Nine

“I just don’t see why you’re being so nice to her. You used to hate her” Sophie whispered to Leah, backstage.
“l didn’t hate her, Sophie. I just want to be her friend okay? There’s nothing more to it so just drop it” Leah whispered back, irritation in her voice.
“Whatever, Leah. Just don’t expect me to believe you” Sophie whispered, walking off to flirt with the boy who pulled the ropes onstage. Leah cursed under her breath in frustration. She couldn’t believe her best friend was doubting her. It was true that she’d made a few mean comments about Kay-Lee here and there, but things were different now. She really did want to be friends with Kay-Lee. Kay-Lee needed a friend that was a girl anyway. Sometimes you just need girl time and Leah wanted to be there for her, she really did.
“What was that about?” Josh asked from behind her. Leah spun around in fury and whispered fiercely at him “Like it’s any of your business. You shouldn’t have been eavesdropping”.
“I didn’t even hear anything, sheesh!” Josh said, holding his hands up.
“Somehow, I find that hard to believe” Leah said, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Baby, calm down” Josh said, pushing her against the wall and kissing her neck.
Leah pushed him away, and Josh let her.
“Don’t ever touch me again” Leah said coldly.
“Leah, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“Josh started to say, but Leah cut him off.
“Yes you did. You’re just like all the other guys, all you want is to get in my pants” Leah said, turning away.
“No, it wasn’t like that, I really like you Leah” Josh said with sadness in his voice.
“Just leave me alone” Leah said, tears forming in her eyes.
Just then, Adam and Kay-Lee came backstage and sensed the tension in the air.
“Is everything all right back here?” Adam asked.
“Fine” Josh muttered before walking away.
Kay-Lee saw Leah with her head down, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Kay-Lee walked over to her and asked her quietly what had happened. Adam had gone after Josh, to hear his side of the story.
“He just started kissing me. He let me push him away and then he started saying all this stuff about how he really likes me, and I just don’t know what to think, or what to do” Leah said, breaking down into another round of tears. Kay-Lee had her arms around Leah, and let her cry into her shoulder. They were sitting behind the curtains and Kay-Lee was at a loss of what to say.
“I’m really sorry about what happened, but he only kissed you once, and then backed off when you told him to?” Kay-Lee said to Leah, who had now stopped crying and was blowing her nose.
“Yea, that’s what happened” Leah said, sniffing.
“Leah, even though Josh can be a jerk sometimes, I think he meant what he said” Kay-Lee said softly, grabbing a loose strand of Leah’s black hair and tucking it behind her ear.
“You think? But he has been a real jerk to you, and tried stuff with you...” Leah trailed off.
“That was nothing, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it” Kay-Lee said, looking at Leah’s face now.
“I don’t know what to do Kay-Lee” Leah said, looking into her eyes.
“Talk to him. I know Adam is with him now, and if you don’t feel comfortable being with him by yourself, I’m sure Adam will stick close by” Kay-Lee said.
“Thank you Kay-Lee. I mean it. For everything, you didn’t have to be nice to me. I really hope we can be friends” Leah said, a little smile on her face.
“I’m sure we can work something out, now let’s get you cleaned up so you can talk to Josh”
“Okay” Leah said as Kay-Lee helped her up and took her to the bathroom to clean up.
It turned out that Josh really did mean what he had said. Adam had been watching as Josh and Leah talked, in case anything happened. They talked through everything and Leah hugged Josh at the end of it. After they had talked they came over to where Adam was, with Kay-Lee.
“Hey Kay-Lee I’m really sorry about last week when I...you know...anyway, I really am sorry” Josh said. Adam took a protective stance in front of Kay-Lee.
“What happened last week? What did you do to her!?” Adam demanded. Kay-Lee touched his shoulder and Adam turned to look at her.
“It was nothing Adam, okay? Just calm down” Kay-Lee said, her hand on Adam’s cheek.
“Kay-Lee, if anything happened to you...”
“Shhh...It’s okay” Kay-Lee calmed him, looking into his eyes. She dropped her hand and looked at Josh then.
“I forgive you. And I’m also sorry that I slammed the locker door into your face” she said with a smile.
Josh laughed unsteadily “I deserved it”.
“Come on people! Dance lessons, NOW!!!” the director shouted from the direction of the stage. Adam, Kay-Lee, Josh and Leah all walked out to the stage to join the rest of the cast.
