Chapter Text
"-What?!"
"-What?!"
"I said, you two are almost definitely going to be failing this class by the end of the year if you don't get your act together. And soon." Ms. Handa sighs-- a stern-faced woman of an imposing stature, states definitively yet without looking away from the complicated math equation she's writing on the board at the front of the classroom. The silence that follows her statement is only interrupted by the rhythmic sound of chalk tapping against the slate, and muffled footsteps and chatter on the other side of the classroom door. Class had been dismissed about 5 minutes ago with the exception of Reki and Langa, of course, who both sit silently next to each other, heads hanging low.
Ms. Handa ceases her writing, places her chalk in its rightful spot at the base of the chalkboard and turns back around to face them. "Are either one of you going to ask me how to prevent this from happening? You have options you know, don't look so depressed like you've already failed."
Reki is first to raise his eyes to meet those of his teacher's, which are staring back at him pointedly, as if to goad him into asking. He taps his fingers against the desk--an anxious tic because shit, he does not want and absolutely cannot fail this class. Despite the reality laid out in front of him, he can't seem to understand how this could've happened. Not like math is even that hard for him but clearly something went amiss, seeing as the scores laid out on the desk in front of him display rather pathetic numbers, and as they say-- the numbers don't lie.
Thinking back on it, maybe he and Langa shouldn't have skipped so many classes... or said "we'll do the next one for sure" for the last 5 assignments... or bailed on the many opportunities they had to do make-up tests for the one's they failed (because when would they ever be studying between shifts at Dope Sketch, and hitting the skatepark, and going to S, and eating lunch together, and more skateboarding, and dinner, and nightly facetime calls, and of course, sleep). They have spent nearly all day, every day together over the course of the last year-- it just so happens that next to none of that time has had any focus on academics, much to Reki's newfound dismay because all the fun they've been having has bitten them square in the ass. However, Ms. Handa is being generous enough to offer some sort of alternative that'll allow them to pass and so Reki decides it's probably in their best interest to take her up on it-- whatever that alternative may be.
He tentatively raises his hand no higher than shoulder height, and asks, "So, um... what can we do? We'll do anything if it means we won't fail, right Langa?"
Reki glances over to Langa, looking for an affirmative nod to his question but instead sees him with his head still hanging low, chin pressed to his chest. At first glance, one would think he has his head bowed out of respect for their teacher, or maybe out of despair for his sorry grades, but the slight sway of his shoulders and slow rise and fall of his chest say otherwise, much to Reki's horror. Typical. Of course Langa would fall asleep in the middle of being reprimanded.
Reki hisses and shoves him in the rib with an elbow, jostling Langa back to consciousness. He inhales sharply through his nose, eyes blown wide, and without even knowing what he's agreeing to, nods vigorously at Reki and then at Ms. Handa. Reki groans and rubs at his temples-- if this was literally any other situation, he would've been laughing. Instead, he peers back up at their teacher, pleading for mercy.
"...Welcome back Mr. Hasegawa." She starts as she sits down in her respective chair behind her desk, folding her hands politely. "So, you boys have two options. Either one will offer you enough extra credit points to pass at the very least, but don't expect to miraculously jump from an F to an A." Reki and Langa both nod in understanding, and Ms. Handa continues, "You have the choice to either clean classrooms, everyday, for this whole wing of the school for the remainder of the year, or you can volunteer yourselves to aid in our school play, with whatever it is they need you to do. This means stage crew, props crew, acting, tech, etc. The theatre department has had a pretty sad turnout the past few years, which is why we decided to offer participation as extra credit in order encourage new recruits. I understand it's not everyone's thing, so it's either this or cleanup crew. That being said, which would you rather do?"
The two boys look at each other with a sort of silent deliberation. Neither Reki nor Langa have ever been particularly fond of cleaning, not even within the comfort of their own homes (as demonstrated by Reki's disaster of a bedroom and Langa's not faring much better) and it's even less appealing having to do as such here at school, especially when all they want to do after class is skate into town, grab a bite to eat and hang out. Who the hell would choose to clean after class? At the very least, working on this play might be sort of fun, with them doing so together-- neither of which have ever participated in any sort of theatre so there's a comfort knowing they'd both be new and awkward and sort of out of place. Not like they'd have to act, being newbies and all; they'd more than likely be reduced to stage hands at best.
Looking back at Ms. Handa, both Reki and Langa nod together as Reki confirms, "We'll do the play thing."
