... not in love with Kale Eddison

by Joanne McClean

  Jake tried to look innocent, “Hey, I’ve just come to pass a message on from Ms Belson; she wants to see you back in the rehearsal room … she forgot to tell you something important for tomorrow night.”

  Izzie was embarrassed by how sharp her tone had been, “Oh, right, sorry Jake. Ok, I’ll go now. Thanks.”

  She set off down the corridor and had just reached the door when she heard voices; Kale and Maddie to be exact. Izzie was curious as to what they could possibly be discussing but she was also wary that Ms Belson was probably waiting for her inside too. She pushed the door open and was quite sickened by what she saw …

  Kale had been frustrated trying to explain the basics of acting out the scene to Maddie that he came to the conclusion that he would have to show her a few simple things.

  “Ok,” he began, trying to keep his cool, “this scene involves you – the girlfriend – not wanting me – the soldier – to leave and fight for my country, right?”

  Maddie nodded and looked at Kale with puppy-dog eyes, “Yeah.”

  “Ok,” Kale continued, “one of the simplest actions you can do to really make the moment intense is hold my face, like this.” He tenderly held a hand against Maddie’s cheek and looked her directly in the eye.

  Maddie mimicked his actions and he nodded, “Good, now you do this when you say the line ‘I don’t want you to leave … but I know you have to do this baby.’ It’ll really convey the anguish your character is feeling at that particular moment; the torment of the dilemma of allowing my character to leave but also the selfish need for me to stay.”

  Maddie nodded, “Ok, I think I get it. Could you help me with one practice run and then I’ll leave you alone … promise.”

  Kale agreed, “Ok, it’s my line first …”

  Izzie couldn’t believe her own eyes when she saw Maddie and Kale kiss, however, the thing that disturbed her most was the fact that Kale had let her kiss him. Kale suddenly pulled back and became aware that Maddie was now looking at someone. He turned, with a dazed look on his face, to see Izzie standing in the doorway.

  “Izzie, hey, I thought I was meeting you by the lockers.” Kale still looked a bit out of it.

  Izzie now dimly realised something; Kale was an extremely dedicated and brilliant actor. Before Maddie had kissed him, Izzie had noticed the look in his eyes; it was the same look he had during all the rehearsals for the play. The look he had in his eyes now made something very clear for Izzie; it was different from the one when he was in character. They always said that your eyes never lie; they always show what you truly feel and it was crystal clear to Izzie that Kale looked dazed because he was just pulling himself out of character. It amazed her how he had the ability to draw himself into a scene so vividly and emotionally; he literally became his character when he was sucked into a scene. Guess she’d have to stop teasing him about his crap acting skills; he definitely did have talent. Izzie still found herself a little annoyed though, regardless of how good an actor Kale actually was; he and Maddie had still shared a kiss – scripted or not, it was still a kiss. She knew she shouldn’t feel jealous or betrayed but that was what she felt bubbling up in her right now. She tried to ignore those feelings while she looked at Maddie’s satisfied face.

  “What exactly do you think you have achieved here Maddie?” Izzie asked her, still feeling both annoyed and confused; why was Maddie acting like this now?

  Maddie grinned slyly, “Oh, just how I can get two men under my spell with ease while you can’t get your grubby paws on even one.”

  Izzie raised her eyebrow, “That’s the point you wanted to prove? Ok, well done … you can see I’m truly destroyed by your actions … truly! It’s just too bad that Kale and I aren’t actually dating.” Izzie laughed and hoped Maddie was smart enough to recognise the sarcasm in her voice.

  Maddie frowned; clearly irritated that Izzie seemed to be unaffected by her actions. She flipped her hair and sneered at Izzie, “Well, at least I got my revenge on you for just snubbing me when you became best buds with a movie star. Real friends don’t dump you when some mediocre movie star shows up.”

