by Kirby Hall
Of course, he wasn’t so sure Alexa would be happy to see him, either. He hadn’t missed the way her dad had looked at him, like he was something he should call an exterminator to remove. Alexa hadn’t made him feel that way though. In fact, it was the way she’d been making him feel all week that had landed him in the middle of this theater fifty miles from home. He wanted to see her and wanted to see what it was she was so passionate about. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been inspired or cared about anything. The only reason he tried and succeeded in school was for his mother.
The piano music started and the curtains opened to reveal a girl leaning against a ramshackle house. A lighting effect was used to make the colors look muted, like they’d been run through the sepia filter on Instagram. When the girl donning a checkered dress and ribbons in her hair turned and started to sing, he bolted upright.
Alexa’s voice filled the theater. She moved around the stage and stared out into the audience. He couldn’t tell if she was seeing anyone or focusing on the back wall and then her eyes drifted over his part of the audience. He could feel her eyes boring a hole into him and he knew she recognized him. He wanted to slouch, but he was paralyzed, the same way she was on stage. Stiff with shock and something else.
She seemed to regain her senses faster than he did and morphed back into character. Someone not paying close enough attention may have never noticed her brief moment of undoing, but he did. And, he knew he was the reason for it. The lights flickered out a moment later and then a strobe was turned on as students dressed in all black created the tornado effect on stage. Under normal circumstances, he may have thought it was cheesy, but suddenly he wanted to see Alexa succeed. It wasn’t a misplaced moment of school spirit, it was her.
The lighting changed again and this time the colors were bright, almost cartoon like. The play itself was a story everyone knew and they seemed to be enjoying it. Laughing in the right places and keeping their attention on the stage, but what he noticed the most was whenever Alexa took the stage, she owned the room. If the rest of the audience were anything like him, they wouldn’t have been able to take their eyes off her even if they wanted to. She was alive. Pulsing with an energy everyone else strived for.
The lights went down after the closing number and his eyes cut to the exit door. What was he going to say to her when she asked him why he was there?
“What are you doing here, West?” she would ask.
“Oh, Alexa, you’re here. I had no idea.” She’d only been talking about it all week. He ran a hand through his hair. God, he was an idiot.
The announcer took his place behind the podium again and explained the rest of the day’s events. There was one more play and then winners would be announced for the top three plays and a best actress and best actor overall. West eyed the door again and then felt an elbow jab him in the side.
“What’re you doing here?” Bekah was smirking at him.
“Do I even know you?”
“You know Alexa. Same difference. We’re almost the same person.”
He took in Bekah’s attire and easy demeanor. “Right.”
“I’m Bekah.” She stuck out a hand covered in different rings and rested her bright purple shoes on the back of the chair in front of her.
He shook once and let go. Who actually shook hands? Chick was weird.
“She was good, huh?”
He kept his eyes focused on the closed curtain. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know much about this stuff.”
She whistled. “Better not let Alexa hear you refer to it as ‘this stuff’. Her head might explode.”
He couldn’t keep from smiling. What Bekah said was true. He had no doubt that Alexa would glare at him for referring to what she was doing as stuff. He glanced at Bekah again. She was cool. Maybe even the kind of girl he would’ve been friends with, if he had any.
“Is her dad here?” He looked behind him again and studied the faces in the crowd.
“No way. He’s never here. And, then there’s the whole Alexa’s not supposed to be here thing. He would shit.”
West’s head snapped around. “Wait, what do you mean she’s not supposed to be here?”
“If she didn’t mention it, never mind.” Bekah was backtracking and he wanted to know why.
He turned in his chair. “Seriously, what’s up?”
Bekah gazed at him a moment, like she was trying to decide how much she should say. “Well, it’s not like you don’t know about the whole math thing. Her dad was pissed about her grade and told her to step down. Said her understudy could handle it and if she gets her grade up, he might let her get back into theater next semester.”
“But, that’s crazy. She was great up there.”
Bekah grinned at him and sweat formed on his hands. He wiped them on his jeans. What the hell was a matter with him?
“Noticed after all, did you?” Bekah crossed her ankles and slid farther down in her seat. “Alexa’s a badass. Or, as badass as you can be in this realm.”
They both watched as a kid wearing ridiculous fake glasses and an ‘I heart the arts’ shirt sat down in front of them. They looked back at each other and burst out laughing. The lights dimmed and West decided it was too late to leave. As strange as it was, he was having a good time. He sat beside Bekah and endured the final play of the day.
“So, what now?” he asked, when the lights came back up.
“Now, they announce the winners.”
“But, where are the schools waiting?”
“Dude, they’re behind you.” She waited while he craned his neck. “See, all the way in the back, the roped off section? Those are all the schools who participated.”
He spotted her almost right off. She was seated between Josh and some other guy. And, he realized he didn’t like it. He balled his hand into a fist. What the hell was the matter with him? Was he seriously jealous of some guys from school for sitting by her? He needed to get out of there.