“Right. We only have one week and 4 days until show night, so you need to nail this dance number today. It’s in the final scene of the script where Ashley and Jake are at the school dance together. You all know what I’m talking about?” the director addressed everyone on stage. There were a lot of mumbled responses. Mostly people saying “yes...” as everyone formed a line to start learning the choreography.
“Right, now everyone, you’re at the school dance. Adam and Kay-Lee, centre stage please!” the director ordered, and everyone moved into their positions.
The choreographer went through all the steps slowly, and everyone was having a great time. Two hours later, everyone had nailed the dance, and they were all ready to go through it with the music.
“Action!” the director shouted and the music began to play. The choreographer was in front of the stage doing the steps as well in case anyone forgot. They got to the end of the dance, where Adam and Kay-Lee said their lines.
“I’m so glad I found you” Adam said to Kay-Lee, holding her hands and looking into her eyes.
“I was always here, waiting” Kay-Lee said, as Adam pulled her into a hug and the curtains dropped.
Everyone on stage cheered and clapped wildly as the curtains came back up. The director and the choreographer were beaming in delight.
“Excellent! That’s the final scene down-pat! Excellent work people! That’s the only dance number in the play so the worst is over with for now. For the rest of the week I want you all back here at the same time for the two hour sessions. If you can’t make it to the after school practices, we’ll get an understudy to fill in. Go home now people! Excellent work” the director praised them all, and the group split up, gathering their things to go home.

Eight

“Hey Kay-Lee! Wait up!” Leah’s voice echoed in the school hallway. Kay-Lee turned around to see Leah running towards her, and wondered what Leah wanted. She stopped and waited for Leah to catch up to her. Leah stopped in front of Kay-Lee, red-faced and gasping for air. “What do you want?” Kay-Lee asked, and instantly regretted being so cold to Leah. “Just let me catch my breath” Leah gasped. Kay-Lee waited, absentmindedly playing with her long hair, twisting it around her fingers. When Leah finally caught her breath, Kay-Lee looked at her expectantly.
“Kay-Lee listen, I just wanted to say that you were really good back there and I was wondering if you’d want to come to a party this weekend” Leah said.
“A party? I don’t know if I –“ Kay-Lee started to say, before Leah cut her off.
“Listen, before you say you can’t come, just hear me out okay?” Leah said, looking at Kay-Lee.
“Okay” Kay-Lee agreed, waiting to hear what Leah had to say.
“I know that we haven’t exactly been friends, and I really want to make it up to you. The party is for the cast of the school play, and their dates of course” Leah explained. She seemed to genuinely mean it, but Kay-Lee couldn’t help being suspicious.
“What kind of party?” Kay-Lee asked.
“Nothing wild! It won’t be formal either, just a casual get together at the RSL club in town. What do you say?” Leah explained eagerly.
“I’ll have to think about it, check that I have this weekend open” Kay-Lee said. She didn’t want to say yes right away because she wanted to find out more and make sure that Leah really did want to be friends, and wasn’t setting her up.
“Okay, get back to me by Friday okay?” Leah said, before rushing down the hall to her next class.
“Sure” Kay-Lee called after her, wondering if she’d heard.
Kay-Lee walked to her next class, wondering about the party and if she should go. Leah had said it was for the cast of the play...
“hey” a voice whispered in her ear, interrupting her thoughts. Kay-Lee jumped and turned to see the smiling face of Adam.
“You know you nearly scared me half to death” Kay-Lee said, lightly punching him in the shoulder.
“Sorry, but someone had to break you out of the daze you were in. Like the walking dead, Kay, Freaky” Adam said, poking her in the ribs.
“Hey!” Kay-Lee exclaimed, poking him back.
“so what were you thinking so hard about?” Adam asked, walking at an even pace beside her now. Kay-Lee started to notice the girls staring at Adam as they walked past, and whispering excitedly. So they like him too...Kay-Lee thought, watching them give her nasty glares out of jealousy.
“Hello, earth to Kay-Lee!” Adam said, waving his hand in front of Kay-Lee’s face.
“You’re doing it again. The whole walking dead thing” Adam pointed out.
“Hey, did you get an invite to Leah’s party this weekend?” Kay-Lee suddenly asked.
“Yea, the whole cast did, including the backstage crew. Sounds awesome, you going?” Adam said.
“I don’t know, I told Leah that I’d think about it, how about you?” Kay-Lee asked, looking up at him.
“I said I’d go, but there’s a problem”
“Oh?” Kay-Lee asked.
“I don’t have a date” He stated bluntly.
Kay-Lee noticed some of the girls passing look up with hopeful eyes.
