Jasper sighed mentally and rested his head on his hands. The looping doodles on his paper (An excerpt of the lyrics to "Break Your Heart," accompanied by a cracked heart, and the word "BORED" in block letters) had occupied him for the beginning of class, and he hadn't heard a word of the tedious lecture from their annoying student teacher on whose every word Maggie was hanging.
"Maggie," he whispered, glancing to his left. She glared at him and returned to taking notes. He wished, not for the first time, that he shared this class with Henry. Sighing, he bent his head to write the next verse of "Break Your Heart".
"You weren't listening to anything Mr. Greenwood was saying, were you?" scolded Maggie was they left class.
"Not really," he admitted, shrugging. "And why is he 'Mr. Greenwood' now? Last year he was just 'Joshua'."
"Last year he was a student. Now he's a teacher," she replied, walking into Rooker Ryan. "Sorry."
"No problem," he smiled. "See you, Mags." He sauntered away uncharacteristically.
"Since when does Rooker call you 'Mags'?" asked Jasper.
"I'm not sure," she said, surprised. "I mean, he's playing the Phantom, but-"
"Wait, Rooker tried out for the play?" he said. She nodded.
"Well, so did I," she pointed out. "People who seem like the last possible ones to ever be in a musical can still do it."
"Oh my God," he laughed. "You're Troy and Gabriella." She raised her eyebrows and stared at him. "Um… I meant, you're like those NFL guys."
"Whatever," she giggled. "Anyway, do you think you could come over tonight and help me with my lines?"
"Sure," he said. "But why aren't you asking Henry?"
"Henry needs to work on his homework."
"What are you, his mother?" grinned Jasper. She opened her mouth to retort, but Henry, coming up to them, cut her off.
"Maggie!"
"What?" she asked.
"Can I get a soda?"
"You had one this morning!" she chastised.
"Please?" he said, stretching out the word.
"Fine," she conceded, and he ran off to the vending machines.
"Okay," said Jasper. "So… after school?"
"Yep. See you then."
"You do realize we have our next class together?" he reminded her.
"Right!" she laughed shakily, shifting her book bag on her arm. "And we're about to be late for it. Let's go." She hurried down the hall, Jasper trailing along in her wake.
"GO!" Jasper bellowed, facetiously knocking over a lamp to represent the falling of the chandelier. Maggie laughed. "I just ruined your opera," he said, indignant. "You're not supposed to be giggling."
"Oh well," she sighed, taking the script from him and tossing it onto her bed. "We got out of character anyway." He smiled. "Ugh," Maggie groaned, "I can't sing."
"What are you talking about?" he said. "You're a great singer."
"No, I'm not."
"Sing 'Hey, Soul Sister'," he commanded. She raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "Fine, I'll start. 'Your lipstick stains on the front door but my lips have brains-"
"What are you singing?" she snickered.
"Okay, so I don't know all the words," he admitted. As he reached up to brush his hair out of his eyes, he noticed the time on his watch. "Whoa, I gotta go! I told Henry I'd be home by six." He hugged her swiftly, slightly embarrassed when he realized he liked the way she smelled. Well, he always had.
As he pulled out of the driveway, Jasper's gaze lingered on the regal white house and the square of light on the second story.
That night, while Henry was fixing a rip in his hammock, Jasper lay on his bed, gazing at the ceiling. "This is amazing, what's happening to Maggie," commented Henry idly, looping a length of rope around his arm.
"Well, she was the obvious choice," he replied tonelessly. "Raoul and the Phantom are both in love with Christine, so they needed someone really pretty and stuff." Henry stopped weaving for a moment and looked up.
"You okay?" he asked, concerned. Jasper rolled over and sat up.
"Why'd she say no?" he lamented. "I mean, I'm not ugly or stupid." Henry cocked his head to the side. "A little support?"
"Oh!" he said. "I don't know why she said no. To be fair, I also don't know what we're talking about."
"When I asked Maggie out," he explained, rubbing his eyes wearily. "I mean, you know me. I'm not the kind of guy who asks out girls a lot. And the first time I do, she says no?" Henry was smiling. "Oh, haha, very funny, my life is a Justin Bieber song." He sighed. "Oh my God, my life is a Justin Bieber song!" he cried, crashing onto his bed.
Returning to his hammock, Henry said, "Better than a Taylor Swift song." Jasper popped up abruptly.
"You just referenced a modern singer," he said, his brow furrowing. "And you didn't seem confused when I brought up Justin Bieber."
"Yeah," he shrugged, not looking up.
"Who are you and what have you done with my cousin?"
"Hey, I'm learning," he said, sitting up. "And by the way, that phrase is really clichéd."
"Okay stop it, you're freaking me out," said Jasper. Henry laughed.
"I'm done with my hammock," he said, wrapping up his excess rope and tossing it into the corner, "so I'm going to sleep."
" 'Kay, me too," said Jasper, flipping off the light. He burrowed into his pillow and almost instantly dissolved into dreams of Christine Daae.
