Ah, you like me! You really, really like me! Or the story, anyway. Well, I'd like to PRETEND it's me that you all love. ANYWAY... to cure the insomnia that I'm sure a bunch of you are having over the incompleteness of this fic, I present to you: CHAPTER TWO. Enjoy! And don't forget to review! Thankies!
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~FAST TIMES AT DUANE STREET HIGH~
Chapter TWO: The Audition
"Mush! Hey, Mush! Think fast, buddy!"
A bottle of chocolate milk went sailing over the heads of unsuspecting students in the hall. Jacob "Mush" Myers caught it with a quick reflex. It was pretty expected-- after all, he WAS the quarterback of Duane Street's varsity football team. And it was game day, evident by the red-and-white jerseys that adorned the backs of the select few of the male social uppercrust.
Mush gulped down the bottle leisurely. "Thanks, man," he said, thanking his pal and fellow teammate Mike Masterson, whom everyone called Skittery since elementary school.
"Jesus, Mush! Slow down!" Skittery cautioned him. "You'll be spewin' that chocolate milk all over the field tonight if you don't watch it. Remember, we're playin' Irving High tonight."
He scoffed as he finished the bottle of milk. "I ain't worried about it," he replied. "We always kick their asses ev'ry time. Their defense sucks."
It was the end of the day, and all of the students were undertaking their daily exodus out of the school. Weekend plans were bouncing off of every wall-- for it was Friday. Two days of freedom. Two days of no school.
"Delancey!" Mush barked to another jersey nearby.
The jersey's owner turned, nodding to Mush and Skittery. "Hey guys."
Skittery returned the nod. "Whaddya say, Oscar?"
{A/N: Yes, I know!! Oscar Delancey is friends with Skitts an' Mush! But *sigh* all in the best interest of plot advancement... Don't hurt me!!}
"I'm all right." Oscar shrugged. "Gettin' my ass home before I have to come back here."
As the three boys left the school, they bypassed a pink flier advertising the auditions for "Romeo and Juliet." Oscar grinned, ripping it off the wall.
"What was that?" Mush questioned, staring at the ball of pink paper on the floor.
"Some kinda try-outs for the school play," Oscar scoffed. "Damn those drama freaks..."
Skittery snorted out an agreeing laugh. "Yeah; whatta bunch of losers."
Stagey found the drama room just like she had a few hours earlier. It was even MORE flooded with anxious kids than earlier that day. Everyone was running lines from the play to prepare for the auditions.
"Hey, looky! It's the new kid!" Blink called to Stagey above the noise.
Stagey grinned. She was glad to see someone recognize her. "Hi!" she called, crossing the room to join him.
"We're runnin' lines," he informed her. "C'mon; have a seat."
She pulled up a chair, tossing down her homework-laden bookbag. Only one day at school and she had way too much homework.
"Geez, Stagey." Jack was seated across from Blink, studying the lines in a copy of the script. "They sure weighed ya down with bookwork, huh?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she growled. "So, what scene are we readin' here?"
Blink tossed her a copy of the script. "Act Two, Scene One," he reported.
The three of them perused through the script for about fifteen minutes before Ms. Larkson called above the noise:
"Okay, guys! Please have a seat someplace so we can start the auditions!"
The kids all flowed into seats gradually as the auditions began.
Stagey was initially a little disappointed for the beginning of the auditions. She wasn't called up once to read-- not for Juliet, not for the Nurse... not even for Lady Montague. She was almost discouraged enough to leave and wait until the next play to audition. Jack was up there a lot, however. So was Blink.
Jack was on the platform again, reading for Romeo for about the fourteenth time. Everyone pretty much knew that the part was his. He went through a cycle of potential Juliets, selected from the roster by Ms. Larkson.
"All right. Thanks very much, Rachel and Jack..." Ms. Larkson scanned through the sheet of paper on her clipboard. "Rachel... you can have a seat. Jack, stay up there for me, please... okay... Danielle!"
Stagey's head whipped up, clutching her script anxiously. "Yes?"
"Danielle, please go on up there and read with Jack... Act One, Scene Five, page twelve... starting at the middle right there with Romeo's line."
Stagey's eyes wandered to the place Ms. Larkson indicated. She was supposed to read for Juliet. Stagey blinked in surprise. She hadn't seen that one coming.
