They mainly took advantage of her being in a well known theatre group to gain attention at school. Otherwise, Ami tried to spend as much time out of the house as possible.

She finally reached the theatre, showing the security guards her pass. As she walked to her dressing room, she bumped into Josh. Josh caught her as she stumbled back, "Are you okay?" Ami blinked, regaining her composure, "Um, yes, sorry. I was just thinking."

Josh smiled, "You're okay, Ames." She stared up at him for a moment, realising how his smile lit up the room. How has she never noticed this before? She quickly looked down, hoping he didn't realise she was practically admiring him. Josh ran his fingers through his hair, "Soo... um... are you free tomorrow? After the show?" Ami looked up, caught off guard.

Josh noticed the look of surprise, "I-I know you want to take things slow and all that because you're still figuring out your feelings and all but I just thought maybe it'd be nice to have maybe a date or something? You can say—" Ami cut him off, smiling gently, "Sure, Joshie, I'd love to."

Josh smiled widely, hugging her and spinning her in a circle, "Thank you! You won't regret this I promise!" Ami laughed, "Okay, okay!" Josh let her go and rushed back to his dressing room. She watched for a moment and got to witness his mini victory jump. She chuckled to herself, entering her dressing room. She pulled out her phone, playing the soundtrack of Wicked (I think it came out a while ago I'm not sure.). She sang along softly to all of Glinda's parts as best she could, not being a soprano. She could recall the countless karaoke parties held by her practically brother from theatre, Beau, in which she and her old friend Chloe would sing Wicked songs together, Ami getting put in as Glinda and Chloe as Elphaba.

She sighed, deciding to FaceTime Beau. She waited for him to pick up, prepping her hair for her wig. When he answered she had begun putting on the makeup, "What's up little sis?" Ami looked down, one eye finished and the other one barely touched, "Hey, Bo Bo, I'm just getting ready for a show. Hows Texas been without me?" Beau smiled, "Boring! Austin wants to say hi." The face of a younger teenage boy with platinum blonde hair appeared, "Hi big sister!" Ami laughed, "Hi, Austin, how's your tap class? Surviving without me?"

Austin's face formed into a pout, "It's not the same! I have a totally new dance partner and she's so much taller than me! Not to mention she's for sure never had lessons and can't keep up so I keep tripping over myself." Ami smiled, "Give her a chance, hon. Maybe when I visit Texas I can stop by." Austin grinned, "Yes!"

Suddenly some shouting about lunch came from their side of the screen and Beau's face reappeared, "We gotta go, ma made us some sandwiches. I'll tell her you said hi!" Ami waved, "Okay! I'll call you back after the first show!" Beau waved and hung up. Ami smiled to herself. Boy, had she missed those dorks.

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Sorry I haven't updated as regularly as I would. I got caught up in helping my friend celebrate anti prom and had a lot of homework to catch up on. I also have my college signing night tonight but I'll try to update again. Thank you for all the views! Y'all are amazing!