Before he could contemplate his escape, Bekah turned and waved. West wished like hell she hadn’t done it and wondered if maybe Alexa hadn’t seen her, but then Alexa and Josh waved back. Great.
“In third place,” the announcer boomed through the mike, “Cartersville High, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.” Applause erupted from the back and in scattered seats around them. The crowd waited and continued to cheer while the whole group and the director made their way to the stage to collect their trophy.
“In second place,” he announcer said in a loud voice to bring the room back to order, “Cedar Falls High, The Wizard of Oz.”
Bekah didn’t hold back. She was on her feet cheering and clapping before the final word was out of his mouth. Not too bad, A-money, he thought as he began to clap, too, but at least he had the dignity to stay in his chair. Unlike Bekah, who was still cheering at the top of her lungs.
The group from their school walked down the aisle past them and Alexa smiled at Bekah and then right at him. He felt something twinge in his chest and broke her gaze. He concentrated on his hands instead of the way Alexa looked when she’d stared right at him like he was the only one in the room.
After the group made their way onto the stage and held up their three-foot trophy, Bekah sat back down and waited for them to announce first place. The applause lasted twice as long for the winners, but West didn’t care. He was still trying to figure out what had happened between him and Alexa. He barely heard anything else the announcer said, but when the room got quiet he forced his attention back to the stage.
“And now for the individual awards.” There was a long pause, either for dramatic flair, this was the place for that he guessed, or because the announcer couldn’t read. “Best Actress goes to, Alexa Cross in the role of Dorothy.”
Bekah screamed, “Go, Alexa,” and jumped to her feet an
d this time, swept up in the excitement, he got to his, too.
“Holy shit, that like, never happens.”
“What?” he half shouted beside her as they kept clapping like lunatics.
“Winners almost always come from the play that came in first.” She let out another whoop. “Like I said, badass.” They continued to clap and then Bekah tugged at his jacket. “Let’s get outside so we can catch her before she gets back on the bus.”
West froze. From a distance was one thing, but he still felt like an idiot. He had no desire to stand awkwardly, like “Hey you didn’t invite me, but here I am.” No thanks.
Bekah seemed to sense his desire to flee and clamped a hand on his arm. “Come on.”
The throng of people outside was immense. Parents and students were milling about like displaced ants after their hill had been kicked. West glanced back toward the fence where he’d parked his car.
“There she is,” Bekah shouted from beside him.
His guts twisted. Too late to run now.
“Alexa, Josh, over here.” Bekah ran to hug Alexa and Josh. “You guys were great. Let me see that.” She pulled the medal out of Alexa’s hand and studied it. “Girl, I told you.”
West continued to stand in the background while the friends caught up and laughed. Alexa was smiling so big her eyes had turned into slits atop her defined cheekbones. He stared down at his shoes and tried to decide if he could melt into the crowd.
“West, get over here.”
Crap.
“Hey, man. Thanks for coming out,” Josh said. Apparently, it hadn’t occurred to Josh how weird it was for him to be there. Josh was wearing his street clothes, but there were still brown streaks of makeup smeared around his hairline.
“Hey,” Alexa said.
“Hey, um, you did good out there.” He fought the urge to slap himself in the head. You were good out there? Jesus. He kept his hands in his pockets and tried not to stare at her like he’d never seen her before. Although, he wasn’t sure he had, not like she was now. She was in jeans and T-shirt, but her hair was still in pigtail braids and her makeup was thick. She looked about ten.
“Thanks.”
“Beks, you going to come out with us? Some celebratory pancakes?” Josh asked.
Bekah’s smile faltered. “I would, you know I would, but I’m supposed to meet Jay.”
“Yeah, right.” Josh turned toward Alexa, but West didn’t miss the annoyed look on his face. “See you on the bus.” Josh hit him on the back. “See ya around, West.”
“Yeah, man, see ya.” West watched Josh jog over to where the rest of the group was loading up to go.
“I’ll call him later,” Bekah said to smooth over Josh’s abrupt departure. “Okay, well I better get going, too. Alexa, I’ll catch you tomorrow.” She hugged her again. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Alexa said, then Bekah disappeared into the sea of students and left them alone. “You’re the last person I expected to see here.”
“Yeah. Me, too.”
She crossed her arms and popped one of her hips out to the side. It probably would’ve been more formidable if she looked her age. “Seriously, West. What’re you doing here?”
He shrugged. “You’ve been going on about it all week. I guess I had to see what the big deal was.”
Alexa’s phone rang and she fished it out of her pocket. “Oh, crap. It’s my dad.” Her eyes darted around the noisy crowd.
“Over there.” West pointed at a side door on the auditorium that was propped open. They ran to it and then realized it was a janitorial closet.
