Chapter 5

Jake rolled into school that Tuesday long after the bell had rung for class. He was a teacher’s assistant first block. And as a teacher’s assistant, he got special privileges, such as a fudged attendance, more time to sleep, and not having to deal with the usual student traffic. Carmen was back in business so there was no need to get a ride from Lauren that morning. Jake was wondering what Lauren was doing then when he first noticed the posters plastered all around school. “Swing!”  They shouted, advertising the new spring musical that opened that weekend. Lauren was really big into musicals, so a plan started to form in Jake’s head.

They had rehearsal again that day afterschool, but of course Jake and Lauren had all of their scenes completely ready.

Lauren was initially shocked he asked her so she made up something about needing to check to make sure she didn’t have rehearsal that day to buy her time to think. But she wanted to see the show anyway, why not go with Jake on Thursday.

                *             *             *

Today was the day of Swing! Jake thought about driving her to the show 

“Want me to pick you up?”
“Okay! I live pretty close to the highschool, but I’m kind of in the opposite direction

“So two cars?”

“Sure, if you want to! See you at 7:15?”

“You’re ridiculous. I’ll pick you up at 7.”

He picked her up at 7:00 at her house. As she opened the car door and slid in all breathless, he couldn’t help but smile. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders and over the loose sweater she was wearing. She smiled and said hi as they took off for the school.

They pulled into the parking lot and walked towards the brightly lit auditorium. Her hand tightly clutched her purse and the tickets. They picked two seats near the back where not many people were sitting. Lauren’s heart began to sink as she saw Jake’s Ex-girlfriend listed among the performers. She was afraid that seeing her onstage would reawaken Jake’s affection for her, though Lauren wasn’t sure why she cared.

As the lights dimmed and the curtain opened, Jake gave her a mighty jab in the ribs with his elbow. Her initial reaction was shock, followed by a competitive urge to give it back to him. He discreetly blocked her with his arm. Lauren waited a few quiet moments before attacking again. For the entire first act, neither of them knew what took place onstage as they discreetly planned their next attack while trying not to bother the people near them.

After a brief intermission, Act 2 had a solo number performed by Jake’s Ex-girlfriend. Lauren held her breath as the stunningly beautiful model-like dancer sang “Skylark”. There was no elbowing during that piece. As she concluded the last notes of the heart-wrenchingly beautiful piece, Lauren felt unhappy although she chided herself for feeling that way. The rest of that act concluded the show with big ensemble dancing, brightly colored costumes and toe-tapping jazz pieces. As the lights came up after the conclusion of the usual standing ovation, Jake and Lauren turned to each other and said choruses of “That was really good!” and “They did a good job!”

After the obligatory congratulations to the friends they knew in the show, including an awkward encounter between Jake and his ex, especially when she saw him here with Lauren, Jake drove Lauren home again. They kept discussing the show on the ride home, dissecting the finer points when Jake said to Lauren, “Seeing her onstage tonight was good for me. It really proved to me I don’t feel anything for her anymore.”

As she watched him pull out of her drive way, she smiled. And for once she went to bed, not over-thinking anything in the slightest.

Chapter 4

The next day at school passed in a blur of the usual trials and boring moments. It was Monday so it felt especially slow. Lauren had been thinking about her afterschool plans all day, unsure of what would happen. When the last class ended, she waited for her other friends to arrive in the halls. As Jake walked up to the group he gave her a grin and walked right over to her. They said goodbye to everyone else and walked outside, Lauren trying to not look conspicuous. If her friends saw that they were going to get coffee together, everyone would instantly be suspicious.

As they settled into the high stools in the back of the shop with coffee in hand, Lauren panicked. This story was much too personal, and there was no WAY she could tell this to a guy! He wouldn’t know what to do or say, let alone care about it in the slightest. She was thinking about how baffled she was why he suggested this when Jake sort of took off.

Clearly she wasn’t the only one recovering from an emotional damage. Jake had been broken up with his previous girlfriend for over a month, but the pain was still there. He had liked her for a lot longer than they were together, and their breakup hadn’t gone well. He told her about all the misunderstandings and fights, how she never had time for him and he got angry. He opened up and was honest with her.

There was never an awkward moment and time seemed to fly by. They grew more talkative and more relaxed the longer they were there. Funny stories were exchanged, personal moments shared, laughter and smiles from both sides. Lauren didn’t say a whole lot about why she was upset, and this left her uneasy. They had gotten together specifically for her to share, but for some reason she still felt guarded and unsure.

Chapter 3

The next day, Chfris got Jake a script and welcomed him to the cast. It was Jake’s first production ever, and Lauren was surprised he agreed to do it. They had afterschool rehearsal for a read-through of the show and then the cast got straight to work. Chris blocked Lauren and Jake’s scenes together in one day.

