I scrambled in first, thankful for the warm interior. Eli climbed in after me.
“Don’t even think about vomiting.” Tyson swung the door closed behind us.
“Did you notice how his hair looks like he styled it before he came? I told you, he’s gay!” I said.
“No way. I have perfect gay-dar. The dude is straight. He just looks gay.”
“Oh my god!” Tyson said climbing into the front seat. “That’s the burning topic on your minds? Not, gee, will my parents find out, will the school suspend me, or will my director cut me from the show!”
“You can’t cut us man, no one could learn our parts in time,” Eli said.
“You got me there, but I have the power to put you in some very ugly costumes. A certain piñata costume comes to mind.”
“Uh oh!” I said. “I’m sorry Tyson. We didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“My feelings are fine. It’s my blood pressure that you two are screwing with. Now listen up,” he said as he backed out and left our magical make out scene behind.
“First I’ll drop Willow off, then you Eli. Next I will rudely call and drag a buddy of mine out of bed so he and I can get your parent’s car and leave it in your driveway. I’ll put the keys in the mailbox. You can come up with a story for your parents about why it’s in the driveway and not the garage.” He looked at us in the rearview mirror. “Any questions?”
“Nope,” we answered.
“Good. I recommend you drink two glasses of water when you get home and take some aspirin before you pass out in bed.”
Tyson shook his head.
“And because you’ve disrupted my sleep, we will start rehearsal at ten instead of eight.” He turned to look at us. “You’re killing me, did I mention that?”
Chapter 23
The next morning, or I guess about six hours later, I stood on stage about to pass out when Eli walked in twenty minutes late.
“Nice of you to join us Eli, what happened? Car trouble?” Tyson needled in a none-too-friendly way.
“Yeah, something like that,” Eli groaned.
“You missed warm ups, but you’re just in time for the chase scene.”
I knew right then I was gonna die. The chase scene is the hardest, most tiring number in the show. It’s super physical, and we’re always exhausted when we’re done with it, and that’s when I’m NOT hung over.
Eli trudged on stage to his place a few feet from me. “Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” I moaned back. Under normal circumstances I would have felt some emotion about seeing the guy I spent last night groping and making out with, but between my head throbbing and trying to fight off the need to hurl, embarrassment didn’t exist.
“Anytime you’re ready Eli,” Tyson called loudly from down front.
Eli said his first line and the scene took off from there. Tyson never stopped us to correct anything, though I really wished he would have, so that we could have stopped to catch our breath. By the time the scene ended, Eli looked grey, and my weak body felt like a rubber chicken. I could barely breathe through the Sahara Desert of my throat.
“Willow, Eli, I’d like to see you. The rest of you get ready for the night club scene.”
Thank God we didn’t have to run the chase scene again. Once just about killed me. We dragged our pathetic carcasses down to Tyson.
“You know he made us do that number to get back at us,” Eli said, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Yeah, it worked too,” I said.
We approached Tyson who looked showered and refreshed. No sign of any effects from our middle-of-the night rendezvous. He looked at us with disappointment.
“That sucked.” He stated the obvious.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
Eli grunted.
“Here.” He handed each of us a bottle of water. “Drink this. All of it! And have either one of you eaten anything yet today?”
I shook my head no, which made me a little dizzy.
“No,” Eli muttered.
He tossed a bag of pretzels at Eli, who missed the catch and had to pick them up off the floor.
“Aspirin?” he asked.
“Yes please,” I said. He handed me the bottle.
“Now go run lines in the back,” he said, which was code for, “get your shit together.” “You have twenty minutes and then I expect hard work and concentration for the rest of the day.”
We nodded and slunk into the back corner of the aud to recover and try to create a miracle.
I slid down the wall to the floor. “I want to die.”
“I’m pretty sure I already did, and today is my hell,” Eli said with his head in his hands.
“Did your parents find out? Did you get the car back in the garage?”