Jack seemed totally okay with it as he found the starting place. "If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this." Completely in character, but nonetheless taking Stagey by surprise, Jack grasped her hand and brought her further center stage. "My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."
She cleared her throat, reading her line with as much Juliet reproach as she could show forth: "Good pilgrim, you do wrong, your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this. For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."
He picked up his line immediately, giving a Romeo-ish grin. "Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"
"Ay, pilgrim," Stagey read, "lips that they must use in prayer."
"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair," Jack said in reply. If she hadn't seen the way he acted with the rest of the prospective Juliets, Stagey could have sworn he was trying to hit on her.
She read Juliet's next line: "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."
Jack edged closer to her. "Then move not while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purg'd."
Stagey swallowed nervously as she saw the following stage direction: "[Kisses her.]" Before she could gather her bearings, Jack was slowly moving in for Romeo's kiss. He stopped abruptly when he was only about three inches from her mouth.
"Very well done!" Ms. Larkson chirped. "Thank you very much. You both may have a seat."
Jack closed his script, falling back out of character. "Good job, Stagey," he said as they took their seats.
"Uh, thanks. You too. Good job." If Stagey had a mirror, she'd know that her face was a faint shade of red. She had no idea why. After all, she acted before. She'd even kissed a guy before... well, only on stage. So why was she so anxious? It must have been because she was new. That was all.
Stagey's moment of excitement for getting to read for Juliet fell again when she wasn't called up again to read. Well, there went any hope of landing a part.
"That's all, folks!" Ms. Larkson called after about an hour. "Keep an eye out for the cast list on Monday afternoon after school! Thank you all for coming!"
Everyone murmured their way out of the room, sounding either confident or downtrodden from their experience at the audition.
"That was great!" Jack crowed as he and Blink left the building.
"Sure was, Romeo!" Blink said with a grin. "Dude, you SO have that part bagged."
He tried to show a little modesty. "Ah, who knows? Miss Larkson can get weird like that with her casting." He turned around to see Stagey straggling behind. "Hey, Stagey... what's eatin' ya? You did great."
"Yeah, sure," she said dryly. "I did great... in the one whole time I got called up to read." She frowned, kicking a piece of trash across the parking lot. "I don't get it... I never did that bad at an audition before."
"Who says you did bad?" he questioned, shifting his backpack around. "I thought you did a great job."
"Whoo..." Blink tittered jokingly. "Smooth move, Romeo!" He paused. "Well, listen, I'm gonna head home. See ya at the game, Jack?"
"Yeah, sure," he answered, waving him off. "Later, Blink." Once Blink was out of sight, Jack turned to Stagey. "Aw, cheer up, Stagey... worryin' about it is only gonna ruin your weekend." He grinned at her encouragingly.
Stagey allowed a smile to crack across her face. "Yeah. Guess I shouldn't be such a mental case about it."
"No; you shouldn't. It's all good... it's jus' a play, after all."
"Yeah..." Stagey paused. "Hey, uh, Jack? Wanna go grab somethin' to eat down the street?"
He winced. "Love to, but I can't. I gotta take my girlfriend home..." he replied.
Her heart sank for some unknown reason. "Oh... well, okay then."
Sarah sat cross-legged on the hood of Jack's black Mustang. "'Bout time!" she chirped with a grin. She hopped down off of the hood and greeted Jack with a kiss, which was returned eagerly by him.
Stagey watched from a little distance, feeling pretty awkward. "Okay... well, I'd better get going. It's a little bit of a walk to home. See you around, Jack..." She prepared to leave.
"Wait... hey, Stagey," Jack called after her. "I can give you a ride home. I got plenty of room in the back seat."
"Not right now," Sarah hinted to him, indicating a mass of papier-mache in the back. "I had to toss my science project back there."
"Oh," he said. "Sorry, Stagey..."
She shrugged, hugging her backpack closer to her. "It's okay. I'm good. See you later then."
"Kay." He smiled. "You comin' to the football game tonight?"
"Yeah, maybe..."
"Maybe I'll see ya there?"
She smiled a little. "Sure." She disappeared down the street.
"So who's that, Jack?" Sarah purred, sliding into the passenger's seat.
He started the ignition. "Oh, jus' the new kid..." He looked at Sarah. "What, you jealous?" he asked with a smile.
"No..." she mused. "Not in the least."