****
As it turns out, the school's theatre department holds rehearsals three times a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, all of which start at 3:30pm and end at 6pm, meaning there would still be plenty of time to skate after rehearsals finish. Luckily, today is a Friday, so after their tense conversation with their teacher, Reki and Langa head for the auditorium to sign up as new recruits and get a look around where they'll call home for the next couple months.
The auditorium's sat in a far side of the school, sectioned off in it's own small building but still connected to the main campus by an underground tunnel, so that students may easily travel between their theatre art classes and regular classes without the added hassle of needing to go outside and around to the door of the primary building. The main door of the theatre is more for patrons than anything else, which is funny to Reki because he's honestly never recalled seeing anyone enter or exit from there, never paying much attention to whether or not there was a play happening or acknowledging this part of their school at all. Not because Reki doesn't like theatre-- he actually thinks it might be kind of fun-- he's just never had a reason to care about any of it up until now.
Seeing that he's never been to this side of the school, not even one time, Reki knows for certain that Langa definitely hasn't either, so when they finally make their way through the connection tunnel (pleasantly lit by flickering, muted yellow lights and drowned in loud ventilation noises) they enter the lobby where, on opening night perhaps, Reki assumes a buzzing and expectant crowd would be waiting, filling the room with excited chatter. They take a moment to marvel at their new surroundings, momentarily stunned by the floor to ceiling windows, where light filters in almost blindingly. Next to these windows are several cushioned chairs of varying colors and a few tables as well-- given how quiet and secluded this place is right now, it wouldn't be surprising if students came here to catch up on homework or to study. Not a bad idea, really, given their current circumstance.
Opposite the windows is a long, red panel-decorated wall, which Reki idly drags his fingertips across as they walk through the lobby, until it cuts away for a ticket booth-- a tiny room set behind a glass window. He peers in for no real reason, not really expecting to see anything interesting, and sees behind him in his reflection Langa walking over to one of the cushioned chairs and flopping down onto it. The oof and subsequent groan from him has Reki turning back around, and the displeased look on Langa's face is too amusing not to laugh at, which he does, and Langa only glares in return.
"These chairs suck." He says disapprovingly, as though the chair ought to have been 100x more comfy if they didn't want to personally offend him so much.
"Maybe your ass is just too big, dude." Reki joins him, stepping behind the chair. He experimentally pulls on it, pleased to find out that they swivel.
Langa huffs, allowing himself to be spun around and drops his head back, looking up, "My ass isn't too big, they're just tiny and feel like they're made of cardboard. Who would willingly sit on these things?"
Reki shrugs, pulling the chair back to a stop, "Dunno. Someone with a smaller ass I guess." This earns him another glare but he knows it's good humored because Langa then, while stifling a laugh, attempts to throw his backpack at Reki's head as he runs away, narrowly missing to thwack against the wall behind him instead.
The two of them sprint across the dark, stone flooring over to where they assume the actual theatre itself is hidden in, locked behind two black doors at the far end of the lobby. For some reason, Reki feels a sudden bout of nerves course through him as he pulls on the handle, opening themselves up to the vast auditorium-- there must be over a hundred seats formed into a massive half circle, sat opposite the equally impressive stage decorated with tall, sleek columns on either side. On stage, covering a majority of it is a wall of red curtain, the color matching that of all the audience seats.
This place has been here all this time? It doesn't even seem possible, yet here they are, feeling like two fish beached and completely out of place here with skateboards strapped to their backs and zero theatrical experience to their names. On his left, Langa looks equally as amazed, mouth gaped and stood frozen. It's comforting to Reki, knowing that he isn't alone in feeling so...foreign in all this, or feeling so stupidly impressed over something other people must consider their norm. He almost feels bad for never showing up to any of their previous plays-- not that he really regrets missing out on some high school acted Shakespeare, but more because it would've been fun to sit with Langa, pretending to be snooty in a fancy looking theatre, eating popcorn or whatever. Is eating popcorn when watching a play a thing? Reki has no idea, but it sounds like it should be a thing, because what really is the difference between a play and movie anyway?
Ms. Handa had mentioned that theatre club turnouts have been pretty lousy-- so lousy that it warranted bribing failing students into participating as a means of passing. Yet, Reki can't seem to fathom why, with a setup this extravagant (granted, by Reki's standards which are admittedly modest). What could possibly be the problem? Acting seems pretty fun and so does working backstage, with building props and set pieces and such. Plus there's costumes and music (he's pretty sure), and all sorts of fun to be had. Right? Is he missing something here?
Suddenly with an oof, Langa is knocked over into Reki's side--practically toppling himself over in the process-- when a smaller girl and her friend barrel past them and down the aisle they've been standing in front of, shouting out a quick "sorry!" in between raucous, obnoxious laughter. For some reason, he doesn't really think they're all that sorry about it.
