Days had passed when we got called for our first meeting for the play. We were in the auditorium and Sidney and I sat with each other on the front row. Harry met this girl named Brianna the day before, and surprisingly she was on the play too so he decided to sit with her instead.

It was after classes and it was almost getting dark so the auditorium lights were too bright for my eyes. The auditorium was probably as big as a regular football field, and the stage was so big that it was perfect for a grand play. Red curtains were hung on the side, and on the top middle where the arch was located was the logo of Baron: A cursive capital B inside a circle.

Baron took care of the auditorium so well that the seats didn't feel uncomfortable and that they had no dust at all. The floors were also polished well and the curtains looked brand new, even though during the auditions it was already there. Even the walls looked newly painted.

Ms. Styles walked in, this time in a blue dress and black heels. Her hair was tied into a bun and she still had that serious face on her. "This is going to be quick, so please listen carefully." She started, taking a pause to make sure everybody was listening to her. There were probably fifty persons there, including the extras. "Practices will start tomorrow and the play is going to be in two weeks." She said and everyone gasped.

Two weeks was too short for a play preparation, so I didn't blame them for being as surprised as I was. I expected it to be months, honestly. With a college as big as Baron, having two weeks of preparation for a grand play is like suicidal. We just knew we had to work hard for the play because of the time we had.

"Settle down." She shushed everyone, and even though there were still murmurs, she carried on. "I know that it is a very short amount of time, but I didn't pick you if I didn't believe that you could still pull a great show despite the little time. Tomorrow, we will start making the props, and you will be grouped according to the scenes during your practices to save time. Ben will now give you your scripts." She said.

A short blonde guy appeared from the back stage carrying a big stack of papers. He looked like one of those assistants that teachers have on movies, stressed and haggard. Ms. Styles also said that he was the scriptwriter, so my respect for him suddenly increased.

Being a scriptwriter is a very hard job. You have to study the plot, make sure your words are appropriate, and recheck it even though it is like a hundred pages long. Some jobs looks so easy when in truth they are so difficult that most people give up.

He started handing the scripts out, reading the names on the top to know who it was supposed to be for. When mine arrived, I flipped the papers immediately to read the last part of the play. The wedding.

I had thought about it ever since Ms. Styles announced me as prince charming. Last night, before I fell asleep, I thought about it. About what would happen if my predictions were true.

I reached the last page for the moment of truth.

There was no kiss.

A wave of relief flooded all over me like a tsunami. Maybe they knew I had a girlfriend, or maybe they just thought that kiss wasn't really necessary so they didn't put it. Either way, I was very thankful. Kissing somebody else when I had a girlfriend was the least thing I wanted, well, next to actually losing her.

Even though Sidney had already kissed somebody else. It wasn't her fault, anyway.

"I only have one scene. Do I have to go to practice everyday?" Sidney complained, scanning her script like it was a rotten tomato. "Can't I just be in my room watching Agents Of Shield instead?" She looked at me and pouted.

I chuckled at her. "Of course you have to be here. You need to practice, plus, would you really want to watch without me?."

She rolled her eyes at me and chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She said.

"Plus, you have to criticize my acting." I added.

She stared at me blankly. "Right. The unexperienced one should be the one to criticize the Drama King."

I pointed my finger and held it on the air. "You know, drama king sounds like an insult more than a compliment." I pointed out.

She chuckled. "I know."

We were told to go home after that, and the moment I entered my room that night after our dinner, I immediately started practicing my script. I didn't have a lot of lines, which was pointless for being the lead actor, but I felt bad for Zoe because she had lots of them. She had thousands of words to memorize, yet she only had two weeks. It was a torture in a new kind of way.

I scanned on the part where the Duke and the Prince had to talk about the missing girl. Zach and I had to act like we were friends, like I trusted him for finding my missing princess, and I had no idea how I could do it. Every time I look at him, I just want to punch him in the face for kissing my girl friend. What If I get myself out of hand and punch him in the middle of the play?

I shook the thought away and scanned the rest of the script. They gave us different scripts, only the ones we had to act, so I haven't seen Sidney's script yet. She was the one to turn Zoe as a ragged girl into a beautiful princess. I had no idea if she had to sing bibidi bobidi boo, but if she did, I would record the video and keep it forever.

. . .

