The Director
Xu drove her battered Honda up to the Fire Cross Car Repair. It was only a few blocks. Said car had been hit by another one in the campus parking lot, and against her better judgement she'd let a friend of a friend handle it. The friend happened to be Squall, who she knew from working at the theatre on campus. He painted the sets. She helped direct the plays. Her friend Nida acted in them.
She parked the car in the lot and walked in. Thankfully, the British egomaniac wasn't there. His muscle-bound guy Rajin was, and so was a new guy that she hadn't met before. He had long, shimmering aburn hair, and (as she'd find out) a thick southern drawl. She found him intensley hot. He happened to be seated behind the desk in the office.
"Hey." She walked into the garage. The new guy looked up, and then down at the desktop to consult the book.
"Xu?" he drawled.
"Yeah. The car's that way." She pointed.
Irvine had Rajin go drive it in and get it set up. What they needed to do was mostly exterior work, taking the panels off and reshaping them. While Rajin was setting up, Irvine wanted to know more about Xu, and Xu about Irvine.
"So you're from..."
"Texas."
"Conservative?" She inquired.
"Yeah, but I don't bother with that much. I'm not too far right, no matter what the people think I should be." Irvine shrugged.
"Well, you should fit right in with THIS town. Right wing conservative Republicans. All of em." Xu said it as if it were a curse.
"And what about you?"
"Liberal. But then again so are... well, enough people at the college."
Irvine mumbled something under his breath, and Xu thought he said "well baby, we can't let that come between us..."
"Say that a little louder?" Xu put a hand on her hip.
"We can't let that come between us." He looked at her seductivley.
"You're quite the charmer, aren't you."
"I'd ask you out but I don't know where to go here. I just got into town this week."
"Well I know a lovley little lunch place." Xu smiled coyly. It looked like it was a date.
The Actor
Nida sat in the campus theatre, more specifically on the stage, with the beautiful set that had been designed by... Squall, though he hadn't finished it yet. He was trying to puzzle out Xu's stage directions. He and two other guys, Watts and Zone, were to preform the comedy "The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged)" in three weeks. They had their lines memorized, but Xu's enterances and exits were confusing him. She had marks for coming out of trap door #4. There were three trap doors.
And that wasn't the worst problem. Zone had a tendency to get sick, and worse, stagefright, and Watts couldn't not call someone Sir. He had been kicked out of the army a few years ago and was still recovering. So Nida had to find two new guys to play the parts of Jess and Dan. He, of course, was Adam. He liked playing the girls. He was thinking of maybe getting some other guys in to do the parts. New faces and fresh talent.
He'd been looking around. He'd seen a guy that could pull off a good Dan, provided they modified Dan to make him more fun and less stuffy. He couldn't remember the kids'd name but he knew it started with a Z. Zaller, maybe. He hung out with the Brittish boy. They were lovers, apparently. He didn't know about Jess, though. Tall, maybe with an interesting accent, and of course for Jess ego is a requirment. He could start asking around.
Nida's gaze wandered off onto the set working. It was black and white, striped and blotched and complteley modern. There were three trap doors, a bridge over the set, five staircases, and it was amazing and dizzying. Nida woudn't have even noticed the set, however, if it wasn't that his idol had created it. It was a Squall Leonheart masterpiece. Nida thought that Squall was a god on earth. He practically drooled on the set.
He looked at his watch. It was lunchtime. He walked downtown to this resturant that he liked. They had really good fries if you ordered the right thing. He walked in the door and before the hostess could seat him-
"Hey Nida!" his friend Xu waved. She, and an admittedly gorgeous guy, tall wearing a tan trench coat, were obviously on a date. Nida walked over. They hadn't ordered yet, so they'd just gotten here.
"Irvy, this is Nida. He's the lead in the play I was telling you about."
"Hey," he said, and shook Nida's hand.
"Can you act?"
"Yeah, guess so... I was in plays in highschool."
"I was looking for new cast members. I'm firing Zone and Watts- they can't act. You'd be perfect for one of the roles." They all exchanged glances.
"Why not?" he shrugged. Nida was tapped on the shoulder by the hostess.
"Will you be joining them?"
"Yeah, he will." Xu inserted.
"I don't want to intrude on your date..."
"That's okay." Xu and Irvine said almost in unison. So the hostess gestured to the waitress who got another menu and place setting.
"So Nida, if you do fire your two fellow actors, and get Irvy as... Jess, you'd want him for, then who wouldyou use as Daniel?" Xu put on her "showman" mentality.
"Well... there's this blond kid I've seen around, hanging around Squall..." he trailed off.