"Hey!!" Reki shouts after them, then turning back to Langa, "You alright, dude? That was like, super rude." He holds onto Langa's arm as he sets himself back upright. He looks surprised more than anything, but nods in response to his question.
"Yeah, I just didn't see them coming." He diverts his attention to the direction they ran in. "But...I think they're going to be in this club with us."
Eye's following in the same direction, Reki sees what he can only assume is the entirety of their school's theatre department, conglomerated at the first couple rows of seats where sure enough, the two girls who just tried to take them out like bowling pins leap towards what Reki assumes is another friend, all of them squealing and giggling and hugging. He can't imagine they've spent any more than a couple hours away from each other so he doesn't really understand what all the hubbub is, but thinks that if he didn't have all the same classes as Langa, he'd probably act pretty much the same way as embarrassing as that is to admit.
Beside them is a few other small groups talking and laughing amongst themselves, all of which obviously know each other from the easy way they all seem to interact. It's a little... intimidating to be honest. Reki doesn't recognize anyone here, and from the way Langa's face is all pinched up and scrutinizing, he doesn't either. Though, this doesn't come as a surprise seeing as Langa didn't even remember Reki on his first day (ouch) despite sitting right next to him for the better part of it.
The initial nerves Reki felt when first stepping inside return, fluttering inside his chest. Would any of these people like him? Would the whole thing be super awkward leaving him wishing he'd just cleaned the damn desks instead? He knows it does him no good to plague his mind with these thoughts, but he can't help it, especially now where he's going to have to be with these people often, and committedly. He's sure they'll like Langa at least, everyone does, but with himself it's not so easy. It's not that Reki is incapable of making friends, or that everyone hates him-- he knows this, realistically-- but he also knows he's not everyone's cup of tea. He can be loud, boisterous, and overwhelmingly passionate. He has some friends at S of course who he gets on with well enough, and Langa took to him quickly.
But then again, not everyone is like Langa.
"Reki? Do you want to head over there?" Langa nudges his arm, pulling Reki out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, right. 'Course, let's go and say hi I guess. We'll have to eventually right?"
"Yeah." Langa doesn't move though, instead remains anchored in place staring out at the group. Then, a little quieter, says "I'm kind of nervous, to be honest."
This surprises Reki, as Langa isn't really the type to get nervous, about anything-- he's always jumping in head first, only thinking of the consequences later, even when it comes to the things he says and how he expresses his feelings. Something Reki has... painfully been made aware of, with the way Langa unreservedly gushed about how much he cares about him, and nearly had his face melting off from the subsequent embarrassment. Somehow Langa is just able to say things, and make him feel all weird and stupid and speechless. (All of which, he's still not sure how to process. "Thoughts for later", he says)
It's hard to believe that there'd be anything here that would be making him nervous.
"Nervous? About what? I'll be right here the whole time." Reki offers a reassuring smile, then hides his mouth with his hand and whispers, "I'm kinda nervous too. But shh."
"You are?!" Langa's gaze breaks from the group to dart over to Reki, a look of disbelief now on his face.
He laughs, "Yeah man, is that so hard to believe?"
"Kind of."
"I get nervous about like, a lot of things, dude. You're the one who's supposed to be fearless." Reki grins and bumps his shoulder into Langa's. "C'mon, let's go. It'll be fun, maybe." Then, after adjusting his skateboard case on his back, he tugs Langa by the sleeve, eliciting a small smile from him in return, and together they start down the aisle towards the group. If he has to put on a brave face and push down his own nerves and reservations for Langa's sake, he would. He could do that.
Once they approach the gaggle of teens, Reki gets a better look at who these people are. Aside from the two girls from before, who are now sharing and trying on a fox hat clad with large ears and long flaps that act as a set of paws to stick your hands into, there are a few other small cliques. There are a couple girls sitting together singing some song Reki doesn't recognize, in sync but mostly off key. It's...very unpleasant. Then a few rows down is a couple, one of which is sitting on the other's lap, and shamelessly making out, tongue out and everything which causes Reki to blush and look away. His eyes look for anyone else to fall on, landing on a small group of guys huddled around one of their phones, laughing together at whatever it is they're watching.
That seems almost promising.
Reki tugs Langa again towards the group, hoping they may be able to give them an at least lukewarm welcome. He's never felt so out of place in his life.
He clears his throat and calls out as pleasantly as he can, "Hey! We're new here, I'm Reki and this is Langa!" Langa offers a polite wave at his introduction.
They don't turn from the phone, newly laughing at something that's apparently very funny.