  Izzie laughed hysterically, “Do you hear yourself? This is ludicrous, all of it. First of all, you snubbed me when Kale arrived, two; real friends don’t sell stories to the papers to get revenge – yeah” Izzie paused when a look of guilt flashed across Maddie’s face, “I know you were the ‘close, personal friend’ quoted; it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who would spread some bullshit rumour about me – you made your jealousy of my friendship with Kale quite clear; I practically followed the trail of breadcrumbs – or should I say blood, from stabbing me in the back! Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, and lastly, how dare you call Kale ‘mediocre’; he’s been acting since he was no age whereas you still wouldn’t know how to convey emotion of any kind if you studied it until your dying day! You are such a spiteful bitch that you are incapable of any emotion that is human … you, my friend, are a robot! And you will still be one, no matter how many acting lessons you take … you will be mediocre – and that is being polite!”

  Maddie simply stared after Izzie had finished her outburst; she looked like she had just been slapped. Kale, who had been watching the confrontation with an open mouth, turned to Izzie and gave her a little round of applause. Izzie snapped out of her bad temper and smiled at Kale and even took a little bow. Maddie finally woke from her stupor and glanced at both of them, she looked directly at Izzie.

  “Guess that means our friendship is over.” She eyed Izzie scornfully.

  Izzie smirked, “That, is the most intelligent thing you have said in the last while … guess you do have a brain inside that metal head after all.”

  Kale was bent double at that; he was practically choking he was laughing that hard. Izzie chuckled at him and Maddie quickly left the room; she knew she had been defeated.

  After a few seconds, Kale had managed to stop laughing and calmed himself back to seriousness again, his intense gaze bore directly into Izzie’s eyes and she felt jelly-legged. “Did you really mean what you said?” Kale asked her.

  Izzie shrugged, “I said anything to shut her up,” but she smirked nonetheless and Kale realised she was joking.

  “So,” Kale smiled, “I’m really better than ‘mediocre’ huh?”

  Izzie rolled her eyes and hit him on the arm, “Yeah, you’re just one step above it … you’d need to be to let Maddie trick you into kissing her!”

  Kale looked shameful, “I know, I got too into character and got carried away. Ah the curse of being an ‘above mediocre’ actor, eh?” he winked at Izzie and she sniggered.

  “Yeah yeah, just watch that head of yours when you’re walking through the door; it might not fit.”

  It was Kale’s turn to roll his eyes, “Come on, let’s get out of here before any other females try and seduce me.”

  Izzie smirked, “Yeah, well you’re in safe company with me bucko … if you can resist my allure!”

  Kale suddenly turned serious again, “Do you know how difficult it is for me to not give into the temptation you offer to me… do you do it on purpose just to torture me?”

  “Wow,” Izzie was a little taken aback, “lighten up buddy, I was messing. Why do you always have to turn it into something more? Why can’t you accept that we are friends and nothing more, huh? Way to kill my good mood Kale, jeez … you are such a jerk.”

  Kale felt anger flare up inside him; he was sick of it … sick of the way Izzie made him feel, even if it was through no fault of her own. “Yeah Izzie, really … you think that I’m the jerk? You blow hot and cold more times than I change my clothes … and that’s every day! So don’t you call me a jerk when you are the one who is all flirty and then the next minute you’re avoiding me like the plague. You are the jerk! You can’t play around with people’s feelings like that … it’s not a game Izzie! Just because I’m an actor doesn’t mean I don’t get hurt … if anything, I feel things more intensely because of my job.”

 
; Izzie was furious, “How dare you … after me defending you earlier? How the hell do you have the nerve to call me a jerk and accuse me of playing with people’s feelings? I have been nothing but honest about my feelings for you … you are the one who keeps messing it up by wanting more. It’s not my fault you ‘feel things more intensely’ ... it’s not my fault you confuse my behaviour for flirting! So, don’t you stand there and accuse me of being hot and cold when you are the one who is reading everything wrong!”

  Izzie breathed heavily while Kale looked shocked but he recovered quite quickly since he strode across the room – closing the short distance between them – grabbed Izzie’s face and kissed her. When Izzie tried to protest, Kale ignored her and kissed her more passionately until Izzie was tingling all over and feeling rather faint; boy, he could really kiss when he was mad! Izzie then found her senses and pushed him back.

  “Ok Kale,” she began calmly, “that really wasn’t the best way to end that argument.”

  Kale shifted nervously and tried to avoid Izzie’s eyes as she continued, “Look Kale, I understand that you can’t help your feelings for me but you really need to stop doing that.”

