Chapter Text
“Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventur'd piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuation of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, could not remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. “
“I get it, Neil. You know the lines by heart.” Said Charlie, tuxedo in his own bed. At the beginning of the school year, there was a sudden change of roommates that led the two best friends to share the dormitory for the rest of the school term. Neil paced back and forth, and Charlie Honestly didn't quite know how he did it so quickly considering the small space they were given in that environment.
"You don't understand, Charlie! I need this role. Of all my favorite plays, this is the only one I haven't had the opportunity to act in!" Neil started pacing in circles again, mumbling lines from various characters. Charlie sat down briefly and picked up the play’s program from the desk: Romeo and Juliet. He gave a dry laugh.
“Impressive.” He said, lying down again and crossing his legs, automatically bringing the cigarette to his mouth.
“What?” Neil slowed his pace to pay attention to what his friend had to say, although nothing could possibly calm him down now. That was one of the things he loved most about acting: the anxiety, the butterflies in his stomach before auditions, the satisfaction of getting the desired role.
“It’s impressive that you haven’t yet acted in Shakespeare’s most famous play. You know you’re already respected by the city’s artistic community, simply for so often going against your father’s authority…”
“I don’t want respect!”
“But you want the applauses, don't you?”
"At the end of Shakespeare's most famous tragedy. It's like going to war unarmed, Charlie. What would become an actor who never had a role in Romeo and Juliet?"
Charlie burned the edges of the paper with the ember of his cigarette while thinking of a coherent response that wouldn't aggravate the tension of the actor who had returned to wandering around the room.
"An actor is an actor. Art is relative, my friend."
“Think about it. What kind of saxophonist would you be if you didn’t know the sheet music for the most famous jazz piece?”
“And what if I knew the most difficult sheet music for the most esteemed jazz piece?”
Neil sighed in agony and sat down at the foot of Charlie's bed, who watched him with compassion and handed him the cigarette, now less than half-burned.
"Come on, have a smoke. If you keep walking, you'll start a whirlwind." They laughed, Neil took a drag.
Todd let out a muffled groan. His head rested against an armchair in the nearly empty theater. Cameron patted his shoulder.
"Come on, man. It can't be that bad. Cheer up!"
"Bad", for Todd, was an understatement. He could swear that what his parents did to him was an especially cruel form of psychological torture. He did his first year of high school at Balin Crest and, knowing he would be transferred to Welton the following year solely to follow in his older brother's esteemed footsteps, he worked like crazy. He got top marks so his parents would let him choose which extracurricular activities he would do throughout the year. Although the decision was ultimately up to Mr. Nolan, nothing a conversation with his parents and the fact that his surname was well-known couldn't fix. In January, he chose anything that didn't involve much social interaction or physical activity, as he found that very embarrassing. He successfully joined the school newspaper and other quiet activities.
But at a family and friends' party sometime in March, he drank a little without the adults seeing and got into an argument with an important guest of his father's about Shakespeare. He said, without considering the ideals of the suited guests, that The Taming of the Shrew was an extremely degrading work for women, and that everything else was pathetic. He also said that Romeo and Juliet, as well as other dramas, followed the same tiresome pattern, and at the end of his speech about the writing patterns followed, he pointed to his own father and said that the only thing that differentiated the Capulets and Montagues from the Andersons and Perrys was that his father didn't know how to offend someone in Elizabethan English. Todd had a good laugh, however, it was the first time he'd seen his father turn red with anger, almost purple. Bringing up the rivalry between the families was the trigger for everything, as it was a topic rarely discussed in its essence, but very well known among the younger members of the family. Those were some unpleasant remarks about the Perrys. This was the first time he had responded and confronted his father, solely motivated by alcohol, but, contrary to what his family thought, he formulated thousands of similar thoughts every day, only keeping them to himself in order to avoid an inconvenient punishment like the one he received. In addition to hearing a few choice words, his parents unenrolled him from all his extracurricular activities, causing his final grades at the end of the year to be negatively affected, and, as a way to contradict Todd's comments about Shakespeare, they assigned him, without his consent, to direct a play at the city theater.
Todd, who had no interest whatsoever in art.
"Look, I've been indoctrinated with endless formulas and calculations my whole life, how could I even know how to direct a play? How do I even do that? They don't teach us that in school, only the bare minimum, you know? What's important."
Todd said, lifting his head from the armchair in front of him.
"Oh, well, art is important."
“Of course, it’s essential for us to see that we’re not poets like Wordsworth, musicians like Chopin…”
“You’ll do fine, art isn’t complicated.” Cameron said. Meeks approached and added to the conversation.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your lament, but the casting calls are starting in about fifteen minutes. We’d better start organizing ourselves regarding that.” Steven Meeks. He also studied at Welton but was a stranger to the two boys until now. All they knew about him was that he shared a dorm with a good friend of his, who was slow and excessively tall. He was a whiz at Latin, very intelligent and helpful, always taking the initiative to start study sessions to assist those who needed it. He seemed like a nice guy, he was there, helping with the organization and set-up of the sets, at first. From what he said, the cousin of the sister-in-law of the brother of the mother-in-law of the aunt of the neighbor of someone couldn’t do it, so he promptly replaced her. That’s how he was. Also ignorant about theater, but he said he was very interested in learning new things and saw it as an opportunity to challenge himself, to get out of his comfort zone, while all Todd wanted was to be in his comfort zone.
Neil, Knox, and Charlie went to the theater that afternoon for different reasons.
