"Brooke

Much Ado About Nothing

"Brooke?" Hank asked, confused—why would Brooke be here?

"Right there." Val pointed her finger straight ahead at the blonde who had suddenly spotted them.

"What's she doing now, here?" inquired Tyler. This was a high school. Unless Brooke had suddenly been moved up two grades, she had no reason to be here.

"Probably wants our paperwork," Jamie said in a low voice, coming up behind them with Caitie trailing. Val jumped, then laughed and poked him.

"Come on, Jamie, she's not that bad."

"Yeah, well, you didn't have her hounding her about double inventory duty," Jamie told her. "I mean, just because I get stuck with extra work doesn't mean I need to do inventory twice on Tuesday."

Hank was about to comment when Brooke came within hearing range of their voices.

"Hi!" she said cheerily. The others just stared at her like a second head had poked out her shoulder. Brooke caught their gaze and rolled her eyes.

"Guys, I know I shouldn't be here, but I'm just—"

"Collecting our paperwork?" asked Jamie. Brooke made a face at him.

"No, I'm assistant director." The group stared at her for a moment, then started to laugh.

"You're joking, right?" Hank inquired, never actually thinking she was telling the truth.

"No." Two letters, but they made the group stop laughing immediately.

"Oh," Tyler said. Val and Caitie echoed him. Hank and Jamie came a little late, along the lines of, "Right… sorry."

"Where's Mr. Edwards?" Brooke asked, pretending not to notice their obvious discomfort.

"He's the one dressed as the half-breed of flamingo and peacock," Jamie informed her, quick reflexes taking over. Brooke rolled her eyes and walked away. Light laughter ensued in her wake, until Brooke turned and called out to Val and Tyler.

"By the way," she said, "I saw the Romeo and Juliet scene. Very nice acting!" Val and Tyler's complexions rapidly reddened as Caitie and Jamie regarded them strangely.

"Okay," Tyler said, "let's go. Station duty starts in twenty minutes." Changing the subject evidently worked very well, because everyone knew Alex would murder them if they were late. Caitie shook her head as she watched them go out the double doors.

"Perfect people," she muttered before breaking into an uncharacteristic smile.

"Cut list is out!" Tyler said to Val, coming up behind her after 8^th period.

"Have you seen it?" Val questioned, shouldering her bag and putting another textbook into it.

"No, heard the news from Gregory Martin. He's Friar Laurence."

"Great… let's go." Val closed her locker and started walking down the hall next to Tyler.

"I wonder if Hank got Mercutio?" Val commented idly, avoiding the thought that running through her mind—who had gotten the lead roles?

"Probably," Tyler said. "Only a few other people auditioned."

"You have to admit, though, he's not a terrific actor. Good, but not exceptional." Val was being truthful—Hank had been unsure of some of his lines, and emotion had been slightly lacking.

"True… but he has a chance."

"Definite chance," agreed Val. They reached the hallway with the cut list and a group of people surrounding it. Val and Tyler gently pushed past the people to see the list. Height was on their side—five foot eleven Tyler looked over the person in front of him as Val, five eight and a half, stood next to him as a person moved out of the way, uttering mild curses softly so Mr. Carlson, a man with the ears of a rabbit, couldn't hear. Val sucked in her breath as she looked up towards the top of the page.

Romeo – TYLER CONNELL

Juliet – VALERIE LANIER

Mercutio – HANK BEECHAM

Tybalt – ANDREW BERGMAN

Friar Laurence – GREGORY MARTIN

Val looked at Tyler, shocked.

"I got the part," she whispered. He nodded and turned to her.

"So did I."

And both of them knew that this would put a definite problem into friendship, and both of them knew that this was dangerous, but—at that moment—neither of them cared.

Val pulled herself away from a sapphire gaze to look once more at the list.

"I wonder if Jamie and Caitie got backstage?" she asked, struggling to breath normally, ordering her heart to beat at a normal speed. Sure enough—

Backstage Help

Jamie Waite

Caitie Roth

Antonio Cortez

Mandy Marks

Ellie Tinstone

Director

Mr. Daniel Edwards

Assistant Director

Brooke Lanier

"I guess Brooke wasn't kidding," Val said, stating the obvious.

"No," answered Tyler.

"Let's go," Val told him quietly, pulling him away. She needed to think, and it wasn't easy next to Tyler, in front of the cut list that had confirmed her best dreams—and worst suspicions.

"I still can't believe we're doing this," Jamie complained as Caitie pulled him through the door leading to backstage.

"Come on, all we've got to do is pull the curtains and man the lights. Can't be that hard."

"Yeah, right."

Jamie pointed to a case with thirty odd switches in it. Caitie looked as though she suddenly regretted the decision to become backstage help.

"Oh, dear."

NEXT TIME:

First rehearsal turns disaster when Caitie and Jamie handle the equipment a little… wrongly. Hank finds out that this role might not be as easy as he thought, Brooke has a blast being assistant director, and as for Tyler and Val? A little surprise may be in store for them. Will it be good or bad—and what happens when it's put into action?

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