Chapter 10

Two months passed by before Cole knew it. The first day of January has arrived and it was only 10:30 in the morning that Cole woke up after staying up all night celebrating the New Year with his family and the rest of the quartet. The one and only night of the year Cole was allowed to stay up passed midnight has come and gone and now he had to help his parents clean up the mess from last night. He best be lucky he got to sleep in at all.

School started back up a few days later. Cole spent those last few days finishing up his play script, wanting to make sure his resolution came true to having it produce on stage before the year ended. He planned to convince Mr. Hinkson to let it be performed for the next production time slot of the school year. Besides, he already had one girl in mind for the main leading female.

He hasn't talked to Carol since they went bowling back in November. Not only did she make new friends in her math class, but also art class as well. He will admit she's an amazing artist and has won first place in many art competitions. Some of her artwork was placed outside the hallways of the fine arts department. Clearly she's known as the best of the best and Cole was happy for her, but because she has so many new friends, it's hard to even pass a note to her these days.

Now Cole was sitting in the auditorium after school with the rest of the theatre tech club, working on some of the lighting atop the catwalk while listening in on a couple of the guys' conversation.

"Are you serious, man?" he heard one of the guys ask the other guy.

"I don't have much of a choice," the other guy told him, "My parents told me I could only stick around as long as I kept my grades up. And thanks to our damn math teacher for pushing my grade so low with that stupid project, now I gotta spend the rest of the year in tutoring for extra math help. This sucks big time."

"The tech club will miss having you around, man. But there's always next year."

Yes, it was sad a member of the tech club was leaving, but that meant there was an opening spot. And he knew just the person who could fill it. With her mad art skills, Carol might be able to make the scenery for upcoming shows and productions look realistic and seem like a true masterpiece. Plus it would also be the perfect chance for the two of them to hang out more.

The next day at lunch, he strolled over to Carol's table where she was seen surrounded by all her friends. He didn't even have a chance to say anything when one of the girls from Carol's art class gave him a look.

"Get lost, weirdo," she told him, "We're in the middle of discussing something important here."

Carol rolled her eyes. "Our serious conversation can wait, Yuri. I'll be right back." She followed Cole outside the lunchroom where he caught her giving him a sweet smile. "Thanks for getting me away from them for about five minutes. They're the sweetest friends in the world, but it's nice to get a break from them. So what's up?"

"Well, I've come to talk to you about an exciting opportunity that you might be interested in," Cole said, rubbing the back of his head. He sounded like a boss offering someone the job of a lifetime. "Uh, it just so happens that our stage designer that handles with all the scenery art and background had to drop out and we're looking for someone to fill the spot. And that got me to thinking about you and how awesome of an artist you are and I was wondering maybe if you were interested in wanting to be a part of the theatre tech club."

Carol grinned. "Sure. Sounds like fun."

Cole smiled in contentment. "Great! Uh, you'll have to talk to Mrs. Morris first, though. She's head of the tech club, after all."

"Sounds like fun. I can't wait. Well, I best get back inside before Yuri and the others start to think you've kidnapped me or something. I'll talk to Mrs. Morris after school today. See you later." Carol headed back inside the lunchroom.

Cole had the strangest feeling Carol was excited about joining. Maybe she finally will get to spend more time with him as he's hoping for the same. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that she just wanted to get away from her mother for a while. Either way, it made Cole happy she was joining.

Two months passed. March called forth spring and new flowers blooming meant new beginnings. One example of that was Cole finally finishing his play script and taking it down to Mr. Hinkson for him to read and look over. He was called to the theatre room a few days later for the theatre teacher to discuss his thoughts about it.

"Well, Cole, after reading through the script twice, I've thought it over and after much careful thought, I've decided to allow you to produce you play for the spring term," Mr. Hinkson said.

Cole's smile went from ear to ear. "Thank you, Mr. Hinkson. You don't how much I've been hoping you would say yes."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, Cole. Now I'm placing you in charge as director, but don't hesitate to come to me if you need any help. Make sure you start spreading the word by the end of the day."

"I will. Thanks again, Mr. Hinkson."

Cole spent the entire time in study hall creating flyers and sign up sheets to hang on the bulletin boards of both the main office and beside the theatre room. He had a lot of names the next day for auditions starting this Friday, but there was one girl he would hope would like to play the leading female.

Cole took that night to call Carol on her cell phone since it was the only number she gave him. She answered on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Carol, it's Cole," he said with a smile he knew she couldn't see.

"Oh, hey, Cole. What's up?"

"Well, uh, I don't know if you've heard, but I'm directing a play I wrote called Wonders of The Earth. I had thought maybe you were interested in signing up for it."

"I actually will tomorrow. When are auditions?"

"They're on Friday. The last day to sign up is tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll be sure to do so. Sorry, it's been sort of hectic here at my place recently."