  Kale looked directly into her eyes, “I know and I’m sorry but you can’t deny that you had some sort of reaction to it. Can you honestly say that you didn’t enjoy it? I know you want us to be friends but isn’t there the tiniest possibility that it could be something more?”

  It was Izzie’s turn to avoid eye contact, “Look Kale, you aren’t making this any easier for me. Ok, I confess … I did have a reaction and I did enjoy it but I still just want us to be friends.”

  “But,” Kale protested, “what is so difficult about us being something more; you like me and I like you … it sounds pretty simple, right?”

  Izzie shook her head, “I’m just not interested Kale. I’m tired telling you; I can be your friend but nothing more and if you can’t accept that then I’m afraid we’ll not even have friendship.”

  Kale sighed, “Fine but somewhere along the line you’re going to have to admit that you have feelings for me. I know you do … it just seems like you don’t know it yet.”

  Izzie rolled her eyes, “Ok, can we just forget all this and be friends? I don’t want this messing up the play … please Kale?”

  Kale nodded, “Ok but I know I’m right … and sooner or later you’ll prove it.”

  Izzie smirked, “You really do have a big ego about yourself, don’t you?”

  Kale smiled, “And now you’re back to your normal, charming self.”

  Izzie grinned, “Shut up Mr Big-Head. Now, I’m going home to get some rest before the big night tomorrow night. I think you should do the same.”

  Kale sighed, “Guess you’re right, see you tomorrow … ‘Beatrice’.”

  Izzie chuckled, “Save it for the play … ‘Benedick’.”

  Kale laughed as they made their way to their cars and then headed home.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Opening night had arrived and Izzie was feeling extremely nervous. Earlier that day, Izzie had acted like nothing had happened the day before and Kale had followed suit which suited her just fine. Now, however, she was very worried about the play; she kept thinking she was going to mess up her lines and screw up the entire play. She sucked in a breath to try and steady her nerves as she put the final touches to her make-up. Suddenly, she saw someone watching her in the mirror, she turned to find Kale standing by the doorway; he was smiling at her in a smug, knowing way.

  “What do you want?” she sighed.

  “Oh, do you have to be so nice?” Kale chuckled, “You feeling the old pre-play jitters then?”

  “No!” Izzie replied, much too quickly, “no,” she said again, more calmly, “I was trying to relax before you interrupted me!” She smirked at him and he grinned back.

  “Fair enough, I’ll leave you in peace.” He turned to leave but turned back before he was fully out the door, “Hey, break a leg, ok?”

  Izzie smiled, “You too.” and she watched disappear out the door. She took another deep breath; everything was going to be fine – if she just refused to think about everything Kale-related – then she’d be fine. She sighed and then heard Ms Belson call her name … ‘here goes nothing’ Izzie thought as she made her way onto the stage …

  The play, thankfully, went off without a hitch and when the last scene had finally came to an end; Izzie had been relieved it was over. Nobody had messed up any lines so Ms Belson was very happy, as was Izzie, although, the only thing that she felt had went wrong was the kiss between her and Kale; it had went on just a tad too long and Izzie felt Kale had been taking advantage of the situation but she never called him on it. Now, Izzie was glad to change into some normal clothes and wipe off her make-up. She had just finished pulling on her sneakers when she heard a knock on the door.

  “Come in,” she commanded and looked up as the door opened.

  “Hey, you were great out there tonight.” Kale told her as he leant against the doorway, looking even more handsome now he was back in his usual dark jeans and black shirt combo.

  Izzie tried not to stare too much, “Thanks, you too.” She finished tying her shoelace and stood up. “So, what’s everybody else up to?”

  Kale shrugged, “I think they’ve all left. So, can I walk you to your car? Just incase you get mobbed for being such a good actress?” he smiled crookedly at her.

  Izzie rolled her eyes, “Hilarious! But hey, why not … I’ve just got to grab my bag.”

  Izzie found her bag and fell into step with Kale as they both made their way to the car park.

  “So,” Kale began, “you ready to do this all again for the next two nights?”

  Izzie smiled, “Yeah, I think so. It wasn’t so bad.”

  Kale grinned but then turned serious, “No it wasn’t but I have to apologise for the last scene.”

