7: Help Wanted
The bell rang and the whole class practically sprinted out of the room. Except for Clare. For Clare, the end of the day signaled the beginning of rehearsals which meant spending two hours after school with Eli Goldsworthy. It royally sucked.
Even worse was that he was her director. That meant that at some point, they would have to talk and be civil. Yeah, right, like was possible.
Honestly, Clare regretted the way things ended with Eli. She remembered a time when the two were really close – even before the relationship – as just friends. Sometimes, Clare missed that. She would never admit is out loud, but when she gets really emotional about everything, she watches the Romeo and Juliet video she, Adam, and Eli made together earlier in the year for English. It never failed to bring a faint ghost of a smile onto her face. Which was crazy. The video should make her feel upset and depressed about the breakup between her and Eli. But it didn't. Actually, it reminded her of just how much they loved each other. And for some reason, the thought of their love made Clare feel better.
"Hey there you," Jake Martin called as he approached Clare who was now frozen in place at her locker with her books still in hand.
Clare whipped her head around to face Jake, bringing her attention out of her head and into the real world again. "Oh, hi," she said.
"So I was thinking," Jake said leaning up against the locker beside Clare's. "What are you doing later tonight? I know you have the play right now, but how about later?"
"Um, nothing yet," Clare responded. She and Jake had been hanging out a lot recently. At first it was because their parents forced them to hang out. But then it turned into a little something more. No, they weren't necessarily an official couple, but with the way things were going, they weren't far from it. They had a good thing going. It was kind of between friends with benefits and a full blown relationship.
"Wrong. You and I are going to spend some together," Jake said. He leaned down so that his mouth was next to Clare's ear and whispered, "Alone. On your couch." Clare's face flushed and Jake pulled away smirking. "Or bed. Whichever is fine by me," Jake said now grinning suggestively. Clare gulped, but nodded her head anyway.
Once Jake had left, Clare was alone at her locker. The hallway was mostly empty; the students had either left already or were already at whatever club they were a part of. Clare quickly put her books away and grabbed her book bag. She shut her locker and spun around only to come face to face with someone.
The girl was about the same height as Clare. She had dark hair up in two ponytails and a red polo on indicating that she was a junior. The girl just looked at Clare.
"Clare Edwards," the girl said. It wasn't a question; it was a statement.
"Um, yeah," Clare looked around nervously.
"You're writing the Degrassi school play," the girl said again as a statement. Clare nodded. "And you need an assistant."
Clare eyed the girl skeptically. "Um…" she trailed off unsure of what to say.
"My name is Imogen Moreno and I would be happy to be your assistant," Imogen said sticking her hand out between the two girls.
Imogen looked at Clare expectantly. Clare stood there shocked. She didn't remember ever making it known that she wanted an assistant on the play.
"Um, do you write?" Clare asked. Imogen shrugged.
"Only a little. I'm no professional like you," she said. "But I'm great with direction. I mean, I could be like a little messenger from you to anybody. Taking scripts to the cast, or getting new pages printed, or handing out new scenes, or anything."
Suddenly, an idea came to Clare. She knew that eventually she would have to talk to Eli. Or Adam. It wasn't really something Clare was looking forward to. She knew it would be an awkward moment and just make it more obvious to everyone how uncomfortable things were. But, with a messenger, none of this interaction would include Clare. Perhaps she could have Imogen be like a runner and connect her with her cast and directors.
Clare thought that maybe having Imogen around wasn't all that bad. She nodded.
"Okay, here's the deal: you can be my assistant if you be my runner," Clare stated. Imogen gave her a slightly confused look as to what that meant. "Basically, you take messages from me to…the other people working on the play," Clare clarified.
"Oh, you mean Elijah Goldsworthy and Adam Torres formerly known as Gracie Torres?" Imogen asked nonchalantly.
"Um…" Clare said clearly uncomfortable.
Imogen put her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit any nerves. I was just clarifying," Imogen said apologetically. "I shall no longer mention either of the two boys unless you want me to. I understand the emotions are still very raw."
Both girls sat in an awkward silence for a few moments. Imogen was waiting for Clare to say anything. Clare, on the other hand, was wondering, first of all, how this random girl she had never met knew about things between her and Eli and Adam, and, second, how this girl knew so much about everything.
"So, I'll see you in the drama room in a few?" Imogen asked. Clare could only nod, but it was good enough for Imogen. She sauntered off down the hall and towards the drama room, leaving Clare bewildered and, once again, alone in the Degrassi hallway.
