Welcome To Correcamp

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"So, besides acting, what else do you do?" Neil looks up at me from the takeaway coffee cup in his hands, which we ordered from the small kiosk inside the theatre.

I feel his warm brown gaze rest on me as he idly stirs his coffee, waiting for my answer. What else do I do? What am I supposed to say? I don't do anything in general.

As I think of what to tell him, my eyes scan the nearly empty parking lot that stretches out before us, skimming over the pieces of litter blowing around in the breeze, like it always does after a production at the theatre. The scene is quite spectacular besides that; the parking lot has recently been repainted, bright white and yellow lines marking out the parking spaces for each car, and similarly bright arrows directing drivers toward the exit or pedestrians to the theatre's entrance.

In the middle of the parking is a small stretch of gardens, which looks like an island in contrast to the black sea of tar around it. It's a bit like a tiny park, really. Along it's perimeter, short brick walls are erected, about a foot high, neatly interrupted by wide gaps that allow entrance into the garden. Collections of about two or three trees commune here and there, surrounded by some bushes and shrubs in the process of florescence, preparing for the upcoming spring that sweetens the air.

My favourite part of the scene is the fluorescent pedestrian pathway that stretches through the middle of the garden, joining the theatre's entrance to the quiet street where cars zip past every now and again. It was painted at the same time as the rest of the parking lot, and I take pleasure in boasting that I helped to paint it. The path itself boasts vitality; we painted it all the colours of the rainbow, and made handprints along the sides in the complementary colour of whatever strip of colour it was on, so it's a view you can't miss. Everybody said it was to make the theatre seem more inviting, as the path leads right up to the theatre's door, but us queer kids in the drama club all came to the conclusion that it symbolises the theatre as a home for us, where we can go to be and act as our true selves, regardless of what life is like beyond the walls of the theatre.

"Not much, really," I say, looking back into Neil's brown eyes. "If I'm not rehearsing or acting, I'm with my friends. Even whilst rehearsing and acting I'm surrounded by friends, though." I pull up my legs to sit cross-legged on the bench, with my coffee in my hands, resting on my lap. As there is still daylight, and there will be for another hour or two, we chose to sit outside on one of the benches that don't stray far from the theatre's doors.

My play finished about forty-five minutes ago, and I decided not to go back with the bus as Neil offered me a lift home. His original plan was that he'd watch to the football game, then get a lift back with one of his friends who drove there instead of taking the bus. On the bus trip to the theatre, he sent a few messages around and arranged with his friend that we would both get a lift with him from the theatre, and now we're waiting outside for a message asking about directions to the theatre, as Neil informed me that this friend was terrible with finding locations, and didn't seem to be capable of operating the simplest of GPS systems. However, we take this interval as an opportunity to talk and get to know eachother.

"So, why are you so into drama?" Neil asks, scratching a spot on his neck while swirling his coffee around like it's some divine wine. "How come you're so devoted to it?"

I take a moment to think about the question, before an answer comes to my lips. "I've never really thought about it before... I just kinda accepted that I enjoy it so much? But I think part of that enjoyment is because it allows me to be someone besides myself? I mean, it's not like I'm dysphoric about my life; I have great friends and I guess school isn't too bad. My parents are a pain though... I suppose I just enjoy taking on the persona of a character and expressing myself in different ways each time as my roles are always diverse. I don't know, any escape from regular life is really its own type of heaven."