Neil, obviously, was desperate for any role in the play. If he were Juliet's nurse, he would draw premature wrinkles on his face and wear a tacky rag. If he were Friar Laurence, he would even take some extra Latin lessons. That was the beauty he saw in acting: connecting with the essence and emotions of the character assigned to you, the euphoria of going on stage, the prior happiness of getting the role he wanted so much. That filled his soul.
Charlie, at first, accompanied Neil to offer moral support, since things with his father were much more complicated at the beginning, and Neil was not yet confident in his acting. Today it's different. Charlie realized how beautiful and interesting the girls who frequented the theater were, and he didn't miss a single opportunity to make a romantic move.
Knox, on the other hand, was there for Chris. At the last dinner he attended at the Danburry's house, he heard them mention that she would help with the play's production. He was content to watch her from afar, happy doing what she loved. Despite being hopeless about having her for himself, he admired her from afar, silently, knowing that she was hopelessly in love with Chet Danburry. His daydreams about Chris were interrupted by an enthusiastic shout from Charlie.
"Come on! Let your barbaric yawp sound over the rooftops of the world! Go for it!" He said, shaking Neil's shoulders from behind, still standing at the theater door. He sighed; he wasn't so nervous anymore, he knew that at least he would get a role. Neil shook off the dust and entered fearlessly. His friends followed right behind.
Knox was searching for the beautiful blonde locks he so admired, while Charlie was searching, well, for any lock that interested him. His confidence was what most attracted the girls; he was too good for his own good, and he knew it. They sat slightly away from the stage. Neil barely had time to settle into his seat when he was captivated by the radiance of the girl auditioning on stage.
"O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable."
Said the girl, with piercing blue eyes, short, curly brown hair. Her gestures were soft and precise, like someone carving wood with the same ease as swimming. Her gentleness, like the weak wind that can make a dandelion fly, contrasted with the shiver that ran down Neil's spine. The speech was unmistakable; it was Juliet's in the balcony scene.
He noticed that no one had gone up on stage to play Romeo at that audition. Instead, a low, timid voice came from among the four people in charge of the play sitting in the front row. It was clear that it wasn't an actor's voice. It was soft and withdrawn.
"Wow, I didn't know she was so good." Knox said to himself, but loud enough for Neil to hear and have his curiosity piqued.
“She? You know her?” he asked as if he could die of curiosity.
“Oh, she’s the youngest daughter of the Danburrys. Chris’s sister-in-law…” A hint of sadness that always lingered in some of Knox’s lines about Chris. Neil unconsciously ignored it. Knox continued. “Ginny Danburry. I’m not sure, but I think she and Chris don’t go to school together.”
“Stalker.” Charlie said, disguising it with a feigned cough. Knox nudged him. At that moment, Neil perfectly understood what Knox felt for the blonde-haired girl. Ginny continued reciting her lines with mastery and fluency. Many girls got up and left even in the middle of the presentation, and they could swear they saw one cry before leaving.
“The role is already hers.” Knox said, raising his eyebrows.
“Of course! Heavens, just look at her… She’s incredible, the best.” It was true. Among all the Hermias, Helenas, Catherines, and Ophelias he had ever encountered, this Juliet was the most sublime of them all. It was possibly the feeling Dorian Gray had when he saw Sybil Vane act for the first time.
“Yeah, she’s good… but there might be nepotism involved, gentlemen.” Charlie said disdainfully.
“What? Because of Chris?” Knox said.
“Nonsense, Charlie. She’s great, and there are other people evaluating her, it’s not just up to Chris. She’ll succeed on her own merit.” Neil prophesied, amidst the whispered conversation they were having.
“Hm, maybe… Democracy, then.” Charlie said.
“How stupid you are—” Knox began.
“Damn it, look over there!” Charlie interrupted his friend’s casual insult. Neil didn’t bother to look.
“Where? What?”
“Over there, next to Chris. What’s that jerk doing here? He doesn’t even like art! Does he even understand anything about it?”
“Are you talking about Cameron?”
“Duh!”
“Jesus, Charlie. Why do you hate him so much?”
“Try being his roommate for a term. Seriously, what does he even do here? Maybe he’s hanging out with Meeks?”
“Wow, I thought they were the same person… Redheads, smart…”
“Ugh. Meeks is way too cool to be compared to this devilish draft—”
“I need the role of Romeo.”
“...”
“...”
Neil said in the middle of his friends’ conversation, who exchanged knowing glances.
“...”
“Neil and Ginny sitting on a tree.”
Charlie began, smiling. Neil sighed. Knox continued to sing along with Charlie.
“K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” They sang slowly, in unison.
“Stop it!” Neil said, blushing. He buried his face in his hands, dying of embarrassment.
“First comes love, then comes marriage!”
“Then, comes a baby in a baby carriage—”
“Shh!”
The sound came from below, from the seats where the judges were sitting. Charlie just raised his eyebrows. Knox, seeing Chris looking in his direction, failed to say hi, wave, and apologize at the same time. Neil, anticipating the embarrassment he would feel, lifted his head from his hands and looked in the direction of the sound, only to find Todd Anderson frowning at them. He was probably the one reading the lines to Ginny, and also, logically, the one directing the play, which made his plan to get the role of Romeo very complicated. Because that was Todd Anderson, his family was like cats and dogs, and he really didn't want to be there. When Neil realized that Ginny had stopped reciting her lines to wait for the commotion among the three to subside, it made him want to disappear right then and there. The irritation in Anderson's eyes disturbed him somewhat.