  Izzie held up a hand to stop him, “Don’t Kale, it was ok. Let’s forget about it, ok?”

  Kale nodded and they stopped when they got to Izzie’s car. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

  Izzie gave him a half smile, “Sure and … you didn’t suck too bad.” She winked at him and then gave him a peck on the cheek before she got into her car.

  Kale was momentarily stunned but as soon as Izzie drove off, he made way to his own car but he couldn’t help but think about Izzie the whole way back to his house.

  The following week, after the play had finished, Izzie was nervously waiting for the review in the local paper to come out. It was rumoured to be written by the reporter who was responsible for the previous articles about Kale and Izzie which was why Izzie was dreading what the woman, Tess Drudger, was going to write.

  A week later, on Monday morning, Izzie stopped at the local newsagents on her way to school to pick up the paper; she decided not to look at it until she had reached school. She pulled into an empty parking space and took a deep breath. She flipped to the appropriate page as her stomach churned with nerves.

  ‘‘Much Ado About Something!’

  Ok Kale Eddison fans … I am sure many of you fought tooth and nail to get tickets to attend the local Hartside play ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’ Those of you who did manage to get tickets will know exactly what went on … those of you who failed to score some tickets will just have to make do with my review. But, never fear, I promise I have provided as much juicy details as I can.

  As I sat down last Friday night, I will admit, I was expecting the usual awful High School production – even if it did star our Hollywood Golden Boy. However, what I did not expect was a flawless adaption of Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. Every actor was suited to his or her role and if there were any mistakes … well, I failed to spot any. From the opening scene, I was drawn into the world of ‘Beatrice’, ‘Benedick’, ‘Hero’ and ‘Claudio’. When a scene required tension … you could cut it with a knife … when a scene required humour … I laughed until I nearly cracked a rib.

  A
ll in all, what I’m trying to say is that the play was perfect. Although, the one thing that I would dispute, would be the title; ‘Much Ado About Something’ would have been more appropriate. Now, I guess I have you all intrigued by now … I will not keep you in suspense much longer.

  Throughout the whole play, I’ll admit, I was rooting for Ms Isobel Frank – ‘Beatrice’ in the production – to fail miserably. I am sure most people wouldn’t be able to cope with sharing the stage for nearly three hours with the two men that Ms Frank is rumoured to be involved in a love triangle with! However, I must confess surprise at Ms Frank’s strong stage presence and ability to cope well with being in such close proximity to her two boy toys.

  There was no visible awkwardness between any of the characters – other than when scripted – and I found myself enjoying the play. Our Kale was, of course, flawless as ever and suited the role of ‘Benedick’ perfectly. I also found the banter between his character and Ms Frank’s didn’t feel forced and was actually quite delightful to watch.

  Now, to get to the good stuff … the final scene was one heck of a show; high drama, romance and humour. All to be expected, I hear you cry, to all of you who know of Shakespeare’s light-hearted play. However, as much as I want to say that Ms Frank and Mr Eddison did a fine job of making the whole ordeal believable … I am not the only one in belief that there is some genuine chemistry between Izzie Frank and Kale Eddison.

  Throughout the entire play, I noticed that the other male involved in the supposed love triangle – Jake Greenberg – has no chemistry with Ms Frank whatsoever. It appears we may have misjudged the whole situation since Ms Frank did not appear one bit interested in Jake. It was pretty obvious that Ms Frank shares a connection of some sort with our Kale but she tries her best to hide it. Maybe we have been wrong to assume that she is playing with the two boys … maybe Ms Frank’s little speech a few weeks ago was indeed the truth. I personally now believe that there is nothing going on between her and Jake Greenberg – they lack any sort of chemistry at all! However, that said, even though Ms Frank was adamant that her and our Kale were “just friends” … I have seen for myself – with my own eyes – that our Kale is smitten with her and the feeling does appear to be mutual. But … I can say with total confidence that Ms Isobel Frank does not realise it herself; she was certainly very realistic when portraying the playful banter between her character and Kale’s. Our Golden Boy does appear to irritate Ms Frank but there is also a spark of attraction there too but it is just a question of whether Izzie Frank realises it or whether she is confusing it with something else.