“Want to go with me?” Adam asked her, and Kay-Lee saw the girls look down again and keep walking. She smiled to herself.
“So I’m going now?” Kay-Lee asked sarcastically, looking at him. His face lit up, obviously he thought that had meant yes.
“Oh, I’ll make you go, princess” Adam said, mussing up her hair.
Kay-Lee laughed and batted his hand away as they walked into science.

Seven

Katherine kept repeatedly asking Kay-Lee if she felt all right for the entire car trip home from the hospital. No matter how many times Kay-Lee told her mother that she felt fine, Katherine kept asking over and over, worry clear on her face.
When they got back to the house, Katherine sent Kay-Lee straight to bed for rest, much to Kay-Lee’s protest, and Adam went home to work on some songs for the school play. Play rehearsals were scheduled for the next two weeks and the performance would be in three weeks time. Kay-Lee was excited for rehearsals to start, but Adam was feeling a little nervous. The biggest jerk in school, Josh Williams, had managed to get the male supporting role in the play, as Adam’s best friend. If Adam wanted an acting challenge, he certainly got one. Pretending to be Josh’s best friend was definitely going to be difficult.
Kay-Lee wasn't entirely thrilled about who had scored the female supporting role either. The annoyingly persistent chatterbox, Leah Smart, had got the female supporting role as Kay-Lee’s best friend. Kay-Lee almost laughed out loud at the irony.
Leah Smart was a funny sort of girl. She seemed like friendly, nice person, on the surface, but Kay-Lee knew her true intentions. She knew that Leah and her friends gossiped about everyone at school and she had been a victim to their menacing glares. Kay-Lee chose to ignore it, and avoid Leah and her entourage at all times, where possible. Being in the play with her was going to make Kay-Lee’s avoiding scheme, somewhat difficult.
Kay-Lee thought she could at least be civil to Leah for the duration of the play, there was a fine line between decency and just plain rude, after all.

* * *
It was Monday morning and it was the first day that the play rehearsals was scheduled to begin. Kay-Lee practically jumped out of bed and knocked Adam’s door down in the rush to get to school. The day flew by, and before Kay-Lee and Adam knew it, they were in the auditorium, on-stage, going through their lines. The director told the cast that they had a lot to get through, because two weeks wasn’t very long for rehearsal time.
Adam really liked the plot of the story and the script. He could relate to it so well. He had been in love with Kay-Lee for as long as he could remember, but he knew how she felt about him, and he didn’t want to go and wreck things when they were perfect the way they were.
Sure, Adam wished that Kay-Lee could be his girlfriend, but he figured it was better to keep her as a friend then to lose her completely because his feelings had gotten in the way. It was a hard line to walk, but Adam felt he could do it; after all, he had already had plenty of practice.
The script was really getting to him. The words meant so much to him because they were exactly the words he had wanted to say to Kay-Lee for so long, but hadn’t, for fear of losing her.
Kay-Lee and Adam were rehearsing the most important scene in the play, where Adam’s character, Jake, admits his true feelings for his best friend, Ashley, played by Kay-Lee. Everyone in the auditorium was drawn into the performance. Adam had a look of pain on his face as he struggled to say how he felt. Kay-Lee had a look of confusion, as she tried to understand what Adam was trying to say. They were both throwing themselves into the performance, and the other cast members couldn’t keep their eyes off them. Kay-Lee and Adam had an electric presence on-stage, and it was hard to look away.
Adam held Kay-Lee’s face in his and said his lines, pouring his heart and soul into the performance, and meaning everything he said.
“I don’t want this to wreck our friendship but I have to tell you. And if everything gets ruined and it gets awkward and weird I don’t know if I can do it. And I know it’s wrong, but I can’t help falling in love with you” Adam said to Kay-Lee, looking into her eyes.
The world seemed to stand still at that moment for Kay-Lee. She knew it was just his lines, what he was supposed to say, but she could’ve sworn it meant more than that. A part of her wished it did mean as much to Adam as it meant to her. She was slowly falling for him but had to keep her mouth shut, otherwise she would send him running, and she was afraid he’d run away forever, without looking back.
“I love you too, Jake, with all my heart. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this moment, for those very words to come out of your mouth when I was too scared to say them myself”. Kay-Lee delivered her lines, looking into Adam’s blue eyes, and meaning what she said.
Adam leant his face in closer to hers, and their noses touched briefly. Kay-Lee’s heart started to beat faster and faster as Adam tilted his head a little lower and she leant in closer.
