Confesions of a Stagehand
I turned my head to see what the uproar was.
"Eh, just a rowdy party coming in." Steve said and went back to sipping his drink.
"I guess so!" Lizzie said, still staring at the seven or eight people that came in.
"Great job tonight everyone!" One of them said to everyone as they picked a table not too far away from ours.
"Hey! In celebration, I'll get drinks! Gimme money!" Another one said. They all laughed as he held out his hand for money.
"Wonder what the big deal is." Chrissie wondered out loud.
"I don't know." Nathan replied.
I listened with one ear to the other table's conversation.
"I'd like to propose a toast..." one of them said, standing up after the table got their drinks.
"Go to hell!" One girl said loudly, and instantly everyone cracked up.
Why does that sound familiar? I wondered.
"La vie bohem?" One guy asked loudly. They all cheered.
"Bohemians!" I exclaimed.
"What?" Brandon asked, doing a doubletake.
"Wasn't that an ancient civilization of some sort?" Chrissie asked.
"No, no, no! La Vie Bohem, long live Bohemia...I think, is a song from RENT. I think they're cast members too!" I said.
"Sweet!" Steve said, eyeing one of the girls. Lizzie slapped him.
"Hey!" He said, we laughed.
I turned back to our table, sipping my drink, and listened to the other table's conversation with one ear.
"Oo! I got a story for you!" One guy said to a few girls.
"Oo! Oo! Oo! Tell me!" One girl replied.
"Well...I met a guy the other night!" he replied.
The girls squealed. "Yeah...? And what happened?"
"We started chatting and he said he'd like to see me again! So I told him to meet us here tonight!" He replied.
Someone's not afraid to express their love. I thought.
I looked up at Micheals, he was listening in on the conversation too and his ears perked up when the man began to talk.
He swallowed once and looked around nervously.
I kicked him under the table gentlely to get his attention. He jumped a little and looked at me.
"Sorry, but what's the matter Mike?" I asked.
"Uh...nothing. Everything's fine!" He said, adding a fake grin at the end of he sentence.
"Uh-huh." I said, humoring him that I believed him.
Then Jon hit Mike on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Hey Mike, isn't that Jesse?" He asked, pointing to the door.
Mike looked at the door, so did I.
There indeed stood Jesse, bleached hair combed to the side, wearing kakhis pants and a blue print top.
Mike looked him over, blinked a few times before getting up. "Yeah it is. I'll be right back." He grabbed my arm and pulled me from my chair. "Come with me Amber."
I followed him to Jesse.
"Jesse?" He asked when we faced him.
Jesse looked startled to see us.
"Micheal? What--what are you doing here?" He asked, surprised, but not happy to see him.
"Uh...I called you earlier to see if you wanted to come with us here tonight, you said you weren't feeling well."
Jesse paused a moment before replying quickly. "Oh yeah! But I feel better now. I'm just meeting---an old friend here." He said looking around the room. "I think I see him. Hang on...uh...where are you guys sitting?" he asked.
"Over there." Mike said, pointing to our table.
"Oh okay, I'll be over in a moment." And he left to find his old friend.
"O--kay." I said.
"Yeah sure, let's get back to the table." He said, leading me back to our table.
As we sat down, Mike said, "I'm going to get another drink, anyone else want one?"
"I do!" Replied Lizzie and Chrissie."
"Eh, what the hell!" Steve replied.
"Okay. Be right back." Mike said, and headed toward the bar.
While he was gone, my ear tuned into the conversation at the other cast table; I heard a familiar voice.
"So, how you doing tonight lovely?" A suave voice asked. Two girls giggled and a man, the one who spoke earlier replied, "Fine, how are you?"
I turned my head, and saw out of the corner of my eye, Jesse standing over a man at the other cast's table.
The man stood up and said, "Everyone, this is Jesse, you know, that guy I was telling you guys about!"
"OH!" One girl squealed and jumped up and gave Jesse a hug. "You'd better be careful with our Billy here, he's worth everything to us!"
