Chapter 36
A few minutes had passed since Eddy and Double Dee's heartfelt conversation. The Ed boys were currently making their way through the door to the back stage waiting area; the exuberant Ed being the first to enter. He had barreled through the door at a fast pace, a smile adorning his face as he made his way toward his Little May, who was currently standing with Marie. Double Dee soon followed, opening the door in a much gentler manner, being sure to hold it open for his stout best friend to enter behind him out of courtesy.
Eddy slowly but surely passed through the threshold, appearing as if he were in a catatonic state. Sweat continued to dribble down his face as he observed his surroundings. The stage itself was very large, around fifty feet wide, by twenty feet deep. The enormous red curtains, separating the auditorium from the stage, were currently closed. The dim lights mounted near the ceiling were the only source of light in the absence of the balcony spotlights that illuminated the stage when the curtains were open. Just inside the door, leaning against the wall was the ornate wooden set that Ed and May had spent the last week constructing, consisting of a fireplace with stockings decorated with sugar plums.
Whilst Eddy remained frozen as if he were statue, continuing to gauge his surroundings, Double Dee made his way over to Marie, May and Ed. Marie smiled as her boyfriend approached.
"Hey handsome!" said Marie, "Ready to turn the pages for me while I play the score?"
"Absolutely!" said Double Dee, "You can not begin to imagine how excited I am to see my friends perform the most famous portion of my favorite Christmas ballet. I must say, your score is very much impressive as are Ed and May's arts and crafts skills."
"Thanks sweets," said Marie, "I hope the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy turns out okay. Lee wouldn't let me practice it with her choreography. She kept saying nobody can see her sugarplum fairy until the night of the show, so I'm just gonna play it as written. If I know Lee, she'll adjust just fine."
"Where is Lee anyway?" asked May in a somewhat distressed tone, "It's almost time for the show to start!"
"She's still in the classroom doing last minute warm ups." said Marie.
"More warm ups?" asked May, "With all that pointe work, her feet are gonna be too sore to dance before the show even starts."
"Calm down knuckle head, her feet ain't gonna be sore," said Marie, "She's been doing it so long her feet are used to it. Why do you think she never wears open toed shoes, her feet are disgusting."
May giggled.
"Yeah," said May, "She does have bad ballerina feet."
Double Dee observed the two sisters share a laugh, feeling slightly awkward regarding the subject matter, after which he retrieved the talent show pamphlet, outlining all of the acts and the order in which they are performed from his pocket.
"Rest assured May," said Double Dee, "A few minutes of extra practice will not cause Lee to be tardy for her performance.
Double Dee unfolded the talent show pamphlet, at which point Ed, May and Marie gathered around to observe over his shoulder. Double Dee pointed at the list of acts with his right index finger.
"As you can see," said Double Dee, "There are eleven acts listed in the program, and the talent show has assigned Lee slot number six."
Marie leaned towards the pamphlet, and quickly scanned the text. It did not take long for her to find what she was looking for.
"And look who landed slot number five," said Marie, "Looks like Lindsay's on right before Eddy and Lee."
"Oh no!" said May in a rather distressed tone, "I was hoping Lee would go first so that Lindsay would see it and get all nervous!"
"Easy May," said Marie with a grin, "This is actually better! When that wannabe cheer leader comes off stage, she's gonna be smiling thinking she has it in the bag. But then Lee is gonna get on stage, blow everyone's mind, and it's going to sink her feelings like a lead balloon."
Double Dee raised his finger, and opened his mouth as if to interject. At that point, Marie placed her hand over his mouth, silencing him. She continued looking towards May, her face displaying a sarcastic grin, as she anticipated Double Dees thoughts and her need to respond with a rebuttal.
"Yes sweetie, I'm well aware that lead has a face-centered cubic structure, and a high atomic weight, which results in a density of 11.34 g/cm3 completely impractical for any application on which it would be required to be buoyant in air."
