Damsel in Distress

Chapter 8 - Gaston finally gets his Belle

            "No! You've got to hold that last note longer. I've already gone over this. Again!" Mrs. Cunningham told the frightened freshman. They were singing in the chorus and kept messing up the ending of Be our guest.

            Honestly, it was only the first week of rehearsals, so she shouldn't have been so frustrated with them, but I could tell that she knew how much more work we'd have to put into the musical later in the year and just wanted to cut down on it. I watched as some of the more undedicated chorus rolled their eyes at her, annoyed. I had no idea why certain people even joined musical if they didn't want to be here.

            "So," Archer said suddenly besides me, "When are you going to start practicing with them?"

            I turned, startled. Archer never really spoke to me, not even when I was over at Lacey's house. So why was he making conversation now?

            "Probably in a couple weeks when they get the song and most of the choreography down. There's no point of me just standing there while they're learning the song, I don't have any lines during that song if I remember correctly anyway." I respond, wincing as Lacey sings a wrong note a little louder than the rest of the chorus.

            "Cool, I don't have anything to practice right now either. I was just sitting by myself when I got this thought, I said to myself, 'hey, why don't I go talk to my pretty co-star over there in the corner?' and I did." He says.

            I blushed and looked down at the floor. "Well, you aren't too bad yourself if I do say so myself." I replied the best I could.

            He chuckled and I blushed even deeper. He was chuckling, at something I said. My crush of three years was smiling at me, not one of the caked faced popular girls that he usually was flirting with, me. It just didn't seem plausible.

            Wait, was this flirting? Was I flirting with the infamous Archer Waters?

            "So, Belle," he emphasized the part where he called me my stage name, obviously trying to create a light atmosphere, "Are you going to be free this Saturday at the Super Day festival? Because I have this strange feeling that I should at least try and ask the prettiest girl in the room, even though I'm pretty sure she already has a date. Am I right?"

            He was asking me to the festival. As in a date?

            "Well, Gaston," I started, using his stage name as well, an attempt at being seen as funny, "I do not, in fact, have anyone specific that I'm going to the festival with. That is, if I'm going at all."

            "Why wouldn't you be going? Especially with a charming young fellow like me inquiring that you should go." He smiled and I couldn't help but to smile back. He was so cute that I couldn't resist the temptation.

            "Well, in that case, I might be going."