Olivia created a routine for herself. Get up, choose a theatre t-shirt, get dressed, grab something to eat on the way to the subway station. She always made sure her purse was chock-full of snacks, including the all-important animal crackers, before she went to bed.
Every day, she would go to work and rehearse lines with the other actors and actresses, several of which she had gotten to know a bit better. Meredith, the actress who played Cosette, was very sweet. Olivia got along quite well with her, and her boyfriend Sam as well, who played Marius. The man who played Jean Valjean (a nice, middle-aged man named Jonathan, of all things) pulled her aside the at the first rehearsal to tell her that if she ever needed to talk, his dressing room door was always open. She made a mental note of that; she might take advantage of his offer.
Aaron and the others always made sure that she was included in whatever they did, whether it was rehearsing lines or getting ice cream afterward. It was a nice feeling, being noticed. Even if one of the other boys had to tell the woman at the register what kind of ice cream she wanted.
About a month into rehearsing, Frank announced that they were going to run through several of the scenes, the first of which being 'A Heart Full of Love'. The prop-master had retrieved all of the set items that were used in the last incarnation of Les Miserables from storage. Everything was set up and ready to go on stage.
Instead of running lines, most of the other actors and actresses chose to sit in the theatre and watch Meredith, Sam, and Cora rehearse. It was very convincing, even without costumes and props. Olivia still felt that Cora's voice was much too high for Eponine, though she did a good job.
"Cora!" Frank called out. "You're drowning out Sam and Meredith. Can you sing a bit softer?"
She nodded, rolling her eyes when Frank's back was turned. Cheryl had chosen to make an appearance that day since her daughter was rehearsing. She frowned at Frank's constructive criticism but didn't say anything.
"Very good!" Frank remarked when they finished the scene. The others sitting in the theatre clapped politely.
Cora flipped her hair behind her shoulder. "Easy as pie," she remarked.
"Olivia!" Frank shouted. "Can you come up on stage for a minute?"
Olivia froze in her seat. Aaron nudged her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. He doesn't bite."
"He's not the one I'm worried about," she whispered back, nodding her head toward Cora, who was still on stage.
Olivia made her way onto the stage, nervously playing with her fingers.
Frank smiled when he saw her. "Hello, dear! How are you?"
Something about Frank's smile always seemed to calm her down. "I'm doing good," she replied.
"Wonderful. Do you know Eponine's part in this song?"
She nodded.
"Good. Why don't you give it a try, then? You'll need to know how to sing it as well, in the event that Cora can't perform."
She nodded again, very excited but trying hard not to show it. "Okay."
Cora reluctantly left the stage, glaring at Olivia the whole time, and took a seat in the audience next to her mother.
Olivia closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, reminding herself of what Eponine would be feeling at this point in time. She would feel heartbroken, maybe even a bit betrayed. The boy she loved had chosen another instead of her. She relayed that thought through her a mind a few times, getting into the character as much as she could.
When she opened her eyes, she wasn't Olivia anymore.
She was Eponine.
She watched Marius and Cosette sing about their love for one another, feeling the pain each word brought. Of course, he had chosen her. Cosette was rich and beautiful. She was a street urchin, loved by nobody. Why had she thought that he would ever love her? She opened her mouth and began to sing, pouring all of her sorrow and pain into the words of her song.
When they had finished singing the song, everything was quiet for a few moments. Then, deafening applause sounded, breaking Olivia out of her trance. She turned, shocked, to see that Aaron and the Barricade Boys were on their feet, cheering for her.
She smiled widely, covering her mouth with her hand. Nobody had ever cheered for her like that before.
Cheryl clapped politely, an unimpressed look on her face. Cora didn't clap at all, rolling her eyes at the attention Olivia was getting.
Frank had a contemplative look on his face. Lia tensed. "Did I, um, did I do good?" she asked him.
He nodded. "You were wonderful, dear. The amount of emotion in that performance was staggering. But I'm sensing a problem here."
Her eyes widened. "What wrong?"
"The problem, you see, is that the actress I've cast to play Eponine's understudy is much better at the role than the actress I've cast to play Eponine herself," he said, grinning at her.
