Star Crossed Actors

Chapter Two: Augustus

That couldn't have happened. Reese had agreed to hang out with me.

She may not have been popular at school, but I didn't care. Her red hair and grey eyes were gorgeous, and those freckles....

Jack, my friend, teased me all the time about liking her....gosh, I hate it when he's right.

I had just folded up my booth, and was carrying it to the school's hall closet when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, Augustus, was that Reese I saw you talking to?"

I tried to suppress my grin, but a little smirk slipped through.

"Yea. She was the only one who signed up for drama club."

"Oh, man, that sucks. One person?"

I nodded. I was really hoping for more people.

But one was good. One was just fine.

"So...any drama club plans?" Jack asked, walking backwards.

He reminded me of a book character I'd read about in 8th grade, Leo Valdez.

Jack was like the human version of the demigod son of Hephaestus.

"Uh, I guess since it's just Reese we could talk about what we want to do this year."

Jack nodded, and replied, "You're hoping something will happen between you."

"No, I don't!" I said defensively.

"You SO are wanting some little romance to blossom. Well, Augustus, guess what!"

"I know! You really could care less!"

"Um, no, Caroline is Reese's best friend, so OF COURSE I have to care or she'd end me. I was gonna say this isn't Romeo and Juliet."

I sighed, knowing he was right.

"Well, you don't know that. The school year is very long and grueling, so anything could happen."

Jack laughed.

Something might happen. I wasn't a diviner, I couldn't see the future. Who knows?

Something might just happen.

Who am I kidding, nothing's gonna happen. I'm just a stupid, love-sick sophomore.

<________>

After I said my goodbyes to Jack, I walked to Connor Sister's. It was a family owned small business, been in Cape Delmac as long as I could remember.

I saw Reese's bright red hair through the window of the restaurant. Caroline was just walking out of the restaurant, a smile on her face.

"Hey, Augustus."

"Caroline."

I walked through the door, and sat across from Reese in a booth by the window.

"Hey. Did you order yet?" I asked, smiling.

"I didn't, but I ordered some Root Beers for us."

"Sweet. Um, so I had a question."

"Shoot."

"Well, since we're the only people in the drama club, I figured we could just talk about what we wanted to do this year."

"Shakespeare," she answered immediately.

"You're a Shakespeare fan?" I asked, surprised. She did not strike me as someone who's into 15th Century writing.

"Yea, I love his works. Romeo and Juliet is my favorite."

"No kidding, me too!"

She smiled, and it just lit up her face.

She had the prettiest smile. I loved looking at her, especially when she was focused. When she's doing a quiz, her forehead gets all wrinkled and it's so cute.

Oof, I'm getting off track.

The waitress came over with our drinks just then.

"Here are your drinks, can I get you guys anything to eat?"

I said, "Can I get some fries and a burger?"

"Sure thing. And for the lady?"

"Um, I'll have the cheeseburger, and some fries. Do you also make calamari?"

"Yes we do."

"Great, I'll have some of that too."

"Alright, I'll put those right in for you. It'll be out when it's done."

"Thank you," we said in unison.

I laughed, and said, "So. I guess we could discuss what message Shakespeare was trying to get across through his stories. Maybe do some scenes too?"

"That would be fun! I've actually learned fight choreography in ballet, so I'm pretty good at that."

"That's actually pretty cool. Where do you dance at?"

"At the Barre. It's mainly ballet, but they also teach jazz, lyrical and tap. I'm also on their dance team."

"Wow, you're really busy."

"I guess I am! Never really thought that much about it, I'm just used to being busy."

She laughed, and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Um, what do you do in your free time?" she asked me.

"I volunteer at the local animal shelter, and I take acting classes at the college. They let me in because my dad's the assistant principal there."

"Ah. Well, that's pretty neat, I actually do enjoy acting. I'm not really that social, but acting kind of helps me with that."

"That makes sense, kind of like slipping into a different person and channeling what they would do instead of you."

"Exactly. Nobody understands what I mean by that."

"Not even Caroline?"

"Nope. She calls me crazy. I think she's a little crazy."

I smiled. "Honestly, me too."

"This is fun. We should do this more often..." she said, looking at her nails.

"Yea...wanna go to the park after this?"

"Oh, I wish I could. I'm dog-sitting my neighbor's dog tonight while they go to dinner."

"OK, here's your burger and fries, sir. Miss, here's the fries, burger and calamari," the waitress said, setting our food down in front of us.

"Thanks," I said, picking up a fry to eat.

"Hey, you want some calamari?" Reese asked.

"Sure, why not?"

I grabbed a piece and tried it.

"Oh, my gosh, that's good! What is it?"

"I know, right? It's squid."

"Oh...." I swallowed. "Yum."

Reese laughed, and smiled.

We finished eating, swapping horror stories of school adventures, starting with elementary and ending with 9th grade. I told her about my younger sister, Amelia, and how strange and awesome she was. Reese told me about her three older brothers, and sure did make them sound cool.

Before I knew it, she had to go.

"Well, this was fun. Tomorrow's Saturday, right?"

"Yea."

"Meet me at the park at 12:00 tomorrow. See ya!"

She walked away, putting earbuds in.

I sighed. I missed her already.