Well the last chapter got such good reviews (and so many! Yay!) that I couldn't NOT post another chapter. So here is Chapter 2 of A Tale of More Woe. The story's Cover/Banner will be up soon, hopefully by tonight. So check that out and tell me what you think!
I seriously need some more campers for this story. And reviews make me write faster, jussayin.
Song: Getting To Know You
Artist: The King and I (Movie Soundtrack)
"I don't even want to know what this 'food' is made of," Bay cringed, pushing the soggy pancake around her tray. Her yogurt, the only seemingly good food available at breakfast, was gone and her stomach still grumbled. "Whatever, it looks like I'm waiting until free-time."
"Aw, c'mon, Bay. I know you're used to much better but this is still pretty good," her cabin-mate, Abby, smiled. Her mouthful of pancake made Bay roll her eyes.
"You guys are pure crazy," she chuckled as Abby continued her antics of overly-dramatized enjoyment of the so-called breakfast food. Bay was relieved when trash was discarded and the students rushed from the building in grey-clad waves, headed to their classes. Today she would be studying a place on campus, any place at all, and then painting it abstractly to see if her teacher could guess what the subject was. It was a fun exercise, and Bay found herself growing more and more excited as she checked in to get supplies. She took her time wandering around and looking for something to paint. Silver Lake was huge and full of interesting pieces of art and beautiful buildings.
At last she set her tray of paints and small canvas down next to the dance building. Slowly, as she focused, grey blocks appeared on the canvas next to swirling pink blurred dancers. Brown lined bars and tall, light blue mirrors took singular, abstract presence on the paper piece-by-piece until the painting was complete, and Bay had to scurry back to her art class. The teacher accepted her canvas, hung it to dry, and released her for her next class.
Bay was impatient all the way through Composition and Drawing and Painting Two went well (the teacher couldn't guess what the subject was and Bay explained it triumphantly, claiming the Abstraction Prize). Lunch passed as uneventfully as breakfast, although the veggie-burgers were much more palatable than the cardboard pancakes. At free-time, Bay bought herself an ice-cream cone and sat down in the shade of a tree to sketch with her free hand as she ate. She was just finishing up the penciled portrait of an angry looking cellist when someone sat down next to her.
A hand waved in front of her face, making Bay blink and turn to face its owner: a very smug Emmett. "Oh hi, sorry," Bay signed apologetically, "I was drawing. It really pulls me in. I get kind of lost in the art."
"I see that. You're pretty good," before Bay could protest, Emmett had pulled the sketchbook from her lap and was flipping through it. He paused on one of the portraits and turned it back to face her. With a blush, Bay recognized her sketch of Emmett from the day before by the theatre.
"You looked peaceful," Bay explained. She finished the last bite of ice cream cone and wiped her hands on her shorts. "I was inspired."
"I see that, too," Emmett grinned again and handed the sketchbook back to a slightly embarrassed Bay. "You're actually really good."
"Thanks," Bay half-smiled in return. She pulled her Romeo and Juliet: The Abridged Tragedy script from her bag and looked at Emmett. "Want to practice? Auditions are today."
"Sure," her cute companion returned, and they practiced for the next hour or so before walking together to The Elizabeth just in time for class.
"Auditions today will be held like this: I will pair you up and you will read the first four lines of the ball scene between Romeo and Juliet," Mr. Bradshaw explained, his expressive eyebrows making even Emmett snort quietly. "Alright, everyone into the gallery! Scoot!"
"This will be interesting," Emmett smirked at Bay, and she crossed her eyes back at him.
"First may I have Lillian and Andrew up here?" Mr. Bradshaw asked, instructing them awkwardly through their signed and spoken words (it was difficult to hold a script, read, and sign). "Alright, very good for the first people to get up there and audtion. Now Bay and Ian, you're up next, please."
Bay's Point of View
I was disappointed when Emmett and I weren't called up together, but I don't know why I had hoped or expected it. He was cute and I was having a fun time getting to know him, but the amount of disappointment I was feeling was strange. I brushed it off in time to quickly and accurately (with the proper amount of emotional and facial expression, I hoped) audition for Juliet in ASL and out-loud. After sitting down next to Emmett, a few other couples went up. Then Mr. Bradshaw turned to Emmett and signed for him and Elaina to go up next.
He was wonderful. The facial expressions he made along with his lines were perfect; matching Romeo's flirty but reverent attitude towards Juliet during their initial meeting. His hands flew with a surety that would take years for me to truly come to own myself. He returned to his seat next to me. "How did I do?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed in honest eagerness to know.
"You did great, obviously," I replied. "Your face is just so…perfect."
"Why thank you," he smirked at me, looking all too much like James Dean.
