Stage Fright

Chapter 29 ~ The Trip

rJosh

Today was Saturday, I had to pick Heather up in about ten minutes. I hoped she was open to the idea of helping out with the musical, I knew it didn't seem like much fun, but I wanted to spend time with her. I quietly drive through the gate to her subdivision and up to her house.

When I get to the door she's already walking out, was she waiting for me? I don't know if I've ever seen her wear jeans recently, but the ones she had on looked so nice. The legs were loose, she was wearing what looked like an old pair of sneakers and a baggy sweater. She was ready to get her hands dirty.

It was raining, but I didn't mind, there was nothing like spending a day inside while it rained. She runs to my car, opening the door quickly to duck out of the rain.

"Hi." She smiles leaning over and kissing my cheek. I smile instantly, I didn't know we were doing that. She pulls the hood from her jacket down revealing yet another headband. She looked stunning, even when she wasn't wearing make-up she looked wonderful.

"Hey." I whisper back and she smiles.

"I missed you last night." She says and I furrow my eyebrows.

"What's going on with you?" I ask and she shrugs with a guilty smile.

"Nothing." She sighs. "Dad just went back yesterday, the house is kind of empty. I would have called you but I knew you were hanging out with your friends."

"You're sweet." I tell her quietly. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I knew I'd see you all day today." She smiles and I nod. I reach over and hold her hand, giving it a quick squeeze before I turn onto the main road. "So, what do we do today?" She asks and I smile.

"Well, we're going to put up our set walls, we have professionals that put those up safely. But we might paint the walls, put together some furniture, decorate and create props. It's really fun." He assures me. "The sad part is we usually can't find enough people who want to help out."

"That's too bad." She tells me and I nod. "I figure it's the chance to give back, right? Plus I sort of owe it to Miss Young for all the work she's put into me."

"You didn't need that much work." I tell her and she smiles. "Heather, you're doing really well. I know how hard this is but I'm so glad to see you giving it a try."

"Me too." She whispers. "Look it's pouring rain so I had Eleanor send us with lunch. Maybe we can find a quiet corner or stairwell to eat in?" She suggests and I nod.

"You're always thinking ahead." I whisper and she smiles. 

Once we're at the school I park as close to the door as I can get, and hold the door open for her once we're there next to the building. We quietly walk in and head to the auditorium, when we get in it's alive. People are putting up walls and taking out set pieces. Most of them were alumni or were hired by Miss Young to help put up our set.

The tech people were here too, focusing on wiring and lighting while all of the sets were going up. Miss Young looked incredibly busy, chatting with a few people about something and pointing up into the rafters.

"Josh and Heather!" She calls, waving us over. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"Who else is here?" Heather asks and she sighs.

"Other than those five guys who you brought for extra credit? Nobody." She says sadly. 

"Well what can we do to help?" I ask and she smiles.

"I've set up the drama room with plastic sheets on the floor, I'll show you what we need done." She says with a smile and we follow her to the room. "So, there's a couple of projects set up in here with picture references. Just work your way through them, I set up the table over there with all the supplies you could need, come find me if you need something else. Heather, this is your vanity." She says walking her to the wooden furniture piece. "There's some things in that basket, once you paint it white, decide how you want everything."