Awkward.
Reki looks back at Langa, silently asking Okay, so what now?, and he just shrugs. Figures, Reki should know better than to ask Langa how to make friends. Instead, he tries again, clearing his throat once more and saying just a little louder this time, "SO, like I said I'm Reki and this is Langa," Langa offers another polite wave at his re-introduction, "And we're new here. Where are we supposed to sign up? This is the drama club right? We're here to help with the play I guess."
They laugh again at some shrill noise coming from the phone that's apparently downright hysterical.
Reki stomps back over to Langa's side with a huff and groans in exasperation, "Dude! It's like I'm not even here!"
Langa hums, then approaches one of them--a guy of similar height with sandy colored, curly hair-- and taps him on the shoulder. "Excuse me."
Much to Reki's shock, he turns around immediately, smiling at Langa which has the rest of them doing much the same and leaves Reki with his jaw on the floor. He looks from Langa back to Reki and then asks, "You guys new?" A response that has Reki practically falling over. As if he didn't just say that! Twice!
Their new acquaintance, Kenji as he introduced himself as, showed them where to sign up, having them both scribble their names on the bottom of a list filled with other names Reki can only assume belong to those surrounding himself and Langa. Seeing them all was a little scary, knowing he'd have to likely remember all these names and faces if he wants to make a good impression, and more so to compensate for Langa who will certainly never remember himself. The last thing he wants is to be stuck working with a group of people who think they are either a) stupid or b) rude as fuck.
Before any other introductions can take place, however, everyone begins to find a seat at the front of the audience, leaving Reki and Langa to look around themselves for a spot of their own. It would be kind of weird to sit far away from everyone right? Should they find a spot right next to someone, or would that be even weirder? Reki hums and opts for seat kind of near people but not right up against anyone either. A happy compromise, hopefully. Langa doesn't seem to mind, allowing himself to be pulled down next to him, plopping into his seat and bouncing a little. He pauses, and bounces around a little more.
He smiles, one that stretches across his face with pure contentment. "These chairs feel great," he whispers in Reki's ear, the smile evident in his voice.
Reki laughs, scratching at his ear that feels all tingly (and no he isn't going to think about it) and chimes back, "Yeah? Your ass fits in these seats?"
"Shut up." Langa shoves Reki's knee with his own, prompting Reki to kick at his feet as revenge, and then they're shoving and kicking at each other like children until a voice calls out from in front of them-- from onstage.
"Good afternoon my beautiful and talented company! How are we doing?" A short, stout woman, maybe in her 50s, stands on the stage in a flashy green blouse decorated in a purple paisley design. Her hair is dark and wild, with an expressive face hidden behind thick-framed glasses. If Reki were to be honest, he'd say she looked like the 70s threw up all over her, but somehow she's kind of owning it and he can respect that.
In response to her question, the crowd calls out some general replies such as "Great!" and "Good!" but then the woman on stage clicks her tongue disappointedly and stops them, asking "How about you tell me without words?"
Suddenly, the group around them erupts in a cacophony of noise, yipping and wailing, shouting out indiscernible nonsense while stamping their feet, creating what sounds like a stampede. It only grows louder by the second, and Paisley Lady on stage looks like she's seeing God.
Reki slowly turns his head to see how Langa is reacting to... whatever this is, and his expression is about what he expected, because he's sure it mirrors his own. His eyebrows are knitted together and his eyes show something like fear and bemusement. He turns to Reki, who can only shake his head because it's not like he knows what's going on either. They're both left shell-shocked in equal amounts of what the fuck.
With one hand of Ms. Paisley's raised, the group stops, and complete utter silence befalls the crowd.
Okay... so this is like, insane, right? Is this what theatre is usually like because Reki doesn't really know what to make of it just yet, but at the very least it's... entertaining? Is he going to be expected to holler like a monkey at the start of every rehearsal or what?
Actually, imagining Langa having to do all that... Reki would like to see it.
"That was beautiful, everyone. Simply beautiful! If I could bottle up the sound of that greeting, I would. And then I could toss it into the ocean for some lucky traveler to find, who could then open it and be greeted with the sound of pure, unabashed joy." She sighs wistfully at the thought-- then, at the sight of the club's two newest members, claps her hands together and exclaims, "Oh! New faces, new faces!!"
Reki instinctively sinks lower into his seat with Langa following suit.
"Welcome! Oh I'm so happy to have you boys here! My name is Ms. Takahashi." She smiles warmly at them before beginning to pace across the stage, taking on a sort of new persona.