"Don't get too confident," I returned.
Third Person Point of View
Mr. Bradshaw observed the obvious ease Bay and Emmett had around each other, seeing how much they had bonded and over so short a time. The other kids in the class looked at Emmett strangely, clearly not understanding what it was like being deaf. Bay, on the other hand, tried to learn from Emmett. Even when she messed up her signs, he helped her through and she picked up fast.
The idea of performing the play in ASL as well as out-loud had come to Mr. Bradshaw even before having Emmett registered in his class. The world could use some education on topics that it almost wanted to remain ignorant about. And the best way to teach someone was through the arts, a medium known for its advancements on many subjects. Shakespeare himself had been an active advocate for change.
"Alright, everyone, I have the cast!" the teacher announced loudly, standing up and clapping. Bay tapped Emmett on the shoulder and they both turned to face the instructor. "Bay and Emmett will be Romeo and Juliet. Ian will be Mercutio, Andrew is Benvolio, and Marcus is Father Bartholomew and Prince Escalus. Ethan will be playing Tibalt. Elaina is the Nurse and Lillian will be Capulet's Wife. Since we only have so many boys, Marley will be playing Capulet and Andrea will be Montague. Please highlight your parts in your scripts and talk to me about translating as you memorize your lines. I want you off-book, meaning no scripts on stage, by the end of the week."
Grumbles and excited whispers could be heard through the crowd of teens, who slowly ambled their way out of The Elizabeth and back to main campus. Bay seemed to be stuck in a fog of confusion the entire way, and Emmett merely followed her wandering footsteps until they ended up back under their tree. "Dinner time."
"Right. I'll see you after? During free-time? Meet me back here?" Bay asked, looking around to find her cabin mates.
"Yeah, see you here," Emmett nodded. They dashed off in opposite directions to find their cabins to sit with at dinner, knowing that the next month was going to be both confusing and interesting.
"So you got Romeo, huh?" the only other deaf guy Emmett had met so far, his cabin mate Rufus, asked. Emmett nodded, his mouth full of semi-warm potato salad.
"Yeah, and this really hot girl in my class got Juliet," Emmett replied, drawing the shape of a curvy female figure after he finished signing.
"Lucky," Rufus replied, rolling his eyes. "All the dance girls think I'm gay."
"Tell them you're not," Emmett said, taking his turn at eye-rolling.
"None of them sign!" Rufus replied in frustration, tossing his fork onto his tray for emphasis.
"Sorry dude," Emmett shrugged, taking another bite of potato salad.
"Wait, your hot girl signs?" Rufus asked incredulously.
"Yes. She's not the best, but we can have pretty good conversations. She picks up fast and she knows a lot for a hearing girl," Emmett shrugged.
"Now you're just really lucky," Rufus sighed. They finished dinner and cleaned up, following everyone else onto main campus. Emmett saw Bay waiting for him next to their tree and got Rufus's attention.
"See the girl with the curly brown hair by that tree?" Emmett asked, grinning widely when Rufus nodded yes. "That's my hotty."
"Dude, she is attractive. Can I have her?" Rufus asked, checking Bay out from where they stood. Emmett was slightly confused at the rush of protectiveness he felt watching Rufus's eyes scan Bay up and down and he quickly shook his head. The mask of male bravado returned as Emmett signed that Bay was his and told Rufus goodbye, jogging over to said attractive girl.
"I almost thought you weren't going to show!" Bay signed with a smile.
"And miss out on seeing my Juliet, no way," Emmett teased.
"Romeo, you do run your hands too much," Bay replied. Emmett laughed and took her hand in his, leading her back down to the gazebo by The Elizabeth. Very few students gathered there during free-time and it was a great place to talk. He tugged Bay into the gazebo and sat her across from him on a bench.
"Ask me anything," Emmett said.
"What's your major?" Bay asked.
"Photography, yours?" Emmett returned.
"Painting," Bay nodded.
"I bet you're good," Emmett signed.
"How would you even know?" Bay said, sticking her tongue out. Emmett snorted.
"I saw your sketches. Plus I'm watching you sign. You're pretty good with your hands," he signed to her, not realizing the double entendre until it was too late.
"Really now, Romeo, am I?" Bay teased. Emmett laughed and Bay laughed along.
"You're a good signer, Bay, and so far you're a good friend, too," Emmett replied when they had finished giggling.
"You are too," Bay replied. "A good friend. We should highlight our lines, you know, for tomorrow."
Emmett and Bay each fished their scripts from their bags. Both of them were secretly hoping that the other one would come to realize them as more than a friend, but it was too soon to tell where things would lead. Romeo and Juliet was, after all, a tragedy.