"What?!" Cora shrieked, standing from her seat.
Frank stood, ignoring Cora's outburst. "I'm going to go and have a little chat with Cheryl."
He left the stage, leaving a very shocked Olivia behind. She sat down on the stage, trying to wrap her mind around what just happened.
Sam and Meredith came over to tell her what a good job she did before leaving the stage as well, heading who-knows-where.
She was suddenly attacked on all sides by boys, squeezing her into the middle of the group for a massive group hug. She laughed out loud at their antics.
"Stop, stop! You're squishing me!" she said, worming her way out.
"That was incredible, Livvy!" Garfield exclaimed. "I've never seen such emotion in a performance! How did you do it?"
"Simple, really," she replied. "I just got really, REALLY into it." She sat back down.
Aaron sat next to her, giving her a one-armed hug. "That was amazing, 'Livia."
She leaned into the hug. "Thanks, Aaron."
The Barricade Boys shared a look.
"I'm pretty thirsty. I think I'm gonna go raid the fridge in the rehearsal room. Anyone want to come with?" Caleb asked.
One by one, they filed off the stage, leaving Aaron and Olivia alone. The rest of the actors and actresses had left the theatre as well.
"So… I have a question to ask you," Aaron said slowly.
Olivia raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Where do you go every morning when everyone else is running lines?"
Olivia swallowed. "You actually noticed I was gone?"
"Of course I did. It's not as much fun without you there."
"I didn't think anyone noticed."
"I'm not the only one who did. All of the other guys noticed. I think Frank might have, as well." Aaron explained.
"How come you guys never said anything?"
He shrugged. "We figured you just needed your space."
Olivia bit her lip. "Do you wanna know where I go every morning?" she asked.
He nodded, standing up when she did. She held out her hand.
"Come on. I'll show you."
He took her hand, letting her pull him into the wings and down into the backstage area. She pointed to a dark area of the wall.
"I come here," she stated.
Aaron looked confused. "There's nothing there."
"That's why it's so perfect. Nobody else knows about it but me, and maybe Frank. I saw him down here a few times." She pushed the door open and flipped the light switch.
"Wait a second. There was a door there the entire time?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yup. I come here every morning and I play the piano for a while. It calms my nerves. Music is the best therapy, after all."
Aaron looked around the small room. "This is pretty cool, actually," he remarked.
"You can't tell anyone else about this place, though," she told him. "Otherwise, people will know where to find me when I don't want to be found."
"Why did you show me if you don't want anyone to know?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I trust you."
He raised an eyebrow. "You do? And here I thought you were this loner who never trusts anybody."
She sighed dramatically. "It's true. I'm just a lone wolf, doomed to wander the plains in search of my lost and forgotten pack."
They both looked at each other and burst out laughing.
ooOOoo
Garfield observed Aaron and Olivia laughing and chatting in the corner of the rehearsal room with narrowed eyes. They liked each other; it was clear as day. There was the close proximity, the subtle physical contact with one another, the lingering looks… Garfield may be perpetually inebriated, but he wasn't stupid.
"Hey Caleb, come here," he called.
Caleb walked over. "What's up?"
Garfield pointed at the pair in the corner. "Take a look at those two and tell me what you see."
Caleb watched them for a minute. His eyes widened.
"You see it too?" Garfield asked.
Caleb nodded. "Yeah. It's not hard to see."
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"It depends. That poor drunken mind of yours concocts some pretty hair-brained schemes."
Garfield gave Caleb a pointed look. "Dude."
"Yeah, yeah. If we want to do this though, we're gonna have to get the rest of the guys on board."
"What are we waiting for then?"
Garfield grabbed Caleb's arm and dragged him off to find the others.
ooOOoo
"...and he actually did it! I still can't believe it. I have pictures and everything. It was the funniest thing ever!"
The boys were swapping theatre stories after rehearsal later that day. Olivia walked in to hear the tail end of a pretty crazy one. They all stopped talking when she walked in.
She looked at their faces. "Do I want to know?" she asked.