“I got it put away in time, but they found out anyway.”
“What happened?” I unscrewed the top of my water bottle.
“When I threw up in the bathroom, I wasn’t too good at hitting the toilet. My mom threw a fit about the grape colored stains on her white carpeting. Who the hell puts carpet in a bathroom?”
“Oh no, are they gonna make you pay for it?”
“You can bet I’ll pay, but not with cash. I’ll pay and pay and pay.”
“That sucks.” I took a long drink of water.
We spent the rest of the day running dance numbers and hydrating. I swear Tyson brought a case of water bottles to rehearsal. Thank god. After our lunch break my headache and gut pains lessened just enough so that I felt human again.
Finally, at four o’clock, Tyson dismissed the cast. Eli collapsed on the floor; I joined him.
“I have to give you two credit. You delivered today. It was nice to see you gut it out. Now go home and rest up,” Tyson said lounging in a cushioned auditorium seat.
Eli turned his head my direction. “You know, I think this confirms Tyson’s straight.”
“What does?” I asked. Tyson shook his head and laughed.
“A gay guy wouldn’t punish us like this. He’d bring us breakfast and have us put our feet up.”
“I gave you pretzels. That’s got to be good for something.”
“I wish I could go home and relax, but I’ve got a lesson with Gloria in an hour on the other side of town,” I groaned.
“I didn’t realize you had voice today. I would have lightened up a little.” He laughed, but did look a little sorry.
“Now you tell me,” I said. “I don’t like you very much right now.”
“That’s okay. I didn’t like you very much last night.” Tyson laughed. “At least Eli gets a reprieve.”
“Hardly. Hillary and the Donald are making me go to some uptight fundraiser for the Republican Party.” He lay with his arm over his face.
Tyson looked confused. “Who are Hillary and the Donald?”
“Eli’s parents. They’re clones of the real deal.”
“Really? Lucky you.” Tyson stood up, stretched his arms and yawned. “Well, I guess you better get moving. I think I’ll go home, lie on the couch, and watch some hoops.”
“I hate you,” Eli groaned.
“I know. Isn’t it great?” Tyson grinned.
And to add insult to injury, when I got to Gloria’s, she said I needed an audience. So eight of her daughter’s little friends sat on a blanket waiting for me to perform.
You can’t imagine how stupid I felt trying to belt out songs to a bunch of first graders. But the thing is, it helped. They sat there all wide eyed as if I was the next Selena Gomez or whoever the kids idolize these days. Obviously, they didn’t know jack about a quality voice, but their cute little applause and bouncy enthusiasm boosted my confidence. Maybe I’d conquer this singing thing yet…
Chapter 24
The next night, I had a little free time after rehearsal. Since Mom had the whole week off, we finally got a chance to hang out and catch up. Mom loves scented candles and had them lit all over the living room and had turned off the lights. It felt like Christmas.
“So how are things going with Jilly?” Mom asked, as she worked on her latest hobby, crocheting. She started making a dish cloth, and when she didn’t stop, it became a baby blanket. Now she had an odd-shaped afghan.
“Bad. She still won’t talk to me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I wish she would hurry up and get over it. That girl knows how to hold a grudge.”
“Jilly is a very loyal friend. Right now, I’d guess she feels you broke that loyalty, and she’s licking her wounds. Give her time; I’m sure she’ll come around.”
“I hope so.” But I wasn’t so sure. I had a track record of hurting my friends and they didn’t just shake it off and come knocking on my door to hang out.
“You haven’t told me much about the show. Do I get to know, or is it supposed to be a surprise?” Mom asked.
“No, it’s not a secret. It’s actually really cool. It’s basically about a guy whose dreams become reality.”
“Oh, like that show about the guy with the newspaper that printed the future news?”
“No, it’s...”
“The guy in that show was so cute. Who was he?” She looked off into space trying to figure it out.
“I don’t know, Mom.”