“CUT!” the director suddenly yelled, jerking them out of the moment. “That was fabulous, simply fabulous! Let’s save the kissing scene for the performance night, to make it more special. I want to really feel the electricity! Fantastic job guys! Keep up the good work!” the director exclaimed, the cast erupting into cheers afterwards.
Adam smiled at Kay-Lee and she gasped, taken aback. It was the first time she had looked at Adam, really looked. He was amazing. His pale smooth skin, clear blue eyes, cheeky smile. His long, straight, black hair with streaks of bright red at the end. Adam was simply gorgeous; Kay-Lee couldn’t believe he was her best friend. The best thing about him was not his appearance; it was his genuine smile and his kind heart that Kay-Lee loved the most. He could look like Frankenstein’s monster, but Kay-Lee wouldn’t love him any less.
“Are you alright?” Adam asked now, looking at Kay-Lee with worry clear on his face. “I’m fine, just fine” Kay-Lee replied, a smile slowly spreading across her face as the cheers from the crowd continued.

Six

Everything was dark. Kay-Lee was standing all alone. Adam came out from the shadows एंड walked up to Kay-Lee with a smile on his face. He held her face in his hands and leant down to her ear, whispering “I love you”. Adam kissed her and she put her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Suddenly, Adam disappeared into thin air, and Kay-Lee opened her eyes.
Kay-Lee looked up at the white ceiling, thinking about the dream. It had all seemed so real, and a part of her wished that it was. Everyone assumed that Adam was her boyfriend, and she’d never thought about him that way. What if Adam was her boyfriend? Would it make things weird? Kay-Lee stopped that train of thought. Adam obviously didn’t feel for her that way, so she shouldn’t even be thinking about it.
Kay-Lee heard the beep of the heart-monitor machine and saw the drip in her arm. She smelt the strong anaesthetic smell of the hospital, and groaned.
“Kay-Lee? Are you awake?” A voice asked from across the room.
“Yes. Who’s there?” She whispered.
“It’s me, Adam”.
“What happened?” Kay-Lee asked in an exasperated tone. Adam was standing over the bed now, holding Kay-Lee’s hand.
“You collapsed in your room. You don’t remember? I should get the nurse now that you’re awake”. Adam said, absentmindedly tracing patterns on the back of Kay-Lee’s hand with his fingers.
“That feels nice” Kay-Lee said, closing her eyes. Adam reached over and pressed the button above the bed to call the nurse. Kay-Lee looked up at Adam’s arm. She liked the way Adam’s arms were muscular and the way he always had a smile just for her. Kay-Lee thought back to her dream. Would anything ever happen with them or would they always just be friends? Would Adam get a girlfriend and how would she feel about that? Kay-Lee didn’t like the idea of Adam having a girlfriend. She thought that in some way, Adam belonged to her and she found herself wishing that Adam was her boyfriend. “But that’s just silly”.
“What’s silly?” Adam asked. Kay-Lee hadn’t realised she’d spoken out loud. “Nothing for you to worry about” Kay-Lee said smiling. “You know you can tell me anything right?” Adam asked her. “Yes, I know” Kay-Lee said. “But not this” she silently added. Kay-Lee would just die if Adam didn’t feel the same way and things got weird between them because of it. She would rather be just friends with Adam forever then not at all.
The nurse came in a few moments later, followed by Kay-Lee’s mother. The nurse checked everything out and told Kay-Lee the doctor would see her in a few minutes. Kay-Lee’s mother, Katherine, asked her if she was alright and filled her in on the events that had taken place. She had been getting coffee when Kay-Lee had woken up.
“Thank Goodness for Adam or I don’t know what we would have done...” Katherine said, smiling.
“He’s the best” Kay-Lee said, squeezing his hand and looking up at him.
“I don’t mean to pry, but are you sure there’s nothing going on between you two?” Katherine asked. Kay-Lee saw Adam blush and turn away. Kay-Lee smiled and said “We are the best of friends and if one day it turns into something more, I’ll let you know”. Adam smiled as well, just as the doctor came in.
“I have some good news and some bad news” The Doctor said, looking at Kay-Lee. Kay-Lee glared at him. It was just so cliché of him to say that. He looked like your typical middle age doctor too. Kay-Lee smiled to herself, it looked like he’d just stepped out of a daytime soapie. “Well?” The doctor said. “Well what? Go on, just spit it out, get it over with” Kay-Lee said. “Kay-Lee! Don’t be so rude!” Katherine said. Kay-Lee just glared at her. She hated being told off by her mum in front of people, it was so degrading and it made her feel small and insignificant. “No, no, it is quite all right. She is probably just anxious, yes?”
