The following morning at rehearsal, they started blocking scenes, which was a painstaking process that involved figuring out where everyone would stand, how best to orient themselves to the audience, and where all the props should go to make it happen. Some of the set work was already done, but they were winging it for most of the details, using metal folding chairs in place of the furniture they’d eventually have.
Monday and Tuesday were fairly tedious for Sophie and the rest of the ensemble, while Jules, Amir, and Micki did most of the work onstage. After the leads had their marks, the ensemble would find their places around them. By lunchtime on Wednesday, they hadn’t even made it to the end of the first act. Sophie ate a power bar in her dressing room before wandering back to the stage.
Jules came to stand beside her, gesturing toward the empty balcony across from them. “I sat somewhere up there for a performance ofRomeo and Julietwhen I was eighteen. If you had told me then that I’d be back here again twelve years later, performing on stage, I might have leaped out of the balcony in my excitement.”
“And the star to boot,” Sophie said, nudging her shoulder against Jules’s.
“The lead, anyway. I wouldn’t call myself a star just yet.”
“I’d say you’re on your way.” Sophie paused, glancing at the script in her hands. “Ready for the next scene?”
“Yes.” Jules kept her gaze on the empty seats in front of them. The next scene was the one with Bianca and Melissa’s first kiss. Jules’s first onstage kiss. That had to be at least somewhat nerve-racking.
Sophie didn’t envy her having to kiss Micki either. Not that she was hard to look at or anything, but her showy attitude and tendency to offer unsolicited advice made her a potentially awkward person to practice a stage kiss with.
As if on cue, Micki strode onto the stage. “Hey, ladies.”
“Hi,” Jules responded, and Sophie couldn’t quite read her expression when she looked at Micki, but she was definitely feeling some kind of way about this upcoming kiss.
“I’ll leave you guys to get ready for your scene,” Sophie said. “Good luck,” she added, glancing at Jules, who gave her a tight smile in return.
Jules and Micki were the only two actors in the scene, but most of the cast and crew gathered off stage to watch, as had been the case all week. Everyone was eager to see the show come together for the first time, whether they were in the scene or not. And so Sophie found herself standing between Tabitha and Elena, watching as Jules and Micki ran through the scene, scripts in hand.
Maybe watching Jules kiss Micki would help Sophie get over her crush. A girl could hope, anyway.
Jules was standing on what would be their “stage on a stage,” as large parts of the production were set in a television studio. Bianca was an actress at the top of her game who was struggling to come to terms with her sexuality. Kari directed Jules and Micki as they stood facing each other.
“I need to hear you say the words,” Micki read. “I need to know that what I think is happening is real.”
“It’s real,” Jules said, the script held loosely in her hands. She hadn’t even glanced at it yet. “It wasn’t supposed to be you, Melissa, and yet, you’re the only one I can think about.”
“And for me, it’s only ever been you,” Micki said. “Please kiss me, Bianca.”
Sophie’s fists clenched. Okay, she wasn’t going to enjoy watching this. There was just no way around it. Kari paused the actors while she adjusted their positions. Jules put down her script so she could reach out and take Micki’s hands, clasping them in hers.
“Raise your hands a little higher?” Kari suggested, walking from one side of the stage to the other. She had to have paced miles across that short expanse this week, tirelessly checking their positioning from every angle.
Jules and Micki did as she’d asked, lifting their clasped hands between them.
Just kiss already. Sophie was dying from the anticipation—and not in a good way.
“Jules, turn toward the audience just a bit more,” Kari said.
Jules adjusted her position, gaze still locked on Micki. There was nothing left for them to do but kiss. The script called for Jules to lean in, pressing her lips briefly against Micki’s. But she didn’t. She stood there for several long seconds, frozen in place. And then she stepped back, releasing Micki’s hands. “I’m sorry. I just…I need a minute.”
Jules rushed off the stage, leaving the rest of the cast staring after her in stunned silence.
6
Jules sat at the makeup table in her dressing room, staring resolutely at herself in the mirror as emotions churned like a turbulent sea inside her. This was a mess—a mess of her own making—and since there was no way out of it, she was just going to have to suck it up and get it over with, no matter how uncomfortable it made her. She was a professional, dammit.
There was a light knock at her dressing room door.
“I’ll be right there,” she called, frowning at her reflection.
“It’s me,” Sophie said from the other side of the door.
Jules flinched. Talking to Sophie could either make this less awkward, or…much, much worse. “Come in.”