"No," Forrest immediately replied. The rest of the boys agreed with him.
"Okay then," she said slowly. "I'm gonna get going. I have a shift."
"A shift?" Aaron asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. My landlord decided to increase my rent and my salary as an understudy won't cover it. I had to find a secondary source of income."
"Where do you work?" Jefferson asked.
There's this all-night diner on 41st street that's hiring. It's only like a block away from my apartment. I'm the busboy. Or busgirl, I guess. They didn't think I could cut it as a waitress."
"You could totally make it as a waitress," James commented.
She smiled. "Thanks. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Bye, Livvy!" They all shouted in unison.
She just shook her head, grabbing her purse and walking out the door.
As soon as she left, all of the boys turned to Aaron.
He moved back involuntarily. "Whoa, guys. What's going on?"
Garfield gave him a no-nonsense look. "Dude, you may be a good stage actor, but offstage you can't act to save your life."
"What do you mean?" Aaron asked, confused.
"We've seen the way you look at Livvy," Ben said.
Aaron tried his best to look nonchalant. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Carl gave him a deadpan stare. "Dude. Don't."
"We know all about it," Carl added. "It's not too hard to figure out."
"How do you know?"
"Anyone can see by the way you look at her that you like her," James explained.
Aaron sighed, running a hand through his sandy-blonde curls. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I didn't think it was that obvious, though."
"Livvy doesn't know," Forrest assured him. "Trust us, we'd know if she knew. She's not very good at hiding her feelings. If she was, we wouldn't be able to tell when she's getting nervous."
"I don't want to say anything, though," Aaron admitted. "She doesn't have very many people she trusts, and she's just started to trust me. I don't know how she'd react to something like this."
"Take it slow," Caleb said. "Test the water; try and do things that will allow you to gauge her feelings for you. But be subtle; we don't want this to backfire."
"Yeah. Livvy's made a lot of progress these past few weeks in the way of social development. We don't want her to freak out and regress," Jefferson said.
Aaron looked impressed. "You guys actually give really good advice," he conceded. "How do you know all this?"
"We've all had girls that we liked. We all have sisters that come to us for advice as well, so we had to get good at giving it," Ben answered.
"Thanks, you guys. I might ask you for more advice in the future."
"Our door is always open. Office hours are 8 to 5. Walk-ins accepted," Garfield replied.
Aaron rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Good to know."
ooOOoo
Meanwhile, at the diner, Olivia was feeling a tad worn out. After a full day of rehearsals and then four hours of busing tables during the dinner rush, she was ready to go home and collapse in bed.
When she went to check out for the night at around 10 o' clock, the manager, a man several years older than her, stopped her.
"Hey, Lydia! Maddie was supposed to be here an hour ago for her shift. We have no one to fill for her. Could you stay a bit later?"
She sighed heavily. Could no one get her name right? "How much later?"
He shrugged. "It depends." He moved closer to her.
She took a few steps back, immediately uncomfortable with the situation.
"Depends on what, Jason?" she asked, holding the bin she put dirty dishes into in front of her as a sort of shield.
"On when Maddie shows. If she doesn't show up, you'll probably be here till six."
"Six? Jason, I can't stay until six. I have rehearsals in the morning."
He scowled at her. "You better stay until six, or you won't have a job anymore."
As he brushed past her, he bumped his hip against hers and grabbed her arm, whispering in her ear.
"If you get bored during the night, give me a call."
She waited until he'd gone through the door leading to the back of the diner before letting out the breath she'd been holding. She shuddered. She wasn't sure working here would be worth the sexual harassment she'd been getting from this guy day in and day out. But she needed the money. She didn't want to have to look for another apartment. And finding another job would take time she didn't have.
She didn't want to tell anybody about what was going on. Everybody already thought she was pathetic. She didn't want them thinking she was weak, too.
She sighed and went to find a broom.
ooOOoo
The next morning, Aaron arrived at rehearsals with a spring in his step. He had decided that today would be the day he asked Olivia to do something one-on-one. Not a date, necessarily. Just an outing as friends without all the other boys. He was rather excited.
