said cautiously, unsure which direction this conversation was going to go.
“Don’t think I’m giving up, Madison,” he said.
“Josh, look,” I said, trying for a combination of compassion and firmness. “It’s over between us and has been for a long time. You need to accept that Rhys and I are together.”
“I accept this as the price I have to pay for messing things up with us before.” His face clouded over with a look of confusion. “I still don’t know what I was thinking, but I intend to fix my mistakes and get you back. Arthur didn’t give up when he saw Guinevere fall for Lancelot.”
“Yeah, and look how well that turned out. They destroyed an entire kingdom.”
Josh smiled and stood up. “Some things are worth fighting for.”
***
The rest of the week went by in a blur of rehearsal, school, constant staring, Berserker training, and Binder lessons.
All of which – except for the staring; that was really getting on my nerves – was fine with me. I got to spend most of each day with Rhys, and I didn’t have time to do much more than keep my head above water, which made the days go by quickly.
By opening night, I was feeling confident and excited. I knew my parts backwards and forwards. I was ready to show everyone what we’d been working so hard on.
Amy, on the other hand, looked positively green. Not with envy, but more like someone who just got off a giant rollercoaster and was stumbling around looking for a place to throw up.
“Why do I let you talk me into these things?” she said, as we put on our stage makeup in the girls' changing room.
“You just have opening night jitters,” I said. “It’s perfectly normal. You’ll do fine.” Looking for a way to distract her, I said, “Have you made any progress with Josh?”
Amy scowled. “No. Stupid boy only has eyes for you. He’s completely blind to all my hints and suggestions.”
“Well, please keep trying,” I said. “Honestly, you’re doing me a huge favor.”
“I will. But I’m going to have to switch to tougher tactics if this keeps up.”
When the curtain went up I was pleased to see Mom and Dad in the audience, as well as Mallika and Kara. For the first time in the history of our musical productions, we actually sold out opening night. Part of it was because we had a diverse cast this year and were pulling in friends from more than just the drama kids, but I was pretty certain that the real life love drama between Josh, Rhys, and myself had brought in a few people.
The play opened up well enough, with no major mess-ups or forgotten lines. When it came time for me to sing the Simple Joys of Maidenhood, I felt more alive than I could remember. I sang with all my energy, but in the back of my head, I couldn’t help thinking that Guinevere was a bit of an idiot for wanting men to fight over her. I still loved the song, but these days I looked at it differently.
Actually, I felt pity for her. At that point in the play she was young and naïve, an insecure girl who simply wanted to feel loved and desired. She was too inexperienced to know the pain her actions would cause.
She learned by the end.
The song “What do the Simple Folk do” was supposed to end with Josh holding me tenderly in his arms as the curtains closed. Instead, Josh bent down and kissed me gently on the lips.
I was so shocked that I couldn’t help pre-zerking, but I held off reacting as the crowd burst into applause. Once the curtains had closed though, I let Josh have it.
“You idiot!” I hissed. “What was that?”
“Sorry,” he said, his grin clearly showing no remorse. “I just got caught up in the part.”
I punched him in the shoulder - forgetting that I was pre-zerking. He staggered off-balance for several steps and fell to the floor, clutching his arm.
His expression wavered from shock, to confusion, and then I saw his eyes widen with fear momentarily. He gave me a confused look and walked off without saying anything.
The
“Don’t think I’m giving up, Madison,” he said.
“Josh, look,” I said, trying for a combination of compassion and firmness. “It’s over between us and has been for a long time. You need to accept that Rhys and I are together.”
“I accept this as the price I have to pay for messing things up with us before.” His face clouded over with a look of confusion. “I still don’t know what I was thinking, but I intend to fix my mistakes and get you back. Arthur didn’t give up when he saw Guinevere fall for Lancelot.”
“Yeah, and look how well that turned out. They destroyed an entire kingdom.”
Josh smiled and stood up. “Some things are worth fighting for.”
***
The rest of the week went by in a blur of rehearsal, school, constant staring, Berserker training, and Binder lessons.
All of which – except for the staring; that was really getting on my nerves – was fine with me. I got to spend most of each day with Rhys, and I didn’t have time to do much more than keep my head above water, which made the days go by quickly.
By opening night, I was feeling confident and excited. I knew my parts backwards and forwards. I was ready to show everyone what we’d been working so hard on.
Amy, on the other hand, looked positively green. Not with envy, but more like someone who just got off a giant rollercoaster and was stumbling around looking for a place to throw up.
“Why do I let you talk me into these things?” she said, as we put on our stage makeup in the girls' changing room.
“You just have opening night jitters,” I said. “It’s perfectly normal. You’ll do fine.” Looking for a way to distract her, I said, “Have you made any progress with Josh?”
Amy scowled. “No. Stupid boy only has eyes for you. He’s completely blind to all my hints and suggestions.”
“Well, please keep trying,” I said. “Honestly, you’re doing me a huge favor.”
“I will. But I’m going to have to switch to tougher tactics if this keeps up.”
When the curtain went up I was pleased to see Mom and Dad in the audience, as well as Mallika and Kara. For the first time in the history of our musical productions, we actually sold out opening night. Part of it was because we had a diverse cast this year and were pulling in friends from more than just the drama kids, but I was pretty certain that the real life love drama between Josh, Rhys, and myself had brought in a few people.
The play opened up well enough, with no major mess-ups or forgotten lines. When it came time for me to sing the Simple Joys of Maidenhood, I felt more alive than I could remember. I sang with all my energy, but in the back of my head, I couldn’t help thinking that Guinevere was a bit of an idiot for wanting men to fight over her. I still loved the song, but these days I looked at it differently.
Actually, I felt pity for her. At that point in the play she was young and naïve, an insecure girl who simply wanted to feel loved and desired. She was too inexperienced to know the pain her actions would cause.
She learned by the end.
The song “What do the Simple Folk do” was supposed to end with Josh holding me tenderly in his arms as the curtains closed. Instead, Josh bent down and kissed me gently on the lips.
I was so shocked that I couldn’t help pre-zerking, but I held off reacting as the crowd burst into applause. Once the curtains had closed though, I let Josh have it.
“You idiot!” I hissed. “What was that?”
“Sorry,” he said, his grin clearly showing no remorse. “I just got caught up in the part.”
I punched him in the shoulder - forgetting that I was pre-zerking. He staggered off-balance for several steps and fell to the floor, clutching his arm.
His expression wavered from shock, to confusion, and then I saw his eyes widen with fear momentarily. He gave me a confused look and walked off without saying anything.
The
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