“It’ll work,” she said and then answered her phone. “Hey, Dad. Yeah, Beks and I are out getting coffee. Now?” Her eyes widened. “Dad, it’s going to take a little while. We’re supposed to run an errand for her mom and then we’ll have to run back by the house to get my car and—”
She paused to listen and West tried not to think about how close they were standing to each other. His knees were brushing hers in order to avoid the foul smelling yellow mop bucket behind him, making her head level with his chest. It would be so easy to touch her. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, but he could smell her usual floral scent. Although this time it was mixed with the chemicals and must from the closet.
“Okay, Dad. I’ll be there soon.” She hit end and began texting. “Can you give me a ride?”
“What?”
“Home, well to the school? I have to pick up my car.”
“Why don’t you just take the bus?”
“Because,” she said slowly as if explaining something to a child, “the bus will take forever and I need to get home right now. I’m going to get Josh to cover with Mrs. Brale.” She finished and slid her phone back into her pocket and then tilted her head to look up at him. “So, will you help me?”
“Sure, why not. That’s all I do anyway, isn’t it?”
“Look, if it’s too much trouble—”
“It’s fine, come on.” He led the way to his car and couldn’t figure out exactly why he was angry. Part of him liked the idea of spending more time with Alexa. Then, it occurred to him that was exactly why he was mad. He was mad at himself for wanting to.
Alexa stopped by the bus and grabbed a bright orange bag and then followed him to his mom’s car. He glanced at her sitting in the front seat beside him, felt the same place in his chest twist and then started the car. He never should’ve come.
Chapter 12
Alexa couldn’t believe she was catching a ride with West. He eased onto the expressway and then leaned back in his seat. He was as at ease behind the wheel as he was everywhere else. Of all the people she’d expected to see, he was way down on the list. Heck, he wasn’t even on the list.
“What’s the drama with your dad?” His deep voice broke her train of thought.
Alexa swallowed and then glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “He had some sort of emergency work thing come up and he needs to get to the office, but someone has to stay with my brother.”
“Right.” West waited a beat and then asked the question she’d known he was going to ask. “Why wasn’t he there today, at the competition?”
“He never goes. It’s not really his thing.” Alexa sighed. “And this time, I wasn’t supposed to be there, either. As in, he told me to take a break from PA until my math grade gets handled.”
“Dang,” he smirked. “I didn’t know you were so rebellious.”
She lifted her chin. “That’s because you don’t really know me at all.”
He shrugged and checked his mirrors. “Fair point.” He cut his eyes to her. “You’d better work on your face. There’s no way your dad isn’t going to notice the pound of makeup and the weird hair.”
“Crap. I almost forgot.” She bent over, grabbed her bag and tossed it into the backseat. Then, she unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to hook a leg over the seatback.
West gave her a look like she’d lost her mind. “What’re you doing?”
“Getting into the backseat to change. Like you said, I can’t go home looking the way I do.” She swung over and the whole car bounced. “Don’t worry I didn’t mess up the seat. See,” she stuck her foot next to his shoulder. “No shoes.”
He made a face at her sock foot and she laughed.
“Is this your car?” Alexa flipped open a cosmetic mirror and began wiping off her face with a makeup remover towelette. “I’ve never seen you drive it.”
“It’s my mom’s. She lets me use it when she isn’t working.” His eyes flickered to hers in the rearview. “I have a question, what was the deal with Bekah and Josh back there?”
Alexa paused in mid-swipe. Was West into Bekah? She hated to admit it, but she could see it. Bekah was fun and pretty chill. Guys usually liked her. She was a guy�
�s girl. Athletic, knowledgeable on all things sports because of her stepdad. If she could see them hitting it off, why did the idea of West and Bekah make her stomach drop? She assured herself it was just because she was surprised by the thought. And, not because she’d had a thrill rush through her when she’d seen him in the audience that was so strong she’d almost botched the first song.
“Well, the guy Bekah goes out with, Jay, he’s kind of a douche.”
West laughed at her word choice. “How so?”
“He treats her like crap. I’m pretty sure he cheats on her, but he’s never been caught and short of showing Bekah proof, she isn’t going to believe it. He has some kind of hold over her.”
West remained quiet and Alexa found herself wondering more and more if she’d been right. She debated on whether or not to ask him if he was into Bekah, but considering his usual reticence, she decided against it. For once, they were getting along without getting each other’s backs up, even if he was less than thrilled to be driving her back to town.
Satisfied her face was clean, Alexa dabbed on her usual light makeup and then stripped the braids from her hair. Her brown hair, which was straight by nature, was kinked from her ears to her shoulders thanks to the entire can of hairspray she’d applied before the show. She fished around in her bag for a hairband; a ponytail would have to do. Next, she pulled her navy slacks and lime green sweater from her bag and laid them across the seat.
“Don’t look.” She pushed her hips into the air and slinked out of her jeans, replacing them with the slacks she’d left the house in that morning. She tugged her shirt off.
“We’re twenty miles out.” His eyes met hers in the rearview and then darted back to the road. “Sorry.”