"He's worth much more to me!" Jesse replied, massaging his shoulders.
A general 'AW!' was heard.
I nearly gagged hearing this.
"Crap." I muttered under my breath. This isn't good. Poor Mike's getting cheated on. That bitch..er...bastard rather.
A slow song came on. Jesse held out his hand to the man who was named Billy. "Wanna dance?"
Billy replied, with a smirk, "With you?"
A girl replied, not missing a beat. "No, with my father!"
They all laughed and Jesse took Billy's hand.
Micheal returned just in time to see this.
Mike approached them. I decided to follow him for support.
"Jesse?" He called.
Jesse and Billy spun around to face him.
Caughtcha! I thought, giving Jesse an evil glare.
"Mike! Hey, this is Billy, that friend of mine I told you about."
"Uh-huh, and you're going to dance with him now? Here? In this club?" Mike replied, a bit of fear and confusion in his voice.
"Yeah...so what? I came here to see my friends and I'm going to have some fun." He said, shoving Mike aside as he and Billy picked a secluded spot on the floor to dance.
Mike's eyes began to search the room again.
"Mike? What's the---"
"Shh...not now Amber." He said, hushing me.
I looked too. I didn't see anything unusual; people dancing, people laughing, there was no danger here that I could see.
"Shit." Mike muttered under his breath, his eyes locking on some scetchy looking guys making their way toward Jesse and Billy.
Mike whistled loudly and Jesse's head shot up, and looked around. When he saw the scetchy guys, he said something to Billy and ran to the door.
"What's the matter?" I asked. But as I looked at Billy, the scetchy guys grabbed Billy and started to drag him toward the door.
Steve came up behind us. "Oo, looks like he's gonna get it bad."
"Yeah...he is." Mike said, he sounded like he was dazed.
"Mike, you okay?" Steve asked.
Mike looked at Steve, then at me, then at the door where Billy was dragged out. The other cast at the table saw this and began to run after them.
Mike ran after them too.
"Mike? Mike! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Steve shouted, and ran after him.
I decided to follow.
"Amber!" Brandon cried and ran after me.
Pretty soon, both cast parties were outside.
The guys had dragged Billy behind the club in a chain linked, fenced in area.
It was dirty back there. They made Billy sit up against one of the dumpsters that was there and one guy, larger than the other two, steped forward.
We arrived back there just in time to see Mike slip throught an opening in the fence.
"Mike get back here!" Steve shouted and tried to get in.
"Steve! Stay out of this!" Mike said.
The larger guy spun to face Mike.
"Micheal! This can't be you!" The man said, stunned at who he saw.
"Yeah it's me." He nodded toward Billy. "What are you going to to with him?"
"Think long and hard Micheal." He said cooly, walked toward him. "Think about, about eight or nine years ago, right here. You were a struggling little teen with a fire in you. I said I'd be able to help you, does any of this ring a bell?"
Micheal shuttered.
"I'll take that as a yes. Well, after I knocked some sense into you, and you came to realize that there was no hope for you, you had the nerve to go and turn pansie on me! You know what I did next Billy?" He asked Billy, turning his head to look at Billy.
"Wh-what?"
"I pretty much killed him. This boy couldn't care for himself for about a week or two, or three..."
"Try a month, hog breath!" Mike spat.
The man spun around. "Oo, fiesty are we...I think I'll back away slowly, he might come onto me guys!" He said sarcastically, pretending to be scared. "But did it work? Did I put the fear of God in you? Did I make you aware of how unwelcome you guys are? Did I remind you, that of who you are you are not treated as a normal person? That you are a freak, and forever will be?"
Mike looked like he was going to cry, but simply nodded his head, shaky and slowly.
The man looked satisfied, and turned back to Billy.
"But I won't have you do the same thing to him." Mike said finally.
The man spun around.
"Oh really, and what are you going to do about it, hmm? Attack me with popourri?"
