by Laura DeLuca
“God, that makes me want to dye my hair!” Megan exclaimed. “That cliché about blondes having more fun is seriously outdated.”
“I’m still not taking any chances,” Justyn said. “I haven’t let Becca out of my sight since we got here, and that won’t be changing anytime soon.”
Rebecca squeezed his hand, feeling lucky to have him. “I might have thought that sounded chauvinistic a few weeks ago. But for now, I’m willing to make allowances. At least until they catch this creep.”
With the conversation getting so heavy and Quinn and Megan already preparing to leave, the rest of them decided to call it a night as well. They settled their bill and parted ways with honest enthusiasm about meeting again for the first rehearsal. The fact that they now had some new friends made it even more exciting. At least it wouldn’t be just her and Livy left alone together between scenes. If that happened, one of them really might wind up on the wrong end of a pie.
After exchanging goodbyes, Justyn and Rebecca jumped on their bikes and headed home. They were both done with classes for the day, but they had plenty of homework and a full script to memorize. The restaurant was only a few blocks from their apartment, so it didn’t take long for them to get there. The sun was just beginning to set when they reached their driveway. Justyn jumped off his bike and reached for his keys to unlock the shed. Rebecca noticed right away that he looked confused and slightly agitated. After he realized the skeleton keychain normally attached to his belt loop was no longer there, he reached into the deep pockets of his cargo pants.
“What’s wrong?” Rebecca asked, though she had already guessed.
“My keys are missing,” he fretted and started digging through his book bag. “I don’t get it. The clip is still here, but the keys are gone.”
“Maybe they fell off at the restaurant.”
“Maybe,” Justyn said, but he looked doubtful. “If they did fall off, it could have been anywhere—at practice, at any one of my classes, or anywhere in between. I can’t believe I didn’t notice sooner.”
“Well, there’s no point in worrying about it now.” Rebecca dug through her handbag to find her own set of keys. “We’ll look for them tomorrow. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Once the bikes were secure, they climbed up the three flights of stairs. Rebecca yawned as they reached the last level and wished her cheap landlord would install an elevator. When they finally opened the door, the room was almost eerily silent. Normally, Gizmo was perched on his swing, cocking his yellow head in her direction and chirping with excitement the minute she opened the door. Without that normal cheerful greeting, Rebecca immediately started to worry. She went over to check on him, thinking maybe she had forgotten to fill his bowl before she left that morning and the cockatiel was just being temperamental.
“Gizmo.”
She whistled, clicked her tongue a few times, and waited for the happy response she had grown accustomed to. But there was no reply. No merry chirping or cooing. No sound at all. As she inched her way closer to the cage and peeked inside, Rebecca finally realized why. She gasped and dropped her book bag onto the floor.
“Justyn!”
Hearing the distress in her voice, he jolted to her side. “What’s wrong, Becca? What—”
The words died on his lips when he saw the tears already streaming down her cheeks. She couldn’t even talk at first. She gestured to the bottom of the cage where Gizmo stared back at them with wide, unseeing eyes.
“Oh, Justyn!” she finally sobbed when he wrapped his arms around her, “Gizmo is dead!”
Chapter Seven
“It’s not your fault, Becca,” Justyn told her. “I wish you’d stop torturing yourself. Maybe the move was just too much of a strain on him. Or maybe he was older than we thought. Whatever happened to Gizmo, it had nothing to do with you.”
Rebecca sighed. “I guess you’re right.”
The whole day had been depressing. She and Justyn had taken little Gizmo and found him a nice resting spot under a tree in the woods. Rebecca had spent most of the morning crying about it, and then she had trouble paying attention in class. Later, she got back her very first grade on the English paper, which she had slaved over for hours. She had only gotten a C, which stressed her out because she had to maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average or she could lose her scholarship. Combine those two elements with the fact that the director seemed to hate her, and her first semester in college wasn’t shaping up to be all that she had planned.
Thank goodness she had Justyn. He was her unwavering rock. He didn’t seem to have nearly as much trouble adjusting to college life as she was. He had aced all his quizzes so far and had even mastered the cockney accent he needed to portray the deranged London barber. When Rebecca tried to sound British, it sounded more like she had a severe case of laryngitis.
