Behind the Curtains

Act 1, Scene 1

*Rome's P.O.V.*

We're going to war, and it's all Shakespeare's fault.

The actors are whipping out their scripts and desperately trying to prove that Romeo and Juliet is a tale of true love and deep romance.

Please.

Anyone with an ounce of sense can tell that Romeo and Juliet is about two dumb kids who go and die for the sake of "love". And this is the argument that has us -the Stage Crew- fighting with the Actors.

    "Act 1, Scene 1 in 5 minutes! Crew, off the stage! Actors, get up there!" Mr. Domini yells at us.

The actors scramble to put away their phones and get on stage, but the crew slowly marches off -myself included. I take a glance at the Actors and roll my eyes when I see a girl with long blonde hair applying more makeup. That's all she's done during practice -with the exception of her stage time. I've never actually seen her on stage, but I bet she's been handed the role; her long blonde hair and perfect blue eyes practically scream "privileged".    

I turn away from the stage and continue with the rest of the crew towards the classroom, bored with watching the Actors and too focused on seeing what assignments we have for today.

    As I enter the classroom I hear loud giggling from the whiteboard, which is where our assignments for the day are posted. In Mr. Domini's scrawled handwriting the paper reads;

Marrie, Lewis, Caddie -Costume Depart. (organize socks and shoes)

Rome, Dax -Basement (grab tower pieces)

Kendall, Conner, Jack, Derron -Garage (flats for painting)

Michael -L&S Board (practice)

I smile. Dax and I are in the Basement again, which means we can hang out without anyone else bothering us. I stand on my toes and look around for Dax, only to find that he's already left for the basement. Running to catch up, I leave the room and my fellow crewmates behind.

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

"Dax? You in here?"

I climb down the steep, narrow steps that lead into the basement and turn on the light. Nothing. Cobwebs hang from the ceiling and spiders crawl around the floor, which I don't mind but I know Dax does. Struggling to remember if he was here today, I walk over to the tower pieces we're supposed to be lifting and groan. They're long, thick, and wooden; definitely a two-person job. "Where are you, Dax?"

"Right here," he laughs as he jumps down from on top of a shelf. He lands on the floor with a rattle, knocking over the lamp next to him.

"Dude! You scared me," I whisper as he picks up the fallen lamp. He just shrugs and points to the tower. "How do we wanna do this? Me in the front, you in the back?"

"Whatever is quickest," I respond. He smiles at our inside joke; I'm not one for heavy lifting. The only reason I picked stage crew was so that I could escape gym class. Little did I know that it was a gym class of its own. We walk over to the wooden tower top and lift it, groaning under the weight.

"Is it supposed to be this heavy?" I groan.

There's no response from Dax; only the shuffling of his feet moving up the stairs. I lift the piece a bit higher and climb up the stairs with him, careful not to go too fast.

"Top," he yells down at me.

"3 more," I yell back.

    For anyone who isn't part of stage crew, our short sentences may sound like a code. And I guess it kinda is. If you're not the one doing the lifting and the building, you don't really understand the need for quick sentences. Which leads me to think of the Actors, with their drawn-out sentences and dramatic pauses.

    As we're climbing down the stairs, I ask Dax what he thinks of the whole "war" between the meaning of Romeo and Juliet.

"It's petty, for sure, but we need to prove to the Actors that we know our literature too. And the only reason half of them believe it's about 'true love' is because they think that's real," he laughs.

I nod my head in agreement. "True love" is a lie made to protect the people who are scared of being alone forever.

"How's it going down there?" Jack peeks his head over the railing to look at us. When he realizes that I'm helping lift the pieces, he leaps over the barrier between the garage and the basement, quickly making his way down the stairs. "A girl shouldn't be doing this on her own," he smiles.

I glare at him and Dax looks away, too scared to help me fight him. "For the last time, Jack, I'm not a girl." I point to the pin on my shirt and he rolls his eyes. "Whatever," he says as he marches back up the stairs, no longer willing to help.

I look down at my pin with sadness, the Nonbinary flag shining back up at me with the pronouns they/them clearly displayed in white with black outlines.

"Sorry for not helping you out there," Dax mutters.

"It's okay," I respond. "Let's just get the rest of these pieces upstairs."

*Thank you for reading this Chapter!! Please vote and comment if you found it interesting. I really appreciate it!!*