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.

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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.