Lunch period had rolled around for another afternoon, and as had become the custom for some of the thespians from the theater club whose lunch periods happened to be within the same time frame, they had gathered together at a table that allowed for them to sit and enjoy their midday break together; prankster Luan, in particular, was still reeling from having been pranked herself earlier that morning.
"Boy, you guys really got me good with that revenge locker prank," she said. "And that's saying a lot, I am not an easy target!"
"I guess that's why they always say, 'Expect the unexpected,'" said Shannon.
"Yeah, speakin' of which, I'm totally gonna start, like, expecting pranks from you from now on, Luan, now that Shannon's told me what a prankster you are," added Ruby.
Luan sighed as she lamented, "I may have to consider going into retirement…"
That may have been for the best… especially with what happened after last April Fool's Day, when she pranked her entire family with stunt doubles to the point of shaming and humiliating them into packing up and moving out of Royal Woods altogether because of her… even though that turned out to be their revenge prank on her, still, the idea that she had gone that far in embarrassing them may have finally opened to her eyes to the consequences of becoming so carried away with her pranks on April Fool's Day.
But, as Luan became lost in this particular train of thought, Ruby still had something else in mind to discuss with Shannon.
"So, what pointers can you give me for, like, memorizing lines and stuff?" She asked. "Cause, like, Shakespeare's dialogue is kinda, like, really wordy and all… how can you, like, even remember all those lines?"
Shannon could not help but smirk just a little as she explained, "Well, in my case, I've read his stories so many times, I pretty much know them by heart… but, there are a number of different techniques you can try to help you memorize lines…"
"Yeah? Like what?" Ruby asked.
Shannon considered the matter in her mind for a moment before she came to realize, "I think in your case, what would help is if you had a scene partner to practice the lines with… not only would that help you with memorizing, but it would also help you remember your cues based on the exchange in dialogue between you and your fellow thespians when acting out scenes on stage."
"Hey, maybe you could be my scene partner to help me practice?" Ruby suggested.
Shannon nodded, "Yeah, I could… however; I think I know somebody else who could probably not only help you practice, but also really help you stay in character…"
"Who?" Ruby asked.
When school had concluded for another day, Ruby dropped by Spencer's locker to see him for a rather important matter.
"Sup, my dude?" She greeted him.
"Hey, babe!" He returned the greeting.
"So, like, you're not doing anything after school today, are you?" She asked.
"I didn't really have anything planned," he said as he pulled the straps of his backpack over his shoulders, shut his locker, and smiled "You up for something?"
"As a matter of fact, I totally am…"
Shortly thereafter, the Indian girl and the burly jock had arrived in Tall Timbers Park, where they found Shannon sitting under a yellow-leafed tree where she had awaited their arrival with a copy of the script for Romeo & Juliet in hand.
"What's going on?" Spencer asked as Ruby brought him over to a spot on the grass where Shannon sat.
"Like, Shannon's helping learn how to memorize lines so I can audition for the play," explained Ruby. "And she thought you could help her help me…"
"Well, I just thought since Ruby's trying out for Juliet, maybe she'd like to have her Romeo practice with her…" added Shannon.
"Oh, yeah?" Spencer asked as his cheeks started to tinge just a little; looks like he may have no other choice but to audition for Romeo now.
"Now, Rubes, I really only have specific note for you…" said Shannon.
"Like, what's that?" Ruby asked.
"You really need to break your habit of saying, 'Like,' all the time…" continued Shannon.
"Like, what do you mean?" Ruby asked in a clueless manner.
"Just what I mean…" continued Shannon. "You have a habit of saying, 'Like,' all the time and we really need to break you of that so you can say your lines properly."
"Like, I don't say, 'Like,' like, all the time…" argued Ruby. "I mean, like, yeah, maybe I, like, say, 'Like,' every once in a while, but, like, it's not like I say it, like, every other word, like, do I Spence?"
Spencer stood with his tongue clinched between his teeth… Ruby had very much just proven Shannon's point; whether she was even aware of it or not… however, that was all that she needed to get the hint.
She sighed, "Yeah, okay… maybe I do say, 'Like,' a bit much…"
Shannon reached up, took hold of Ruby's wrist, and pulled her down to the ground to have a sit, while Spencer also lowered himself to the ground to take a seat for himself.
"I know old habits die hard, Rubes, but, I believe you can do it… I believe in you…" continued Shannon as she held onto Ruby's wrist for a brief moment before their eyes eventually met. "I believe in you..."
