Two Love

Chapter 9

Wednesdays were the busiest days for Marty. First, there was school; second, there was badminton training; third, there was rehearsal with his drama club. Sixth form had been challenging and tiring, as usual, as had badminton training. That didn't necessarily mean it had been bad – he always found some enjoyment in badminton, and he'd become an avid fan of Parisa's fruit salad – but he was looking forward to doing something less effortful.

"Okay, now I would like you to walk like a police officer," said Olivia, the thirty-something woman who ran the drama club and directed their productions. She often commenced their sessions with silly acting games like this one. Right now, thirty 10 to 18-year-olds were walking in wiggly circles with perfect posture and stern expressions.

"Now like a model." The girls started strutting down imaginary runways, stopping every so often to pose with a hand on their hip. The boys strolled with smug smiles, flexing their biceps.

"Now like a waiter or waitress." Everyone had a dish in their hand or was taking down orders on an imaginary pad of paper. Having worked as a busser in a local restaurant for a few weeks in the summer, Marty was unfortunately familiar with this make-believe. It hadn't been as sociable as he'd expected it to be since there were so many dishes that needed delivering all the damn time. Plus, the plates were so hefty that his arms would ache for hours after his shifts – which didn't bode well for his badminton. 

This game continued for a few minutes. Then Olivia asked them to get their scripts out. As the teens were still in the early stages of rehearsals, they brought their scripts to each rehearsal, reading over their parts during the session to refresh their minds.

"I want to rehearse Act 2, scene 1. So that's the Narrator, Younger Mickey, Mrs Johnston and Sammy."

Marty nearly fell off the wooden bench he was sitting on. He hadn't expected to be called upon for ages – he was only Sammy, Mickey's older brother and a minor character. Thankfully, flicking through the script, it seemed he only had to act out what Mickey mentioned in his monologue about wanting to be like Sammy. 

He stayed at the side of the scene, waiting for his cue. "I wish I was our Sammy..."

Marty strutted onto the scene, smiling in a contumacious manner. He pulled back an imaginary catapult, sending a bouncy ball into the crowd (the bouncy ball was real – Olivia caught it). Then he was pretending to spit in a random citizen's eye; then he was drawing salacious pictures of women in a cubicle; then he was playing with a toy car until it broke (or at least, it looked like it did – it had a detachable roof). Finally, he pretended to wee through a letter box. It was so comical that Jonah, who was playing Younger Mickey, could hardly conclude his monologue for laughter.

"Excellent job, everyone! Jonah, I can see you've really been working on memorising those lines; I'd like you to be a bit louder next time. And Marty, your acting is spot on; I would like you to do some acting in the second half of the second stanza of the monologue. Pretend to play with matches or go to bed late."

Marty nodded. The actors ran through the scene once more, after which Olivia declared it practically perfect. Next up was Act 2, scene 2, a scene between Mickey and Edward that was one of Marty's favourites to watch. That was because Mickey taught Edward some swear words. He could still remember one day back in year 4 when he'd taught Everett a couple of swear words.

"What's your favourite word?" he'd asked Everett as they lay in the grass in the middle of the school field. Other schoolchildren kept nearly stepping on them as they played tag, but this element of danger appealed to Marty.

"Planes," said Everett without hesitation. He was observing the sky as if he expected a plane to appear in the sky at any moment, even though there was no airport for miles.