He was also the first one to notice that Olivia didn't arrive at rehearsals when she normally did.
One by one, the other boys began to take notice as well. They murmured amongst themselves, trying to figure out what to do.
Aaron took out his phone and shot her a text.
Where are you?
It took a few minutes before he got a reply.
I'm on my way. Be there in 10
He showed the other boys the text.
"Livvy's never late. Ever," Jefferson said.
"I wonder what's making her late," Ben remarked.
About fifteen minutes later, Olivia shuffled into the rehearsal room. She looked exhausted. She was still wearing her uniform from the diner.
The others watched, speechless, as she walked past, ignoring them completely, and grabbed a few folding chairs. She set them up in a row and laid across them, using them as a sort of makeshift bed. She rolled over to the side so her back was facing them and closed her eyes.
James was the first one to speak up. "Livvy?" he asked timidly. "Are you okay?"
She didn't respond.
"So, umm… what does one do in a situation like this?" Garfield asked.
No one could give him a straight answer.
Aaron approached the chair-bed cautiously. "You okay, 'Livia?" he asked.
"Hmm?" she responded.
"We're kinda worried over here. Just wondered if you could clue us in as to what happened to change you from bouncy and happy to trudge-y and exhausted," he explained.
"Worked one shift. Had to work two extra," she mumbled. "On my feet from 6 pm to now."
"Why did you have to work two extra shifts?" Caleb asked, incredulous.
"Other workers never showed. Had to work or I'd be fired."
"You'd be fired? That's crap. I'd like to meet this boss of yours," Ben said angrily.
"My boss sucks." She let out a massive yawn.
"I'll say," Forrest agreed.
"Isn't there a bed somewhere around here? The one Fantine dies in?" Carl asked.
Jefferson snapped his fingers. "It's backstage, behind the curtain."
Aaron gently shook her shoulder. "Hey 'Livia, we found a bed for you. Come on."
"No," she mumbled, swatting his hand away. "Wanna sleep."
He sighed. "Okay, then. Come on." He scooped her up off the chair-bed.
"Jefferson, lead the way," he said.
"You smell nice," Olivia said under her breath.
Aaron chuckled. "And you smell like french fries."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. It's not your fault."
Once Jefferson had located the bed, They pulled it into a corner of the backstage area, where there would be less foot traffic. Aaron put Olivia down on top of it and pulled the blanket over her. She curled up in it, swatting his hand away again.
"Leave me be," she murmured.
"Alright. Goodnight."
"G'night." She was fast asleep in minutes, breathing softly.
The boys sat a few feet away from where she was sleeping.
"I don't like sleep-deprived Livvy. I much prefer her wide-awake counterpart," James stated.
"Agreed," the others said.
"What kind of a person makes somebody work a triple shift through the night with no sleep? That's twelve hours straight! That has to be some sort of workplace violation," Ben said.
Caleb pulled out his phone and started typing into the Google search bar. "Let's see," he said, scrolling through the web results and clicking one. His eyes widened.
"An employer can ask an employee to work up to 20 consecutive hours a day, as long as the employee gets a minimum 24 hours of rest a week! And they can have them do this 6 days a week for months on end!"
There were many indignant cries from the group.
"Employers can tell their employees to work overtime or they'll be fired. At least in New York workers are required to have at least one day off a week."
"That's insane!" Garfield said. "That shouldn't be legal!"
"It really shouldn't," Carl said. "But there isn't really anything we can do about it."
"Carl's right," Forrest agreed.
"Nothing you can do about what?" Frank asked, walking toward the group.
Aaron put a finger to his lips and pointed at Olivia. "She's asleep."
Frank nodded in understanding, taking a seat with them.
"She had to get a second job cause her landlord raised the rent on her. She was only supposed to work a single shift last night but she ended up working a triple shift cause the worker that was supposed to replace her never showed," Jefferson explained.
"We were researching New York labor laws to see if there was anything we could do about it. Unfortunately, everything her boss has done so far is completely legal," James added.
"Hmm… this is quite the situation we have here," Frank concluded. "Let's let her sleep for now. We can worry about things later when she's awake."