Rebecca continued to sulk as she loaded up her new locker. The cast had each been assigned one to keep their belongings secure during the long hours of practice that would take place over the next few months, and of course, hers was right next to Livy’s.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the illustrious Mr. Todd.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes as yet another person with a flair for British accents strolled in beside them. As if her day wasn’t bad enough already—the last thing she needed was to exchange sarcastic smiles with Livy. She eyed Rebecca up and down in the most condescending way possible as she approached her locker, and Rebecca couldn’t help but feel plain and inadequate in comparison. Livy maintained the air of a majestic Gothic queen almost effortlessly. Rebecca recalled how painstakingly she had prepared for the prom, and she hadn’t looked half as gorgeous as Livinia Clairoux managed to look every single day. It just wasn’t fair. Rebecca actually slammed her locker shut in frustration before following Justyn out into the main theater.
“Hey, I think you lost something yesterday, Lord Justyn,” Chad called out.
He leaned up against the stage casually, and Rebecca never saw it coming when he tossed something shiny in their direction. Of course, Justyn had much better reflexes than she did. Chad seemed almost impressed when her boyfriend reached out one hand and caught the object in mid-air. For a minute, Rebecca thought Justyn was going to throw it right back in Chad’s face, but when he realized what it was, he was grudgingly grateful. Chad had just tossed Justyn back his keys.
“Where did you find these?” He sounded like he wasn’t sure whether to be appreciative or suspicious.
“They were on the floor up here by the stage when I got here. At first, I thought they were Liv’s—seemed like her style. But when she said no, you were the only other choice.”
Justyn nodded. “Well, thanks. I appreciate it.”
Chad shrugged, but Scott gave him a cocky grin. “You really should be more careful with your shit, you know.” He licked his lips in Rebecca’s direction. “Someone else might swoop in and steal it. Ain’t that right, Jerseylicious?”
Chad and Scott laughed and exchanged high fives, but Rebecca only rolled her eyes. The joke was getting a little old. And to think, for half a second, she had actually had decent thoughts about them. She should have known better. They were obviously deviants through and through. She saw Justyn’s fingers turning white as he squeezed his newly recovered keys, but if he was going to say anything about it, he was interrupted when Frankie greeted him with a friendly pat on the back.
“What’s up, guys? Where’s P.C.?” Frankie referred to their director by one of his many nicknames.
“He must be running late again,” Chad said through a yawn. “I wish he’d hurry up. The faster we start, the faster we can get outta of here and start partying.”
“If it was one of us, we’d be kicked off the set for good,” Livy mumbled. “Do as I say, not as I do. That seems to be the general rule of thumb for old Crater Face.”
“Would you guys stop trying to scare the underclassmen?” Quinn said, coming up behind them. Megan was beside him, giving him adoring glances every
time he wasn’t looking. Another real-life romance was definitely brewing between cast mates. “P.C. really isn’t that bad as long as you know your lines and don’t fool around,” Quinn assured them.
“Speaking of lines,” Livy interjected, flashing Justyn a perfect white smile. “I’m really looking forward to working with you, Justyn.”
She moved in a little closer. So close that her thigh rubbed against his leg. For the first time, he seemed to notice she was being a little more than friendly. He blushed and cleared his throat. At the same instant, Rebecca felt her own cheeks flush with annoyance. Who did Livy think she was? She threw herself at Rebecca’s boyfriend right in front of her, as though she weren’t even there. Rebecca wished she wasn’t such a wimp and had the nerve to do something about it—something that would permanently wipe that cocky smile off her black lips.
“I’m looking forward to working with everyone.” Justyn made a point of putting his arm around Rebecca. “It’s a great cast, and I’m certain it’s going to be an amazing performance.”
“All of my productions are amazing, Mr. Patko,” Professor Carter announced from the entranceway. “And it has very little to do with the cast, since they change from semester to semester. It’s a simple matter, really. I demand perfection and I will accept no less. Which is why I always have understudies ready to step in if anyone doesn’t live up to my expectations.”