“Yeah” Kay-Lee muttered. At least that would get her mum off her back.
“The good news is, you can leave now. The bad news is that you’ll have to come back for a check up in a month” the doctor said with a cheerful smile on his face.
“Why so long until the check up?” Katherine asked, curiosity and anxiety in her voice.
“We still are not quite sure why Kay-Lee collapsed. There will most likely not be any new developments straight away. These things take time, yes?” the doctor said.
“I see. And in a month you’ll find out what’s wrong with her?” Katherine asked.
“I can assure you it is probably nothing to worry about. If she collapses again or feels dizzy before her check up just bring her straight in” the doctor said, reassuring Katherine now. It obviously worked, because the worry left her eyes and the doctor told her they were free to go as soon as they had signed out.
“Adam, I’m going to sign all the necessary paperwork” Katherine said rolling her eyes. “Can you take Kay-Lee to the car and wait for me there?”
“Of course” Adam replied, helping Kay-Lee out of the hospital bed.
“I’m not disabled you know” Kay-Lee complained as Adam pulled her out of the bed.
“That’s what I love about you Lee Lee” Adam said, a smirk on his face.
“The fact that I’m not disabled?” Kay-Lee asked.
“No. The fact that you are still sarcastic and just, well, YOU, no matter what the situation. You amaze me Kay-Lee Thomas” Adam said.
“And YOU, Adam Hunter, are the bestest friend anyone could ever have, even though you are incredibly annoying” Kay-Lee said, pushing his arms away and jumping out of the bed. For added effect, she did a cartwheel across the floor.
Laughing, Adam said “I don’t think ‘bestest’ is a word and that was not a cartwheel”.
“It was so!”
“No it wasn’t. It was more like a somersault crossed with someone falling over. Badly.” Adam said.
Kay-Lee rolled her eyes and walked out of the hospital towards the car, with Adam holding her hand the whole way.

Five

Kay-Lee was feeling really sick. It had been dusty and windy all day, a terrible combination. Kay-Lee had terrible hay fever and she was already sick of boring daytime soaps on television. She was really bummed about not being able to go to school either, because the casting list for the school play was being posted. How unfair. Nothing ever goes the way you want it to. Guess that’s how the universe works though. One person can’t be happy all the time, it has to be passed around equally and shared out so that more people can find happiness. Kay-Lee smiled and her little theory and then scrambled around the lounge for the tissue box before erupting into another round of sneezes. This was getting to the point of beyond ridiculous, Kay-Lee thought as she got up to get a glass of water and yet another allergy tablet. Kay-Lee was so bored, so she decided to log on to her facebook page. She was a member of the school page and there was a new announcement from the drama club posted on the school page. It was the casting list for the school play. Kay-Lee eagerly leaned towards the screen to read the results. Adam had got the male lead! She squealed in excitement and then hurriedly searched the page for the results of the female auditions. Kay-Lee huffed in frustration when she couldn’t find anything referring to who had got the female lead and supporting roles. She clicked off the computer in fury and went back to the television to wait until Adam got home.
* * * * *
Adam was heading home from school, feeling pretty pleased with himself. The buzz at school had been huge! All anyone said to him all day was “congratulations” and “you’re so gay”. Adam ignored the ‘gay’ comments, because he didn’t think acting was gay. Hell, look at Hugh Jackman, he thought. Acting seemed like a good business to go in to. You get truckloads of cash to do an easy job and girls suddenly like you. It all seemed pretty good to Adam, so what were a few gay comments going to do?
Adam had dropped into the supermarket on the way home to pick up some things for Kay-Lee. She had looked really bad that morning and Adam wanted to cheer her up. Plus, he knew she’d be totally psyched when he told her that the casting list was posted and they were both playing the leads. He couldn’t wait to tell her.
Adam arrived at Kay-Lee’s house and was greeted at the door by her mum. He was like their own son now; he basically lived at their place. Kay-Lee’s mum let him in and told him that Kay-Lee was in her room.
Adam bounded up the stairs and knocked quietly on the door.
“Mum, I told you. I’m not coming out until Adam gets here” Kay-Lee said. Adam stifled his laugh and burst through the door.
“Hey! I thought I made myself clea...” Kay-Lee broke off mid-sentence and jumped into Adam’s arms.
“You have absolutely no idea how boring my day was...” Kay-Lee started to say before Adam stopped her.
“You can tell me all about it later, but first, I have something to tell you” Adam said.
