Misfit Theater Company 2

28. That's a Wrap

Thatcher and I lie in the snow, hand in hand. I should be cold, but all I can feel is warmth as Thatcher and I stare into each other's eyes. This is what we should have done after Snowball. We should have gotten out of the car, gone into the park, and just held each other. But if we hadn't gotten the ticket, if I hadn't been punished by my mom and taken out of theater, if we hadn't devised the plan to do Romeo and Juliet anyway, then we wouldn't be here.

"I didn't ever think we'd be together like this," Thatcher says.

"It took me a long time to realize what I wanted," I reply.

"You sure?"

I roll onto my side and kiss him before lying back again. "This is exactly what I want."

We both look up at the sky. I try not to look blinded by the lights above.

"One last look," a voice tells us, so we both turn our heads to face each other. I can't help but smile. This is exactly what I want.

"Cut!"

A bell rings, and I shield my eyes while the lights overhead brighten. Thatcher and I are no longer in a fake snowdrift at night, but back in a pile of foamite--fake snow--on a studio lot. Patti and Moth stand from their chairs off-camera, applauding us as the rest of the crew does, because--as the director now shouts--that's a wrap on filming Holiday Kisses, the misfits' first-ever film.

Thatcher helps me to stand, and we brush the foamite from our snowsuits. The costume director's assistants Sheryl and Tom come over to help us out of our coats and snow pants so that we don't overheat. Patti and Moth then meet us halfway between the soundstage and the crew area to wrap our long john wearing bodies in hugs.

"I cannot believe we did it," Patti says, her normally wide eyes glistening with tears. "We all starred in a TV show and a movie together."

"That should be our thing: We only audition together," Moth says. "We will be like the rat pack, only the not-nearly-as-musically-talented Gen Z version."

Thatcher laughs. "Sure, just like that."

Tara Lyons calls us, poking out from behind the open door of our shared dressing room/green room space. "The reporter from US Weekly is here for your interview, c'mon."

The four of us hurry back to the room, the room we are supposed to clean out after the interview since now the film is heading off to post-production and our time on the lot is over.

Sitting on the red couch with a pad and pen is a woman with a high blonde ponytail wearing a suit just like our guidance counselor Mrs. Thomas always wears. She smiles.

"You must be the foursome of up and comers I've heard about," she says, her voice deeper than I had expected.

Tara introduces each of us as we pull up chairs from our makeup tables. "They call themselves the misfits," Tara adds, hopefully so this reporter doesn't refer to us as a foursome anymore. "Misfits, this is US Weekly's Stacy Mulroney."

"It's so very nice to meet you," Stacy says. "Is it alright if I refer to you four as the misfits in the article?"

"Of course," Patti says, taking the lead. "In fact, the full name of our little ensemble is the Misfit Theater Company. That's who we were when we performed Romeo and Juliet and Grant O'Reilly discovered us."

"Yes, and how was it acting in A Call from Midnight together and now this?" Stacy asks.

"There is nothing like having your friends at your side while you take on big, life-changing projects like Holiday Kisses and A Call from Midnight."