Xu whispered to Irvine that Squall was Nida's crush, and Irvine nodded.
"Which blonde kid, the Brittish boy or his... boyfriend?" Xu was clearly going to say something to the effect of "main lay" but decided to go with the polite wording.
"The younger one. With the tatoo."
"Oh, you mean Zell?" Irvine interjected.
"Zell. Yeah. Him."
"Isn't Daniel supposed to be a serious part?"
"I was going to fix that anway. I'm doing Adam kind of wussy, and I can do that because I'm doing the Adam role, and I can do the Jess role sort of cowboy... and then I'm doing Daniel punk. So its more interesting, charachter-wise." Nida explained.
Talk about the play took up the rest of lunch, and then they headed back in their opposite directions- Nida back to the college, Xu downtown to do some shopping, and Irvine to the car repair shop.
The Cheerleader
Selphie sat on her brother's bed in his dorm. He wasn't back yet, and he probably wouldn't expect her here. She was supposed to be off at a meet. But she couldn't go. She'd failed the drug test. She sweared that it was second-hand smoke, but they were all smart enough to know that you didn't smoke extacy. Oh well.
The door opened and Nida walked in. His eyes were buried deep in a tattered copy of "The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged)" and he wasn't even paying attention.
"Hi Nida!" Selphie chirruped. Nida dropped his book.
"Damnit Selphie what the hell are you doing here?"
"My my what language. Mom wouldn't like it."
"Didn't you have a meet today? Tri-State championships."
"Betcha didn't know that they gave cheerleaders drug tests."
"Okay. So the state knows that your boyfriend gets you drugs. What are you going to tell mom?"
"She doesn't have to know."
"She'll know you missed the meet."
"I didn't feel good."
"I guess that works, but if she asks me I'm not lying for you."
"Fair enough... so, how's Squall?" Selphie grinned.
"Shut up."
"He still doesn't know you exsist, does he?"
"No. I don't think so. I keep hoping that this play or that play will direct his attention, but..." Nida said hopelessly.
"Maybe you should go into artists modeling." She grinned wickedly again. She loved teasing him about Squall.
"Selphie, that's sick." Nida said, but his mind wandered off to a fantasy, where he stood nude and Squall put down his paintbrush and walked over...
"I'd get his attention..."
They bickered on, about what actions Nida should take for Squall's attention.
Xu drove her battered Honda up to the Fire Cross Car Repair. It was only a few blocks. Said car had been hit by another one in the campus parking lot, and against her better judgement she'd let a friend of a friend handle it. The friend happened to be Squall, who she knew from working at the theatre on campus. He painted the sets. She helped direct the plays. Her friend Nida acted in them.
She parked the car in the lot and walked in. Thankfully, the British egomaniac wasn't there. His muscle-bound guy Rajin was, and so was a new guy that she hadn't met before. He had long, shimmering aburn hair, and (as she'd find out) a thick southern drawl. She found him intensley hot. He happened to be seated behind the desk in the office.
"Hey." She walked into the garage. The new guy looked up, and then down at the desktop to consult the book.
"Xu?" he drawled.
"Yeah. The car's that way." She pointed.
Irvine had Rajin go drive it in and get it set up. What they needed to do was mostly exterior work, taking the panels off and reshaping them. While Rajin was setting up, Irvine wanted to know more about Xu, and Xu about Irvine.
"So you're from..."
"Texas."
"Conservative?" She inquired.
"Yeah, but I don't bother with that much. I'm not too far right, no matter what the people think I should be." Irvine shrugged.
"Well, you should fit right in with THIS town. Right wing conservative Republicans. All of em." Xu said it as if it were a curse.
"And what about you?"
"Liberal. But then again so are... well, enough people at the college."
Irvine mumbled something under his breath, and Xu thought he said "well baby, we can't let that come between us..."
"Say that a little louder?" Xu put a hand on her hip.
"We can't let that come between us." He looked at her seductivley.
"You're quite the charmer, aren't you."
"I'd ask you out but I don't know where to go here. I just got into town this week."
"Well I know a lovley little lunch place." Xu smiled coyly. It looked like it was a date.
The Actor
Nida sat in the campus theatre, more specifically on the stage, with the beautiful set that had been designed by... Squall, though he hadn't finished it yet. He was trying to puzzle out Xu's stage directions. He and two other guys, Watts and Zone, were to preform the comedy "The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged)" in three weeks. They had their lines memorized, but Xu's enterances and exits were confusing him. She had marks for coming out of trap door #4. There were three trap doors.
