Stage Fright

Chapter 41 ~ Broken

Heather

I was so happy. Everything in my life was going so perfectly, I felt like I had everything under control, I was doing good in school and even though the practices for the musical were getting more intense, they weren't so bad.

They meant loads of time with Josh, sleepovers, eating dinner together and trying to stay on top of our homework. Life had been busy but not unbearable, Josh made it amazing. It had been a little over a week since we'd taken that big step together, ever since we'd taken showers after rehearsal together all the time. He had clothes at mine and I had them at his, we were too tired for anything really energetic, but I loved being with him.

We were only one week away from what everyone keeps calling 'tech week'. I'd never heard of it before, but apparently we were going to run the show over and over again with the lights, make-up and costumes. It sounded exhausting and that wasn't even the end of it, then we had a whole week of shows to put on. 

I was nervous about all of it, I knew my lines and songs, when I was supposed to be sweet and when I was supposed to be mad. But I was nervous about the timing, the costume changes, I didn't have it all down the way most other people did.

More than anything, the thought of standing on stage and singing to a room full of people made me sick. Something that I normally kept so private was going to be on full display.

Thankfully, today was Tuesday. I didn't have rehearsal today and I could go home and rest. There was so much to keep track of, but being surrounded by a bunch of supportive people made it easier. 

This weekend coming was Thanksgiving weekend, dad was in town until Saturday so we were going to celebrate early. He said it was the best he could do and I was just thankful he could be here at all. He was so business driven, this time of year was mayhem for his office and I kept praying that he'd be able to come see my show.

"Hey Heather!" I hear and I see Mandy give me a wave. I was on my way out the front doors to the parking lot and I'd happened to run into her. I didn't mind though, we'd been getting along. We'd hang out sometimes, she was really helping me with the show to get my steps down.

"Hey!" I say cheerfully and slow down so she can catch up. "What are you up to tonight?" I ask and she sighs.

"I have a huge shift at work, but on the bright side I have an extra hour between school and work to get ready." She says and I smile. "How about you?"

"Homework, trying to take it easy." I tell her and she nods.

"That's good, rest is important right now." She says and I laugh a bit knowing Josh had been preaching the same thing. Drink your water, take some vitamins, make ginger-lemon tea. His nonstop worrying was so adorable. "Any big plans for the long weekend?" She asks and I shrug.

"Dad and I are doing an early dinner on Saturday. We don't have any family here and we don't have much anywhere else." I shrug. "But I'm excited, I haven't seen him in ages."

"That's nice." She says with a nod. "Mom and I are doing something similar, we've both been so busy lately." She tells me and I smile.

"That sounds really good. Honestly I'm just excited for turkey." I tell her and she nods. "So are you ready for next week?" I ask and she shrugs.

"I think so, I'm excited to do it, it's what we've been working for, but it's sad that it's going to be over soon." She says and I nod, knowing what she meant. "But it'll be fun."

"I hope so, it sounds exhausting." I tell her and she laughs.

"You're going to see everyone at their worst, dark circles, large coffees, tea and cough drops. It's like everyone's asleep half the time." She admits. "But we all get the show down so solid."