Something about the way Shannon had said those four encouraging words had a rather indescribable, yet profound effect on Ruby, as a coy smile quivered from her lips and she softly responded, "Like, thanks, Shans…"
Both Shannon and Spencer stifled a snicker over Ruby still slipping up on her verbal habit. Now was the time to get down to business, as Shannon hag begun to flip through some of the pages of the script, and assumed the role of a director to better help coach Ruby in practicing her lines with her scene partner, Spencer.
"Alright… Romeo, Juliet, here's your motivation…" Shannon continued, while Ruby and Spencer seemed rather amused by how she was able to do a spot-on impression of their flamboyant drama teacher - even to their point that the voice sounded exactly the same. "You are two young lovers who desiiiiire to possess one another… but, neither of your families approve…"
"Y'know, I'm, like, starting to sense a pattern with Shakespeare's stories…" said Ruby with a hint of sarcasm, since she remembered forbidden romance being one of the themes of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
"Why don't we ease into this with something a little more familiar," suggested Shannon as she continued to flip through her script. "Like Act II, Scene II… better known as the balcony scene!"
Spencer almost could not believe he was actually practicing a romantic scene with his own girlfriend, as he removed his backpack from his person to remove the script from within; even though he was very much familiar with the dialogue like Shannon was, he still felt the sense of butterflies in his gut as he glanced down at the text.
"ACTION!" Shannon exclaimed.
"But, soft!" He began. "What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun… arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon! It is my lady, it is my love!"
As Ruby's eyes followed the words that were printed on her copy of the script, she found the line she was to recite next as she spoke, "Romeo, Romeo! Like, where for art thou, Romeo?"
"CUT!" Shannon's exclamation startled her fellow thespians, as she addressed the Indian girl: "Ruby… WHAT did I JUST say about saying, 'Like'?"
"Like, I can't help it!" Ruby insisted. "It's a hard habit to, like, break, okay?"
"Then concentrate," Shannon also insisted. "No matter what, do-not-say-like!"
Ruby sighed and nodded, "You're right… okay, let's go again, I can do this…"
"Okay, try that line again…" said Shannon. "ACTION!"
"Romeo, Romeo! Where for art thou, Romeo?" Ruby started again. "Deny thy father and refuse thy name!"
Much to the pleasant surprise of both Shannon and Spencer, Ruby proved to be a rather speedy learner; even if she still occasionally, out of habit, slipped in a 'like' or two as she practiced her lines, they could see that she was also really getting into the role the more she and Spencer ran through their lines together. Shannon was most pleased with her friend's effort and felt that if she could keep at it, her audition for the role of Juliet would be a breeze… and seeing her enthusiasm made Spencer feel more and more comfortable with the possibility of auditioning for Romeo as well.
For the rest of the week, Ruby had really applied herself to practicing and learning her lines so that she could memorize them, and show Mrs. Bernardo that she would be her most ideal choice to cast as Juliet in their upcoming play – even on days when Spencer had other obligations that prevented him from also practicing along with her, Shannon still continued to coach her friend. In fact, she had an idea for a most intriguing exercise for Ruby one such day: the Tannenbaum's lived in a rather large apartment building in another part of town, and their apartment happened to be on the third flood of this building, which meant they had access to a balcony; after school, Ruby met up with Shannon at her apartment, where the bespectacled brunette laid out her plan to practice the famous balcony scene from the play with the Indian girl…
"Okay, so it's like when you pretended to flip out over Luan wiping out your locker," explained Shannon after Ruby met up with her on the sidewalk outside the building. "Pretend that you are Juliet and that you are walking out onto that balcony to address your Romeo…"
"And, you're my Romeo?" Ruby asked with a sense of bemusement.
"For the purposes of today's exercise, yes," said Shannon. "Now, get up to that balcony, and I'll cue you."
"Like, okay…"
With that, Ruby dashed into an alcove where a metal staircase would take her up to the third floor, whereupon she would step over to the wrought iron barrier to pretend to be Juliet.
"Are you ready?" Shannon's voice called from down below.
"Totally!" Ruby called back in reply.
"Then… ACTION!"
That was her cue. Ruby slowly sauntered over to the railing to which she easily leaned against and looked out into the parking lot of this apartment complex, as though she were trying to seek out her forbidden lover in the night.
"Romeo, Romeo! Where for art thou, Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name!"
Shannon felt herself almost lose contact with reality; as far as she was concerned, in that moment, Ruby really was Juliet – she felt the part, she breathed the part; she was the part… and all without uttering the word, 'Like.' Even she had to admit that Ruby up on that third floor apartment balcony uttering these words seemed rather romantic.
When she saw that she had gotten no response from down below, Ruby called out, "Yo! Romeo! We doin' this thing or what?"