Rebecca swallowed hard. She was really starting to miss her high school director Miss King. She might have been melodramatic, but she wasn’t downright mean. If this was what life on the stage was going to be like, maybe she needed to reconsider her options.
Small talk ceased immediately once Professor Carter slammed his briefcase down. Even Livy fell into line and bounced onto the stage. The concert master already had the orchestra tuned up and ready to go, and they prepared to begin the first rehearsal of the year. They weren’t permitted to use their scripts. The director had insisted the first half of the play be memorized before anyone dared place one fingernail on the stage.
Rebecca really didn’t have many lines, so it wasn’t that much of a challenge for her. But she had no idea how Justyn managed to memorize his part so quickly and so flawlessly. She had teased him about having the soundtrack playing almost nonstop the last few days, but in the end, it had helped them both get the upper hand. They didn’t stumble their lines nearly as much as the rest of the cast. Rebecca was happy to see that even Livy made her share of mistakes. Still, she felt a little envy as she watched Justyn perform alongside the more experienced diva. Justyn didn’t look like he was enjoying his time with her. But Rebecca knew that boredom, disgust, and constant misery were the expressions his character called for. It wasn’t necessarily what he was actually feeling. Justyn was a great actor.
Livy was just as good at playing the smitten pie maker. Rebecca felt her teeth grinding when they got to the scene where Mrs. Lovatt gives Sweeney Todd his long-forgotten razors, allowing him to extract his revenge on the ruthless judge who sent him to prison for twenty years. Since they didn’t have any props yet, Justyn serenaded imaginary silver blades with a look of absurd adoration and insanity blending perfectly across his handsome features. If she didn’t know him so well, she would probably have been a little nervous. The same deranged guise was mirrored on Livy’s face as she studied Justyn, and that did make Rebecca nervous. She laced her arms around his neck, and her lips lingered only inches away from his skin as she serenaded him in her sweet soprano.
“If you need a friend, you’ve found one here.
I have always been quite fond of you, me dear.
Look at them blades, how well they shine.
Like your touch, it sends shivers down me spine.”
When that scene came to an end, Justyn and Rebecca both had a brief intermission while Quinn and Megan took the stage. Before long, they were joined by Scott and Chad, who were attempting to break up their blossoming love affair. In the play, Anthony buys Johanna a little bird as a token of his affection. The judge, played by Chad, is infuriated by it because he longs to have Johanna for himself, despite the fact that he raised her as a daughter. To teach him a lesson, he has Beadle, played by Scott, break the bird’s neck.
As she watched the scene unfold and listened to the sickening crunch of the sound effects when Scott snapped the imaginary bird’s neck, Rebecca couldn’t help but think of Gizmo. It brought tears to her eyes all over again. She envisioned him lying stiff and still at the bottom of his cage. It was almost like the play was coming to life—just like with Phantom. The thought freaked her out so much, she wanted to find Justyn, just so he could tell her she was being silly. But when she finally located him behind the massive velvet curtains, she realized he wasn’t alone. He was talking to Livy. As Rebecca listened from the shadows, she forgot all about Gizmo.
“So…how long was it you and Rebecca have been together?” Livy asked casually.
“About a year,” Justyn replied, sounding bored.
“So it’s not that serious then?”
“It’s as serious as it can be,” Justyn told her. “I love Becca. She’s my soul mate.”
Rebecca didn’t need to see Livy to know that she rolled her eyes. “Soul mates?” She snorted. “You don’t really believe that garbage, do you? We don’t have souls. Which is why we should enjoy the flesh in every way possible for as long as we can.”
If they said more, Rebecca didn’t get a chance to hear it. Megan was wrapping up her solo, which meant it was time for Rebecca to beg for a few pennies from Quinn. If she missed a queue on her first day, she was sure Professor Carter would kick her out of the production altogether. So she went out and groveled, which looked even sillier in her jeans and sweater than it would once she had her costume rags. Once Quinn feigned handing her some money, she offered herself to him in the crudest way possible. She knew her cheeks were ruby-red as she sang her lines and nudged him expectedly, as close to his crotch as she dared.
