Status: Moving along...Kind of slow.
We Don't Have to be a Tragedy
Act IV, Scene IV
Juliet’s Point of View
My main focal point for the next four days, I realized as I prepared for classes on Monday, is to survive while also gaining a role in the musical. Every free minute over the weekend had been spent in the disused music room, and I was usually accompanied by Mallory, who, although as shy as she was speaking, had a pretty good singing voice, and admitted that she was shooting for the secondary female lead.
I practiced on my breaks, even if I had to run to get to my next class on time, and I only had another deli sandwich from the on-campus store for lunch so I’d have that whole hour to practice during. I wouldn’t disturb anyone in the building - the room next door was cacophonic, but somehow kept a semblance of melody.
My hands started flowing across a Disney classic - Can You Feel the Love Tonight. The Lion King, of course!
I played through it once to get my fingers limbered up, then I started it again, adding the sound of my voice to the bell-like tones of the keys. I closed my eyes, concentrating on keeping both my fingers and my vocals working in unison. I had to work hard to keep Romeo’s face out of my mind’s eye, and even that didn’t work very well, so when I finished the song I had unshed tears lining my vision, and I switched to The Entertainer for a bit of a break. I took another steadying breath and glanced at the clock on the far wall - which I had put batteries in and set myself, so I wouldn’t have to worry about digging for my phone when I wanted to know the time.
“Still have thirty minutes,” I murmured to myself, getting up and rummaging inside the bench, where I’d stashed a bit of sheet music I’d picked up for myself.
I came across one that I hadn’t expected to find. I’d actually fingered it out myself and copied it down, and I wasn’t sure it was right, but it was close enough to sound like it. The song At The Beginning. Richard Marx and Donna Lewis, maybe? I couldn’t remember right now. All I clearly remembered was that it was present in the credits of the animated movie Anastasia - which happened to be one of my favorite non-Disney movies ever. Kind of like Quest for Camelot.
I laughed to myself, pulling it out and sitting down to play.
Romeo’s Point of View
“Today, cast,” Antonio, the director, started as he addressed us all, “we’ll be practicing the infamous Act II, Scene II, so I need Romeo and Juliet to go over their lines a few more times. Chop chop!”
My stomach rolled uncomfortably. This was the other reason, other than leaving my real Juliet behind, that I hadn’t wanted to come.
I didn’t want to kiss anyone but my Juliet. And kissing someone who was being called Juliet, even just for the purposes of the play, felt wrong to me. I closed my eyes and heaved a sigh, running through my lines in my head as I did so. I couldn’t really concentrate though, because I had the nagging suspicion that this ‘Juliet’ was trying to get to me - in all the wrong ways, I assure you - and kissing her was not going to help matters. And besides, she was as different from Juliet as anyone could be in attitude. And she had bleached blonde hair, which I could never picture Juliet having in all her life. They had the blue eyes in common, but there was something colder in this ‘Juliet’s’ eyes that unnerved me.
“What have I gotten myself into?” I said sullenly, as the call for me and ‘Juliet’ to take our positions came.
Taylor’s Point of View
“Ugh!” I threw my hands up. Todd looked at me like I was crazy, and I explained, “This has got to be driving Jules crazy!”
He raised an eyebrow like he still didn’t get it, taking another bite of his burger. Finally, after chewing and swallowing, he asked, “What has got to be driving Juliet crazy? The fact that you haven’t talked for…thirty hours?”
“No! Romeo being in New York for the next almost three months!” I cried, staring down at my slice of pizza. “You should hear her new favorite song right now - actually, we’ll hear it next week - the 26th, right? That’s one of the karaoke nights at Whitney’s, and you go back up there for every single one.”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “And it’s driving Romeo crazy already. He really doesn’t want to be there.”
I groaned, finally taking a bite of my own lunch.
“This is so not going to help me finish my assignment due on Friday,” I muttered.
“Same here.”