That snapped Shannon out of it as she blushed ever-so-slightly and apologized for her little gaffe, "Sorry, Rubes… I'm just blown away by how good you've gotten…"
"Really?" Ruby asked; that bestowed upon her a sense of accomplishment and pride.
"Let's take it from the top again, and this time, I'll be on top of my game," directed Shannon.
"Like, okay…" replied Ruby as she disappeared back into the alcove of the third floor balcony to, once again, await her cue.
"ACTION!" Shannon called out again.
Just as before, Ruby slowly sauntered to the railing to peer out into the parking lot as Juliet to seek out her Romeo.
"Romeo, Romeo! Where for art thou, Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name!"
Shannon recited her response as Romeo: "Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear, that tips with silver all these fruit tree tops…"
"Swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon that monthly changes in her circled orb," interrupted Ruby in-character as Juliet. "Lest thy love prove likewise variable."
"What shall I swear by?" Shannon asked in reply as she continued to help Ruby practice this scene.
"Do not swear at all," suggested the Indian Juliet. "Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, which is the god of my idolatry, and I'll believe thee…"
"O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" Shannon responded.
"What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?" Ruby asked.
"The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine," said Shannon.
At that moment, a young boy happened to pass by – no doubt a resident of the apartment – and when he witnessed what it was that had unfolded in this spot, he decided to interject with a suggestion of his own as he spoke up to the wavy-haired girl with the glasses on her freckled face, and the orange sweater and denim skirt:
"You know, maybe if you went up there to talk to that other girl, she wouldn't have to keep yelling at you from the balcony…"
Whether or not this boy was even aware that these two teen girls were practicing a scene from their upcoming school play, Shannon still could not resist the addition of some rather facetious commentary of her own:
"Everyone's a critic…" she mumbled.
Friday afternoon finally came, and with it came the auditions for Royal Woods High's theater club production of Romeo & Juliet; as was the case with the club's previous play, the auditorium was filled with a sense of cautious optimism among the thespians who knew which roles they wanted to audition for… if Mrs. Bernardo were to be honest with herself, she would just as soon cast Shannon in the role of Juliet after she did so well as Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream – and, if this were Hollywood, and she a more prolific director, she probably would have. Alas, this was merely high school dramatics, and she but a lowly drama teacher; as such, she had to refrain from partiality to give her students equal opportunities to audition for a romantic lead role such as Juliet or even Romeo.
As the various thespians awaited another one of Mrs. Bernardo's grand entrances, they engaged in some form or other of an exercise, whether it was a vocal warm-up or even some kind of monologue to prepare themselves for their impending auditions; Ruby stood by and quoted whatever random Shakespeare quotes popped into her mind…
"Like, to be, or, like, not to be, that is, like, the question…?"
"Ruby! You're saying, 'Like,' again!" Shannon scolded as she approached her maroon-clad best friend.
Ruby chuckled, "I know, I, like, couldn't resist…"
"Well, don't say, 'Like,' during your audition, you could really blow it!" Shannon fretted.
"Chill, Shans," said Ruby. "I, like, won't say, 'Like,' during my audition… I, like, have self-control…"
"I hope so, ya don't need to lose control," said a voice that sounded similar to Luan's, but had a somewhat more masculine tone to it.
The two girls turned around and were met with a most unusual sight: a little red-headed wooden dummy clad in a little yellow hat and a light blue suit, who also bore large out-of-focus eyes, the pupils of which almost looked like little coconuts. The other two girls were more than startled by its appearance – Ruby, in particular, as she had never seen this dummy before, and the very sight of it made her yelp in surprise.
"NYAH!"
"NYAH to you, too, Toots!" Luan said through her ventriloquist dummy, Mr. Coconuts.
"Like, what is that thing?" A perturbed Ruby asked.
"Who are you callin' a 'thing'?" Mr. Coconuts retorted. "The name's Coconuts… Mister Coconuts ta you, Doll!"
Ruby darted her eyes toward Shannon, who explained to her, "Luan can also do ventriloquism…"
"Okay, no offense, but that is, like, super creepy…" Ruby shivered.
"Personally, I prefer super freaky," said Mr. Coconuts as he broke into a little song-and-dance routine in a nod Rick James:
She's a super freak, super freak; she's super freeeeaaaaky, yeah!
"Okay, settle down there, Mr. C.," Luan firmly instructed almost like a mother who tried to deal with her hyper little child.
"Aw, come on, Doll; I was just gettin' jiggy with it!" Mr. Coconuts argued.
"Yeah, well, the jig is up, so settle down, or I'll let a termite do a jitterbug on your wooden noggin!" Luan offered as an ultimatum.