“Darn, I wish I could remember.”
I snapped my finger to bring her back to reality. “Mom! Focus!” Twinkie heard the snap and jumped up on the couch between us. I pulled the afghan over her, and she snuggled in.
“Sorry hon’.”
“It’s okay. Let me tell you about the show. It’s kind of complicated. The show is about this guy, Zach.”
“Who is played by Eli,” she said.
“Right. Well, Zach has all these dreams about this girl, Lauren.”
“You,” she confirmed
“Yup. He first sees her in a dream and then meets her in person, but then he has a dream where she almost dies.”
“So you get to die?”
“Maybe. But that’s not the point. Zach…”
“Eli,” she interrupted
“Right.”
Mom’s face turned tender. “So how is Eli?”
“Mom, not now.”
“Sorry.”
“So Zach has these dreams, which are really cool, because, face it, dreams are always so bizarre. Anyway, each dream is in a different era or style, so we get do dances and wear costumes from that time.”
“But you die each time he dreams.”
“No, I never said that. But Lauren’s ex boyfriend, Victor, is a stalker. So when Zach is awake, he’s trying to save Lauren from Victor. So early on, she falls in love with Zach, hence the dance of love.”
“Sexy dress?” she asked.
“Don’t know yet, but probably. Stop interrupting.” My mom is the greatest, but I think she’s a little A.D.D.
“Sorry.”
“No problem. Later, Zach starts to drive Lauren crazy, because he’s always trying to protect her. Eventually she gets really mad, because she thinks Zach’s paranoid about Victor. They have a huge fight. Very fun. I get to be vicious. I jump on Zach’s back and attack him.” It’s one of my favorite scenes. How often does a girl get to beat on a guy?
“I always liked Eli. How is he?” She set her crocheting down for a second. Mom loved Eli and could never understand why our friendship ended. I really didn’t want to tackle the whole Eli subject. My feelings about him were a huge jumble.
“He’s fine. Now back to our story. So we fight, and he throws me off, and it’s very dramatic.” I talked with my hands.
“You like this scene?”
“Yup, one of my favorites.”
“Is this scene why you’re covered with bruises?”
“It’s one of them. Hip hop is worse. We do tons of flipping around and lifts.”
“I don’t know if I like Hip Hop.”
“You’ll like this. It’s awesome.”
“Why will I like it?”
“Because Tyson Scott choreographed it and he is a genius. Wait until you meet him.”
“Is he cute?” She leaned forward and smiled.
“Oh my god! You are going to die, Mom. He is so hot!”
“Your dad used to be hot,” she said with longing in her eyes.
“Eww, stop it.”
“Sounds like you’re crushing on your director,” she teased.
“No. Of course, not! But he’s so incredibly fun and nice and he says I remind him of his younger sister. Plus, he might be gay.” What a shame.
“What do you mean he might be? Either he is or he isn’t.” She started to crochet again, stretching her yarn out across her lap.
“That’s just it, he won’t tell!”
“You asked him!? Does it matter to you?” Mom raised an eyebrow.
“No, I didn’t ask, and of course it doesn’t matter. It would just be more fun to know he’s an eligible straight guy.”
“All right. I guess I get that.”
“So do you want to know how the show ends?”
“Absolutely!”
“Zach has a final dream. He rushes to find Lauren just as stalker Victor is about to kill her.”
“Gee, that’s fun,” she said with sarcasm.
“Then, Zach is so upset, because he can’t imagine life without her, that he kills himself too!”
“That is horrible.” She set her project down. “What a depressing show! They both die. I don’t think I want to go see it.”
“Mom, you have to. I’m in it! And it’s really not depressing. Les Mis is depressing, everyone dies. This is only a little bit depressing. BUT…” I paused for effect and spoke with a mysterious voice. “…do they really die?”
“They don’t die?” She sat forward.
“I didn’t say that.” I tilted my head to the side.
