The next day at school, Beck had gotten his own script and they were doing a slow go through of the first act in class. Jade wasn't going to have any lines until act 2, so she was helping behind stage or sitting in the chairs in front of the stage when she got annoyed with Sinjin. Meanwhile, Beck was in almost every other scene, and didn't have a moment to sit or set the stage. The bell rang and everyone grabbed their bags to leave. Jade got to Sikowitz before he could run away from her.
"Hey Sikowitz, did you figure out when I could do my play?" Jade said, a hint of anger in her voice but no facial expression.
"Oh, well, we have a stage available, but we do not have the man power on the only available night." He explained with a nervous smile on his face.
"What? Why not?" Jade grew louder.
"Because all the tech and stage crew students are going to be busy learning all the other plays going on." Sikowitz shrugged.
"Well, are there people that would be willing to learn multiple play sets and effects?" Jade asked.
"Well people could do that out of the kindness of their hearts, but… I don't' know who would do that for you." He said shyly before sprinting away.
Jade huffed angrily, knowing he was right. She could try to force people to work for her, but with so many plays happening at the same time, everyone would have a play to work at the same day and time. Jade turned on her heals, but stopped abruptly, because Beck was standing right there. He looked at her gently, but before he could say anything, she sighed again and moved past him, kicking a chair and slamming the door behind her.
Beck had bought lunch today, since he had slept in this morning and didn't have time to pack a lunch. He sat with his friends Tori, Cat, Robbie, and Andre. As they were eating and chatting, Beck noticed Jade walk by and go to sit by herself. Beck had been thinking about her since Sikowitz's class. She was obviously upset that her play wasn't going to happen, and it got him thinking about how many of her plays hadn't gotten put on because it was "too gruesome" and they would rather put on a comedy or romance. They had both been at Hollywood Arts for two years and he had only known of one of her plays to be put on, but he didn't go to see it, so he has no idea if it was a hit or not. Now she had a chance but couldn't follow through because of lack of people. Maybe it was his Canadian tendencies, but he felt he should try to help her.
"Hey," he addressed all his friends, "would you guys be willing to help me put on a play in like a month? I need people who know the stage tech and make-up and stuff like that."
The group erupted with yes, sure, and why not's.
"I didn't know you were working on a play? What's it about?" Tori questioned.
"Well, it's not really my play, but Jade's."
"Jade's?" Andre frowned.
"Yeah, Jade West's." Beck nodded, calm as ever.
"Jade West? That chick who threw me in a trash can once?" Rex, Robbie's puppet, exclaimed.
"I guess." Beck shrugged.
"I don't know, Beck. She's horrifying." Robbie whispered.
"Yeah, she is pretty mean. Why would we help her?" Cat questioned, innocently.
"Well, I have been working with Jade a bit on this other play and she isn't as bad as people think. Plus, her play is good either way and it should be put on."
"Well, can we take a look at the play first?" Andre asked.
"I don't see why not." Beck shrugged and handed Andre the copy of Jade's play.
The rest of lunch was spent reading bits and pieces of Jade's play. At first the group was, disturbed, but as Beck explained the way he saw it, they began to warm up to the idea of putting on the play. By the end, they agreed that if Beck needed help, they would help him.
"Thanks guys." Beck smiled and grabbed the script back, heading over to Jade.
"Hey." He said, taking a seat next to Jade.
She frowned at him harshly, and slid as far as she could away from him, which wasn't much.
"So, I talked with my friends and they are willing to help put your play on." Beck proclaimed.
"Really?" Jade's head snapped over, purely surprised.
"Yeah. Cat knows make-up, Robbie is the tech guy, Andre's got music, and Tori could help with acting or back stage set up."
"Wow. How'd you pull that off?" Jade said, back to emotionless and uncaring tones.
"Well, they are my friends and will help when I ask, and I had them read your play." Jade's head turned and she glared at hearing that. "They liked it." Beck added.
That calmed Jade down and she went back to eating her salad. Beck smiled at her before standing up.
"Do you want to hang out after school? Work on the play together?" Beck asked.
"Which one?"
"Yours. You need to think about how you want the lighting, sounds, set up, costumes-"
"I know what I want." Jade interrupted and gathered her bag, "Have everyone meet after school so I can walk them through it."
With that she walked off to her next class. Beck had a small smile on his face and turned back to gather his things before walking off with his friends.
Jade was like a drill sergeant when Beck and the gang showed up. She had already written out the cues for every effect, instruction for what color lights shine when and where, gave Andre a in depth idea of what kind of music she wanted and put Cat and Tori to work making scenery. In ten minutes, everyone was working and Beck and Jade were left in the center of the stage.
"Wow, you are efficient." Beck chuckled.
"Like I said, I know what I want. I have a perfect image of how this play goes and looks, it has to be perfect." Jade stated, walking to the back of the stage, behind the curtains.
Beck followed, "Is there anything I can help with?"
Jade stopped and turned to him, "What are your skills?"
"Acting." Beck shrugged, causing Jade to roll her eyes.
"Yeah I know that. Anything else?"
"I could paint or work lights." Beck shrugged again.
"Okay, go help Terri and Mat with the scenery."
"Tori and Cat." Beck emphasized their names. "If you are going to get help from people, you should learn their names." He said with a bit of sass.
Jade just rolled her eyes, "Whatever, I need to go hang up an auditions sheet."
Beck smiled, watching her leave before going to make himself useful.
Thankfully, plenty of students still wanted a chance at getting a part in a play. Jade, of course, was being very particular about who she let into her play, and was not making it easy for anyone. Beck had finished helping the rest of the gang for the day, but before he headed out, he checked up on how auditions were going. He stood half way behind the corner of the stage, able to see the actors and actresses, as well as Jade's dissatisfied face.
Beck could see these students giving their best performances, or what they thought were great performances, but Jade remained stone faced unless she was rolling her eyes or grimacing. Beck put on a tight, small smile as he made his way down the stages side steps and over to her in the front row of chairs.
"How's it going?" he whispered, but Jade only responded with a glare. "That good, huh?"
Beck slumped down further into his chair and continued to watch the rest of the auditions. Once the last person had left, Jade began to pack up her things. She told the exiting student to tell everyone she would post the list tomorrow after school.
"So, going to be easy choices?" Beck asked.
"Hardly. Everything needs to be perfect, and I'm not confident in any of these people." Jade groaned.
"Well, I saw a lot of heart and passion. It just might take some practice." Beck smiled. "Besides, at least you are getting to put it on. It just might not be exactly what you had envisioned."
Jade just rolled her eyes and slung her bag over her shoulder, "My parents are coming to watch, so it needs to be perfect."
"Why's that? Are they professionals or something?"
"No. They don't really support my career choice or lifestyle, so this is my chance to show them what I can do." Jade confessed. "I've been waiting to show them for a long time."
Beck nodded, looking at Jade with soft eyes. She must be pretty tired right now to be willing to share this with him. He decided not to push further and just be thankful she seemed to be warming up to him.
They walked out to the parking lot together, Beck walking Jade to her car first. They gave their standard good-byes, but Beck could have sworn he saw a smile for Jade West underneath the darkness of the sky.