Music from: Guilty by Marina and the Diamonds
Ivy distinctly recalled telling Dred that last part several more times over the next few hours of classes that afternoon, but there he was again, at her side as they entered the school's enormous Arts Center just as evening fell. It was an early evening, with the days getting shorter, but past afternoon.
"Wow, this is nice," he said in the hushed, carpeted corridor as they made their way through the art and music rooms.
"Yes, the best tax dollars at work, so my dad says." She dodged his elbow that almost caught her chest—again—as they rounded a corner in the darkened Center. "We've got a pool on the lower side, across the building, but no swim team yet."
"You a good swimmer?"
She watched his gaze sweep up and down her body. She pulled her jacket tighter. "No. I don't swim much."
"What do you do? No swimming, no acting. Play an instrument?"
"Needlework. What do you do, Dred? Just interrogate everyone the moment you meet them?" She checked her agitation, blaming most of it on her sore ankle.
"Needlework? Like, sewing?"
"Yes, like sewing. I thought the fabric shop would have been a dead giveaway."
They took the next turn of hallway and the air changed to a lighter, more electrified feel. An industrial sound, like awkward woodwinds and reeds played by a mechanized autoplayer, went through the beginning notes from Guilty.
"No!" Mr. Munsun's baritone boomed out. "More succinct, keep the staccato!"
The instruments rambled to a stop. A baton tapped, and then the music began again. This time, every note was aligned and distinct, like pistons in a steam bath.
Ivy smiled at the sound. "I wish I had a talent like that. Music, or singing."
"Thought you liked pins and needles." He put a hand to the door when she paused them. "Here?"
She glanced down the hallway to their right. No one was around. "I guess we're a little early. It's an open rehearsal but not public."
"What's the difference?"
She watched him push the door open without waiting for her reply. They looked into the blackness beyond that felt as deep as the sixteen rows of seats that led down to the orchestra pit. The music grew louder, now joined by more of the orchestra.
"We have to be quiet," she told Dred, leaning as close as he dared as an opportunistic grin claimed his face. "Come on." She pulled his sleeve as they quietly, quickly took the steps down to a lower row.
They found seats in the fourth row to the front, with a good view of the stage yet far enough away from the orchestra pit not to be bombarded with percussion.
"Tybalt! Enter and challenge Romeo!" Ms. Decker's husky tone called out as the music lowered.
Onstage, the street scene was set for the fight with Tybalt, Mercutio, and Romeo. The setting was a steampunk inspired alley, with vapor rising from a few of the behind set pipes. The backdrop was painted as brick buildings in gray and charcoal with copper pipes snaking across them. Some were real PVC pipes painted copper, some just painted onto the wooden backdrop. In the fore, Tybalt, Mercutio, and Romeo, played by freshmen Chris and Thom and sophomore Jarod, were dressed in jeans and linen tunics belted at their waists with rope.
Dred sat back as he and Ivy took their seats in the sparsely populated audience. "Not very good costumes."
She shushed him. "These are only practice costumes. The real ones are still being made."
"You?"
"No. A lady in Shanonton, about six miles from Rasperville. She did Pippin last year for the old drama instructor." Ivy leaned forward on the seat in front of her. "It was good, but not like this—just standard Pippin."
"Oh."
Onstage, all three actors were milling around, wooden swords drawn as insults were tossed. The band played the shrill, sharp music in the background until Jarod ran through Chris with his sword, who took a full moment to fall and die. The lights dimmed and a spotlight shone on Jarod as he faced the audience. The music wove back around to the first verse, this time louder, and Jarod belligerently sang out his crime and guilt.
Ivy crossed her arms over each other on the chair back, smiling at Romeo's unapologetic song. Dred leaned beside her on the next chair back.
"You know him?"
"Jarod? No, not really. Only seen him here." She pointed and lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper. "Lornie said he's really talented."
"Where is she?"
"Shh. She's backstage, watching."
Jarod wound down the song as the musicians let the music trail out. As soon as it did, a black-clad figure jumped onstage and clapped a few times.
"Very good. very good. Okay, that's fine for the fight." Ms. Decker turned around and waved off the spotlight. It shed away. She put her hands on her hips, appearing more student age than her thirty years. "Okay, now we'll move on to the orchard. Backdrop, please! Nurse, whatever is done of your costume will do, Heidi!"
Ivy sat back, holding her breath. "I haven't seen the nurse or Juliet's dress yet, not in full."
Dred slouched beside her. "I thought this was a dress rehearsal."
"I guess not all the costumes are done. There's a lot to do." She looked up at him, watching his eyes flick across the stage as props were wheeled in and out. "Do you do any sports?"
"Eh, yeah. Some." He grinned at her, nudging his arm closer that was already commandeering the armrest. "Fencing."
"Really?" She appraised him anew. "We don't have fencing here. We're too small for most sports . . . but fencing? That's cool."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." She sat back, watching him slink into his chair. "What did you think of the fight scene?"
"Not bad."
The Vampire Zodiac … Introduction … More from Sakurapu … All Chapters
PG13. #YearOfTheVampire #vampire #dramady #highschool #YA #fiction #VampireZodiac
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