My main focal point for the next four days, I realized as I prepared for classes on Monday, is to survive while also gaining a role in the musical. Every free minute over the weekend had been spent in the disused music room, and I was usually accompanied by Mallory, who, although as shy as she was speaking, had a pretty good singing voice, and admitted that she was shooting for the secondary female lead.
I practiced on my breaks, even if I had to run to get to my next class on time, and I only had another deli sandwich from the on-campus store for lunch so I’d have that whole hour to practice during. I wouldn’t disturb anyone in the building - the room next door was cacophonic, but somehow kept a semblance of melody.
My hands started flowing across a Disney classic - Can You Feel the Love Tonight. The Lion King, of course!
I played through it once to get my fingers limbered up, then I started it again, adding the sound of my voice to the bell-like tones of the keys. I closed my eyes, concentrating on keeping both my fingers and my vocals working in unison. I had to work hard to keep Romeo’s face out of my mind’s eye, and even that didn’t work very well, so when I finished the song I had unshed tears lining my vision, and I switched to The Entertainer for a bit of a break. I took another steadying breath and glanced at the clock on the far wall - which I had put batteries in and set myself, so I wouldn’t have to worry about digging for my phone when I wanted to know the time.
“Still have thirty minutes,” I murmured to myself, getting up and rummaging inside the bench, where I’d stashed a bit of sheet music I’d picked up for myself.
I came across one that I hadn’t expected to find. I’d actually fingered it out myself and copied it down, and I wasn’t sure it was right, but it was close enough to sound like it. The song At The Beginning. Richard Marx and Donna Lewis, maybe? I couldn’t remember right now. All I clearly remembered was that it was present in the credits of the animated movie Anastasia - which happened to be one of my favorite non-Disney movies ever. Kind of like Quest for Camelot.
I laughed to myself, pulling it out and sitting down to play.
Romeo’s Point of View
“Today, cast,” Antonio, the director, started as he addressed us all, “we’ll be practicing the infamous Act II, Scene II, so I need Romeo and Juliet to go over their lines a few more times. Chop chop!”
My stomach rolled uncomfortably. This was the other reason, other than leaving my real Juliet behind, that I hadn’t wanted to come.
I didn’t want to kiss anyone but my Juliet. And kissing someone who was being called Juliet, even just for the purposes of the play, felt wrong to me. I closed my eyes and heaved a sigh, running through my lines in my head as I did so. I couldn’t really concentrate though, because I had the nagging suspicion that this ‘Juliet’ was trying to get to me - in all the wrong ways, I assure you - and kissing her was not going to help matters. And besides, she was as different from Juliet as anyone could be in attitude. And she had bleached blonde hair, which I could never picture Juliet having in all her life. They had the blue eyes in common, but there was something colder in this ‘Juliet’s’ eyes that unnerved me.
“What have I gotten myself into?” I said sullenly, as the call for me and ‘Juliet’ to take our positions came.
Taylor’s Point of View
“Ugh!” I threw my hands up. Todd looked at me like I was crazy, and I explained, “This has got to be driving Jules crazy!”
He raised an eyebrow like he still didn’t get it, taking another bite of his burger. Finally, after chewing and swallowing, he asked, “What has got to be driving Juliet crazy? The fact that you haven’t talked for…thirty hours?”
“No! Romeo being in New York for the next almost three months!” I cried, staring down at my slice of pizza. “You should hear her new favorite song right now - actually, we’ll hear it next week - the 26th, right? That’s one of the karaoke nights at Whitney’s, and you go back up there for every single one.”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “And it’s driving Romeo crazy already. He really doesn’t want to be there.”
I groaned, finally taking a bite of my own lunch.
“This is so not going to help me finish my assignment due on Friday,” I muttered.
“Same here.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Okay, here's another one. I don't particularly think it's the best ever, but there's no song lyrics, so it's more of the actually story, I guess. I don't really know. I'm still trying to piece together my vague ideas that got lost...Thanks for reading!
<333 Amanda