Joie

 

For the next week and a half, things were basically back to normal. My mom came home after a couple of days and promised things would be better. And I knew they would be, at least for a while. I couldn’t waste time worrying about that, though. I needed to focus on my play and tonight was the first step toward all my dreams coming true. Actually, Cole agreeing to play the lead was the first step, making auditions tonight the second.

I’d been working for days to find the right people for the behind-the-scenes roles. After some convincing, I was able to recruit Sarah, the president of the art club, for set design. I spent time researching the guys down in the shop classes and finally approached Chet, a burly junior, to work with Sarah building all the different sets. Denise and Tiffany, from textiles and cosmetology, were a harder sell. I’d had to name drop, emphasizing Cole’s role in the play, to get them to agree. And last, but not least, Eric would handle all the technical stuff, lighting, music, and microphones.

Everything was falling into place. I’d already submitted my application to three different universities. I emailed each of them last week with a list of dates for production for them to choose from so representatives from each could see the finished product. I heard back from all three and finalized the date with them and with Ms. Lewis. It was happening! This was really happening!

For the first time in a long time, I felt happy, really happy. My dreams were playing out in front of me like a newsreel. I had hope. Things had been halfway normal at home. I had a job. Some savings. And now the chance to produce a play that would earn me my ticket out of here.

Over the weekend, Cambridge High had played in the State Championship game down in Indianapolis. Watching out my window as the Parker family loaded up to drive down, I was surprised by how much I wanted to join them and watch Cole play in the game. Instead, I took some time to find updates on the game online only to realize it was being televised on one of the local stations. So, I turned it on.

Cole was amazing. He scored a career high thirty-seven points and had six rebounds and five assists. The commentators mentioned he’d been heavily recruited for a basketball scholarship for both Indiana University and Purdue, but he’d decided to go with a football scholarship to Notre Dame. I couldn’t hold back the tears when Cole and the other guys on the team lined up at center court to receive the Championship trophy. Mr. and Mrs. Parker and Macy stood off to the side, all of them smiling with happy tears running down their cheeks. I was just as proud of him. Cole deserved it. He’d always worked so hard.

But now, it was time to focus on my play and making my own dreams come true.

“We all set, Joie,” Ms. Lewis asked, walking up behind me.

I tapped the edge of a stack of papers against the tabletop to straighten them, then laid them beside my bottle of water. Glancing around the space I’d set up for Ms. Lewis and myself, I felt satisfied that everything was in order.

“I think so. Now we just have to wait for people to show up.” If they showed up. I would never admit it, but I was a complete ball of nerves. What if my plan didn’t work? What if Cole starring in the play wasn’t enough to draw people to auditions? What if my play was destined to be a humongous disaster? Just as I was about to collapse in despair-

“Hey, Jo.”

-Cole. When would the day come that I didn’t need him? Would that day ever come?

Strolling down the aisle between the rows of seats, Cole looked like he was on top of the world. And why shouldn’t he? He’d just led his team to win the basketball Championship, he had a full-ride scholarship to one of the best schools in the nation, and dang it, if he wasn’t the most gorgeous hottie I’d ever laid eyes on. It just wasn’t fair.

“Hey, Cole. Thanks for coming.” I pushed my glasses up my nose and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, avoiding his gaze. I hadn’t talked to him since the night he’d given me a ride home from work. I didn’t even mention the auditions to him personally, just included him in the group email I’d sent out to all the production heads that outlined the schedule for the next couple of weeks. I also included a copy of the script. I wondered if he read it.

“I said I would, didn’t I?” He dropped his backpack on a seat in the row behind me and then stepped over the seatbacks to stand beside me.

“Cole, I just have to say, I’m so pleased you decided to join Joie’s production.” Ms. Lewis was practically drooling over Cole, but he was cool about it, responding with the movie star smile he usually reserved for media interviews, and he’d had quite a few of those over the last few months. Not that I would know or anything.

“Anything for Joie, right?” Now his megawatt smile was directed at me.

Ms. Lewis got distracted by her ringing cell phone and stepped away from us to answer it. Cole’s smile turned upside down.

“Hey, how are you doing?” He sounded so concerned, I wanted to punch him.

Scowling, I dug the script with his name on it out of the pile. It was a good thing he’d shown up. Auditions would go a lot better if we were able to see him interacting with possible co-stars. “Stop that,” I said, shoving the script into his stomach.

“Stop what?”

“Being all concerned. You can’t ask me if I’m okay every time you see me. That would be really annoying.” I pushed my glasses up on my nose again and wondered for the millionth time if I should give my contacts another shot.

“Caring about you is annoying,” Cole asked, his eyes wide.

I slapped the stack of papers back down on the table and met his gaze. “Yes. It is very annoying. We aren’t going to start hanging out again. We aren’t friends.” Dang. I hadn’t meant to say that. But the damage was done. Cole’s eyes which had shined with concern and dare I say, affection, flickered with hurt before shuttering completely.

“Right.” He pretended to study the sheets in his hand. “I guess I’ll sit over here and read through some lines before people get here.”