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An' there it be, kids!! PLEASE review!! Thanks so much! Don't forget to stay tuned for Chapter Three... comin' soon to a monitor near you!
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~FAST TIMES AT DUANE STREET HIGH~
Chapter TWO: The Audition
"Mush! Hey, Mush! Think fast, buddy!"
A bottle of chocolate milk went sailing over the heads of unsuspecting students in the hall. Jacob "Mush" Myers caught it with a quick reflex. It was pretty expected-- after all, he WAS the quarterback of Duane Street's varsity football team. And it was game day, evident by the red-and-white jerseys that adorned the backs of the select few of the male social uppercrust.
Mush gulped down the bottle leisurely. "Thanks, man," he said, thanking his pal and fellow teammate Mike Masterson, whom everyone called Skittery since elementary school.
"Jesus, Mush! Slow down!" Skittery cautioned him. "You'll be spewin' that chocolate milk all over the field tonight if you don't watch it. Remember, we're playin' Irving High tonight."
He scoffed as he finished the bottle of milk. "I ain't worried about it," he replied. "We always kick their asses ev'ry time. Their defense sucks."
It was the end of the day, and all of the students were undertaking their daily exodus out of the school. Weekend plans were bouncing off of every wall-- for it was Friday. Two days of freedom. Two days of no school.
"Delancey!" Mush barked to another jersey nearby.
The jersey's owner turned, nodding to Mush and Skittery. "Hey guys."
Skittery returned the nod. "Whaddya say, Oscar?"
{A/N: Yes, I know!! Oscar Delancey is friends with Skitts an' Mush! But *sigh* all in the best interest of plot advancement... Don't hurt me!!}
"I'm all right." Oscar shrugged. "Gettin' my ass home before I have to come back here."
As the three boys left the school, they bypassed a pink flier advertising the auditions for "Romeo and Juliet." Oscar grinned, ripping it off the wall.
"What was that?" Mush questioned, staring at the ball of pink paper on the floor.
"Some kinda try-outs for the school play," Oscar scoffed. "Damn those drama freaks..."
Skittery snorted out an agreeing laugh. "Yeah; whatta bunch of losers."
Stagey found the drama room just like she had a few hours earlier. It was even MORE flooded with anxious kids than earlier that day. Everyone was running lines from the play to prepare for the auditions.
"Hey, looky! It's the new kid!" Blink called to Stagey above the noise.
Stagey grinned. She was glad to see someone recognize her. "Hi!" she called, crossing the room to join him.
"We're runnin' lines," he informed her. "C'mon; have a seat."
She pulled up a chair, tossing down her homework-laden bookbag. Only one day at school and she had way too much homework.
"Geez, Stagey." Jack was seated across from Blink, studying the lines in a copy of the script. "They sure weighed ya down with bookwork, huh?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she growled. "So, what scene are we readin' here?"
Blink tossed her a copy of the script. "Act Two, Scene One," he reported.
The three of them perused through the script for about fifteen minutes before Ms. Larkson called above the noise:
"Okay, guys! Please have a seat someplace so we can start the auditions!"
The kids all flowed into seats gradually as the auditions began.
Stagey was initially a little disappointed for the beginning of the auditions. She wasn't called up once to read-- not for Juliet, not for the Nurse... not even for Lady Montague. She was almost discouraged enough to leave and wait until the next play to audition. Jack was up there a lot, however. So was Blink.
Jack was on the platform again, reading for Romeo for about the fourteenth time. Everyone pretty much knew that the part was his. He went through a cycle of potential Juliets, selected from the roster by Ms. Larkson.
"All right. Thanks very much, Rachel and Jack..." Ms. Larkson scanned through the sheet of paper on her clipboard. "Rachel... you can have a seat. Jack, stay up there for me, please... okay... Danielle!"
Stagey's head whipped up, clutching her script anxiously. "Yes?"
"Danielle, please go on up there and read with Jack... Act One, Scene Five, page twelve... starting at the middle right there with Romeo's line."
Stagey's eyes wandered to the place Ms. Larkson indicated. She was supposed to read for Juliet. Stagey blinked in surprise. She hadn't seen that one coming.
Jack seemed totally okay with it as he found the starting place. "If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this." Completely in character, but nonetheless taking Stagey by surprise, Jack grasped her hand and brought her further center stage. "My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."