In the show Almost, Maine Jake and Lauren play the parts of Pete and Ginette. These two people are sharing a romantic moment stargazing outside when Ginette confesses she loves Pete. Her outburst is initially well received. But Pete explains that although she may feel close to him, they’re not very close at all. “If you’re assuming the world is round, like a ball, like a snowball, the farthest away you can be from somebody is if you’re sitting right next to them.” Because going around the opposite end of the world makes them “See if I’m here, and you’re here, then that’s far.” Ginette is crushed and stands up to leave. Pete tries to save the situation, but she is already gone.

Several other vignettes occur after this scene until the end of the show. Pete is still sitting alone on the bench when Ginette enters wearily from the opposite end that she exited. She has traveled around the entire world to be as close to Pete as she can possibly be. Pete and Ginette embrace and return to watch the stars together.

These scenes required Jake and Lauren to be physically intimate with each other. Lauren, as an actor was not thrown by this. She had done this countless other times with other guys, this time did not feel any different. But she became hyper aware of the fact that Jake had never done a show before, and unsure what he was thinking.

                *             *             *

Later that evening, Lauren is driving home from rehearsal to find a snap from Jake. It shows him sitting at home, most likely watching TV and is captioned “Text me 612-***-****”. Since a snap chat is a photo that only lasts for 10 seconds, and then is gone forever, Lauren had to chant the number to herself to memorize it. She had to text him right away, before she forgot the number of course.

But having someone’s number and them not knowing yours is an opportunity too good to miss.

“I hid the body. Now what?”

His response was fast, “We’re only supposed to speak of this in person. Now you’ve compromised my identity. Contact Tadeo, I’ll be in touch.”

“Still doesn’t tell me what to do with the body…burn it or throw it in the river?” She laughed at the ridiculousness of what she was saying.

“We went over this… Metal box, make sure it has no leaks. Put the body in there and fill it with coca cola, 1 pack of AA batteries, and a block of lead. Then drop it in the river.”

“Perfect.” She said, “They’ll never find it.”

This went on for a short while until it was pretty clear Jake had guessed whom the number belonged to. The jig was up, but the conversation continued. They chatted for hours while Lauren sat in her bed doing homework.  Eventually the topic came around to what everyone in the school was talking about: Prom. Lauren had already been asked by her close friend Kasun, but Jake had yet to ask anyone to the dance. They tossed ideas back and forth about who Jake could ask. “You should’ve said no Kasun.” He said.

His response shocked her a bit. Her first thought was “What does that mean? He must be joking.” Fortunately, Jake had a bit of a reputation around school of being a huge flirt. He was talkative and friendly with anyone, it never meant anything. And he would flirt with multiple different girls at once, if he was a single man. Although Lauren was thrown for a second, she didn’t let her overactive girl brain second guess it.

Jake’s faithful bright red stick-shift named Carmen was in the shop at the time. This left him with no way to get to school in the morning. Sure he could’ve gotten a guy friend or his parents to give him a ride to school. But the first person he texted for a ride was Lauren. “So I have a favor to ask you. Would you be willing to give me a ride to school in the morning?” Even though they often got to school at vastly different times, and that he lived on the opposite of the school that Lauren did. There’s no good reason why she agreed to do it. They were hardly friends at this point. Maybe she just wanted to do something nice for someone. And Jake was very surprised that she agreed to give him a ride.

At midnight she said goodnight and wearily pushed her books off her bed.

“Goodnight :)” Jake replied.

                *             *             *

She showed up at his house at 6:50am the next morning. As payment for the ride, they stopped at Caribou. He bought a medium Campfire Mocha for himself and a medium hot chocolate for her. She tried to get a small, but he insisted on buying her a medium. It was very comfortable in the car as they drove to school with the 3000+ other students and waited in the morning traffic. They arrived at school, gathered their backpacks and coffees and went off in opposite directions for their classes for the rest of the day.

                *             *             *

That Sunday, Jake texted Lauren, being his usual joking self. He was sarcastic and made inappropriate jokes, but Lauren was not having it. It was clear to Jake that something was wrong, so he asked. Lauren, not even sure why she was confiding in him, told him.

“There was this guy who led me on for a long time and it really hurt. I guess I’m just still getting over that.”

“I promise you that it gets better :) If you don’t have rehearsal tomorrow we can hit up caribou and talk?” he said

 “Nah, you don’t want to hear my sob story haha!” she said.

“True, but I want to help you through it. If hearing it is what it takes, then lets go full speed ahead :)”

Lauren sat on her bed with her forgotten homework around her and thought about what she would possibly say to Jake at coffee. The story was a simple one, but that didn’t make it any less painful.

Blue Water Theatre Company, a local youth theatre company was putting on a production of The Secret Garden based on the beloved children’s book. Lauren was cast as Martha, the wool headed maid who becomes a mother-like figure to Mary. Just before the climax of the show, Mary is packing to be sent away. She has failed in helping Collin, restoring the Garden, and lost the only home she has ever known. Martha, desperate to console her, sings a song in which she urges her to “Hold on, there’re angels on their way. It’s this storm, not you, that’s bound to blow away.” As the story goes, Jake was in the audience of the show. Her song was very moving, and it was to be a moment he would remember for a long time.