“Cole-”

“No. Don’t worry. I get it.” He said the words over his shoulder as he made his way to the end of the row and sat down.

Frustrated, I swiped my glasses off my face and began cleaning the lenses with the hem of my shirt. I did not want to let Cole get to me like this, but he needed to understand. No one at school knew about our history and I wanted to keep it that way. Let them think what they wanted about his motivation for being in my play, all that matter was that he was doing it.

A commotion at the back of the auditorium drew my attention from the notes I’d been checking over. Looking up, I saw several people entering the auditorium, talking and laughing and teasing each other.

“No way Cole Parker is doing this play,” I heard one of them saying.

“I know, I just can’t even. But the flyer said, so-” I saw who was speaking then. Two sophomore girls. I only knew that because I spent my free hour helping Mr. Trent with his Biology class and they both were in it.

“Oh, my gosh! There he is!” This last one came from another girl. I’d seen her around, but didn’t know anything about her, except that her voice got really high when she squealed. I waited to see how Cole would react. I knew he would be nice, that’s just how he was. In the last three years since his popularity had skyrocketed, I’d never seen him be unkind or cruel to anyone- no matter how annoying they were.

Still, it was weird watching him be fawned over by three-quarters of the school’s female population. Sometimes, when I was definitely not noticing him, I saw the toll it took on him. He was constantly surrounded by people. Girls vying for his attention. Guys hoping to ride his coattails. Even the teachers were bad. In three years, Cole and I have only had one class together, sophomore Language Arts. During that semester, the teacher, Mr. Franks, had sacrificed more than one class period to discussing sports with Cole (and everyone else, too. I, on the other hand, read a book.). I mean, come on! I like it when teachers go off on tangents as much as the next teenager, but seriously, no one was getting paid to talk football stats.

Anyway, I imagined Cole’s popularity could be compared to that of a minor celebrity. It just seemed like he was never alone and on more than one occasion I’d seen the wariness in his eyes. In fact, I was seeing it right now.

Within minutes, the auditorium was half full. Students of all shapes, sizes, and social status had piled through the doors and now sat, chatting excitedly. I was stunned. It’s what I’d been going for, asking for Cole’s help, but until I actually saw the bodies in the room, I guess I never really believed it would happen. I would never underestimate his celebrity status again.

The best news- not everyone in the room was female. While many of the parts were for female roles, I needed a couple of strong male characters and I could tell Cole had done some recruiting of his own because there were several guys from both the football and basketball teams sitting close to him.

“Testing. Can everybody hear me?” Ms. Lewis asked from the front of the auditorium, her mouth pressed to a microphone.

“Yes,” several voices called out.

“Good. For those of you who don’t know, I am Ms. Lewis and I am serving as sponsor for the newly formed Cambridge High Drama Club.” Ms. Lewis paused and there was a smattering of applause in response to this announcement. “Thank you. But as sponsor, my role is mostly as mentor and counselor. I will be here for every meeting, rehearsal, and production, but I am not in charge. That honor belongs to the new president of the Drama Club, Joie Warner.”

Ms. Lewis paused again, but the response to this information was even more lukewarm than it had been for her. Pursing her lips, Ms. Lewis continued. “This year’s production will be a play written completely by Joie. She will be directing and will have final say in decisions about set design, casting, and well, just about everything else. As some of you may know, we have already determined who will play the role of Calvin, the play’s lead male role. Please, give a round of applause for Cole Parker!”

The auditorium erupted with clapping, whistling, and even catcalls. A couple of the girls began shrieking. Good grief. He was just a high school senior, not freaking Mark Wahlberg. Cole glanced my way and caught me looking at him. I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out the corner of my mouth. He threw back his head and laughed. Cole would always be Cole to me.

 

Cole

 

Talk about keeping me grounded. Joie sure knew how to knock me down a peg. I was pretty used to the attention by now, but this environment felt a little strange. Getting cheered for making a play on the field was one thing, having girls screaming my name pretty much for just being in the room was quite another.

“Thank you, Cole.” Ms. Lewis lifted a brow and I took that as my queue to sit back down. “Now,” she cleared her throat to quiet the room. “Before we get started, I’ll turn the time over to Joie.”

Ms. Lewis handed the mic to Joie who looked nervous enough to up-chuck her lunch all over the first row. Ah, Joie.

“Thanks, Ms. Lewis. And thanks to all of you for coming this afternoon. As you must know, or you wouldn’t be here, I’ve written a play and hope to produce it for performances this spring. The script and my direction of the performances will serve as my audition to three different schools I’ve applied to.” Joie paused. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. How did no one else notice how amazing she was? I knew this play was important to her, but hearing her say it was her audition into three schools? I was proud of her and upset at the same time. Why was all this happening in her life and I was just now hearing about it?

“First, I want to thank Cole for agreeing to perform the role of Calvin, our male lead, and I want to thank Ms. Lewis for taking a chance on me and my play. Lastly, I want to thank all of you for coming tonight to audition. We will start with the female roles and move through everyone just reading from one scene. Ms. Lewis and I and Cole will all be watching to see which roles you might work for and those who aren’t chosen for a part are welcome to continue with production in a behind-the-scenes capacity. Thanks again for coming.”

