Riley reached up, and fidgeted with his flower crown. It was cheaply made, with little pink and blue plastic flowers. The crown was uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. One of the kids had found it in the costumes cupboard, and given it to Riley to wear for rehearsal. It would take some getting used to. Mr. Foster, the director, liked it. He said that from where he was sitting in the audience, the flower crown looked good, so that was all that mattered.
Riley knew that he looked more like Ophelia in the flower crown, than in his regular tousled hair. For now, he was mostly wearing his street clothes - T-shirt, jeans, hoody. But Riley knew that when they performed the play, he would need to wear the full costume. Dress, flower crown, and stage makeup. He'd never worn a dress before, so that would be something new.
It would be kind of strange, wearing a dress in front of the whole school for the matinee. Weirder still, when it was in front of all the parents, and family members who'd be paying for tickets to watch them perform 'Hamlet'. But then, all the other guys would be dressed up too – in tights, and tunics, and all that. Some of them would have swords, or crowns. Maybe he wouldn't feel too silly, seeing everyone else dressed up, too.
Riley looked up at Donny, and waited for him to say his line. Donny Watson was the twelfth grader who played Hamlet. He was a tall kid, with his dark hair shaved close to the skull. He was kind of cute, with hazel eyes, and a dimple on one cheek.
Riley liked Donny as the lead actor fine enough. Donny knew his lines most of the time, and he showed up to all the rehearsals on time, which was nice. But Donny couldn't really grasp how to speak in iambic pentameter. That was something he really needed to work on. He couldn't be Hamlet properly, if he was unable to get that part right.
Donny had been in quite a few plays at Chancellor Prep. He'd played the Mad Hatter in 'Alice in Wonderland' in tenth grade, and in eleventh, Donny had been in 'Pirates of Penzance'. Donny had told him that the other day. He wanted to be a big-time actor, like on Broadway, or something. Riley had heard some of the kids talking about the plays they'd been in together, and it sounded like they'd done a really good job. He would've liked to have been in those plays. Oh, well.
The one thing about having Ben as Hamlet's understudy, instead of playing the lead role, was that Riley didn't get to act on stage with Ben as much as he wanted to. Ben went to every practise, though. He'd sit in the front row, watching Donny move onstage, with a measured focus. Making sure to see how his fellow actor play their shared part. Jotting down notes occasionally about blocking, and stage directions, and stuff. He took it quite serious. He'd watch how Donny interacted with the other actors, so that when he went onstage, he got to play the character with ease. And whenever Riley looked to him, Ben smiled. Between Donny, and Ben, Riley always preferred acting with Ben. It just felt more right somehow. More natural.
"O help him, you sweet heavens!" Riley repeated, giving Donny a pointed look.
He watched as Donny went and grabbed his water bottle, and took a few sips. He grinned at Jared, the guy that was playing Polonius. Jared was wearing a large cloak, fastened around his shoulders.
"Can I try on your cloak?" Donny asked. He took it from Jared, and tried it on. He swung around in a circle, the dark material fanning out around him. "This is so cool!"
Riley folded his arms across his chest, and yawned. They were near the end of practise, and it had been a long day. As much as he loved being on stage, he was glad rehearsal was nearly done.
"Donny, Donny!" Mr. Foster said. "Stop messing around, and say your lines."
"Okay. Sorry!" Donny said, unclasping the cloak, and handing it back to Jared. "One second."
"O help him, you sweet heavens!' Riley called out, projecting his voice. He looked to Donny, watching as he ambled across the stage.
Mr. Foster got up, and clapped his hands to get their attention. "Guys, c'mon. Once we get through this scene, we can call it a day, alright?"
"If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry. Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny," Donny said. He grinned at Riley. "Get thee to a nunnery, go: farewell. Or if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go; and quickly too. Farewell."
Once Donny was able to focus, they got through the rest of the scene. Riley was satisfied with how rehearsal had gone. There was definite room for improvement, though. Mr. Foster dismissed them, making sure that everyone handed in their scripts, and costumes, and they were free to go.
It was a sunny Friday afternoon, and everyone was pretty hyped for the weekend. Riley hitched his heavy backpack onto one shoulder, and started to walk out of the auditorium. He was lost in thought.
He'd missed the last school bus, unfortunately, but if he hurried, he could catch the public transit bus. It would arrive in ten minutes' time, just outside of the school, and he didn't want to miss it.
"Hey!" Someone shouted out. "Hey, Ophelia!"
Riley turned, and glanced over his shoulder. Donny was jogging after him. He waited until Donny stopped in front of him, slightly out of breath.
"Hi," Riley said.
"Hey! Ophelia, uh," Donny paused. "Sorry I don't know your real name."
