creature, a faint acrid smoke wafted upward. It struggled against the snare, and then began convulsing. Finally it lay still, the blackness fading from it, revealing a greenish mound of nasty ripped apart monster.
A vibration of the cat-walk alerted me that we were not alone. I turned around to see Rhys running toward me in full ‘zerk, Kara cradled in his arms.
He set Kara down beside me, and she bent to examine the creature. Rhys dropped the ‘zerk – apparently not caring that Ginger was there – and pulled me into his arms.
“Are you all right?” he asked. “I felt you pre-zerk, but I figured you were mad about Josh kissing you.” His eyes darkened. “I will have a talk with him, by the way. But when it didn’t stop I figured something was wrong and texted Kara to come back-stage.” He looked at the bound creature. “What is that?”
Kara shook her head, her face pale. “I think we need to get Mallika up here.” She looked up at me. “But you both need to get back down to the play. I’ll clean up here.” She jerked her head towards Ginger. “And take care of her.”
I nodded numbly, reaching out and embracing Rhys. He bent down and gently kissed me. Together we climbed back down the ladder to the stage.
Amy saw us coming down together and rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t wait until the play was over?” she asked, giving me a wink.
We made it through the rest of the play without incident. I noticed Josh holding his right arm awkwardly and wondered how badly I had hurt him. Part of me felt guilty for it, but another part of me was really mad at him for kissing me like that and thought he deserved what he got.
It took me a while, but by the time Rhys sang “If Ever I Would Leave You” I had once again completely submerged into the part of Guinevere. Watching Rhys sing the words of Lancelot, I couldn’t help but cry, tears cascading down my face as he sang of undying love. The end of that scene got particularly loud applause.
After the final scene, I went out to take my bow with a mixture of relief that everything had gone well – if you didn’t include the monster attacking Ginger in the middle of the play – and sadness that opening night was over. The other performances would be good, but nothing was ever as exciting as opening night.
When Rhys, Josh, and myself all held hands and bowed as Mrs. Abrams had showed us, I was pleasantly surprised to get a standing ovation that seemed to last for ages. As soon as the curtains closed, Josh let go of my hand as if it were something hot, or dangerous. He didn’t say anything to me, and marched straight out of the auditorium and into the main lobby where the cast could go meet family and friends.
Rhys took my hand and together we walked out into the chaos, listening to hundreds of people congratulate us on our performance. At any other time I would have reveled in the wonderful post-production euphoria, but instead I wanted to find Kara and Mallika and ask what had happened to that creature.
Fortunately, Kara found us. She pulled me in for a hug and whispered, “Don’t worry, it’s all taken care of.”
I gave her a quick squeeze before she moved on and let others congratulate us. A few moments later my mom and dad came down the hall, a large bouquet of roses in Mom’s arms. She handed them to me and gave me a hug and a kiss.
“Oh, Madison,” she said. “You were wonderful! I could practically see the tears in your eyes when Rhys sang to you. You have a real gift.”
“Yes, you do,” said Dad, and he hugged me, too. They gushed over my performance for a few minutes before stepping back to let others congratulate Rhys and me.
“We’ll see you at home,” Mom said as they left.
We spent the next half hour socializing with various friends, well-wishers, and random audience members who wanted to meet the cast before we went back into the dressing rooms to change.
Mallika and Kara met us in the lobby and we all went out to the
A vibration of the cat-walk alerted me that we were not alone. I turned around to see Rhys running toward me in full ‘zerk, Kara cradled in his arms.
He set Kara down beside me, and she bent to examine the creature. Rhys dropped the ‘zerk – apparently not caring that Ginger was there – and pulled me into his arms.
“Are you all right?” he asked. “I felt you pre-zerk, but I figured you were mad about Josh kissing you.” His eyes darkened. “I will have a talk with him, by the way. But when it didn’t stop I figured something was wrong and texted Kara to come back-stage.” He looked at the bound creature. “What is that?”
Kara shook her head, her face pale. “I think we need to get Mallika up here.” She looked up at me. “But you both need to get back down to the play. I’ll clean up here.” She jerked her head towards Ginger. “And take care of her.”
I nodded numbly, reaching out and embracing Rhys. He bent down and gently kissed me. Together we climbed back down the ladder to the stage.
Amy saw us coming down together and rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t wait until the play was over?” she asked, giving me a wink.
We made it through the rest of the play without incident. I noticed Josh holding his right arm awkwardly and wondered how badly I had hurt him. Part of me felt guilty for it, but another part of me was really mad at him for kissing me like that and thought he deserved what he got.
It took me a while, but by the time Rhys sang “If Ever I Would Leave You” I had once again completely submerged into the part of Guinevere. Watching Rhys sing the words of Lancelot, I couldn’t help but cry, tears cascading down my face as he sang of undying love. The end of that scene got particularly loud applause.
After the final scene, I went out to take my bow with a mixture of relief that everything had gone well – if you didn’t include the monster attacking Ginger in the middle of the play – and sadness that opening night was over. The other performances would be good, but nothing was ever as exciting as opening night.
When Rhys, Josh, and myself all held hands and bowed as Mrs. Abrams had showed us, I was pleasantly surprised to get a standing ovation that seemed to last for ages. As soon as the curtains closed, Josh let go of my hand as if it were something hot, or dangerous. He didn’t say anything to me, and marched straight out of the auditorium and into the main lobby where the cast could go meet family and friends.
Rhys took my hand and together we walked out into the chaos, listening to hundreds of people congratulate us on our performance. At any other time I would have reveled in the wonderful post-production euphoria, but instead I wanted to find Kara and Mallika and ask what had happened to that creature.
Fortunately, Kara found us. She pulled me in for a hug and whispered, “Don’t worry, it’s all taken care of.”
I gave her a quick squeeze before she moved on and let others congratulate us. A few moments later my mom and dad came down the hall, a large bouquet of roses in Mom’s arms. She handed them to me and gave me a hug and a kiss.
“Oh, Madison,” she said. “You were wonderful! I could practically see the tears in your eyes when Rhys sang to you. You have a real gift.”
“Yes, you do,” said Dad, and he hugged me, too. They gushed over my performance for a few minutes before stepping back to let others congratulate Rhys and me.
“We’ll see you at home,” Mom said as they left.
We spent the next half hour socializing with various friends, well-wishers, and random audience members who wanted to meet the cast before we went back into the dressing rooms to change.
Mallika and Kara met us in the lobby and we all went out to the
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