Chapter 30c: Fresh Meat
Miss Meadows got the final word in at the end.
I guess the old chatterbox is right on some things, like me needing stuff to do to stay out of trouble. A man without purpose is a man without a future; it is hard to deny that.
At the root of it is that Setsuka misunderstood the conversation, but I can't find myself blaming her for it.
As an actor, it matters that I try to put myself in the position of whomever I am playing. And if I - for just a moment - imagine that I'm Setsuka who heard her brother is really good at acting, I'd be crazily happy about it.
The blame lies with me. I could just say 'Nope. Not doing it.' and that'd be it, save for repeating it a few hundred times for this stupid woman so she'll give up.
But can I? Truly?
I don't want to disappoint her. There is so much that I have taken away from her with that one outburst, and no matter how many reasons I had for it, the fact is she lives with that family because I made it impossible for her to live at home.
There are no dreams that I feel compelled to chase, either. I do not see myself become a soldier. Nor an officer of the law. Even the varied list of things like being a sailor, logger, lawyer or financial advisor don't make me feel remotely motivated.
But her smile? That does. I could become an actor for her.
"We're here."
Miss Meadows speaks up with a smile as the car comes to a stop, and I nod in silence before getting out, not bothering with the chitchat she is fishing for. Something about it being a theatre that is over a hundred years old, and how it has fallen on hard times but still has its supporters and how fresh blood like me could help reclaim it some of its former glory.
Please, woman. I'm not the protagonist to save your dinky little theatre for the future. I'm just here to act..!
Her hand comes to rest on my shoulder as we walk to the Lionheart Theater. I suspect she expects me to just go lost if I don't get escorted in. Frustrating woman.
But I have to admit I see some positives. This isn't some tiny excuse of a theater in the middle of nowhere. It is in the center of town, with plenty of high ceilings with large arches. The floor is red and immaculate, and all things combined it feels almost deserving of the moniker 'royal'. And the peek I see through a door as we head towards the backstage betrays that it isn't a small podium either.
As we walk into the backstage area, I find that place is a town on its own. There's a lot of space and even separate rooms. Sure, it all feels a bit older and more antiquated than just some other building, but there's some people working on sets and a number of other fancy activities going on.
She was probably exaggerating when she said this place was going through a rough spot.
There isn't much time to gawk as I get whisked off to a room titled 'BS002: General Purpose Rehearsal', which tells me absolutely nothing. What I see inside, however... brings me to realize I made a gigantic mistake agreeing to this.
There's so many of them.
Why are there so many?
Dear god, please go away!
But instead, they begin to shriek all sorts of things, one thing worse than the next.
"Kyyaaaaaa~~~!" "He's so cute!" "Oh my gosh, we finally got ourselves a real prince!" "Nooo wayyyy, he's Asian? Wow. JACKPOT!" "I'd rather have had a muscled Scot myself." "But he probably has an accent, right?" "I've got dibs!" "You can't call that, he might not even like you!" "A flat board like you would say that!"
So. Many. Girls. And they just keep on yapping.
Within moments, I am surrounded by them. There is no where to go. This is utter hell.