"No, I'll fight you, on one condition. You drop all of your weapons."
The man looked like he was about to burst out laughing. His two friends were rolling on the ground in hysterics.
"Mike be careful." Lizzie said, clining onto the fence and watching in horror. Brandon held onto my arms tightly. Steve cling onto the fence, his eyes locked at what was about to happen.
"You'd better let him go!" One of the cast members from RENT called. "That's the star of our show you've got!"
"And you've got ours in there too!" Steve called out.
"Oh that's right, Micheals plays a pussy cat on stage, doesn't he? Let me tell you this." He said, digging into his pockets and pulling out guns and knives and dropping them on the ground behind him. "This won't be any cat fight, this is real life, let's go tough guy!" He said, taking a swing at Micheal. But Micheal easily ducked out of the way.
He swung again, and Mike ducked again.
He tried to kick at him and Mike just lifted his leg and moved to the side, again, easily, as if this monster's presence didn't phase him.
Mike avoided every attack, it was as if he were back on stage dancing it was so easy.
Then his two friends got up and surrounded him on either side of Micheal and were about to tackle him, but instead, Micheal leaped up and did a Russian split, hitting both guys in the mouths and knocking them down in pain.
We cheered loudly. The other cast did too.
The man looked pretty scared of Micheal.
"Scared of me yet?" Micheal said, walked towards the man. "Am I putting the fear of God in you? Am I making you aware of how unwelcome you guys are? Am I hurting you worse than you hurt me? If I am, surrender now punk!"
The man swallowed and tried to catch his breath, but nodded, his eyes were white with fear.
Mike just smiled and walked over to Billy, helped him to his feet and began to walk him to the fence where we were waiting.
"I knew you were a freak D'Boulio!" The man shouted as Mike handed a very frightened Billy back to his friends. They were waiting with open arms for him.
"By the way." Mike said as he slipped through the fence, leaving the men behind him. "My BOYFRIEND would've been proud me tonight." And with the girliest voice and expression he could manage to put on, he waved a cute wave and said, "Chao!" And turned on his heel and walked away.
We all cheered and hugged him tightly.
Even though the fight was brief, it lasted forever in my mind as I watched.
Micheal gave us a big hug, before noticing the other casst begin to walk away, supporting Billy as they headed for their cars.
"Hang on a sec guys." He said, and ran after them. We followed. "Hey, wait up a sec!" He called, catching up to the other cast. "Billy?" He asked, as Billy, with a friend to support him came forward.
"That's me. Listen, I can't thank you enough for what you did."
"WE can't thank you enough." His friend said.
"Think nothing of it. Just do me a favor and promise me and your friends that you'll do this."
Billy nodded.
"Promise that you won't let phsyco path boy back there get to you. He just has issues that I let get to me, and I don't want them to get to you either. Promise that because of what happened here tonight won't change you."
Billy smiled. "Okay, I promise." And hugged Micheal tightly.
We went back to our theatre and went backstage. It was around midnight when we got back there.
"So Mike," Steve began after we decided to hang out there for the night. "I don't get it, you are NOT the fighting type, and yet you go in there tonight and whip that guy's butt! What happened there?"
"Yeah," Jon chimed in. "What happened there years ago?"
Micheal sighed and didn't speak for a while. He closed his eyes and blinked hard a few times, I could tell he was trying to hold back tears.
