Jawbreaker

Wonder what it's like out there;

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I sat in the makeup room, sitting in a folded chair, staring at my reflection in the mirror. Others stood behind me, curling and spraying their hair with heavy pounds of hairspray, preparing themselves for the final dress rehearsal before the opening night of the show.

I sat there, ignoring the kids who stood by me, watching themselves apply stage makeup to their faces, fixing last minute touch ups. I didn’t have the energy to participate in my own job, helping out with the costumes and stage makeup. I’d rather sit in my chair, staring off into the mirror.

“Has anyone seen my brooch? Has anyone seen my brooch?” repeated a girl with tight, sausage curls. Her makeup was overdone, highlighting her cheekbones too much, making her look painfully sharp. Although, she would come out fine on stage, with all the lighting, in person, the girl looked atrocious up close.

The emerald brooch she was looking for sat on the counter of the makeup table. I stared at it, debating whether or not I should voice up the whereabouts of her missing prop. But then I saw a mischievous hand swipe it.

I looked up to see Folds, sliding the brooch into the pocket of his jeans. He leaned against the makeup cabinet, watching the girl fret over the object that was sitting in his pocket, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling contently.

The girl shot a look at him.

“Noah, did you see my brooch? It’s emerald with a gold back. Have you seen it at all?” she asked him, her eyes hopefully wide.

He shrugged his shoulders, holding his hands out. “Can’t say that I have, Billie Jean.”

She let out a whimper, ruffling her dress to see if it had fallen somewhere in the many layers. I watched as he tried to hide a smile, biting back the laughter.

Folds stood up, moving away from the makeup cabinet and towards Billie Jean. “Come on,” he said, taking her arm. “I’ll help you find the brooch. Alright?”

She sighed, frustrated. “Fine.”

He smiled at her.

I watched as Folds put his arm around her shoulder, trying to calm her down as tears began to form in her eyes. She was going hysterical with the loss of her prop. Knowing how much of a prop Nazi Natalia was, I decided to say something before they left the makeup room.

“For crying out loud, Billie Jean. It’s in his ‘effing pocket,” I piped up, crossing my arms.

Folds froze as Billie Jean turned to look back at me. She looked at him, slowly looking down. In a flash, her hand whipped out the brooch from his pocket, holding it to his face.

“Noah Folds,” she said in a low, menacing voice. “You jerk! Do you know how freaked out I was about this? You know Natalia would kill me for losing my prop. She’d murder my ass!”

He shrugged, sticking his hands back into his pockets as he rocked on the tip of his toes.

“I thought it would be funny,” he mumbled.

She gave him an annoyed look. He smiled.

She didn’t appreciate that.

“Oh come on,” he started as she left the room in a huff. He turned to look back at me and shot me a, “Thanks. Really,” before he went after her.

I didn’t even care.

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I sat behind Natalia in the auditorium, watching those on the stage performing the last act of the play. Natalia had her clipboard clutched to her chest as she flipped through the binder script in her lap. If I looked over her shoulder, I would see the entire play highlighted with multiple colors. I didn’t bother.

As the kids on stage began reciting their lines, acting out their parts, I slouched farther in my seat, doodling in my notebook.

Someone plopped themselves in the seat next to me, lifting their legs to rest on the seat in front of them. I looked to my left to see Noah Folds seated next to me.

“Thanks for that back there,” he said. “Now Billie Jean won’t even talk to me.”

I continued doodling. “Not my fault.”

He clicked his tongue, crossing his arms over his chest, grabbing his shoulders. “Whatever. I blame this whole ordeal on you,” he said.

I continued doodling.

“Fix it,” he said, looking at me.

I didn’t even know this kid.

“What makes you believe that I can?” I asked him, drawing an outline of a tree.

I saw him shrug out of the corner of my eye.

“I’m not sure. I’m just hoping that you have a conscience.”

I laughed out loud. “And you really believe that my conscience will make me feel guilt over what you did?”

I stopped laughing when I looked over at him, seeing the look that he was giving me. His expression was blank as he stared back at me, not saying anything. His arms were still crossed, his hands still holding onto his shoulders.

“Maybe not guilt,” he said. “But curiosity.”

I didn’t exactly know what to think about that.

Natalia’s loud voice brought me out of Noah’s suggestion and I looked up to see the whole cast standing at the edge of the stage, waiting for notes. When I looked back I saw that Noah had already left his seat, walking out of the auditorium. I looked back up at the cast and noticed that Billie Jean was also watching him leave.

And out of curiosity, I followed him.

He looked over his shoulder once, as he was walking past the doors of the school. I caught the glimpse of a smirk as he turned back to look straight forward. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction but he was right. My curiosity was a lot stronger and a lot more powerful than any guilt trip.

We were in the school parking lot as I watched Noah walk towards a blue bug. He unlocked the trunk with a girlish lanyard, seeming out of place in his hands, and pulled out a box full of books. I watched as he overturned the box, letting all the books fall into the trunk.

“This isn’t your car, is it?” I asked, looking at the books.

“No. It’s Billie Jean’s,” he said.

He threw the box onto the ground of the lot. He pulled out another box full of books, doing the same to this one, and took the box in his hands, sitting down on the black pavement.

He looked at me, waiting for me to do the same.

I slowly sat down, grabbing the box that I had assumed was intended for me. I held the huge cardboard box in my arms, waiting for him to signal what to do next.

“You really want to fix things?” he asked me.

I shook my head, not knowing what else to do.

He grinned at me, turning the box over.

“Let’s play robots!” he shouted, throwing the box over his head, letting it completely cover him up to his shoulders.

I stared, stupefied by his childish antics.

“Are you a robot?” he asked, his voice muffled up by the cardboard.

I didn’t move. This was ridiculous.

He peeked from underneath his box, pointing a finger directly in my direction as he cried, “You’re not playing robots! You’re not a robot!”

I sighed, throwing my box at him, getting up.

“Wait,” he said, stopping me before I stood up.

I looked at him, my arms ready to support me in my attempt to stand up. I waited for what it was that he had to say before I would really leave him.

He looked at my abandoned box, sitting off to the side.

“Don’t you want to at least try and pretend you’re still a…robot?

In my mind, I had replaced the word.

A kid.

I watched the faint, earnest eyes staring back at me, waiting for me to make my move. In a way, I did want to be a robot. I wanted to do something completely out of character, out of context, and absolutely ridiculous as pretending to be robots in the middle of the school parking lot.

But in another sense, I still had my reputation to protect. As silly and clichéd as it sounded, I had made a name of myself in high school. And I wasn’t so willing to abandon it for a fleeting moment in a parking lot with a strange boy who still had a cardboard box over his head.

But it was his blue eyes that got me. They were a cerulean blue, like hers.

Like Abby’s.

I sat down, throwing the box over my head while crossing my arms.

“Happy?” I murmured from underneath the cardboard.

“Ecstatic,” he replied.

He began making ‘robot’ noises, things like, “Bo bo beep, do dee dum bum bo beep.”

I just sat there, silent. Waiting for this to end.

He stopped making the noises after a while.

We sat there, in the parking lot, in complete and utter silence for the next three minutes.

And then I said, “Beep.”
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aahh, i'm trying.

i really do love this story :)

i hope i didn't really rush things with noah and lucy...

feedback?