Page 54 of My Life with the Walter Boys
For the next fifty minutes, I barely listened to the lecture. It wasn’t that I didn’t try to, but I could practically feel the anger pulsing off Alex in waves, and it made me so tense that I couldn’t think. When the bell rang, he shot out of his chair, not waiting for me to pack up my bag. The rest of my morning went just as terribly, and by lunchtime, I was desperate for the break.
“How you feeling?” Cole asked me as we walked out of math.
“Like shit,” I grumbled, adjusting the strap on my bag so it wouldn’t slide off my shoulder. “I’m never letting you talk me into doing something so stupid again.”
“How about I buy you lunch to make up for it?”
I sighed. “Look, Cole, that’s really nice of you. It’s just…”
“Just what?”
“Alex and I are really starting to get along. He hangs out with Kim and likes the rest of my group of friends, and it just kind of makes sense, you know?”
I don’t know exactly when I made up my mind to distance myself from Cole, but I think it had something to do with my fight with Alex. When I was with him, everything was so different. He didn’t make me feel like that strange, adventurous girl that emerged through my cracks when I was near Cole. With Alex, I felt comfortable, not anxious. Calm, not restless.
“So what exactly are you saying?”
“It’s no big secret that you guys have issues. I just think that we should, I don’t know…chill out?” It was half true, but I wasn’t going to tell Cole the real reason that we needed to keep our distance. The part about how being with him was so exciting that it scared me.
“Chill out?” he repeated as if he couldn’t quite hear me.
“Yes, does that make sense?”
“Oh. Um—yeah, sure.”
“Cool, so I’ll see you later, I guess.”
“Yeah, later.”
***
I should have asked Cole for directions to the computer lab. Alex always picked me up after math class and we walked to the lunchroom together, but today he didn’t show. He was probably sulking and playingGathering of Gods,and I really wanted to smooth things over between us. If I didn’t, I would be pissed at myself for letting a drinking mistake ruin our friendship.
Some teacher tried to point me in the right direction, but I was definitely lost. There was a wide set of double doors in front of me, which I was positive didn’t lead to the computer lab, but I pulled them open anyway, not knowing what else to do. The room was huge, with rows and rows of red theater chairs. The space was dark, except for a spotlight on stage, and I realized that this must be the auditorium. I was about to turn back around when I noticed someone pacing back and forth down below.
“‘O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to this night.’” It was Danny, and he was reading from a script I knew by heart. “‘Being o’er my head as is a winged messenger of heaven…’” He trailed off, leaving his line unfinished as he pulled his hair in frustration. From the way he spoke, I knew that he had every word memorized, so it must have been his line delivery that was upsetting him.
“‘O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?’” I called down Juliet’s next line, hoping to inspire him. Danny’s head snapped in my direction, and he stared at me as I made my way down to the front of the stage. “‘Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love. And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.’”
“‘Shall I hear more,’” Danny whispered Romeo’s response, “‘or shall I speak at this?’” He sounded breathless—my sudden appearance was clearly a surprise.
I clapped my hands, a huge smile on my face. “RomeoandJuliet, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s this year’s spring play. I didn’t know anyone else was in here with me.”
He looked away from me, and I took the opportunity to study his face. He had all of the beautiful Walter facial features, but in more of a rugged way with the usual scruff covering his face. He was just as good-looking as Cole, but it was subtle—something I had to study to notice. It was a silent, softer beauty.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I told him as he shuffled his feet. “I was trying to find the computer lab.”
“That’s on the other side of the building.”
“Figures,” I said with a sigh. “So you’re the male lead? That’s pretty cool.”
Danny shook his head. “Not yet. Callbacks are next week.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll get the part,” I told him, as I pulled myself up onto the platform. I sat on the edge and let my feet dangle over the side. “It sounds like you have everything down.”
“I don’t know,” he said, sounding agonized. “Something is off. I’m having a hard time getting into character and this part…” He sighed. “This is the most important play I’ve ever auditioned for.”
