Training Wheels: Boyfriend Edition

10. villager c

In all fairness, Michelle really should have seen this coming when Adelia Edelweiss showed up to school this morning in a short leg cast and on crutches.

Michelle was helping with making the costumes of the cast, so she did know who was playing as which character. Their upcoming play had a larger cast than usual, which meant that most of their active members were involved in it.

The news of Adelia's injury had reached the ears of most of the drama club by the end of the school day. Nicole, sitting next to her in one of their few shared classes, confided that she heard it was obtained through an egregious misstep during a soccer game. At that time, Michelle had made noises of sympathy, not thinking more of it.

Now, she stared at her club president, who was looking at her with pleading eyes, without even trying to disguise the look of dismay on her face. She had gotten to her club room early, intending to finish up the last bit of the forest backdrop

"Can't someone else do it?" she protested.

It had been so long since she'd had an acting role that required more than one or two lines. Furthermore, she would be working on an extremely tight time limit.

"Please," Clarissa begged, reaching out to take her hands. "There is no one else. You're the only one who isn't already in the play and who has enough acting experience to be comfortable on such short notice. I'm just asking you to give it a try."

Michelle recoiled. "The play's in six days!"

"Exactly!"

She almost asked why Adelia went to play soccer during a crucial period like this. At the back of her head, a tiny voice piped up, berating her for being rude and unsympathetic. Adelia was already suffering from an extremely severe ankle sprain. If Michelle had inadvertently hurt herself while enjoying a hobby, resulting in an injury that required her pulling out of a play, she would've been guilty enough without being shamed for it.

"Come on, it's only a few lines," Clarissa urged, widening her dark eyes at her and batting her eyelashes. "And we'll have that rehearsal tomorrow, so you'll get some practice."

"The final full dress rehearsal," Michelle reminded her dryly. "The only time I would get to practice with everyone else is literally tomorrow."

It was really the thought of messing up in front of the entire auditorium for being so ill-prepared that held her back from saying yes.

"I'll schedule another one on Friday," Clarissa said. "I'm sure everyone will understand. And it's not like you'll be filling in for the female leading role or something like that. It's just Villager C!"

Michelle's eye twitched. Villager C, the unnamed character Adelia was originally supposed to play as, first made her entrance as a worried mother whose son had gone missing in the woods. She'd seen Adelia's performance at their many rehearsals, howling and weeping during her two appearances—when the son had gone missing, and then when his clothes were found but the person was still missing.

That was not just.

It had been several months since Michelle had had a part in any of the plays. She had enjoyed crafting the props and backdrops and costumes so much, she hadn't bothered trying out for any acting roles.

"Six days," she repeated, trying to let the horror that was stirring up in her reflect on her face.

"It's only a few lines! And you'll have the whole weekend to practice as much as you need! Come on, Michelle, the club needs you."

They both looked to the door of the club room when its opening sound reached their ears. Clarissa loosened her grip on Michelle's hands, and Michelle pulled them away.