Mr. Coconuts turned his head to face the other two girls, which only continued to disturb Ruby, as he had to make one final last remark before being shoved back into Luan's backpack: "I believe she would…"
"So, you brought Mr. Coconuts with you today?" Shannon asked.
"Well, he's been cooped up in the house for a while, so I thought he'd enjoy watching our auditions," said Luan as she slid her backpack aside.
"That thing is seriously gonna, like, watch us?" An uncomfortable Ruby asked.
"Well, if he makes you nervous, I'll tell him to close his eyes or turn his back when it's your turn!" Luan offered.
"Yyyyyeeeaaah… thanks?" Ruby responded in uncertainty.
Ruby was not the only one who felt nervous in the moment, though not because of Mr. Coconuts… once again, Spencer struggled with more internal conflict, as he still felt like his sticking with theater club was a huge risk for him, and especially since part of him still did not want to miss out on football season, which he knew he would if he passed his audition. As was the case before, despite the knowledge he also possessed for the works of Shakespeare, his nerves and insecurities were making it difficult for him to concentrate on anything, as he, too, stumbled in a little warm-up of his own:
"To thine own self be… blue…" he mumbled, but knew that was not correct. "No, wait… true!"
As Spencer pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, Luan stepped over to her backpack to not only reposition Mr. Coconut's head to turn him away from everyone else on the stage, but also so she could quietly fawn over Benny as she watched him engage in a vocal warm-up of his own before his audition.
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet…" he recited from memory, which Luan found so romantic; she silently hoped that, whatever parts either of them are cast in, will allow for them to continue to bond and grow closer to one another.
Once Mrs. Bernardo had arrived in her usual fashion, the audition process was finally underway, and eventually, the time had come for Ruby to take her turn.
"You've so got this!" Shannon said softly, as she gave her friend a pat on the back.
With a deep breath, Ruby held her head up high, marched out into center stage, and turned toward the empty auditorium where Mrs. Bernardo sat in the front row and gauged each of her thespians' auditions. Ruby recited a particularly lengthy line of dialogue she had practiced nearly all week long in preparation for this very moment:
"Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say, 'Ay,' and I will take thy word… yet, if thou swearst, though mayst prove false at lover's perjuries, then say, Jove laughs. O, gentle Romeo… if thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully! Or, if thou thinkst I am too quickly won, I'll frown and be perverse an say thee nay, so thou wilt woo, but else, not for the world…"
Nailed it! Is what Shannon thought. Even Mrs. Bernardo looked impressed; although Ruby exercised restraint in not repeatedly saying, 'Like,' she still retained her valley girl inflections otherwise… even so, Mrs. Bernardo could sense that her young thespian had very much immersed herself into this part, and that was what really shined through her audition.
Next came Spencer, and right away, Mrs. Bernardo knew that this would be a most interesting audition: she maintained her opinion that he possessed a natural talent for stage acting, but she never knew whether or not he would possibly succumb to his hurdle of misquoting some of his lines, which she had no knowledge of the fact that this hurdle was brought on by whatever turmoil ate away at his mind. This proved to be the case with his audition:
"Alas, that love, whose view is muffled still, should, without eyes, see pathways to his bill!" He suddenly stopped when he realized that did not sound right, and what happened next had astounded Mrs. Bernardo, as she watched Spencer pull down his sleeve to inadvertently reveal that he had crib notes written on his arms. "Will! Pathways to his will! Where shall we dine? O, me! What tray was here? No, wait… that's an 'F,' not a 'T'… what fray was here? Yet, tell me not, for I have heard it all! Here's much to do with hate, but more with love…"
Once again, Mrs. Bernardo was pleased with Spencer's delivery and his ability to dial into character, but he still, obviously, needed to overcome this hurdle of his – and, preferably, without having to resort to such a cheating tactic as writing crib notes on his arms or hands… he did so well in A Midsummer Night's Dream without uttering a single mistake, could he achieve such a performance again in Romeo & Juliet? Mrs. Bernardo had to wonder about that as she spent the weekend considering those who had auditioned for the various roles in the play to determine who she felt was the thespian best suited for said roles.
This time around, Mrs. Bernardo was able to have an actual cast list for the play be typed up and printed, and come the following Monday morning, said cast list for Romeo & Juliet had been tacked to the bulletin board in the corridor close to the school's main entrance. Upon seeing this, many of those who had auditioned to be in the play gathered around to see if they had made the cut; a lot of them did, but others, not so much. What few drama students who did not see their names on the cast list went about their business dejectedly, but for those who did see their names printed on the list, they stuck around to allow their senses to absorb the information – particularly the two who found themselves cast in the titular roles.
