[Micheal's POV ]
Joey didn't come back till later in the morning- 2 to be exact. The sound of the front door last night had woken me up- soft, careful, like he didn't want anyone to hear him. Joey wasn't the type to stay out late, not without a reason. And if there was a reason, he would have told me- not that he was entitled to tell me everything, but at least telling me where he had gone to was expected, just-in case; especially with everything going on. It was still in my head during drama.
I slid into one of the empty seats. Everyone else already seemed to know each other but me- with being the new guy, I kept my head down fiddling with the script Mrs Taylor gave us.
That's when I noticed her. Nicole.
Sitting by herself near the corner of the stage, script resting unopened on her knees. She wasn't scrolling on her phone or pretending to be busy. Just… quiet. Detached, like the noise in the room didn't matter to her at all. She wasn't looking at anyone, just sort of staring past us.
For a second, I thought about going over. My chair tilted forward, my palms pressed against my knees like they were ready to push me up. She looked like she could use someone to sit with. And maybe- I admitted it- so did I.
But the thought stalled halfway. What if I said the wrong thing? What if she looked at me like, Why are you here? I didn't even know what I'd open with. "Hey, I don't know anyone either"? That sounded pathetic because she didn't have the pleasure of using the new guy excuse as a reason to talk to someone, I would just put her on the spot.
As I was still debating on whether going over there to talk to her or staying put, someone's voice cut through.
"Hey, you're new right?"
I looked up. A tall guy with curly hair was grinning at me like we'd already been friends for weeks. His group turned towards me curiously.
"Uh- yeah," I said, clearing my throat. "Michael"
"Michael," he repeated nodding. "I'm Josh. This is liv and that's Connor. " Gesturing to the boy and girl near him. "You just transfer in."
"Yeah, last week."
They shuffled a bit to make space, a small opening in the circle, and before I could think about it, I stood and slid into it. The script felt less like a shield in my hands now, more like dead weight.
"So what do you think about Mrs Taylor?" Liv asked.
"I don't know, nice." I answered because she was nice, she welcomed me well and told me I could choose whether I wanted to take part in performing. I wouldn't be pressured into doing something, I wasn't comfortable doing.
They all nodded which meant she was truly a nice woman and might become my favourite teacher.
"So... have you ever done theatre before?" Connor asked.
"No" I admitted.
Josh grinned like that was the best thing I've said and slapped a hand on my shoulder.
"First timer, don't worry, I'll make an actor out of you."
Connor and Liv sighed giving me pitying looks.
Worried for my life. I asked what was the problem. "What?! "
"You're his student," Connor said like it explained the look of pity on their faces.
Liv understanding my confusion, further explained. "When Josh sees a first time actor, he gets this sense of responsibility like he's suppose to 'show you the ropes,' and make you become a star..."
Connor caught in and finished for Liv. "But he turns into a completely different person, when I say different, I mean he becomes strict like he's some maths teacher and you get no breaks from running lines with him and the schedule he makes is evenworse." He shuddered after talking.
Josh just stood there laughing like there was nothing wrong with what they said. And that made it worse.
Connor and Liv joined Josh laughing, probably after seeing the look of horror on my face, but it didn't take long before I was laughing with them because even though a horrible fate awaited me. I was happy, I made more friends and I was gradually fitting in.