Pillars

Chapter 8: Drama Camp Drama (Kelci)

The first week of camp, Taylor and I FaceTimed each other every night. But once I got my bearings and became immersed in my projects, I was basically off the grid. I barely had time to think of my life back home with all the drama going down at drama camp.

The whole experience was both overwhelming and exhilarating. My mornings were filled with classes where we worked on monologues, improvisation, and cold reading. In the afternoons, we met in small groups for scene study. Weekends were reserved for audition preparations.

One night my roommates, CeCe and Ramona, and I went down to the beach to catch the meteor shower. We were camped out on the shores of Lake Michigan sharing funny stories, but I wasn't really into it. Instead I let my mind wonder back home. Mom's text that morning was brief, but it worried me. Her doctor was sending her to see an endocrinologist for a second opinion on some lab work. I had hoped that Lorin could tell me what Mom was not. But she had not responded to any of my messages. Typical Lorin.

"This is amazing," CeCe declared sarcastically, squinting up at the cloudy sky. Not only could we not see the meteor shower, but all the stars were hidden as well. The fingernail moon appeared occasionally as the clouds moved rapidly across the night sky.

"I'm sorry you guys," I said as we began gathering the blankets. It was getting cold anyway. And the wind was picking up.

"We'd better head back," Ramona said, her face glowing in the light of her phone screen. "Looks like it's supposed to rain later."

We walked the worn footpath that connected the sandy shoreline to campus. But when we reached the quad, all the buildings looked the same in the dark. I charged forward desperate to get back to my bed.

"Where are you going? This is not the way," CeCe called from behind.

I stopped, but not because CeCe was yelling at me. From the shadows emerged two guys, that I was sure I had seen before. They were heading toward the building at the far west end of the quad. The building looked like something out of a Harry Potter film with its rounded steeples on each side of an elaborate brick facade.

"Who is that?" CeCe asked when she caught up to me.

I shrugged as we watch the two figures enter the building.

"The Creators' Quarters," Ramona said nodding toward the mysterious structure when she finally reached us. She had been trailing by several yards. At 4'10" she called herself fun sized. Just so long as no one else tried to.

"So those guys are creators?" I asked.

"Probably writers or directors," Ramona said.

"Or both," CeCe concluded. "Most kids here don't know what they want to be." She rolled her eyes accenting the word kids as if she wasn't one of them. Cecilia Reinhardt was a southern girl with very little charm. She said what was on her mind, and did not apologize for it.

I ignored her as we headed toward our own quarters at the south end of the quad. Apparently the "creators" were given special treatment, and rightfully so since they were the ones who determined who got cast in their productions. Get in good with them and you would surely have a spot in the final showcase where the industry's top agents would be scouting for the next big star.

Yeah, I recognized them alright. They were the twins I met the first day near the registration table. The Sheppard twins. Greg's round, red face was shadowed by a mess of unkempt hair that always looked sweaty. He wore a flannel shirt with cargo shorts and Birkenstocks that revealed his dry, cracked heels. If he hadn't told me, I would never have guessed that Jeremy was his brother let alone his twin.