At the same time, Lauren had a thing with the guy who played Archibald in the play. Much like his character, this guy was moody and emotional unavailable. He flirted with and led Lauren on for a while until ultimately dropping her because he wasn’t over his Ex-girlfriend.

This left Lauren emotionally torn up. Her trust and values were shaken from a year of disappointments, and it took her a while to get over it. Jake came into her life just as she was beginning to forget this guy. But it’s never easy to let things go

Chapter 2

There were always different productions going on. All year long, someone was always in some musical. Occasionally there was an extra show or two going on at the same time. This meant there was never a dull day.

As the artificial bell rang out 2:20pm, the people gathered at their usual meeting places. The seniors were buzzing with the news of the latest production. They were generically called The Student Directed One-Acts, and these shows gave high school seniors a chance to choose a short play, cast and direct it. A handful of them had been chosen to direct, and the rest of them were cast in their friend’s shows. Rehearsals had started about a week prior, and there was always gossip with any new show. That was the thing with kids in the show business. There was always drama in the drama department, and that made for rambunctious daily meetings. 

Everyone recommenced talk about the latest drama: how a junior was allowed to direct a SENIOR Directed One-Act, a freshmen in the play didn’t know his lines, the faculty in the Drama Department were being difficult to work with, someone was always irate. The daily time in front of the theatre passed quickly for Lauren. Some days she would participate, but most days she liked to just watch the drama unfold. Today was a fun day to add to the drama. As she turned to go to One Act Rehearsal and Jake left for his car, he called out to her, “If you need someone to be in the play, let me know!”

She walked down the hall, her brain still full of Jake’s most likely insincere offer when she ran into her director and friend, Chris.

“You will never believe what happened,” he sarcastically said, “Ryan can’t make rehearsal again. He has track. Surprise. I don’t know how he will be able to be in the show if he is never here.”

Lauren smiled to herself and marveled at how perfect timing could be. “Yeah, but what if we got someone to replace him?” she said.

Chris gave her a funny look and asked who. “Well what about Jake?” She asked, “I was just talking to him and he said if we needed him he would do it!”

Chris looked surprised and was quiet for a minute. Finally, “Well I’ll have to think about it. But it might be our best option.”

Lauren grinned and went off to deposit the numerous bags she always carried around school off in a corner while the rest of the actors went toward the rehearsal space. As she hurried to join them, she quickly sent Jake a snap with a big smile and a caption that said, “You still want to be in a play?”

Chapter 1

The beginning of this story is messy and uncertain. This isn’t a movie script or a fairy tale. It’s blurry and full of gray areas. It’s the story of two kids trying to find something special together. Some dreams get lost, some promises are unfulfilled. Some hearts get cracked. But nothing perfect every happened to anyone worth reading about.

It was spring of the year 2013. Their senior year of high school. By this point, everyone knew which college they were going to, no one had anymore exhausting tests and deadlines. Everyone was just trying not to senior slide too much as they coasted to the finish line, squeezing everything they could out of the ride along the way.

Jake had made it through high school in one piece. His plan was all a laid out for his future just as he wanted it to be, and he had made some great friends and memories along the way.

Lauren was happy to have the worst of it over, but scared for the future. Senior year she’d landed one lead role after another in every show and was surrounded by a solid group. But things can’t stay perfect forever.

When we start our story, Jake had been dating a girl in the theatre group for a short while. They had a few struggles with different expectations so the relationship ended. But that didn’t stop him from meeting up with her friend group after school.

The theatre kids they called themselves. A wacky bunch of overly exuberant, loud and outgoing people, it was always their business to congregate in the most inconvenient places for other people trying to get past in the hall or go through the door. But you could hear them from down the hall, and they were always relied upon to hang out in the same place every day after school before each of their different rehearsals began. This is where they met.

Sure they knew each other. Facebook friends since he started dating the mutual friend Alissa. His younger sister had been in many musicals through community theatre with Lauren. But they had gone to different middle schools, hung out with different crowds, and never really talked.

So when the breakup happened, against all expectations, Jake continued to hang around the group. He made other friends, he chatted. He was always good at talking to people, knew what they would like to talk about, and exactly what to say. So it was not a surprise to Lauren when Jake began talking to her as well. He would meet up with them afterschool for weeks on end, he became a common part of that daily ritual. On one not so particular day, Lauren noticed Jake had gotten a new phone.

 “Oh you got an iPhone!” Lauren says.

“Yeah, my parents got one for me.”

“Oh who are you snapchatting?” she asks.

“Just some friends. Do you want to be in one?”

“Sure!”

They took the photo and he sends it to a friend. “Do you have a snapchat?” He inquires. She responds with yes, and they quickly add each other to their contacts. After sending a snap to make sure it works, they go their separate ways as she goes to rehearsal and he leaves to drive home.