The Best Friend Equation

Chapter 19 - The Workshop

The next day when we entered the gym after soon, Ms. Martin was standing in the middle of the vast space, rubbing her hands together in excitement. At her feet, she had kept her purse and a large fishbowl full of small envelopes.

"Welcome, welcome!" she exclaimed, her smile wide. As soon as all the participants had arrived, she continued. "I'm so glad to see each and every one of you. Now I'm only 26 years old, and even though I may seem like an old lady to you, trust me when I say that I was your age not too long ago."

She paused, grinning at all of us. "So whatever your reason is for attending this workshop—be it a genuine interest in the dramatic arts, or to pursue a side hobby or just to ditch the school day—" some students looked nervously around but Ms. Martin wasn't deterred. "—it doesn't matter. You are welcome here and because it's only a one-day workshop, we can have fun while learning something new!"

She was peppy and energetic when she talked, bouncing on her heels.

"Okay, then. Let's start with some breathing exercises. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. One... Two... Three. Very good! We're all doing great." She clapped her hands in excitement while the students shot each other amused looks. She was like an overactive child on sugar rush.

Ms. Martin waved her hand over to the plastic chairs stacked in the corner of the room. "How about we take a chair and make a big circle?" Everyone scrambled to get a chair while Ms. Martin skipped to hers and perched daintily at the edge of it, as it she would leap off any second.

When everyone had seated themselves in a loose circle, Ms. Martin continued. "Great! Now let's quickly go around and introduce ourselves. Only your name for now." She paused, raising a finger. "But the catch is that you must tell me your name by acting. It can be surprised," she said making a shocked expression, "or scared—" she shivered with shifty eyes, "or angry—" she scowled adorably. We all laughed.

"You can even picture a particular emoji in your head when you're saying your name," she added. "It's okay if someone repeats a particular expression. To avoid that, though, let's all try to think of something unique." She paused for a couple of seconds to give us time to think.

"Everybody ready? Okay, I'll start." She made crazy eyes, sticking out her tongue. "I'm Rebecca Martin."

She turned expectantly to the brave but unfortunate boy sitting next to her. He had bright red hair and a face full of freckles. He gulped visibly, his hands curled up on his lap. "Um, I'm Eric Colton."

"Nervous face." Ms. Martin nodded in approval. "I like it." Not sure if the guy was acting though.

One by one the students made a different expression and stated their names. Soon it was my turn. I folded my hands, tilted my head on them and closed my eyes. "I'm Aria Matthews," I said with a snore. Opening my eyes to the laughter, I glanced to Luke who was grinning at me.

Then he turned to the others, his eyes hooded and mouth in a line. Placing his hands palm up in front of him, he said in Khaby Lame's signature 'deadpan' expression, "My name is Luke Miller." He rolled his eyes for good measure and everyone grinned at his goofiness.

After Cam's zombie impression and Mason's puppy-eyes face, the ice was broken as the students joked around and teased each other.

"That was fun!" exclaimed Ms. Martin beaming at the class. "It was nice to meet all of you. And apologies in advance because I might not remember everyone's names, but I promise you that I will try." She bent down and pulled out a small notepad from her purse. "Now I have some pointers for you about acting. There will be no need to write them down. After the class, I'll be giving you a printout of the notes." The last seemed to be directed at me and few other students, as we had all reached for our bags for something to write on. Thankfully I wasn't the only nerd in the workshop.