"Riley." He squinted up at Donny. They were a few weeks into practise, and it was kind of annoying that nobody knew his name. They just called him 'Ophelia' during practise. Riley wondered what Donny wanted. Outside of practise, they hadn't really talked before.
"Sorry. Riley, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with some of the cast members this evening," Donny said. "We're going to have a movie night at my house."
Riley squinted at him. He didn't know what to make of that. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Donny said, giving him an easy smile. "I live in Berwyn. You interested?"
"Yeah," Riley said, nodding. "Okay."
Donny set his bag down, and pulled out his notebook. He wrote down his phone number, and address, then tore the sheet out of his book. He handed it to Riley. "That's my address, and number. I really hope you can make it. I've invited the whole cast, but I'm not sure how many are coming, though."
"D'you need me to bring anything?" Riley asked. "Like, chips, or something?"
Donny waved him off. "Nah, I think I've got it covered. I told my mom to buy a bunch of junk food. And I'm going to pick up some burgers, and hot dogs right now. You eat meat, or are you a vegetarian?"
"I don't eat pork," Riley shrugged. "Beef and chicken are fine."
"Cool." Donny wrote it down in his book. He glanced up. "Wait, do you have any allergies?"
"I'm allergic to dogs." Riley pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "But food-wise? No."
"Okay, well," Donny laughed. "I'll keep the dog in the backyard, then. We have a golden retriever. She's the sweetest."
"Okay," Riley said, nodding. "Hey, uh - did Ben say he was coming to movie night?"
He tried to keep his face blank, so as not to appear too hopeful. But he desperately hoped that Ben would be going, too.
Donny shrugged. "I . . . I doubt it. I asked him, but he didn't seem too interested. He doesn't really like movie nights, or bowling, or stuff like that. We always invite him, but he doesn't usually go."
"Really?" Riley said, surprised.
"Yeah. I mean, the guy is nice. He's just, I don't know," Donny said, shaking his head slightly. "Every time I've tried to hang out with him, he's always going on about obscure facts, that nobody knows what he's talking about. Or like, talking about his family treasure. I'm sure you know about it."
Riley nodded. "I've heard the story."
"Yeah. The guy is like, obsessed. I think he intimidates some of the other guys. The way he talks – I figure he takes after his mom. She's a professor."
"I met her," Riley said. "Her name is Emily."
"Yeah."
Riley looked around at the classmates milling around outside of the auditorium. He saw Ben, leaning against the wall, reading a book. Standing a distance away from them. Riley frowned. He wondered if Ben was consciously aware that he put distance between him, and his classmates. If he didn't know Ben, he might think the guy was aloof. The other kids were joking around, laughing. Ben wasn't. He was different.
Maybe that was why Riley took to him so quickly. He had been on the outside looking in, at his former school. Most days, it still felt like that. Ben was a good person. Funny, and intelligent.
"You and Ben are like, close," Donny said. "You two get on well."
Riley's head snapped up, and he frowned at Donny. "I guess so."
"He likes you. You should ask him, Ophelia," Donny said. "Crap. I mean Riley. You think you can get Ben to join us? I'm sure the guys would love having him there."
"I can ask him." Riley hitched his thumb in his backpack strap. Donny's words stuck in his mind. Ben liked him. He reckoned Donny just meant in a friendly way. He wished it was more than that. "I'll ask, and see if he wants to go tonight."
"Great!" Donny grinned at him. "Okay, well, I'll see you tonight. We're starting at seven."
"Okay, I'll see you there."
Riley started to head over to where Ben was standing. It was too late to catch the bus, anyway. It'd be another hour, 'til the next one. As he approached, Riley saw Ben glance up at him. He stuck his bookmark into place, and tucked the book into his back pocket.
"Hey."
"Donny invited me to a movie night tonight," Riley said, tilting his head slightly. "And uh, he wants to know if you're going?"
"I've got something going on tonight."
"Is it something that can be moved to tomorrow?" Riley asked. "Is this a treasure-hunting thing?"
"Yes." Ben's eyebrows raised. "I've got a lot of research to do. I was going to spend the night at the library."
"Sounds boring." Riley shifted in place. "Ben, will you come with me to the movie night instead? I'd love to hang out with you."
Ben broke out into a smile. "Alright, Riley."
Riley had been expecting to have Ben put up more of a fight. He'd been thinking up all these arguments, trying to see how to convince Ben that it was good for him to spend time with his peers, and how spending one night at Donny's wasn't going to set his research back too far. But then Ben surprised him. He had given in much easier than Riley had expected.
"That was surprisingly easy," Riley said. "And here I thought I was going to have to drag you away from your books. What are you reading today, by the way?"
Ben pulled the book out of his pocket, and handed it to him. Riley read the title – 'Farthest North', by Charles Lanman. The book looked old. He thumbed through it for a few seconds, then handed it back.
