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HOW TO KISS A GUY
-Chapter two
The meeting… fooling around… and trusting?
SEVEN HOURS LATER Syaoran Li took me by surprise. He swung through the double doors of Tomoeda High's Diamond Theater twenty minutes late for the first cast call. Every member of the crew for Beauty and the Beast looked up. The houselights were on. We were gathered on the stage, sitting in a huge semicircle of chairs. Justine Avalon, the drama coach, had just began talking about the rehearsal schedule when Syaoran finally waltzed in. I leaned forward to take a better look.
He was handsome in a dark, catlike way—all cheekbones and eyes, and an angular face. He'd be cast as a vampire. In spite of his dark hair and deep-brown eyes, he was fair. Actually, we had the same sort of coloring.
A motorcycle helmet with a red insignia was tucked under his arm. An earring glinted in his right ear. Lots of guys with leather jackets and single earring. Lots of guys I'd seen around school were better looking. But something about Syaoran made me stop and take notice. As if he was saying, "Hey, look at me. I'm here."
"Thank you for turning up." Justine glanced over her clipboard.
"I won't tolerate late entrances. I don't find them charming." She added.
I thought Justine was being a little rough on the guy. Syaoran didn't seem fazed, though.
"I won't make it a habit." Syaoran Li was beginning to impress me. I would have shriveled to the size of a dried pea if Justine or any other teacher ever talked to me that way.
"Right." Justine's tone softened a little. "And I admit it never hurt an actor to be a bit of a ham!" she added with a wink.
Everyone laughed. Syaoran smiled. He didn't have a wide, grinny smile, the kind that Akira has. No, Syaoran's smile just casually hung around his mouth. He was still smiling as he headed for the only empty seat in the place. Next to me.
"Hi," he said, shoving his helmet under the chair. "I'm Syaoran, Syaoran Li. You must be Sakura." I just stared at him. "Yeah…" I said slowly. "How did you know?" as he took off his jacket, he tilted his head and considered my face. He was wearing a gray T-shirt with faded red lettering that read DOUBLE-R REPAIR AND FI –IT S OP. he was thin but muscular. He looked strong for his size. "You are my leading lady." He sat down and tugged at the frayed hole in the knee of his jeans. "Since you weren't already in the drama cub, I asked around. I wanted to know who id be working with."
"Oh" he made it sound so sensible. Who he'd be working with. I felt very dumb. He hadn't been agonizing all day about exactly who Sakura Kinomoto might be. Or if he'd like her. Or if she was some sort of creep. I wish I had thought to ask around more about him, too. Though I didn't know many seniors to ask.
Takashi was passing out copies of the playbook. He handed one to Syaoran and slapped him a high five.
"Yo, Syao!" Takashi said
"Yo!" Syaoran said back. Syaoran fanned the pages of his playbook, and then plunked it on the floor beside him. He looked at me. "Besides," he said, "haven't you noticed? Ever since the cast list went up this morning, everyone in this high school knows who you are."
"So that's why people have been staring at me?" I laughed this time. "I was trying to figure out if something was wrong with how I looked."
"No. nothing's wrong with how you look." He said it plain and simple, and he wasn't flirting. Nothing like that. But I blushed anyway. If he noticed he didn't let on. "In my old school, anyone who was cast in the play became an instant campus celebrity. Of course, Xiamen High in the heart of the Taichung wasn't half as big as this place."
"That's right. You're new in town…"
"See, you know something about me, too." He leaned toward me and nudged me with his shoulder. His whole body seemed to radiate warmth and energy. It was a mildly unsettling feeling. I pulled away from him and pretended to look offended, but I wasn't. "Not much, really. Just that you're a senior. That you ride a motorcycle and you started here in September." He was about to say something else but Justine started the rehearsal. Justine asked a girl with spiky and dark, and she wore a sweatshirt that said SAKURA TECH CREW to pass around photocopies of the rehearsal schedule. .
"Thanks, Rika," Syaoran said, taking a copy of the schedule and stretching out his legs. She smiled at me and winked at him. And I wondered if they were dating.
"You have a week from today to get all your lines memorized." Justine said. My groan blended with tow dozen others. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Syaoran looked glum. He caught my glance and made a face.
"I am not a quick study. I'm lousy at memorizing." "I', a whiz at it," I told him. "I learned a couple of tricks from my third-grade teacher, Bothwraithe-sensei." "Bothwraithe?" he choked down a laugh. I giggled and explained "Yeah, she was a Drama teacher that transferred from abroad".
"Oh okay, teach me some time. I could us some pointers." "sure." I shut up then, because Justine was once glaring in our direction.
"To get started, we will do series of acting experiences. They'll help you all loosen up. You'll begin to hone some acting skills, and also get to know one another. We'll be working very closely and intensely these next few weeks. It'll be fun. Mostly, but at times it gets tense, even crazy, and at the end, after closing night, when this particular crew breaks up, you'll feel like you've lost all your best friends."
Syaoran looked at me and I smiled what I hoped was a polite smile. I couldn't imagine becoming best friends with anyone so fast. I've known all my best friends—Tomoyo, Eriol and Akira—since we were in grade school. Sure, I'd had lots of friends in school, but not the kind of people I'd share my deepest secrets with.