She cleared her throat, reading her line with as much Juliet reproach as she could show forth: "Good pilgrim, you do wrong, your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this. For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."
He picked up his line immediately, giving a Romeo-ish grin. "Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"
"Ay, pilgrim," Stagey read, "lips that they must use in prayer."
"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair," Jack said in reply. If she hadn't seen the way he acted with the rest of the prospective Juliets, Stagey could have sworn he was trying to hit on her.
She read Juliet's next line: "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."
Jack edged closer to her. "Then move not while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purg'd."
Stagey swallowed nervously as she saw the following stage direction: "[Kisses her.]" Before she could gather her bearings, Jack was slowly moving in for Romeo's kiss. He stopped abruptly when he was only about three inches from her mouth.
"Very well done!" Ms. Larkson chirped. "Thank you very much. You both may have a seat."
Jack closed his script, falling back out of character. "Good job, Stagey," he said as they took their seats.
"Uh, thanks. You too. Good job." If Stagey had a mirror, she'd know that her face was a faint shade of red. She had no idea why. After all, she acted before. She'd even kissed a guy before... well, only on stage. So why was she so anxious? It must have been because she was new. That was all.
Stagey's moment of excitement for getting to read for Juliet fell again when she wasn't called up again to read. Well, there went any hope of landing a part.
"That's all, folks!" Ms. Larkson called after about an hour. "Keep an eye out for the cast list on Monday afternoon after school! Thank you all for coming!"
Everyone murmured their way out of the room, sounding either confident or downtrodden from their experience at the audition.
"That was great!" Jack crowed as he and Blink left the building.
"Sure was, Romeo!" Blink said with a grin. "Dude, you SO have that part bagged."
He tried to show a little modesty. "Ah, who knows? Miss Larkson can get weird like that with her casting." He turned around to see Stagey straggling behind. "Hey, Stagey... what's eatin' ya? You did great."
"Yeah, sure," she said dryly. "I did great... in the one whole time I got called up to read." She frowned, kicking a piece of trash across the parking lot. "I don't get it... I never did that bad at an audition before."
"Who says you did bad?" he questioned, shifting his backpack around. "I thought you did a great job."
"Whoo..." Blink tittered jokingly. "Smooth move, Romeo!" He paused. "Well, listen, I'm gonna head home. See ya at the game, Jack?"
"Yeah, sure," he answered, waving him off. "Later, Blink." Once Blink was out of sight, Jack turned to Stagey. "Aw, cheer up, Stagey... worryin' about it is only gonna ruin your weekend." He grinned at her encouragingly.
Stagey allowed a smile to crack across her face. "Yeah. Guess I shouldn't be such a mental case about it."
"No; you shouldn't. It's all good... it's jus' a play, after all."
"Yeah..." Stagey paused. "Hey, uh, Jack? Wanna go grab somethin' to eat down the street?"
He winced. "Love to, but I can't. I gotta take my girlfriend home..." he replied.
Her heart sank for some unknown reason. "Oh... well, okay then."
Sarah sat cross-legged on the hood of Jack's black Mustang. "'Bout time!" she chirped with a grin. She hopped down off of the hood and greeted Jack with a kiss, which was returned eagerly by him.
Stagey watched from a little distance, feeling pretty awkward. "Okay... well, I'd better get going. It's a little bit of a walk to home. See you around, Jack..." She prepared to leave.
"Wait... hey, Stagey," Jack called after her. "I can give you a ride home. I got plenty of room in the back seat."
"Not right now," Sarah hinted to him, indicating a mass of papier-mache in the back. "I had to toss my science project back there."
"Oh," he said. "Sorry, Stagey..."
She shrugged, hugging her backpack closer to her. "It's okay. I'm good. See you later then."
"Kay." He smiled. "You comin' to the football game tonight?"
"Yeah, maybe..."
"Maybe I'll see ya there?"
She smiled a little. "Sure." She disappeared down the street.
"So who's that, Jack?" Sarah purred, sliding into the passenger's seat.
He started the ignition. "Oh, jus' the new kid..." He looked at Sarah. "What, you jealous?" he asked with a smile.
"No..." she mused. "Not in the least."
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An' there it be, kids!! PLEASE review!! Thanks so much! Don't forget to stay tuned for Chapter Three... comin' soon to a monitor near you!