Shine and Be Mine (Prinxiety - 2021)

Chapter 01

For anyone not in the U.S.!
Freshman: 1st years
Sophomore: 2nd years
Junior: 3rd years
Senior: 4th years

Periods: Classes

***

Virgil let out a soft breath, watching as it clouded in front of him and slowly dissipated into the morning air. His hands were fidgeting inside the pockets of his patchwork jacket as he sleepily gazed at the oncoming cluster of buildings that would make up hell for the following months.
It was odd that the morning should be this cold in September, it wasn't like Florida exactly had seasons. Then again, mornings did tend to be the only cold times of day, and perhaps it meant that autumn would come faster.
The seventeen year-old smiled softly at the idea of cold breezes and falling leaves. Summer was still coming to a close but it couldn't end fast enough. Autumn meant a greater appreciation for warmth- and even more of a reason to wear jackets.
It also meant one season closer to being a legal adult. That statement felt foreign to him. He wasn't exactly sure what being eighteen would do for him. He lived alone with his dad who already naturally granted him freedom through subtle neglecting.
He knew his father meant the best he could, but didn't try to hide the fact that Virgil was a burden in his home.
I suppose that's something..I could move out.
Virgil toyed with the idea in his mind, but it was cut short as he neared the fence leading into the school buildings, and heard the bell that announced wordlessly to everyone that they had precisely seven minutes to get to class. He let out a soft sigh, watching his dragon-like breath puff out like a cloud of smoke one last time before trudging in through the gates and sliding his headphones over his ears.
He rather disliked not being able to hear his peers around him, it felt disorienting and unsafe to have one of his six senses down, and couldn't imagine what it would feel like to constantly be unable to hear the little noises of the day, but it was far less agony than the potential of someone trying to approach him in conversation.
It was the first day back at school, and with Virgil being a senior now, it meant freshmen had the audacity to ask for directions from anyone.
Luckily, he didn't seem to run into this problem as he navigated the halls towards his first class.
However much he dreaded going to school, as any pre-adolescent might, he did enjoy that the paths that lead between buildings were outdoors. It was a nice fresh breath of air, and meant less shoving than there was in the indoor halls. Luckily, his first class was one that took up an entire building, meaning there were no indoor halls he had to deal with for the first hour.
He slowly approached the building that was located at the bottom of the hill that their school had been built on, gazing up at the rather ordinary-looking structure. The only thing that set it aside from the other egg-shell painted buildings was its side. This building was twice as wide as all the others, and while the separate buildings contained 3 different floors of classrooms, Virgil knew that the set up for this one was different.
Pushing the side doors open, he was greeted by the somehow even colder feeling of AC, something he knew to be familiar with in this building that was never warm.
How could it be? The size alone wouldn't allow for the AC to ever be off.
The theater.
The one place Virgil felt truly at home and comfortable with.
Hundreds of blue theater chair stretched out on the orchestra floor, leading up to a small, second-story mezzanine that had mainly been taken over by a sound booth that sat lazily at the center, the only thing that gave away the fact that this was a public school and there was a budget- one that didn't allow a professional sound booth that didn't take up 20 chairs in the mezzanine.
Virgil snorted to himself at this before lowering his gaze to the first few rows at the front of the center section of the seating area. He recognized many faces that didn't know him personally, but he could tell you every one of their names- though, he wasn't sure if they could tell you his.
There were also some new faces, that of which he assumed were most likely freshmen.
He nodded at this, analyzing the new faces before the feeling of two hand landing on his shoulders made him almost jump out of his skin, "G-Gah!?" He whipped around, ready to deck whoever punched him right in the face before relief settled into the pit of his stomach at the familiar blond, freckled face that beamed up at him from a few inches below his own height, "P-Patton, you're going to take ten years off my life-"

"Sorry!" Patton giggled, "I just saw you and got super excited to surprise you!" They wiggled with happiness, "I recognized you from the jacket, but-" They gasped softly, biting their lip to hold back a smile as they slowly walked circles around Virgil, "You dyed your hair ginger!" They squealed, giving a small hop as they landed in a standing position in front of Virgil.

The ginger blushed softly and fiddles with his hands in his pockets, "Oh..you noticed?" He quirked an eyebrow softly.

"Did I-!? Of course I do!" Patton gave another bounce as they reached forward, "May I?"

Virgil's blush increased but he gave a small nod.

Patton grinned and ran his hand through Virgil's hair, gasping softly, "It's so soft!"

"Dying your hair'll do that.." Virgil mumbles shyly as he looked down at his feet.

Patton snorted, "No need to get so flustered, it just looks great!"

"Thanks." The ginger tucked his hair behind his ear before nodding to the third row in the center, "Let's go sit there."

"Sounds good!" Patton clicked their tongue before jogging over and sliding their backpack off, placing it in the fourth chair in and sitting down in the third, pointing at the second chair for Virgil.

Virgil rolled his eyes fondly at their enthusiasm before going and sitting down in the second chair, putting his backpack at his feet.

A few moments later, the bell, audible through the doors that led outside the theater, rang loudly to announce that everyone should be in class.

"May I have everyone's attention?" A lithe, short woman standing at the front of the stage called, and the quiet chattering among the gathered students stopped, "Thank you." She smiled, "Welcome to Stage Arts! Throughout the following two semesters, you all will be in charge of creating the sets, backdrops, props.."

She continued on, but Virgil spaced out. As much as he appreciated his teacher's enthusiasm, he had heard it all before. This was his fourth year of Stage Arts, meaning he'd spent all of high school with it as his elective. He himself could probably give this speech if it wasn't for his stage fright. Thus why he chose to be in this class in the first place.
Virgil desperately loved theater, but froze up when having to perform for other people. However, he still desperately wanted to be a part of the process, and resorted to be a stage hand, thanking his lucky stars that there was a theater class that didn't require him to act in public.
That being said, acting out scenes alone in his bedroom was quite a frequent activity...but nobody needed to be aware of that except for him.

"...Which means the school musical choice is not public knowledge until tomorrow's casting call, but you all get to know it now!"

"Virgil! Did you heart Ms.Rivera just now?" Patton whispered excitedly, "She's announcing the musical for this spring!"

Virgil instantly perked up. Musical theater was his favorite genre of theater and the school musical was by far his favorite project to work on. While it didn't happen until spring, it took months to prepare sets, let alone let the actors prepare.

"This year, we're proud to announce that our choice of show will be..Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera!"

The students were immediately in an uproar, what with the musical choice being such a commonly popular one.
And Virgil himself had to admit that he had begun to grin widely at that announcement.

"Virgil! We get to work on the chandelier!" Patton squealed excitedly, hitting softly at Virgil's leg.
Virgil allowed this with a nod of excitement, "And the underground tunnels."

"And-"

"Settle down!" Ms.Rivera called, "As a reminder, the casting call is tomorrow after school. Those of you who have been here for two or more years will help with setting up mics and lighting for the auditions, but are not permitted to audition without talking to me first so we can figure out how the show schedule will work into your Stage Arts schedule, understood?"

There was a shared murmur of understoods.

Virgil snorted softly to himself. Giving up being a stage hand for acting?

He'd rather choke on a slug than ever volunteer to perform on stage.
A far fetched chance indeed..

***

Seeing any similarities to the original book yet?
Hope you enjoyed!
-Jay