Marie took her hand away from Double Dees mouth, leaving the intelligent adolescent frozen in a state of confusion. Marie turned towards him, delivering a wink with a smile.
"I can't believe you're surprised," said Marie, "By now you should know I can read you like a book."
Marie giggled, leaving Double Dee speechless.
A few moments passed, at which point Ed and May decided to make quick run out to the hallway to enter themselves in the school raffle. As the two goofballs made their exit, Marie turned her attention to Eddy, who had not said a word in the five minutes he spent backstage. The small Ed boy was standing near the edge of the curtain, where it's folds met the side wall of the stage, intently staring at the red fabric.
"I gotta hand it to you sweetie," said Marie, "You did a great job tailoring that costume to Eddy's size."
"Thank you Marie," said Double Dee, "As you know, one of my most commonly assigned chores involves reinforcing the living room curtains with mothers sewing machine. I have also repaired a countless number of fathers shirts, and with a few modifications to my sewing technique, fitting Eddy's costume was quite simple."
"Well he looks good," said Marie as she lowered her voice and leaned into Double Dee, "But it doesn't look like he feels good."
"True," said Double Dee, "In the dressing room, Eddy revealed to me that he is in fact extremely nervous regarding his performance tonight. This is the first time Eddy has ever been on stage in front of a large crowd, and while he typical seems to be quite confident in his abilities, he is severely doubting himself tonight."
"Yeah" said Marie, "He seemed really freaked out over the fact that Kevin and the rest of the other guys are going to be here making fun of him."
"On the contrary Marie," said Double Dee, "The prime factor causing Eddy's nervousness is his fear of forgetting his steps or otherwise incurring errors that will destroy the performance and disappoint Lee."
"Really?" said Marie, "Wow, I thought he was becoming frustrated to wits end with Lee's overbearing nature."
"I am guilty of that assumption as well," said Double Dee, "Eddy's frustrations are due to the fact he feels powerless to help Lee in her time of need. He has noticed Lee's behavior when she is around Lindsay, and ignorant to their past, he assumed that the only way to help Lee was to do anything he could to drive Lindsay away."
Double Dee paused.
"I am also happy to report that Eddy has given up on attempting to instill false hope that Lindsay will return Rolf's affections." said Double Dee.
"That's great," said Marie, "It looks like things are calming down slightly. It's great that Eddy opened up to you about all of that. Holding feelings in can cause a person to do reckless things."
"Absolutely," said Double Dee, "I'm just glad that Eddy realized the error of his ways and ceased assisting in Rolf's pursuit of Lindsay. The plan was due to end in disaster, and I am glad that it had been discontinued before the situation escalated."
Double Dee glanced toward Eddy as he continued.
"I can only hope that the little time Eddy spent executing his plan did not plant proverbial seeds of destruction." said Double Dee.
"I wouldn't worry cutie," said Marie, "It's only a matter of time until Lee tells Eddy the truth. Between you and me, she wouldn't shut up about this big date they supposedly planned tonight. I get the feeling that she's planning to open up to him over dinner."
"That would certainly alleviate much of the stress in the cul-de-sac." said Double Dee, "As you know, I am not supportive of dishonesty or negativity in the slightest, and it is quite hard for me not to take action based upon the knowledge you passed on to me."
Marie smacked Double Dee in the arm playfully.
"Oh come on cutie," said Marie, "You can go without being Mr. Perfect for a while. Besides, trust me it's for the good of the cause."
Double Dee said nothing as Marie wrapped her arm around his and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I just hope Eddy can loosen up a bit before his performance," said Marie, "He's gonna loose all of his hair before he turns twenty."
Marie giggled as a Double glanced towards Eddy. The small Ed boy remained staring at the curtain, tugging on his collar to relieve tension. A few moments passed, at which point Eddy reached his right hand towards the curtain, opening it slightly to take a peak out into the audience.