She is more serious now, her smile falling into a tight, grim line, gesturing with her hands as she talks. "Now. The story we will be telling, is one we all know-- a story of love and loss. A story of two rival families-- Generational enemies with a hatred set deep in their blood. A story where, despite this, love blooms in the thick of despair, even when their tragic fates already lie in the stars. It begs the question, what are you willing to overlook in the name of love? And how far are you willing to let pride grow, at the expense of those you hold closest? That is what we will be exploring, in our rendition of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet."
The group nod and hum in agreement, some of which a little too enthusiastically, forcing Reki to roll his eyes.
Yeah yeah, this is great and all, but he just wants to know what he'll be doing here. He hopes he can work on building some of the set, given his experience with table saws and building stuff, or maybe prop making-- he's made a few figurines and custom clocks made of skateboard scraps for himself and Langa, so he has some experience with that sort of thing too.
Working with lights could be fun, he doesn't imagine it would be too hard to figure out. Thinking about all the possibilities to highlight his talents and creativity actually has him kind of giddy in his seat, like for once he could make stuff, but the kind that is for a whole audience to see instead of just him and his best friend. Not that he doesn't like making gifts for Langa--he does, and likes even more the way his eyes always sparkle when he sees them-- but it would be cool to make something on a grander scale.
Ms. Takahashi-- who's taken a seat at the edge of the stage, appearing more relaxed and casual-- begins to elaborate further on the club's newest endeavor.
"The way this will work is pretty much how we always do things. However, this time I'd like to try something new. I don't want us to perform or perceive this play with biases or preconceptions of what a 'true' Romeo or Juliet should be. I want this to be an equal opportunity show. Therefor, we will do our cold readings like always, but this time, you'll be considered for any part, despite your gender. We'll make script revisions as needed of course!" She claps her hands excitedly once again, "After all! Why miss out on great talent just because Juliet is traditionally a girl? This is theatre! And not only that, this is Shakespeare, and he’s been dead for hundreds of years so we can do whatever we want to his play! Ha!"
She jumps off the stage to grab a bundle of papers from her quilted tote bag, then, makes her way around the group to pass them around. Reki can't really tell what it is—that is, until she approaches himself and Langa with an especially kind smile.
"Excited? I can't wait to see how you boys shine up there!"
"I’m sorry?” What is this lady talking about? Shine up where?
"Well, onstage of course!" She laughs and gestures to the stage as if it’s all very obvious.
"Oh- Oh no no I don't act. Um, Langa doesn't either." He turns to Langa who nods in agreement but offers no further comment. Reki turns back to Ms. Takahashi with a somewhat sheepish smile, that acts both as an apology of sorts and a plea for mercy. "We, uh, kinda thought we’d just be working backstage or something... we’re just here so we don’t fail Ms. Handa’s class.”
“Ahhh. I see.” She taps her chin thoughtfully, her other hand propped onto her hip. “New potential flunkies then! How sweet!” She leans in closer, like she’s telling them a secret, “Well I’d bet that you boys have some potential. C’mon, how about you give it a go! I really do love to see everyone’s skill level during auditions— how sad would it be if we never got to see what could be in there, hiding?”
At the word “there” she points to Reki’s chest, where inside, his heart beats erratically just at the thought of going up onstage in front of everyone. He’s not an actor—at least, he’s never tried to act before. He’s fairly outgoing, sure, but this is... this is entirely different!
He again turns back to Langa for some sort of guidance, because what are they supposed to do? He’s honestly a little nervous that if he doesn’t go up and try, that it’ll somehow affect their extra credit because this drama teacher is clearly off her rocker, and who really knows what she’ll do. Would it be super offensive to decline? Is it proper theatre etiquette to audition even when you know you’ll suck? Reki doesn’t know any of what the hell is going on in this place!
Okay, alright. Chill out, dude.
How hard could it really be, right? So he’ll go up there, read some dumb lines, he’ll suck at it, and Ms. Takahashi will designate him to props or something. Langa will probably be just as bad if not worse, and he’s not even great at building things so he’ll probably just get to hang around Reki anyways. That all sounds good to him. That would be their ideal situation. They just have to get past the hard part, which is getting up there and looking like an idiot for however long it takes to do these— what did she call them? Cold reads? Whatever the hell that means.
Langa shrugs when Reki faces him, glancing over to the stage with that typical, neutral face of his that doesn’t reveal at all if he’s nervous or worried. He’d said he was nervous earlier, but was acting onstage not something that factored into that?
He says, placidly, “Sure, why not?”
And Reki can’t find a good enough reason to object and instead, sighs and shrugs as well.
Well then, time to get these auditions over with.