First we played a couple of circle games I had almost forgotten how to play. Ring-round-the-rosy was one of them—if you can believe it. Then we did this bizarre thing where we all had to fall down on the floor and keep our eyes closed and play dead.
Next we did some yoga exercises so we could relax. When we all got up. Judi told us to pick a partner and imitate everything he/she did.
"Syaoran, let's show them." She said then she turned to the rest of us. "Syaoran's had some professional training—he's done this before," she explained.
Everyone was watching them, laughing along as Syaoran and Justine mirrored each other's actions. It seemed silly, I know. Then Judi made the rest of us join in. I held back, but Makato, my partner, started by skipping in small circles like a little girl. I felt awkward, self-conscious: then I realized no one was watching me. Slowly I began to get a little looser. I made a funny face. Makato made the same face back. That made me laugh. She laughed back. She stuck her tongue out me. I stuck my tongue out at her.
"Change partners!" Justine shouted.
I found myself face-to-face with Syaoran. He tilted his head to the left. I stood for a moment, a little confused. He patted his stomach and started rubbing the crown of his head. I giggled and did the same thing. Then he shouted. It wasn't a roar—it was a yell straight from the bottom of his lungs. His eyes were challenging me. He didn't know about my big soprano voice. I yelled back. He yelled louder. I yelled crazier. Then I took the lead. I mustered up a huge shout. It soared right out of me. It felt wild and free and wonderful.
Syaoran's mouth dropped open.
Shrieeek! Judi's whistle blew. "Stop!" everyone stopped instantly. My throat was pounding from exertion. "That was awesome!" I gasped.
"You were great!" Syaoran said as he staggered a little against me. I slumped against him. "You're a closet loudmouth!" he said looking impressed. "I took you for the soft-spoken, quiet type!"
"Fooled you!" I grinned up at him and we sagged closer together. I was thinking I had fooled myself, too. I had never shouted so loud before in my life.
"Good, you two!" Justine had walked up to us.
"I want you to tell me exactly what you feel like….No, Syaoran, don't move—stay like that leaning against Sakura. What do you fell like? First image that comes to your head."
I felt self-conscious, but I stayed there, though was sure Syaoran could feel my body tense. He bit his lip and closed his eyes. I noticed his eyelashes were long. "I feel—I feel like a broken column in one of those ancient Greek ruins," he said.
A picture of blue skies, white temples, and high hills filled my mind. "Me too."
"So then be columns, be ruins—trust each other. Lean" Justine told us. I tried not to feel silly. Be a column? I tried. I leaned harder against him.
"Trust me," he said. "I won't let you fall."
I stiffened a little. I wasn't sure.
"Stand up now, Sakura," Justine told me. I straightened up.
"Get behind her, Syaoran. Sakura, fall back—he'll catch you."
"I can't do that. I'm scared of falling."
"Trust me," Syaoran said again. He was behind me. I couldn't see him. Judi wouldn't let turn around and see how far away he was. She just nodded encouragement.
"Sag!" she ordered.
I sagged straight back. I fell so far, I almost screamed. Then Syaoran's arms caught me when I was just a foot away from the floor. His grasp was sure and tight, and I felt his heart pounding. His strength seemed to flow right into me through my back. Then he helped me straightened up again, and turned me to face him.
That's when I realized that we were the exact same height. My eyes were level with his eyes. It was at least 3 seconds before I realized we were still looking at each other. I pulled away and that's when I blushed.
Justine blew her whistle.
"I told you that you could trust me," he murmured as Judi gave us a few last instructions about lines and schedules and practice.
I don't think I heard a word she said.
When the rehearsal broke up, Syaoran retrieved his bike helmet from beneath the chair. He hung back a little as the crowd filed down the theater aisles. "I don't believe you've never done this before," Syaoran said as he put on his jacket. I noticed a small tattoo on the back if his left hand.
I shook my head. I realized he was hanging back so he could talk to me. I felt flattered. And a little confused.
"You're a natural. Some of that stuff you were doing while I was copying your movements, those big, broad gestures. On stage they'd really carry. People in the back row would really understand your feelings. You're very good, Sakura."
"Not as good as you," I hurried to point out.
"I've acted professionally…."
On impulse I bargained, "I'll teach you to memorize, if you teach me some of your acting techniques."
His smile brightened, and he took my hand to shake it. "It's a deal!" suddenly, outside of the safety of the rehearsal and the acting exercises, touching him felt too intimate.
I pulled away and held my books in front of my chest. I wrapped my arms around them and held on for dear life.
"I gotta go." He said, snapping up his jacket.
"Me too," I said. I had to go to my locker and get the rest of my books.
"See ya later!" Syaoran smiled at me and gave a little self-conscious shrug. Then he turned on his heel and half sprinted out the side door.
I stood a moment longer, watching the door close behind him. Wait until I tell Tomoyo that Syaoran's not a beast. Just touching Syaoran, being next to him, had been a very interesting experience. I couldn't imagine what it would be like kissing him.
Or could I? I wondered as I jogged toward my locker.
--x--
That's a wrap!! Hehe R+R pls?
Lots of Love
Kawaii
Ja ne!