Cast of Characters

“You have to tell him, Jackie.”

“Actually, I don’t have to,” came the quick response.

“He deserves to know,” Robin whispered urgently.

Dipping her paintbrush into the newly opened can, Jackie thought once again how strongly she disagreed with her friend’s statement. After the way he had treated her, he didn’t deserve anything.

***

“Again, Anthony. Read the line like you actually mean it.”

“Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear… that tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops,” he read the words scribbled on the scrap of paper.

“Those are the right words this time, but there’s no emotion. Do you understand how important these lines are?”

Feeling the anger rise, Anthony flexed his hands into fists and quickly released them. He couldn’t lose his temper. Not now when he was so close to graduating and getting out of the shithole town he was stuck in. Just another few weeks.

“Yes, Mrs. D. I get it. Let’s try again.” He flashed a smile at the English teacher turned drama coach.

“Very good, Anthony.” She put her glasses on the top of her head and stepped back to let the scene play out.

***

Mrs. D. was right, Samantha acknowledged to herself. He had no idea what his lines meant.  

She recited her answer “O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,” fully understanding Juliet’s plea.

“Nice, Sam. Very nice,” Mrs. D. beamed with pleasure. She picked up her clipboard from the newly constructed balcony, signifying that their scene was over.

***

Robin sanded down the edges of the plywood before passing it to Jackie for a coat of paint, debating whether to continue their conversation or let it drop. She studied her friend who was lost in thought, the smallest smear of silver paint on her cheek, her hair falling out of the messy bun she had thrown together effortlessly. Time was of the essence. She had to push the topic. She had no choice.

“Today might be the day to have that conversation. You may not have the chance to get him alone after rehearsals are over.” Robin spoke in a hushed voice broaching the subject again.

Jackie looked up from the crescent moon she was painting. “Trust me, the last thing I want is to get him alone.” She strategically dabbed on some white paint on top of the silver.   

***

Jackie fought off her irritation as she tilted her head looking at the highlights she had added to the silver moon. Why was Robin pushing this so hard? 

Her thoughts went back to the black sky with the crescent moon hanging over the field that night after the pep rally. The moment when thrill had turned to terror replayed in her mind once again.

***

Anthony was relieved when Mrs. D. finally turned her attention from him to the costume designer. They fretted about the cast taking measurements and cutting fabric as he inwardly rolled his eyes. What was it about that kid that was so pathetic?

His thoughts went to the Jack Daniels under his seat. In another hour or so he would be opening his car door and then the bottle. He could already feel the burning liquid going down his throat bringing with it sweet relief.

“You know you have a problem,” Samantha had screamed at him the night before.

“Fuck you!”  Losing his temper finally, he let the inner demon out on his girlfriend. He had it with her watching his every move. Graduation couldn’t come soon enough along with his plan to end their relationship. Two years was long enough to be stuck with someone. He just had to get through this damn play, his jail sentence for the crime he could hardly remember.

***

Was that a fucking joke? 

Samantha watched the moon come to life on the edge of the stage. Was it to torture her, to drive her over the edge? The mind games were getting to her, making her question every move of those who were supposed to be her allies as they had transformed into her enemies.

***

“I’ll be here if you need me,” Robin suggested. “That way you won’t be alone with him. I can put in my headphones to give you guys privacy, or I can get Samantha out of here with some bullshit excuse. Just tell me what you want me to do to help.” 

“Actually, if you can drop it all together that would be helpful,” Jackie answered, her tone harsh. 

Robin stepped back as if physically struck by the words. She knew she was taking a chance by bringing this up repeatedly. She thought of her own childhood, the emptiness of being raised by a single parent. Regardless of how wonderful her mother was, she still felt the aching absence of a father, along with the uncertainty of his actual identity. 

The words hung heavily in the air along with the fumes from the open paint cans. She noticed her friend’s pale complexion, the gray under her eyes. She didn’t want to make this already traumatic situation worse. She took a step back and picked up her sandpaper.

***

The nausea was building faster than Jackie could handle it. If it didn’t ease soon she would be back in the tiny backstage bathroom heaving up her guts. Why it was called morning sickness she couldn’t fathom as her symptoms were round the clock.

She glanced over at Anthony practicing his lines as the star of the show. His understudy stood in the shadows looking downcast as the coveted role had been stolen from him. Yet another casualty of the wrecking ball that had barreled through their lives.

***

Exiting the stage, Anthony passed the set designers building the balcony. Lame ass kids working in the shadows of the stars. At least the principal didn’t assign him to the backstage crew. Taking the lead role was the only solution worth considering and kept him on the team. No one cared about the school play, it would be forgotten soon after the final curtain fell.

The dark-haired girl with the paint on her face looked up and met his gaze. The look of emotion in her eyes took him by surprise and made his stomach clench unexpectedly. Was that a look of disgust or even anger? 

The slightest flash of memory flittered across his mind as if from a long ago dream, a déjà vu of sorts. That night of the pep rally, had she been there? 

The night when the shit hit the fan, when coach found him passed out in the locker room, the empty bottles discovered in his gym bag. 

“You’re off the team, man.”

The words he had been dreading for years had finally materialized. What was he without football? Where would he go without his scholarship? He became desperate, agreeing to anything offered his way. 

Now months later he was their puppet, reciting words that made no sense and dressed up like the ass they had turned him into. The mocking of his teammates rang in his ears despite his best efforts to block out the noise.

He pushed past the dark-haired girl roughly. The last thing he wanted was a reminder from a night that had ruined his life.

***

Samantha’s stomach was in knots, with her anger threatening to boil over. Did he say something to her? He was close enough to whisper something as he left the stage. What did he say? Did he tell her she looked pretty, ask her how she’d been? Did they make plans to meet secretly while laughing at her, the scorned girlfriend? She was the Juliet whose Romeo had eyes for someone else. 

Her mind went back to that night scorched into her memory as if branded by a hot iron. Passing the fields she had seen movement, the moon just bright enough to light up the scene. 

Taking out her phone, she zoomed in to take a photo, hardly able to stifle her laugher. Who was doing it on the field? How cliché!

Zooming in closer she saw the girl’s face, eyes blankly staring up at the moon. The male figure on top of her, the jacket, the gym bag on the grass next to them undeniably Anthony’s.

***

The air of superiority was evident. The lack of greeting, the apparent nonrecognition was shocking. Robin watched the pink dots appear on her friend’s pale face, the only clue that anything had just transpired. 

Quickly turning to look across the stage she saw the raw emotion on Samantha’s face as if Romeo had betrayed Juliet, had forced her to drink the poison meant for himself. It appeared as if the lines of the normal high school script had been rewritten and the football star had a thing with the shy girl from drama club.

Looking back at her best friend, Robin decided to let it go. This was not her battle to be won or lost. She would support her friend’s decision whatever it may be.

***

Cheeks burning, she felt the nausea and anger continue to rise as Anthony casually strolled past her. He looked into her eyes dismissing her. Was it possible that he didn’t remember? How she wished she could forget, the swelling of her belly a new and constantly growing reminder.

Closing her eyes to calm herself, she thought of her parents, knowing that she would have to find the words that had been eluding her for months. She tugged her t-shirt away from her body, her newly acquired habit which would only hide the facts for so long, hopefully at least through graduation.

She picked up the paintbrush and added some shadows to the moon.