“Hey there, sailor, you pretty boy.
Got something here you might enjoy.
Just take a peek beneath me frock.
Then squeeze your ship into me dock.”
Much like his musical counterpart, Quinn didn’t think anything of the beggar woman’s advances because he was too busy staring at Megan. Rebecca moved back onto the sidelines, relieved her part was done for the day. She wasn’t on stage again until the second act, which they were saving for the next rehearsal. Since she had some time to kill, she worked on her schoolwork and tried not to notice Livy’s constant and not-so-subtle advances on her boyfriend. It was really starting to bother her, but she didn’t say anything about it until she and Justyn were home for the night. Justyn rummaged through the closet while she sat cross-legged on the bed, trying to finish up some homework, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Livy.
“Becca, have you seen my shirt—the one with the fishnet sleeves and the skull on the front? I can’t find it anywhere.”
Rebecca barely even heard him. “Livy wants you, you know,” she announced suddenly. Her voice sounded a little bitter, though she had intended it to be casual.
Justyn pulled his head out of the closet and raised a pierced eyebrow. “Why, Becca, do I detect a little jealousy in your tone?”
Rebecca folded her arms and pouted. “Do I have a reason to be jealous?”
Justyn’s dark eyes twinkled playfully. “What do you think?”
“I think that a completely gorgeous girl with twice as much talent as me is trying to steal the love of my life.”
Justyn laughed out loud. “Do you really think Livy is my type?”
“She looks like your type….”
“Didn’t we already establish that looks can be deceiving? Sure, she’s beautiful. She’s a great actress and a fabulous singer….”
“Ughhh.” Rebecca buried her head in a throw pillow. “Is this supposed to make me feel better?”
“But…” Justyn added and came to sit beside her on the bed, “
I love your sweet smile and your velvet-soft hair. I love the way your nose crinkles when you smile and the way your eyes light up when you sing. I love the way you get so adorably hyper when you’re nervous, even though you have nothing to be nervous about because you’re always spectacular. I love your gentle touch and the way you always make me feel better if I’m hurting. I love that you can make me laugh even when I’m angry or upset.” As he spoke, he slid closer to her, running his fingers along every part as he listed them. She felt her skin break out in gooseflesh, and her breath became more rapid. When he spoke to her in that deep, seductive voice, it was like it was their first date all over again. “I love you, Becca, every single beautiful feature of your body and your soul. And I always will love you. No matter what. Besides,” he added nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulders, “I’m not into cougars.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “She’s only one year older than you.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m taken. In this life and the next.” He touched the ammonite necklace around his neck. “No one is ever going to steal my heart away from my angel of music.”
Rebecca sighed and closed her books for the night. She had no idea why she was being so insecure. She was glad she had talked to Justyn about it. She suddenly felt recharged and complete in a way she had never thought was possible before Justyn came into her life. Silly things like not getting the starring role or getting one C suddenly seemed a lot less important. Rebecca sank back into his arms, thinking she was the luckiest person in the world. Only the empty cage in the corner of their living room and the strange sense of foreboding that seemed to surround it put a damper on an otherwise perfect evening.
Chapter Eight
Rebecca wasn’t sure if it was Justyn’s pep talk or just the passage of time, but things started to fall into a more normal routine. Over the course of the next two weeks, everything seemed to improve. After that first disappointing grade, she aced all her other exams and was maintaining a solid 3.5 grade point average. Her acting was becoming second nature, including her cockney accent. Even Chad and Scott were behaving themselves, except for the occasional glare or snide comment. Livy was constantly on the prowl, but Justyn ignored her advances and avoided her as much as possible when they weren’t on the stage. Everyone had memorized their lines, and her friendship with Megan was blossoming as quickly as Megan’s love affair with Quinn. The four of them had spent several nights out on double dates, occasionally with Frankie tagging along. Megan had confided to Rebecca that she was falling hard and fast for her blue-eyed co-star. In fact, that was what they were talking about as they ambled across campus on their way to rehearsal.