The next day, Sidney and I immediately went to the auditorium after classes for our first day of practice.

When everybody was finally there, Ms. Styles grouped us according to scenes so we could first practice on our own and later practice on stage. I was grouped with Zach, Harry, and two other guys who were guards from the castle. Sidney and Zoe were grouped together, with the girls who were casted as the stepsisters, the animals, and the creepy senior who was supposed to be the evil stepmother.

I wasn't psyched about it, but I didn't have any choice. When my group gathered on the far left side of the auditorium, Zach kept looking at me. A girl staring at you was already creepy, how much more when it was a guy?

I couldn't take his stare anymore, so I spoke to him. "You know, staring at someone is just creepy, right?" I said.

He took a breath like he got surprised when I spoke and scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry." He looked down like he was embarrassed, but then looked back up at me immediately after. "You're not angry with me anymore, right?"

"Wrong." I said.

He looked away, disappointed with my response. "I'm sorry. I really am." He said in a sincere tone, which surprised me. "I... I didn't know what was wrong with me. I hope you can forgive me, Dylan."

I looked into his eyes to see if he really meant it, and maybe he did. His eyes were pure sincerity and the way he said his words were so believable. But was it enough for us to be friends? "No. You kissed my girl friend, and made her look like it was her fault, and I will always hate you for that." I said and turned around, joining our other group mates for the practice.

"Where are you going?" I asked Harry when he turned around.

He turned back and said, "I just have to talk to Brianna. I'll be back." He said and walked away.

It was already nine in the evening when the practice ended. I was so tired and I was already yawning even though all I did was stand and say words.

When I came in my room, Harry was still not there. I just told myself that maybe he was Brianna and laid on my bed. I also noticed that the root beers on his desk were gone. It was either he already finished drinking all of them, or he just decided to become a normal person and not get addicted to them anymore.

There were just nights that you feel exhausted even though you didn't do something that required much energy, and that night, it was one of them. A few minutes after I changed into my clothes and brushed my teeth, I fell asleep.

. . .

When I woke up the next day, Harry was already dressed up for school. He was wearing a black sweater, some skinny jeans, and a black converse. I checked the time on my alarm clock and it was seven in the morning. Last time I checked, his class was at nine.

"Morning sunshine." He said when he saw me looking at him.

I yawned for the last time and sat up. I could feel the morning glory on my eyes so I brushed them off. "Why are you up so early, moonlight?" I asked him.

He raised his eyebrow. "Why moonlight?"

I shrugged. "You called me sunshine, so I thought of moonlight. And, you went home late." I pointed at him, and that moment my eyes had adjusted to the light.

He chuckled while holding his stomach. "Sorry. I went to the store next block. I bought water." He pointed on the top of his cabinet, and like he said, there were about seven bottles of water.

I looked at him skeptically. "What happened to Mr. Root Beer Wizard?" I asked, confused.

He shrugged and sat on his bed, so we were both facing each other. "Some things just change." He said, but then sighed. "Okay. The truth is I was at the hospital. I wasn't feeling well, and the doctor asked me what I usually drank. When I said root beers, he immediately told me to stop drinking them because they're not good for me."

"Like it wasn't obvious." I pointed out.

He glared at me and I chuckled. "Anyway, after I went out of the hospital, I passed by some mini mart to buy water. And that explains why I went home late and bought the bottles of water." He said and took a bow like what princes do on movies.

I clapped to play along. "Wait," I said. "But why are you up so early?" I asked again.

"To exercise." He said. "The doctor said I should start exercising."

"In that?" I pointed at his clothes. It wasn't the ideal outfit to have a run.

He shrugged. "I'm not going to run, really. I'm just going to have a walk around. It's still an exercise, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I paused. My body felt tired so I thought that maybe a walk wouldn't hurt. "Can I come with you? I could really use a walk around." I said and he nodded. "Great! Let me just have a shower."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

School is really really exhausting. And the first week is not even yet done 😔 10th grade and stressed out. 😫

I don't think I can finish this by the end of June, so I hope you can understand. I'm trying to write as much as I can, but with the assignments, projects and obligations, I don't think I can write as much as I did last summer.

Okay, so enough with the explanation. How was the chapter?

Like I said in the last chapter, I will try to write more seriously, and I think I did on this one. What do you think? Please do let me know.

Z.