"Looks fun," Riley said, trying to look enthused.
"You hungry?" Ben asked, pushing off from the wall. "We've got a few hours before Donny's movie night."
Riley smiled. "Yeah, I'm hungry."
Ben drove them to a diner, and they ate burgers and fries. Riley was mostly quiet as he ate, listening to Ben ramble on about a Civil War battle he'd been reading about. The story was dry, and boring. But the way that Ben told it, he made it sound moderately interesting. He had a way of drawing Riley in, whatever the subject.
When they were done eating, Ben drove them around for awhile, killing time. Riley was quiet, as they drove down tree-lined streets. The closer they got to seven o'clock, the more nervous he felt. He kept thinking about how this was what he wanted. To have friends, to go to high school parties, to not feel so lonely. And yet, his stomach was all knotted up, though.
"What do people even do at parties?" Riley blurted out.
"Hmm?" Ben said, his eyes on the road.
"I mean, this is like, a high school party. Is it like in the movies?" Riley asked. "Drinking, and loud music, and people playing Spin the Bottle, or something?"
"Have you ever gone to a party before?" Ben asked.
"In grade school, I went to a few sleepovers. We stayed up all night, and watched Pokémon. I don't think that counts as a party, not in the same way."
"Oh." Ben's eyes slid over to him for a second. "Sometimes, I forget how young you are. Donny said it was a movie night, and that he'd gone to Blockbuster, and rented a bunch of horror movies. They've got soda, and chips, and stuff. I doubt there'll be drinking, or Spin the Bottle."
Riley smiled uneasily. "Okay."
He was glad about the drinking part. He wasn't interested in that. But the Spin the Bottle part sounded fun. Maybe they would've played that kind of game, if there were girls at the party.
"You should call your mom, let her know where you are," Ben said. "I don't know how long it'll go for tonight."
Riley pulled his flip phone out of his backpack, and texted his mom. She'd be at work until ten or eleven, but she usually checked her phone on her coffee break. She'd see the message then.
Donny's house was a large seafoam green two-storey house. There were a few cars parked on the road in front of the house, and the driveway was full. Ben parked his car up the road a little bit, and they walked over.
Ben rang the doorbell, and they could hear the two-tone sound ring loudly on the other side of the heavy wooden door. After a minute, Donny opened the door, and ushered them inside.
"Come on in, guys," Donny said. "I'm glad you both could make it."
"Thank you for inviting us," Ben said.
"We're just about to start the first movie. My Dad's got burgers and hot dogs on the BBQ," Donny said, waving a hand in the direction of the backyard. "Riley, you let me know if you want a burger, and I'll get it for you. The dog's in the backyard."
There were about ten guys in the living room, most of them camped out on the armchairs. The coffee table had bowls of chips, and pretzels, and there were a few two-litre bottles of Coke, and Ginger Ale set out.
"Ophelia!" one of the kids shouted out, as Riley entered the room. "Hey!"
Riley stopped in his tracks. He wasn't sure what to do. There wasn't too many places to sit, and the room was pretty crowded. Then, he felt Ben's hand on his shoulder. He looked up at him, as his friend gave him a reassuring look.
"C'mon, let's sit down."
He was glad that he had been invited. It felt strange, to be called 'Ophelia', though. That's how most everyone was calling him, since he'd been cast. Even in class, and in the hallways. But hey, at least people were talking to him now. That was something.
The movie night went well. Riley wasn't a huge horror film, but he enjoyed the night all the same. He'd curled up in one of the large armchairs, and watched the movie as best he could. It was some old slasher film. Kids staying at a summer camp. The plot was predictable, but that was okay. It was hard to hear the film at times, because everyone was talking, and laughing. Some of the kids were throwing popcorn at each other.
It was nearly midnight by the time Ben drove him home. Riley couldn't stop yawning the whole ride, his eyes were half-lidded.
"That was fun." Ben glanced at him. "I'm glad we went."
"Yeah." Riley looked up at him. "I liked it."
He knew that Ben's mother, Emily, was out of town for the weekend. Some kind of work thing. He thought about Ben spending the rest of his weekend at that big empty house. That sounded really lonely.
"Hey, you wanna stay the night?" Riley asked. He glanced up at Ben. "I'm sure my mom won't mind. She's always on my case about making new friends."
Ben raised his eyebrows. "It's pretty late. You're sure your mom won't mind?"
"I think she'll be okay with it. I'm usually on my computer on the weekends, anyway. We can do research for your family treasure tomorrow," Riley said. "I'd like to help you."
Ben smiled. "Yeah, okay. I'd like to sleep over."
Riley couldn't stop grinning the rest of the ride home.