She sounded so professional and suddenly, I felt completely inadequate. What made Joie believe I could do this role? I got it that she needed someone with the popularity to draw out the skeptics, but what about the acting, the performance? Joie had a lot riding on this play, what made her think I was the answer?

Joie collected information sheets she’d handed out while Ms. Lewis had been speaking earlier. She briefly shuffled through them before calling out a name. And so, it went for the next two hours. Names were called. Lines were read. Instructions and advice were given. Joie called for me to read with several people and I did the best I could but wasn’t able to get a read on Joie’s reaction at all. It was frustrating to say the least. I found myself growing more and more distraught as the night wore on. Joie seemed to sink lower and lower into her chair as exhaustion set in.

Finally, Ms. Lewis set down the stack of information sheets. There were still about half of them to go through. Ms. Lewis announced auditions were finished for the night and invited those who hadn’t had the opportunity to audition yet to come back the next night.

Jeez. Another night? I remembered Joie telling me auditions were going to go for three nights. It sounded awful.

“Bro, what is going on with you?” I turned to see three of my guys heading my way. Jason, Brent, and Mason were all on the football and basketball teams with me and were some of my best friends.

“What do you mean?” Here it came. The razzing. I tried to play it cool. Joie thought I was invincible. Ha.

“I thought it was some joke, man,” Brent spoke up, eying people as they made their way out of the auditorium.

“Yeah, me too. Why are you in some play, dude,” Jason asked, his eyes following some eye candy from the junior class. She winked at him as she passed us by. “Hey, shawty.” He nodded and took a step toward her. Brent yanked him back by his collar.

“Dude. Seriously, do you ever stop?” Brent shook his head in disgust. Jason was definitely the ladies’ man between all of us. Not that we didn’t have game, but Jason was in a class all his own.

“Did you see her? Where she been all year?” Jason still tracked the girl as she walked through the double doors leading out of the auditorium.

“Chick is only a junior, J,” I informed him.

“So?”

“So, we leave this place in less than three months.” Idiot.

“Shit, Parker, I’m not looking for a relationship.” Jason stared at me wide eyed.

“Would you two knock it off.” Brent, ever the voice of reason.

“Yeah, aren’t we here to save Parker from himself?” Mason laughed, punching my shoulder.

“Hilarious.” I wasn’t in the mood for these guys. And I for sure wasn’t in the mood to explain about Joie. Not that I would even if I was.

“What gives, Cole? You got a thing for nerd girl over there or something?” Jason gestured to where Joie stood packing up her stuff.

Normally, I could brush off a comment like that, roll my eyes and laugh with the guys. But Jason hit a little too close to home and he didn’t even know it. Plus, everyone knew Joie as the weird girl who spent ninety-nine percent of her time in la-la-land. It didn’t help that she wore her gorgeous hair in a messy bun that made it look like it hadn’t been brushed in days, sported jeans and graphic t’s rather than the trendy crap other girls wore and stuck tenaciously to her thick-rimmed glasses instead of wearing contacts. The girl just didn’t know how to help herself.

I knew that was how the guys saw her, but I saw something different. I knew Joie’s coffee-with-too-much-cream eyes like the back of my own hand. When I saw her messy bun, all I remembered were summer days floating on our backs in my parent’s swimming pool, her glossy hair fanning out around us. And those t-shirts? Each one reminded me of summers and weekends in my basement watching Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and every superhero movie ever made.

I also knew something else my friends didn’t. I knew if they didn’t get the picture that Joie was off limits to them in every conceivable way- I was going to have to beat each and every one of them bloody.

“Don’t call her that.” The words came out low and menacing.

“Whoa, Parker. Got a soft spot?” Jason pretended to consider Joie, checking her out and making my blood boil. “I don’t know, man. She could be hot under all that mess. Give her a tight shirt and-”

That was all it took. One second my hands were fisted at my sides and the next they were clenched in the neck of Jason’s shirt. “Don’t.”

“Man-” Jason’s eyes widened with shock and a bit of fear. I jerked his face closer to mine.

“Don’t look at her. Don’t talk to her. Don’t talk about her. Just. Don’t.” Jason’s face was turning red.

“Hey. Cole. Man. He was just messing around.” Mason laid a hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah, c’mon, man, let him go,” Brent added.

With a final squeeze, I pushed Jason away. He straightened his shirt. “What is wrong with you, dude?” Jason motioned like he was going to get in my face. Mason and Brent both stepped between us.

“Keep mouthing off and you’ll find out.” My hands made fists at my sides again.

“Cole. Jason. Stop.” Brent pushed at my shoulder. “What’s your deal, man?” Brent frowned in my direction.

Sighing, I took in my friend’s bewildered faces and knew I had to back down. They were just being themselves and for the most part I was just like them. But Joie… they had no idea how I felt about Joie. Hell, Joie had no idea. Glancing over to where she’d been standing, I noticed she was still there. Only now, her bag was packed and she watched me with my friends, her face screwed up in a frown.

Allowing my shoulders to relax back into their normal shape, I started toward her. “I’ll see you guys later.”