“So what happens?”
I shrugged.
“You have to tell me. They live because it was a dream? Or they escape? Or it was all a figment of Freud’s imagination? What?” She tickled my side.
“I’m not telling. You’ll have to come and see the show.”
“You’re cruel.” She poked my side with her crochet hook.
“I know. I can finally get back at you for feeding me soymilk and wheat germ all these years. Now you have to come see it.”
“I still don’t know if I want to. I heard the girl who plays Lauren is really mean.”
“No, the girl who plays Lauren is really exhausted.” I laid my head against the couch back. “Mom, it’s so much fun. I can’t believe how lucky I am. Other than the kids who don’t want me there, it’s perfect, and that’s getting better too.”
“I’m sorry we’re leaving for Grandma’s right as you’re going into the last couple of rehearsal weeks. I wish Breezy’s school break matched up with yours, so you could join us.”
“That’s okay. It’s been planned forever and you need to go. She’s been looking forward to it all winter. Plus, I’ll be gone most of the time anyway. I’m just worried about Twinkie being alone so much.” I reached under the blanket to pet her.
“She’s doing much better with her new meds. She sleeps all the time these days. I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Plus, Mr. Walters said he can let her out a couple of times during the day. That way you don’t have to come home early. Are you sure you’re okay staying alone?”
“Are you kidding? I’m seventeen. I can handle it. So you gonna stock the cupboards with junk food for me? I’m a growing girl. Pleeease.” I said with a cheesy smile and batted my eyelashes.
“Yeah, you’ll be a growing girl if you eat all that garbage. I’ve got some frozen meals put together for you. There’s a Tofurkey bean casserole, curried pesto zucchini and some roasted eggplant.”
“You’re mean.”
“I love it when you say that.” She leaned over and hugged me. “I’ll leave you extra money for take-out, but make good choices!”
“You’re the best. I love you.”
“You’re easy.�
�
“Don’t I know it,” I said under my breath. I couldn’t help but remember having my body draped on top of Eli as we made out last night.
Chapter 25
On Thursday, Tyson decided to push our buttons a bit and make us do the dreaded love scene dream sequence.
“You two are looking well today,” Tyson said in his chipper voice. “Glad to see you’ve recovered from your hangover hell.”
I gave him an annoyed smirk and lifted my chin. “Gee, thanks.”
“Let’s see if the fruits of your inebriated parking party paid off.” Tyson’s devilish eyes bounced from me to Eli and back again. My face warmed. I glanced sideways at Eli and met his eyes. We both looked away.
“You’ve gotta put it out there sometime. Might as well be today.” He grinned.
“Fine. We’ll do it.” Eli nodded.
“Great. Let’s get this show started!” Tyson rubbed his hands together and then left the stage to start the music.
Eli and I moved to our starting positions. “You ready to do this thing?” he asked so sincerely I almost forgot we’d ever been estranged. After all these weeks of strain, I finally felt kind of normal around him.
“You jump, I jump.” I took a deep calming breath and focused on his eyes.
“I want to see some passion. No shortcuts. If you’re not convincing in this scene, the audience won’t believe the rest of it,” Tyson hollered from below. “Oh, don’t forget the kiss at the end.”
I refused to look at Tyson. He loved to watch us squirm, and I refused to give him the pleasure.
The music began. The number was set to a beautiful ballad and the dance was incredibly romantic. If we did it right.
And we did.
I let the rest of the world go and pretended Eli was the sexiest guy on the planet, and I wanted him. He met me at every step. He held my face and gave a steamy gaze. We spun away. Each lift was slow, sultry, and seamless. As natural as water flowing over rocks. Thoughts of Saturday night fueled the energy. It was as if we were in the backseat discovering each other all over again as he trailed his fingers down my face then from my shoulder to finger tips. My hand cupped his chin, and he lifted me smooth as silk into another lift.
Dream Chaser Page 15