"What's going on?"

"Just drama between me and my mom. You probably don't want the details."

Cole actually wouldn't mind hearing about it and would've asked her to explain, but that would probably be rude. Besides, she sounded as if she didn't feel comfortable talking about her problems. So he didn't force the issue.

"Okay, well, I had actually been thinking that you could be great to play the leading female part," Cole said, "I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Sure. I'll be at auditions. I better go. It's almost dinnertime. See you at school tomorrow."

"See you there."

Two days later, auditions came and went. There were lots of amazing, talented actors and actresses, but Cole was placed in a trance after hearing how amazing Carol sounded on stage. She just had the voice of an actress. It wasn't hard to tell she was the one to play Lindsay.

Rehearsals went on until May. Everything went well and they had a weekend set up to perform at the Ninjago City Playhouse at Ninja Square, but three days before the production of "Wonders of The Earth," they were given a call by the owner of the playhouse.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Brookstone, but I'm afraid the playhouse is undergoing repairs from water damage after an incident with a busted pipe," the owner said, "I apologize for any inconvenience this may affect for your school's spring play."

Cole sighed, but gave a strained smile and said, "No need to worry. We'll find an alternative." He hung up and heard someone coming down the hall. It turned out to be his dad, carrying a folder filled with files. "Oh, hey, Dad."

Lou smiled at his son. "Hello, son. Everything alright?"

"Not really." Cole crossed his arms across his chest. "Looks like I'm gonna have to make last minute arrangements with a different theatre."

"Why is that?"

"Well, the playhouse is being repaired after experiencing water damage so now I'll have to find somewhere else to perform the play."

Lou chuckled. "Look no further, son. Don't forget the quartet saved up so much to buy the theatre we have now. It's used for more than just our shows. You and your classmates are welcomed to use it."

Cole smiled, glad to have a dad that always had his back when he needed him. "Thanks, Dad. That's a heavy weight lifted off my chest."

The night of the play came sooner than Cole figured. The last three days was spend moving everything in his father's theatre, and having to make another alternative. The original guy playing the leading male ended up breaking his leg in a dirt bike accident and the understudy was sick, which meant Cole had to fill in. Luckily he studied all the male lines in case something like this happened.

The show turned out incredible. The last act involved a kissing scene. Cole wasn't sure about that considering he's never kissed a girl before. And of all the girls, it was Carol who was apart of it. At least it would be with someone he was comfortable with. He couldn't tell, but even though it was a stage kiss, he had a feeling Carol was enjoying it as more of a real kiss, although Cole wasn't too sure since he couldn't read facial expressions that well.

When the show ended, friends and family were allowed backstage to congratulate everyone on a fantastic performance. After Cole received his hugs and thanks for writing such an incredible play, he finally found Carol hugging her aunt.

"Hey, Carol," Cole said, giving her a smile, "I just wanted to come by and congratulate you. You were awesome out there."

"Oh, thanks." Carol gave him a smile back, but he could tell her eyes looked sad.

This concerned Cole, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? You don't look too happy."

"I'm fine, it's just…I sort of wished my mom was able to come. Instead she made the excuse that she was caught up in three different meetings tonight." Carol sighed, but decided to brighten up her eyes and be rid of the darkness. "But I'm glad my aunt came to see the show. That's all that matters. You should write plays more often. And act on stage. You're a really talented person, Cole."

Without warning, she wrapped him in a hug. Cole didn't hesitate to return the gesture. Maybe this would fill in the empty hole in her heart. Even though her mother wasn't able to make it, he wanted to show her there were people in this world that care about her to be right beside her.

Needless to say, that kiss told more to Cole than words.

It symbolized and foreshadowed their future love.

If only he would have the courage to tell her how he feels.

AHH, YES. WE FINALLY HEAD DOWN THE ROAD TO COLE'S FIRST LOVE. BUT COULD IT BE HIS ONLY LOVE? I HAVE A FEELING THESE TWO WERE MEANT FOR ONE ANOTHER.

UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE NO REVIEWERS TO SPEAK WITH. ALSO, FROM HERE ARE OUT, THERE MAY START BEING CURSE WORDS USED IN THE STORY FROM THIS POINT ON. JUST THOUGHT I LET YOU KNOW NOW BEFORE ITS TOO LATE.

I'M NOW IN THE PROCESS OF ONE REQUESTED STORY. IT WILL BE A NOVELLA. I'M CURRENTLY DISCUSSING DETAILS FOR ANOTHER REQUESTED STORY, BUT THE FIRST ONE MAY BE POSTED BY THE END OF THIS WEEK. STILL NOT SURE YET SO I'M NOT MAKING ANY PROMISES.

OKAY, REVIEW, YOU GUYS. I REALLY WANNA KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THE STORY SO FAR.