“I already know you got the lead, Adam. Congratulations! I knew you could do it, you were amazing” Kay-Lee said with a smile on her face.
“Uh, thanks, but how did you know?” Adam asked, confused.
“Facebook” Kay-Lee said.
“Arr, yes, the wonders of the internet” Adam said, sarcastic now.
“Who got the female lead?” Kay-Lee asked with burning curiosity.
“What happened to facebook?” Adam asked mockingly.
“It didn’t say” Kay-Lee said disappointed.
“Well then, you’ll just have to wait and see” Adam teased, a huge grin spreading across his face.
“ADAM BRENDAN HUNTER DON’T YOU DARE DO THIS TO ME!” Kay-Lee shouted staring at him.
“Aw, did you really have to use my full name?” Adam complained.
“It seemed necessary. Now spill” Kay-Lee demanded.
“Okay then! And the female lead goes to...drum roll please...” Adam said, dragging it out for effect.
“Adam...” Kay-Lee said, her patience wearing thin.
“Okay, okay...sheesh!” Adam said, putting his hands up in the air in surrender.
“I’m serious. You’re killing me here” Kay-Lee said.
“KAY-LEE MAY THOMAS!!” Adam shouted at the top of his lungs.
“What? Are you serious?” Kay-Lee asked in disbelief.
“As serious as I can possibly get” Adam said, his smile even bigger than before. Kay-Lee wondered for a brief moment how it was humanly possible for a smile to be that big, before running around the room in a victory dance.
“You know what I like most about you Kay-Lee?” Adam asked.
“What?” Kay-Lee asked, narrowing her eyes. She expected a sarcastic response but was still mildly curious of what he could come up with this time. It was bound to be lame.
“Your maturity level” Adam said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.
“Ditto” Kay-Lee said with a smirk on her face.
“Fine, we’ll call it even” Adam said, defeated.
“Fine with me” Kay-Lee said in victory.
Suddenly, Kay-Lee felt as if her head weighed a million tonnes. The room started to spin and she put her hand to her head, swaying ever so slightly with the movement.
“Kay-Lee, are you alright?” Adam asked; his hands now on her shoulders. Kay-Lee didn’t respond.
“Kay-Lee?” Adam said in a frantic tone.
“Adam, I don’t feel so...” Kay-Lee started to say, before collapsing in Adam’s arms.

Four

There were heaps of people in the hall and almost all the seats were taken. Kay-Lee’s stomach did an uneasy turn as she looked at all the people waiting to audition. The girl at the door asked her what role she was auditioning for and Kay-Lee told her she was going for the lead. The girl directed her to a group of girls at the front of the hall, all busily looking over the script for the audition, which was given to her after she sat down.
Kay-Lee looked around for Adam and finally spotted him sitting with the music guys, strumming his guitar. He must be auditioning for the band. Kay-Lee looked over the script. It wasn’t really a script. It only had two lines she had to say and two other tasks she had to complete. She had to sing a song of her choice and demonstrate fainting.
Kay-Lee was suddenly intensely nervous. She hadn’t done anything like that before. Not even acting. She just thought she’d have a go and hope for good luck, but all these people were drama geeks and choir nerds who could easily make her look stupid in comparison.
Kay-Lee’s stomach did another lurch. She forced herself to calm down, telling herself that she wouldn’t get another opportunity like this. She focused on the task ahead of her, and decided to choose a song to sing first. Her favourite song at the moment was “outside looking in” by Jordan Pruitt because she loved the lyrics and sweet melody. It was probably the only song she knew well enough and felt comfortable singing in public. Plus, Jordan Pruitt wasn’t that well known, so no one else would pick that song, she hoped.
Looking at the two lines on the page, she repeated them in her head over and over until she had them memorised. “I don’t want this to wreck our friendship but I have to tell you. And if everything gets ruined and it gets awkward and weird I don’t know if I can do it. And I know it’s wrong, but I can’t help falling in love with you”. That was the audition line for both the female and male leads. Kay-Lee had a feeling she was going to like this play. Then again, it depended on who got the parts.
Kay-Lee looked over in Adam’s direction again to find him looking at her. He smiled widely and put his thumbs up, mouthing ‘good luck’. Kay-Lee smiled and mouthed ‘you too’. She really didn’t care if she didn’t get the part, helping Adam write songs would be fun, he was sure to get that part. He was the best songwriter Kay-Lee knew and she could listen to him pick out different chords and riffs on his guitar forever.