"No way!" Spencer exclaimed as he saw who had been cast in the leads. "Is this for real?!"
"O-M-G! We're actually Romeo and Juliet?!" Ruby squealed. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I can't believe it!"
"I didn't think I was gonna make the cut!" Spencer lamented, while still in shock.
"Like, me neither!" Ruby said before she glanced out of the corner of her eye and noticed the bespectacled brunette who had just turned the corner in the hall and called out to her. "Shans! Come-come! Take a lookie!"
Shannon walked over to take a look at the cast list herself, and was likewise most excited to see who would be playing the lead roles in the play.
"Oh my goodness, you guys are going to be Romeo and Juliet?!" She marveled. "That is so amazing! Congrats!"
"And, it's, like, all thanks to having a totally awesome bestie like you!" Ruby squealed as she threw her arms around Shannon and squeezed her tightly. "If it wasn't for you teaching me how to, like, get into character, and learn how to, like, memorize lines, I'd, like, never get an opportunity like this!"
Shannon's freckled cheeks began to glow red; once again, knowing that somebody like Ruby had come to regard her as their bestie really made her feel rather warm and fuzzy inside. She reached an arm around Ruby's middle and gave her a gentle squeeze as she modestly downplayed her involvement.
"Oh, you deserve a lot of the credit, yourself," she insisted as she and Ruby pulled away from each other. "After all, you were the one who wanted to really work at it and improve your skills… I just gave you a few pointers, is all."
"Yeah, but those pointers totally, like, helped a lot!" Ruby said.
Shannon continued to smile and blush, "Well, I still say this is mostly your achievement, and I'm so happy for you. You, too, Spencer; you'll make an excellent Romeo!"
Spencer was unable to control the light blushing in his cheeks as well; it felt a little awkward to hear praise for what little acting skills he possessed, but he was still flattered nonetheless.
"Thanks, Shannon," he replied. "I still can't believe I'm actually going to be Romeo! This feels so unreal!"
Shannon read over the list to see if she had a part in the play, and as it turned out, she did, albeit a minor part. "Oh, I'm a Montague… looks like you and I are related, Spencer."
Spencer's response was something of a combined smirk and chuckle, though Ruby was just a little confused.
"Huh? How so?" Ruby asked.
"Because the Montagues are Romeo's family," Shannon pointed out. "And, we're sworn enemies with the Capulets, Juliet's family… so, looks like we're going to have to despise each other, since we want nothing to do with you and your family, Juliet."
"Wow! Harsh!" Ruby remarked.
"My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself," Spencer began to recite the words of Romeo as he took hold of Ruby's hand. "Because it is an enemy to thee, had I it written, I would tear the word!"
As the young couple stood smiling at each other for a brief moment, Shannon came to realize that time was slipping through her fingers.
"Well, mazel tov!" She said to the two before she pressed onward for her first period.
Ruby and Spencer remained behind, still unable to believe that they would be playing Romeo and Juliet in the play; slowly, their eyes turned to each other as a certain realization struck both of them at the same time.
"You, like, know what this means, don't you?" She asked him with a sly look on her face.
Spencer ended up with a rather coy look on his face; he knew what this was leading to, as he replied, "I think I see where this is going…"
Ruby cocked an eyebrow and asked, "Should we go ahead and start practicing now, or save it for the play?"
Spencer could hardly contain his excitement over the very idea of kissing Ruby – it was not at all difficult for him to imagine her being an amazing kisser. Still, he could not resist engaging in some more playful banter with her, as he started to tug at his ear and said, "I don't know… why don't we just play it by ear?"
Ruby laughed, "Dude, you totally sound like Luan!"
They both shared in another laugh, but at the present time, their thoughts of sharing a kiss in the play had to be shoved into the back of their minds as another, more pressing matter arose…
"Guess we better, like, get to class," said Ruby as she parted ways with Spencer. "Farewell, my Romeo…"
"Aye, my Juliet!" Spencer waved to her as he made his way down the corridor to his class.
Of course Shannon can do a spot-on impression of Mrs. Bernardo - impersonations happen to be one of her numerous different performing talents. What, you thought it was because both characters happen to be voiced by the same actor, or something? Now, that's just silly.
In all seriousness, though, as you can probably tell, we are now reaching a point in the story in which we will be revisiting the events of "Stage Plight." We've all seen that episode, and we all know what happens... in regards to Benny and Luan... which we're not going to spend a lot of time revisiting, since, instead, we're focusing on Shannon, Ruby, and Spencer. Of course, that's not to say that Benny and Luan are going to be completely ignored either, their storyline just isn't going to see much focus.