"I had almost forgotten him until we pulled up to the club. That man's name was Herold, he's almost twice my age. The---the incident he spoke of, years ago, happened at that very club in that very spot. First off, he has 'issues' with any one who is diferent from him. At the time I was close friends with a boy named Todd. Todd was sort of girly, but I didn't care, he was cool nonetheles. In a nutshell, he took the two of us out back, blindfolded him and sat him down in the middle of the fenced in area. He kicked him hard in the stomach and told him not to move as he walked over to me. He tied my hands together over my head and attached them to the fence. I couldn't move. Then he punched me hard in the stomach and spoke loudly saying, that I was unable to move and that I would have to watch Todd suffer. I watched in horror as Herlod..." He swallowed hard. "As he..." He lowered his voice. "...r--raped him." He looked like he was about to cry. "When he was done, he untied my hands and hit me over and over again, telling me that if I told a soul he'd come after the two of us and kill us both. And he walked away. I started at Todd's crushed body there was blood on his lips, nose and...uh...his sensitive area....His eyes were black and blued. He tried to speak to me, but I knelt down beside him, and held his head and just rocked back and forth." Tears sprang into his eyes. "It was a few weeks later when he got sick. I knew what it was...he knew what it was, and it was that day when he told me that he loved me and I found that I loved him too. He...he...died....late a few short years later. He got sick often and his immune system just couldn't handle it." He buried his head in him arms and cried. "That bastard killed the first boy I ever loved. Ever since then I tried hard not to show the world that I...um...had a different sexual preference then everyone else. When I met Jesse, he loved me, but he was quite open about us being together. And I kept telling him about Todd, he just doesn't see the danger that he puts himself in." He looked up at us, his eyes were hot with tears and anger. "He was there, and I know why, I'm not an idiot, he doesn't want a worry wort for a boyfriend, he wants someone whose not scared. But he also knew that I'm a sucker for him anytime, and anywhere, he knew that I'd be on the lookout for Herold. So when I saw that man, I warned him, but instead of protecting his new lover, he took off running like a coward." He spat every word as if he were spitting on Jesse himself. I couldn't let him kill another boy that someone may love or might love. I wouldn't let another Todd get in there." Tears creeped up into this throught. He buried his head in his arms again. "I miss you Todd, I loved you! I promised I'd loved you and I did." Lizzie put an arm around him. He cried on her shoulder for a while then we all got in a group hug and just cried. After hearing Micheal pour his heart out to us, I found that it might be easier to tell my story...but not today.
"Amber!" James' voice boomed down the hall. It was a few days later and I was cleaning up after a rehersal gone well. "Amber, unpack all the props from all the closets and pack up everything. We're hitting the road in two days!"
"What? You want me to pack up EVEYTHING?" I asked.
"Well, no, you'll have Scoot's help..."
"He called in sick this morning." I reminded him. There was a pause. "Well, seems to me like you'd better get busy now! I want this done by morning. Tommorrow will be 'Loading on Bus' day and have everyone, including yourself packed and saying goodbyes to family and other friends. There's shipping boxes near the loading ramp outside." And he turned on his heel and left.
I looked around. Everything must be packed. Boy does this suck.
I looked at the clock on the wall, it read eight-thirty-five.
I sighed, dreading the task that had to be done.
I went out back and dragged the boxes and set them down in the changing room. I went to the prop closet and began to pack those items into a box. After I finished packing away those things, I went and found a red sharpie and labled the box: PROPS.
I picked up the box and brought it back to the loading ramp.
Then I walked back and went into the changing room and into another closet where the make-up was. I unfolded a smaller box and packed the make-up away and labled that box: MAKE-UP.
I went all around into all the rooms, studios, closets and offices, packing things into boxes, labling them acordingly and bringing them to the loading ramp. It was close to two in the morning before I was all done.
I colapsed on my beanbag and closed my eyes and fell asleep.
"Amber?" I head a voice ask softly and shaking me awake. "Amber its me, Micheal. Wake-up!"
I fluttered my eyes open and looked up at him.
"Hi." He said softly.
"Hi. What are you doing here?" I asked and stretched.
"Uh, I came back here to get my things and found you here sleeping."
"What time is it?"
"Almost nine."
"Nine?!" I sat up straight.
"Whoa! Calm down! It's okay. There are no rehersals today, it's packing day for everyone. Listen, I'd let you sleep the rest of the day here, but I'm afraid James won't be too happy if he finds you here. Listen, how about if you come back to my place and finish sleeping there?"