It all happened too fast. Kay-Lee watched girl after girl get up on the stage and absolutely ace the audition. Kay-Lee got even more nervous as she walked up the stage steps to stand in the centre. The judges (the drama teacher, play writer, and casting directors [which were senior drama students]) asked her to perform the fainting first. Kay-Lee asked if she could drop ‘dead’ instead and the judges agreed, curiosity and surprise flickering across their faces.
Kay-Lee fell to the floor of the stage with a light thud, arms sprawled, eyes wide open, and stayed there frozen, while everyone looked at her in disbelief before erupting into wild applause. If they didn’t know any better, they’d actually think she had dropped dead then and there. After the judges had made everyone quiet down, Kay-Lee continued her audition. She sang her song from start to finish without faltering and recited the lines with the right amount of hope, excitement and sadness in her voice.
Everyone cheered and clapped after all her performances and she blushed and ran off stage. The casting list was going to be posted the following week and Kay-Lee had her hopes up. She was going to go to the library to study for a bit when she remembered that Adam hadn’t auditioned yet.
Kay-Lee decided to stay and watch. When Adam stepped on stage with his guitar, the judges told him to recite the lines. “The what?” he stammered. The judges told him that he better deliver his lines if he wanted the lead. “The lead? You don’t understand I..” one of the judges cut him off telling him to hurry up and spit it out or stop wasting their time. Adam said the lines then and Kay-Lee wondered how he knew them. He was so convincing, and Kay-Lee was drawn to his performance as everybody else was. He played a song on his guitar, singing the lyrics quietly, and Kay-Lee recognised the song as one of his originals. It was about the way he felt drawn to someone he shouldn’t, someone he knew he could never be with. The song fit perfectly with the play. Kay-Lee remembered when she had questioned him about the lyrics and he had said he’d read a book that had inspired him. There was something about the way he blushed and looked down that made her think otherwise, but she hadn’t pressed him any further.
Adam walked off stage and over to Kay-Lee when he had finished.
“Hey. I can’t believe they messed that up and confused me for auditioning for the lead! I can’t even act, I can’t believe I didn’t just walk away” he said to her, rambling on about how weird he felt.
“Stop. Talking” Kay-Lee said, putting her finger to his lips.
“You talked to me. Guess you’re facing a life sentence now, eh?” Adam said, despite her finger being in the way. A smile played on his lips as Kay-Lee narrowed her eyes at him.
“What?” Adam asked, suddenly nervous.
“You were amazing. There are no words Adam. You...I...I...Just can’t believe it Adam. You were truly incredible” Kay-Lee said in awe.
“Not so bad yourself” Adam said.
“So I guess we’re talking again. Good thing too, cos it was killing me Lee Lee” Adam said looking down.
“I’m sorry. If I knew I wouldn’t have...” she started to say.
“Don’t worry about it Lee Lee” Adam said as they walked out into the sunlight.
The mystery remained of who would get the parts and Adam had a secret hope deep inside of him that he would get the lead. It was stupid really, and he had no idea why he wanted it so bad. But he did. Wanted it like a drug.

Three

Kay-Lee woke up the next morning in her bed, dazed and confused. The last thing she remembered was being in Adam’s room. “Huh. Well stranger things have happened...” she said to herself, crawling out of bed and over to the window to see if Adam was up yet.
Nope.
She really had to stop doing that. He’d probably think she was a stalker and he would get scared off. Just like everybody else seemed too. Not like it mattered, the only person she needed in her life was Adam, she was sure of it.
Kay-Lee turned on her stereo and started dancing around her bedroom while getting ready for school. She was just doing a massive turn and pose when she saw Adam staring at her from his window with the wackiest hair she had ever seen. She grabbed the closest notebook and wrote “msn” in huge letters and held it up to the window. Adam immediately understood and made a dramatic dash for his computer doing the “running man” to mock her. He would pay for that.
Kay-Lee and Adam both signed onto msn within seconds of each other.
Adam: What’s Up?
Kay-Lee: Your Hair, That’s What :)
Adam: Haven’t You Heard? It’s The Latest Look
Kay-Lee: Of Course It Is...Cos You’re Such A Trend Setter...
Adam: I Could Be!
Kay-Lee: Whatever...I Would Be Soooo Much Better!
Adam: Evidently...Judging By Your Killer Dance Moves...
Kay-Lee: Shame!
