Dramatic | Reddie

Act VII

Homage  |  Mild High Club

The bags under Richie's eyes practically sunk into his skull as he trudged through the hallway, headed to second period at last.

He didn't even bother moving out of the way for others, frankly too disoriented in his own exhaustion to care.

So yes, maybe staying up all night was a mistake.

But, it wasn't nearly all that bad when the memory of last night flashes into his mind every five seconds, like an alarm clock, but with motivation.

Generally, Richie isn't very grumpy or irritable when he doesn't sleep, it's really just... extreme desperation and a morning filled with dramatic whines and frowns. His face burrowed into his arms during first period, and his head shoved into his locker when Beverly and Stan had joined him there.

"I told you before, never have a restless night, or else this will happen and we'll be stuck dragging you around the rest of the day" Stan had said earlier, leaned up beside him as Richie groans quietly into his locker.

"You say that as if it's my decision to be restless," Richie retorted, his words ringing throughout the confines of his locker as Beverly snickers.

"Well what happened?" she had asked, and Richie's brain short circuited so bad that his head lifted abruptly and slammed into the little metal door behind him.

He groaned again, closed his locker, and rested his head on it with a shaky sigh. "Uh, no- nothing" he shrugs, turning slightly to glance at her with an exasperated and sarcastic grin.

She narrows her gaze and gives him a look, but after a suspenseful second she just rolls her eyes and turns back to Stan. And the morning continued on.

So now, as he stumbles through the blackbox doors and greets his classmates, he's met with the empty chair beside his once again.

It doesn't feel all too horrible now that he knows why Eddie had done it yesterday, but it still is just as lonely nevertheless as he sat down and the instructions for the morning began.

He didn't have to look over to where Myra was sitting to know that Eddie was there too, but, pushing aside his pride, he took a glance over there anyways.

Eddie was sitting, perked up and alert, facing toward the board and away from Richie. He was wearing his usual baggy collared sweater and shorts, and his leg bounced profusely on the tiles.

"I reminded you guys yesterday, and I'll remind you again today" the director said. "This is the last week till winter break, and all throughout those two weeks, I want you memorizing and memorizing till your brains ooze out of your ears".

A few people groaned in disgust at that remark, and another few laughed, but everyone got the memo.
"I want everyone memorized by the time we're back" the director clarified.

After another minute of instruction, the class went back to rehearsing. Richie had already gotten his fair share of workshop days with the director one-on-one for R&J, and they were even able to partly choreograph the fencing scene with Jason and the others. But today they weren't working on a scene with Mercutio, so luckily he was able to mumble lines to himself in seclusion and comfort.