Theater Cubicles

The Great Fall

"And then she immediately started teaching us our first dance routine! I mean most everybody else there were upperclassmen so they were accustomed to Colton's immediate hop into directing but... Anyways I should be glad to even be in this production. Everybody there is either a junior or senior. But I'm not intimidated, unlike I know you would be. Look I've already made a few friends," Germaine rambled in her energetic tone.

"Look. Let's just establish that I am just not good at making friends. No matter what I do to improve myself, confidence wise, I will not emerge out of the cocoon a social butterfly," I remarked.

"Juliette. Your humor baffles me," Germaine said.

"Germaine. Your random bursts of vocabulary befuddle me," I said jokingly.

However, she took it a little wrong and turned her back to me with her swiveling desk chair. One of Germaine's characterizations could be described as "butt-hurt." 

I had completed my homework earlier than usual that day and was already starting to memorize my first lines. To impress a director one must walk on stage prepared and ready to say her lines off-book. I wanted to get the lines down as soon as I could, before it was too late and I had to memorize before a deadline. Memorization, at this stage of a production, was just stuffing the words into your mind. There was no character in it or tone. Just the cadence of the sentences.

On a full stomach my memorization skills needed to be put into good use so I jotted down all my lines with they're allotted cue lines on flashcards. Flashcards were deemed to be the best memorization technique. As a visual learner, I could sometimes picture the lines that I had written on the flashcards while on stage. So, I continued to use this technique.

---

"Juliette! Wait up!" I heard the familiar voice behind me.

Turning around I flashed him a tolerant smile saying, "Hello there, Nolan."

"So I guess this is a tradition? Meeting up every time we're walking to the large auditorium, I mean," he asked.

"I guess so!" I sounded more chipper than I felt.

"You know the play is much more valued than the musical. We're very lucky to be in it. A lot of people from every department comes to see it and everything," Nolan pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. So I memorized exactly two out of around ten of my lines," I told him.

"Wonderful progress. Look at you! Over-achiever... That's a fifth of your lines," Nolan praised as he opened the door to the auditorium.

Early as always, we took a seat at the front row of the theater again and continued our chat.

"What about you? Any progress, Mr. Lead-Role?" I asked.

"I think I've somewhat hazily memorized around 22 of my fifty lines. Round about..." Nolan said casually.

"Oh and so I'm the over-achiever!" we both laughed.

"So I was talking to Adel," and he added after seeing my confusion, "You know...my sister."

"Oh! Yes, yes, ok?" I said remembering Nolan's sister who was apparently mature for her age.

"So I was just talking to her on the phone and I was telling her how cool it was that Isaac, Edith, Tessa, you... We're all in this play together."

Nolan and Adel's relationship was adorable. I'd never seen an older brother have such a true friendship with his younger sister, especially with such an age gap. Having no siblings myself, I'd never know the feeling. It was so cute to hear how he told everything to her. But just a little weird for seventeen year old guy.

What was even more weird, however, was how I was all of a sudden automatically included into Nolan's friend group and the anecdotes he told Adel. Apparently she knew of me which meant that Nolan thought of me as a pretty close friend. Not being very experienced in the friend department, I didn't know how to feel about this sudden abduction into his circle. When had we gone from him giving me private lessons to walking to rehearsals talking about life in the blink of an eye?

"So will she be coming to the Academy. Because when I'm a director she will be a freshmen," I pointed out.

"Oh, no," he laughed out loud, "For now she's planning to marry rich. It can happen in Beverly Hills."

"I can't believe you live in the Beverly Hills. Like 90210 and everything. Wait!"

"I'm waiting..." he sarcastically remarked.

"Never mind. I just realized that you're one of those people. Anyways, so why didn't you just audition for a part and get in if you were smack dab in the middle of Hollywood?"

"Well, I, for one, value education. I thought that I should learn how to be the best at what I do before I secure myself a role in Hollywood. That way I'd be better at what I do so I'd last more in the industry. At least, that's what I think. Also please don't stereotype me."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. That's what my dad told me. I guess you guys think the same way. Education, education. Well, after all, he's a college professor. So is my mom."

"Oh wow. That's so cool. Oh, that's Isaac, Tessa, and Edith. Hey! Come on over!"

Not a part of that group, I left starting to go up the stairs.

"Hey, Juliette. Where are you going?" Nolan asked.

"Just exploring backstage," I told the group that was completely uninterested in me excluding Nolan.

---

Lara York gave us a character exercise that day that immediately put the cast to stress. Each of us were given a worksheet with questions and writing prompts that would help us develop our character. The over achiever that I was took much more time and put much more effort than I should. I was sitting criss-cross on the stage trying to complete the last writing prompt perfectly. Everybody had left and I was still there with Lara waiting for me to complete.

"You don't have to complete it if you've got the general concept. Remember that this show is not for a grade," Lara said.

"Oh, no. I've got this. It's for my benefit. And...I'm...done!" I said with a smile.

"Perfect. Thanks," she said as she took the paper from my hand.

She then left the theater along with the last of the students as I picked up my belongings. Taking my purse and water bottle I went towards the stairs that went from both sides of the stage. And then my phone chimed letting me know Germaine had texted. I wondered what she had to tell me immediately after our rehearsals. As soon as I swiped to open my phone screen I felt myself losing my footing. I slipped going three steps down the steep black painted steps. All in a matter of three seconds I sprained my right shoulder as I tried to hold on the floor with my arms, my back hit the sharp edge of the stair, and sat hard on my un-cushioned buttocks.

Lesson: don't text and walk. 

"Oww!" I subconsciously yelled out loudly, "Oh. Wow. Ok. That just hurt. Oww."

And then tears started sprouting from my eyes. Since one of my legs were folded in I was unsure whether I had broken something. I didn't see anyone in the auditorium so my dramatic self thought for sure that I was going to die right then and there. At least it would be in a place where I loved very much.

Then the auditorium door opened.

Author's Note: And so I leave you off with a comedic yet suspenseful cliffhanger! Let me know what you think! Who do you think opened the auditorium door? If you liked this chapter please vote :)