Here's a first! Micheal asking me to sleep at his place.
"You-you don't mind?" I asked, rubbing the kink in my neck from sleeping awkwardly.
"It's up to you, but I don't think your neck likes to sleep on that bean bag as much as you do. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mind. All I'm doing today is packing my things for the tour. You can hang in my room."
I was so tired I couldn't help but nod and accept his offer.
He grabbed his dance bag and flung it over one shoulder and put another arm around me and led me to his car.
He threw his bag in the back and I climbed in the front.
He turned the radio on softly and we drove in silence to his small apartment.
"There it is!" He said and pulled into a parking spot.
We entered the building and climbed two flights of stairs until we stopped outside of number 14.
"This is my place." He said proudly and opened the door for me. "Ignore the mess, it's just going into suitcases now."
I looked around. He had a stack of clothes on his couch and a few empty suitcases on the floor.
He had plants all over the place.
"It's not messy at all." I said.
"Eh, it could be neater. But my rooms back here." He led me down the hall and turned a corner and I entered a large room. He had a large bed with a dresser. A plant near his only window and pictures of people all over the place. He had a computer in a corner.
"Well," He said, opening a drawer and pulling out some pants and shirts. "I'll leave you alone. Get some REAL rest Amber."
"I will, thank you very much Micheal." I said, pulling down the covers and crawled into his bed.
He closed the door and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell back to sleep.
It was close to noon when I woke up again.
I don't think I've ever felt so well rested in my life.
As I stretched and got out of Micheal's bed, I heard his doorbell ring.
I heard him open the door. I decided to remain in his room and let him deal with this person.
I was planning on ignoring his conversation, but a familiar name caught my attention.
"Jesse, what are you doing here?" I heard Micheal ask. He sounded annoyed and angry at the same time.
I don't like to easdrop on people, but I felt I'd better be there to break up a fight to prevent any blood from being drawn.
"I uh...came here to say good bye." Jesse replied.
"I think you pretty much did that at the club." Micheal retorted.
There was a pause. "What was I to you Jesse? I thought we were fine."
"That was before. That was when I was naive about life. Then you had to go and tell me that we had to pretend that we're NOT together? When you told me that Micheal I was hurt..."
"I told you that for your own safety! Pardon me if I was trying to protect someone that I loved." Another uneasy pause.
"Are you seeing that Billy kid?" Micheal asked lowering his voice.
"Yeah." Jesse replied quietly. "He still can't thank you enough for what you did that night."
Micheal sighed. "Hey, it's nothing...think nothing of it."
"No it does mean something, and I'm the only one who really knows why you did that. Billy thinks it was out of kindness and bravery. I KNOW it was because Todd got hurt back there."
Pause.
"You didn't want to see anyone else get hurt. We may be through Micheal, but believe me, everything that you've told me, all of your hopes, dreams, thoughts, and all those lectures you gave me about my own safety, I'll always remember."
Another pause, but this time I poked my head just out enough to see Jesse and Micheal embrace for an instant.
I pulled back behind the door and listened again.
"Well, I hear that you guys are hitting the road tommorrow?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah. Billy's part of that RENT tour, what are you going to do?"
"I'm gonna go with them. They hired me as a technician so I can go with them."
"Oh, well, have fun Jesse."
"Good luck Micheal."
A pause, and I heard the door close.
I stepped out from behind the door.
"Micheal?"
Micheal turned to look at me. "Hey, um...sleep well?"
"Yeah, who was that?" I asked, playing dumb.
"Jesse. He wanted to say good-bye...for good."
I spent the night at Micheal's.
He didn't mind it at all. But to make me feel better, he took the couch and I had his bed.
We woke early that morning and walked to the theatre one last time.
There was a moving van and a bus waiting there for us.
The van was loaded and the cast and crew were arriving there slowly.
When everyone arrived we filed onto the bus and pulled away and the tour began.
Characters after Ch. 3
