Page 19 of Love Me Not

He had one of those laidback personalities obtained from either being born into money, or inhaling a lot of organic material. With a former senator for a grandfather, and a family that owned half of the new-to-town professional soccer team, along with a successful trucking company and a slew of high-level storage units, the former was the obvious answer.

Aiden was another story. Quiet and not the best student, he had a tendency to cause trouble. Or more accurately, he often found himself trouble adjacent. He wasn’t the mean type, or outright menacing, but making the right decision when it counted was not his forte.

“What’s up, guys?”

“Coach Collins says you have some openings on the drama club,” Burke said. “We’d like to join.”

I didn’t respond right away, since doing so required lifting my chin up off the floor. After a weighted pause, I said, “You guys want to join the drama club? Both of you?”

Aiden had yet to speak, but Burke did say we, so unless he had a mouse in his pocket, I assumed he meant Aiden too.

Burke stepped into the room, and tugged Aiden in with him. “Yes, ma’am.”

This was going to be interesting. Rising, I stepped around the desk. “Why?” I asked.

Neither looked prepared for the question. “Excuse me?” Burke said.

“Why do you want to join the club?”

The clear leader of the twosome shrugged his shoulders. “My mom was an actress before she had me so I’m thinking I might have some skills. When Coach suggested we think about joining, I figured why not?”

The why not seemed obvious to me. Cool kids played football. The outcasts joined drama. I preferred the outcasts, personally, but I also wasn’t in a position to turn away willing participants. If they were, indeed, willing.

“What about you, Mr. Bishop? Was your mother an actress, too?”

“Not that I know of,” he said, finally finding his voice.

“Then what makes you suddenly want to be a thespian?”

“A what?”

Moving closer, I asked, “Is Coach Collins making you do this?”

“No, ma’am,” Burke replied.

“He isn’t threatening you with more time in the dugout or something?”

“That’s baseball,” Aiden said. “Football doesn’t have a dugout.”

I should have known that fact after years of attending Megan’s softball games.

“So you’re both here under your own free will, wanting to join the play?”

“Yes,” they said in stereo.

Confused, and a bit stunned, I wasn’t sure what to say next. Without knowing how well they could act, I couldn’t be sure if this was a good idea or not. At the same time, did I have a choice? We needed actors, we’d asked for volunteers, and here they were, reporting for duty.

Walking back around the desk, I opened my bottom drawer and drew out two scripts. “Auditions are next Tuesday, so that gives you time to look over the story and see what parts you might want to play.”

Until that moment, auditions hadn’t been set at all, but I needed to see what these newbies could do as soon as possible.

“There are multiple parts you can try. The male lead, his father, his best friend, the female lead’s father, and a police officer. You’re welcome to try out for any or all of them.”

If nothing else, we could use the muscle to build the sets, and hopefully more students would show up at my door on Monday.

“What time on Tuesday?” Aiden asked. “We have football practice after school.”

If football took priority, then why were they here?