Adam: LOL. See You In A Few...I Gotta Try And Tame The Jungle On My Head! :)
Kay-Lee: Well, Good Luck With That...Bye
Adam: Bye
Adam signed off, Kay-Lee shortly after. School was going to be exciting today because the school play auditions were at lunch and Kay-Lee was going for the leading role. Adam kept telling her that she would get it but she was still really nervous. Adam was hoping to get a part as a backstage person, songwriter for the play maybe? He’d never done acting before and he didn’t intend to start now. Besides, music and art was his thing, not drama. Adam was pretty sure he wasn’t able to dance either, the only person he’d ever danced for was Kay-Lee when they were mucking around and judging by her hysterical laughter, he wasn’t very good.
Adam was waiting on the street when Kay-Lee finally emerged from her house,
“What took you so long? We’re gonna be late” he said.
“A girl’s allowed to be fashionably late, right?” she replied, a smile on her face.
“But its school uniform, how can you be fashionably late? Sometimes I feel like I don’t understand you at all” Adam said, shaking his head. Kay-Lee suddenly stopped walking and whirled around to face him, looking straight into his eyes.
“Adam, how could you say that? You know me better than anyone” She said.
“Kay-Lee, I was joking”
“Well, you’re not very good at it”
“Sorry, I’ll work on my knock knock jokes”
Kay-Lee poked him in the ribs and laughed. He always knew how to bring a smile to her face.
“Ha! I’m getting better already! You’re laughing!” Adam said, enthusiasm in his voice.
“Well it’s not hard to do” Kay-Lee said in a mocking tone.
“Oh yea, total giggle pot” Adam replied.
“Hey!” Kay-Lee partially squealed, punching Adam in the arm.
“You know it’s true!” Adam said, ducking out of the way of a second punch.
“I hate it when you’re right” Kay-Lee said, a pout on her face.
“I’ll try and lay off the smugness” Adam replied sarcastically.
“Impossible” She said in a definite tone, pout still clear on her face.
“Probably. You know you’re cute when you’re angry” Adam said, trying hard not to laugh.
That did it. Kay-Lee stomped off ahead in a huff, pretending to ignore Adam. Adam ran up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her from behind. She didn’t push him away, but she still didn’t talk.
“Aw. You’re seriously not gonna talk to me?” Adam said in her ear, arms still wrapped around her.
Silence.
“You won’t last long, you know” he said, letting go and walking beside her.
Kay-Lee refused to speak, she was determined to win this bet. She kept walking straight to school, with Adam trailing beside her, complaining mostly about the whole non-talking thing. He was having a conversation with himself, because Kay-Lee wasn’t giving in. She was much too stubborn for that. Kay-Lee smiled to herself, pulling her mobile phone from her pocket. She sent a text message to Adam:
I hope you enjoy talking to yourself because I don’t intend on answering you. I bet I can last a whole day without talking to you, so I’ll see you after school.
Adam’s phone beeped and he got it out of his bag, reading the message from Kay-Lee with a frown on his face.
“You always did love a challenge, didn’t you?” he said with no response, naturally.
“Fine. Have it your way. I’ll see you at lunch for the school play auditions anyway” he said, suddenly quickening his pace. Kay-Lee grabbed his arm, forcing him to face her and looked at him questionably. To answer her question, the school bell rang in the distance and Adam grabbed her hand and broke out in a run. If they didn’t make it to roll call on time, there was no doubt Miss Anderson would skin them alive and eat their livers. She was a witch, obviously from some uncharted, evil island. “Maybe she should go back to her island” Adam thought as he and Kay-Lee ran through the school halls in the direction of the classroom. The second bell hadn’t gone yet, but it would any minute, and Miss Anderson just loved the opportunity to put students on detention. Adam and Kay-Lee were through the classroom door and into their seats just as the second bell rang. Miss Anderson gave them the death stare, but she was powerless, because they had actually made it on time.
“This morning’s announcements” she said through her teeth, so it came out as a hiss. “Choir practice is at the first half of lunch and auditions for the school play will be held all lunch, open for all year groups. Basketball team meeting in the hall at recess and football team training after school” she finished and everybody broke out in excited whispers. Adam looked at Kay-Lee and attempted sign language. Kay-Lee couldn’t help smiling, but still refused to speak, getting out a piece of paper.
Are you coming to the auditions with me? I really need you there.
If you want me there, I’ll be there.
Thankyou.
Kay-Lee smiled and shoved the paper back in her bag. Along with many other things, Miss Anderson certainly had no tolerance for note-passing. Kay-Lee was so excited about the auditions; she practically jumped out of her seat when the bell went. The day passed so slowly, and Kay-Lee stared at the clocks in her classes before lunch, willing the hands to move faster, but with no luck. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, lunch came and Kay-Lee rushed off to the hall.