And that wasn't the worst problem. Zone had a tendency to get sick, and worse, stagefright, and Watts couldn't not call someone Sir. He had been kicked out of the army a few years ago and was still recovering. So Nida had to find two new guys to play the parts of Jess and Dan. He, of course, was Adam. He liked playing the girls. He was thinking of maybe getting some other guys in to do the parts. New faces and fresh talent.
He'd been looking around. He'd seen a guy that could pull off a good Dan, provided they modified Dan to make him more fun and less stuffy. He couldn't remember the kids'd name but he knew it started with a Z. Zaller, maybe. He hung out with the Brittish boy. They were lovers, apparently. He didn't know about Jess, though. Tall, maybe with an interesting accent, and of course for Jess ego is a requirment. He could start asking around.
Nida's gaze wandered off onto the set working. It was black and white, striped and blotched and complteley modern. There were three trap doors, a bridge over the set, five staircases, and it was amazing and dizzying. Nida woudn't have even noticed the set, however, if it wasn't that his idol had created it. It was a Squall Leonheart masterpiece. Nida thought that Squall was a god on earth. He practically drooled on the set.
He looked at his watch. It was lunchtime. He walked downtown to this resturant that he liked. They had really good fries if you ordered the right thing. He walked in the door and before the hostess could seat him-
"Hey Nida!" his friend Xu waved. She, and an admittedly gorgeous guy, tall wearing a tan trench coat, were obviously on a date. Nida walked over. They hadn't ordered yet, so they'd just gotten here.
"Irvy, this is Nida. He's the lead in the play I was telling you about."
"Hey," he said, and shook Nida's hand.
"Can you act?"
"Yeah, guess so... I was in plays in highschool."
"I was looking for new cast members. I'm firing Zone and Watts- they can't act. You'd be perfect for one of the roles." They all exchanged glances.
"Why not?" he shrugged. Nida was tapped on the shoulder by the hostess.
"Will you be joining them?"
"Yeah, he will." Xu inserted.
"I don't want to intrude on your date..."
"That's okay." Xu and Irvine said almost in unison. So the hostess gestured to the waitress who got another menu and place setting.
"So Nida, if you do fire your two fellow actors, and get Irvy as... Jess, you'd want him for, then who wouldyou use as Daniel?" Xu put on her "showman" mentality.
"Well... there's this blond kid I've seen around, hanging around Squall..." he trailed off.
Xu whispered to Irvine that Squall was Nida's crush, and Irvine nodded.
"Which blonde kid, the Brittish boy or his... boyfriend?" Xu was clearly going to say something to the effect of "main lay" but decided to go with the polite wording.
"The younger one. With the tatoo."
"Oh, you mean Zell?" Irvine interjected.
"Zell. Yeah. Him."
"Isn't Daniel supposed to be a serious part?"
"I was going to fix that anway. I'm doing Adam kind of wussy, and I can do that because I'm doing the Adam role, and I can do the Jess role sort of cowboy... and then I'm doing Daniel punk. So its more interesting, charachter-wise." Nida explained.
Talk about the play took up the rest of lunch, and then they headed back in their opposite directions- Nida back to the college, Xu downtown to do some shopping, and Irvine to the car repair shop.
The Cheerleader
Selphie sat on her brother's bed in his dorm. He wasn't back yet, and he probably wouldn't expect her here. She was supposed to be off at a meet. But she couldn't go. She'd failed the drug test. She sweared that it was second-hand smoke, but they were all smart enough to know that you didn't smoke extacy. Oh well.
The door opened and Nida walked in. His eyes were buried deep in a tattered copy of "The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged)" and he wasn't even paying attention.
"Hi Nida!" Selphie chirruped. Nida dropped his book.
"Damnit Selphie what the hell are you doing here?"
"My my what language. Mom wouldn't like it."
"Didn't you have a meet today? Tri-State championships."
"Betcha didn't know that they gave cheerleaders drug tests."
"Okay. So the state knows that your boyfriend gets you drugs. What are you going to tell mom?"
"She doesn't have to know."
"She'll know you missed the meet."
"I didn't feel good."
"I guess that works, but if she asks me I'm not lying for you."
"Fair enough... so, how's Squall?" Selphie grinned.
"Shut up."
"He still doesn't know you exsist, does he?"
"No. I don't think so. I keep hoping that this play or that play will direct his attention, but..." Nida said hopelessly.
"Maybe you should go into artists modeling." She grinned wickedly again. She loved teasing him about Squall.
"Selphie, that's sick." Nida said, but his mind wandered off to a fantasy, where he stood nude and Squall put down his paintbrush and walked over...
"I'd get his attention..."
They bickered on, about what actions Nida should take for Squall's attention.