"Focus, guys, we have a lot of work to do!" Joey yelled over the raucous noise of their group, and the room as a whole. They were three weeks into rehearsals for the show, and he couldn't see how it was going to come together in time, especially now they were going to be asking people to pay to watch it. He sighed heavily, turning to Lauren.
"They're not motivated, that's the problem," she said to him. "They don't want to do this just because we tell them to."
"Right, but how do we get them motivated?"
It was her turn to sigh. "That's the hard part."
"I was always so excited when we got to do shows in school."
"And that's why you're an actor now," she grinned at him.
Standing atop the stage, Victoria clapped her hands twice, loudly. The noise settled a little but the kids were still restless, and she had a pinched look on her face as she addressed them.
"Let me make this clear. The end of camp showcase is a tradition older than some of you here. Now, many of you are excited by getting to perform," she said, and it was true. In their own group, Laila's eyes were fixed on Victoria, eyes set with determination, and Joey knew she was striving for a great performance.
"Others of you," Victoria continued, "are less enthused. But do not let down your campmates. We all have to come together to make this performance a spectacle, and not disappoint anyone coming to see it."
Her eyes narrowed in his and Lauren's direction, and he tried to sink into his seat. There was a lot of pressure on them now, and even though it had been Lauren's idea, Joey knew he would be taking the fall with her if things went awry - and he was willing to do so, for her. But still, looking around the room of disorganised kids, part of him wished she'd never said anything.
"Well, that was inspiring," Lauren muttered sarcastically.
Joey took a deep breath. "Pep talk time."
"Alright, listen up," he said, addressing their group. "Like Victoria said, I know the show isn't everyone's idea of fun. But some people are really looking forward to it, and we want everyone to have a good time. Plus, it's our strongest chance of making money to keep camp going, and I know there's something for everyone here, so we want to be able to have you guys back next year, if you want to come again. But that means we all have to work together to put on a good show, okay?"
There were murmurs of agreement, some nodding heads, still not as roused as Joey might have liked, but good enough. Lauren gave him a subtle thumbs up.
They led their group through some warm-up exercises, and then stood on hand while Victoria went through blocking for the show. It was tedious work, something even Joey had to admit he wouldn't be thrilled about doing himself, so they called for a break early and sent the kids out for a game of soccer. Victoria held Joey and Lauren back.
"If we keep doing group rehearsals at this pace we'll never get anything done," she said to them, finishing scribbling something down with her pen. "You two have both of the leads in your group. I want you to work with them on their scenes individually, starting tonight."
Joey smiled. "That we can handle."
They left the auditorium and walked together to the cafeteria, close enough that their hands brushed every few paces. Since the night of skinny dipping when they'd restated the boundaries of their relationship, things had been going remarkably well. Joey still ached for more whenever they had the slightest physical contact, but it seemed to have broken some of the tension and it was no longer intolerable, so he was able to enjoy just being her friend. And working together was doing a lot to strengthen the bond of their friendship, as was hanging out pretty much 24/7. He really felt like he'd be happy getting through the end of camp like this, and then perhaps they could see where things went once there were no rules to keep them apart.
