Two days after the drama club held their auditions for the school play the cast list was posted outside of the auditorium, and Mikey Blumberg was one of the first ones there after school to check for his name. Much to his excitement he found he was listed as a member of the cast, with a role that although small had a few lines and appeared in most scenes. His joy however was short lived as Vanessa Lankrift came up next to him. He knew her from middle school although he didn't know her very well, she hardly ever said anything. He was surprised when she joined the drama club and even more surprised when he was actually able to hear her during her audition. Anyways she took one look at the cast list and walked away, no sign of any type of emotion. Mikey checked it again, her name was listed.
"Vanessa you made it" he called after her thinking she may have accidently skipped over her name and thought she didn't make it.
"I know" she said back stopping to answer him and then continuing on her way.
Confused Mikey hurried to catch up with her
"What's the matter Vanessa? Aren't you happy that you made it?" He questioned, since it was the end of school it was difficult not to lose her in the crowd of people leaving.
"Yeah now I've got to get to my bus" she said clearly trying to just get away from the boy who in her mind was poking his head too far into her business.
So she left Mikey standing there and as she walked away she couldn't help but begin grumbling to herself.
"You know just because I don't get all excited over it doesn't mean some guy who's never said more than two words to me needs to be concerned. I mean really its understudy I don't see what there is to jump up and down about" she muttered as she walked down the sidewalk of the school in order to get to her bus.
Of course Vanessa was happy she hadn't been cut completely from the drama club, she would take anything she could get. But she had her reasons for her annoyance with the cast list and Mikey Blumberg had no business questioning it.
Ashley was walking home from school with her friends Monica and Joslyn as she did every day, although aside from their houses all being in the same general direction and all being too close to the school for a bus she sometimes wondered why she walked with these girls. They had been friends since seventh grade and were the only friends Ashley had made during middle school, sure she talked to other people but Monica and Joslyn were the only ones who she ever considered friends, but sometimes it really seemed like they only tolerated her. Anyways today the two were discussing Joslyn's softball tryouts tomorrow and Monica was complaining about how little time she had to do her homework now that she was a cheerleader.
"I was thinking of trying out for the wrestling team" Ashley put in and the two other girls nearly stopped.
"You would die" Monica said flatly which of course made her friend's blood boil
"I would not" Ashley said angrily, friend or not a younger version of herself would've proved the girl wrong right then and there but she knew better than that now. She was mad but she knew better than to express it with her fists.
"Ok first you're like five foot two and second all the guys on that are like six feet tall. Yeah you would die" Joslyn said to which Ashley growled since she knew she would do just fine but said nothing else.
The second week of rehearsal's and Mikey was sitting in the auditorium waiting until he needed to be up on stage. He looked around and noticed that Vanessa was among the few other people sitting around and suddenly he felt bad for her. As an understudy she was required to attend all rehearsals but unless someone was absent she never did anything. Knowing she wasn't going anywhere and seeing that as usual she was sitting all alone he decided to go and try to talk to her.
"Hey what are you doing?" Mikey asked in a friendly voice seeing that she was focused entirely on whatever it was she was writing in her notebook.
In fact Vanessa was so focused that she hadn't even noticed Mikey sit down behind her until he said something and when he did her head snapped up and she abruptly shut the notebook before quickly shoving it into her backpack.
"Nothing" she replied in a startled and panicked voice, the voice of someone who was hiding something.
She turned her head to look at Mikey as she placed a strand of her long dark hair behind her ear
"It's nothing" she said again, this time in a much more calm voice.
A moment of silence passed between the two, Mikey trying to think of what to say since whatever was in that notebook was obviously private, and Vanessa just waiting out the silence in order to get Mikey to go away.
"So why aren't you over there with the others?" Mikey inquired gesturing over to a group of other kids who were all hanging out.
"Not really friends with them" Vanessa answered with a shrug
"What about you?" She asked truly curious. She had worked stage crew in the drama club all through middle school while Mikey was always one of the actors and she knew that he always had friends, so why he was reduced to talking to her was something she didn't understand.
"Well I sat alone to do some homework and then when I finished I saw they were all over there and you were all alone over here" he said.
Vanessa tried to think of something to say. She was a shy person. She was usually alone, it's just her nature. Sure people had tried to be nice to her before but Mikey was defiantly the first person to admit that he was talking to her out of pity.
"Whose backpack is that?" Mikey asked just now noticing the backpack in the seat next to Vanessa when her own backpack was on the ground at her feet.
"Becky's" Vanessa said gesturing to the stage with her head.
Becky wasn't the star of the play but she was a member of the main cast, not to mention Vanessa's twin sister. Now that Mikey thought about it Vanessa and Becky were total opposites and most people well… most people found Becky very likable and Vanessa, Vanessa seemed to just hang out in the background. Upon realizing this Mikey, being as intuitive as he sometimes can be, thought that maybe this was the reason Vanessa was shy, she lived in her sister's shadow.
"Did it hurt you when Becky got a main part?" Mikey asked just being himself, just wanting to help other people.
Vanessa on the other hand was surprised by the question, couldn't Mikey just be like everybody else in the world and leave her alone? But she thought of an answer, a totally honest one and it was sure to get him to go away.
"Mikey I've spent every summer since I was nine at an acting camp. So it hurt when I auditioned all through middle school and got stuck on stage crew each time. When my sister who has never done any kind of acting ever in her lifetime got a real part and I got understudy that didn't hurt. No that felt like someone ripped my heart out, sharpened it and then stabbed me with it" she answered and judging by Mikey's face it almost looked like he was going to say something but then he got called to the stage.
