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I stop chewing Did I just do the fricking thing again?

Toby, thinking I said that deliberately, grins and suppresses a laugh “That was a good one!” He wags his fork at me “Clever! Ha! Wow, you really took Ms Joy’s advice to heart”

My plastic knife snaps in half upon attelower at the crummy ers graze his, and in an instant, I feel light again I even cut aze on htly-less-boorish-than-before actions

“See you at rehearsal!” he tells s And I watch hi I can’t quite putabout it all fifth period when I should be focusing on the co froh sixth period Algebra II as well,impatiently in place under the desk When the bell releases me to my seventh period study hall with an old lady named Mrs Shannon who squints whenever she talks, I can barely focus onas I count down the ain

Then: ding, ding

Today’s rehearsal gets us on our feet on the stage, the table cleared away Ms Joy sits in the front roith Tamika at her side, and after a few placeholder set pieces are arranged on the stage to represent various furniture, as well as spike tape on the ground to indicate a wall, a café , and a door, we’re set loose Ms Joy has a bit of a laidback approach co us to simply “feel the space” with each scene Toby, who is a coravitate toward the furniture as he delivers his lines, using the on them The scenes move by slowly and aardly, and it’s obvious by the third scene that we are all stiff and terrible actors who should just quit, pack up, and go hoht noe know better

Especially e get to scene four “Kingsley, I … I …” Toby looks down at his script for the line, then returns his eyes to mine “I don’t knohat to say”

“Then don’t,” I reply as Kingsley “Danny, your eyes say it all”

Toby ss hard He stares at me, wide-eyed, his face pale This next part, he clearly can’t do He is paralyzed He ss again with such force, I suspect even the back row can hear it

Ms Joy, see to sense the probleloss over this part for now if you don’t feel coh yet”

I stare down Toby This is, of course, the first kiss in the script It’s Danny who retfully, not vice versa

Toby looks like he lances out at the audience There are at least twenty expectant faces out there, all of thery to witness history on the Spruce High stage “It’s just …”

“The stage lights,” offers Ms Joy helpfully “Yes They’re quite blinding Stupidly blinding And hot KILL THE LIGHTS!” she calls out over her back, and so off the stage lights Noe’re only lit by whatever die from the house “Better?”

I shts Toby is scared out of hishiossipy, thirsty theatre students Another stretch of silence passes, during which Toby turns back to ing to each other, with a cliff surrounding us on all sides If one of us lets go, we both fall

Oh, the things I’ll apparently do for Toby … “Ms Joy,” I call out to her frolued on the terrified Toby “I think it’s … me who’s not comfortable yet Maybe we can co a littlecomfortable”

Everyone in the roohs Ms Joy included

But not Toby He doesn’t laugh at all His scared eyes are glued toelse is happening in his face Is he …

Is he disappointed?

“Very well,” announces Ms Joy when she recovers “Carry on fro overtiet hooddamned o, go”