No Rules To Love

Chapter Four - Part One

I did not want to get up the next morning.

My eyes remained closed, more than content with snuggling into my duvet and sleeping the day away. Surrounded by the warmth of the fluffy covers, I smiled. I could even ignore the shrill tones of my alarm clock and keep my eyes closed in ignorant bliss. That proved how badly I did not want to get up. A harsh banging came from my door, making me flinch. It sounded like a stampede of elephants ramming their heads against the wooden door. Not long after the banging died down, the annoyed tones of my best friend drifted from the other side.

“Get your arse out of bed!” Ashley said. Her voice wasn’t clear, so I presumed she spoke around her toothbrush.

Ah, so we reversed roles. I liked it.

I almost snuggled down deeper into the cloud-like duvet, and another smile began to grace my lips. But Ashley’s voice interrupted my serenity.

“You can’t let some arrogant guy stop you from going to a rehearsal for one of the most important shows of your life so far,” Ashley said. Her annoyance and care combined to make an odd, begrudged tone. I knew there was love somewhere in there.

I groaned, thinking about what she said. Decision made, I shoved the covers down and away from my body. The chilly air hit me straight away, making me regret my decision for a moment. But Ashley was right, of course. This was important to me. In a way, it would kick-start my career. Would I let some arrogant asshole prevent me from going to an important rehearsal? This guy thought he was the bee’s knees (although, I completely disagreed, of course), and would I still let him put me off? What was wrong with me?

Had someone slipped something into my drink that made me disregard my career?

“I’m up, I’m up!” My voice was thick with sleep. I hoped it was loud enough for Ashley to hear and stop bugging me. I fell out of bed, my limbs still reluctant to move. I had to steady myself for a few seconds. The room span a little due to how I had dragged myself out of bed. When the world had steadied itself, I straightened up and completed my morning routine.

When I finally walked into the living room, dressed and with my bag at the ready, I smiled at Ashley. I had to do a double-take because Ashley was already halfway through her bowl of cornflakes. She pushed a full bowl towards me.

“I made breakfast for you,” Ashley told me, stating the obvious. “It’s only to save time because if we don’t get a move on, we’re going to be late.”

I smiled my thanks to her and sat down to eat the food, scared to say anything else in case I annoyed her further. We ate in silence for a couple of minutes. Ashley had already finished hers, and she waited for me to finish mine. Her patience rather astonished me.

I broke the silence. “Look, I’m sorry about what happened before. You know I’m never like that. I’m usually the one getting you up in the morning.”

“It’s not a problem, trust me,” she chuckled. “I understand your problem. If we shared the same situation, I’d still be in bed right now. I’m too stubborn to move. At least I know what you go through every morning with me. And let me tell you, I do not envy you.”

I laughed at her before finishing my cereal, washing the bowl, and putting it away. We then both walked to our rehearsal. Once I stepped out into the fresh air, I did feel a little better about going to the rehearsal. I also realised how ridiculously I behaved. The fact of the matter is, I won’t have to spend much time with Hunter, because why would he be helping Maria? And again, why was I so bothered about avoiding Hunter when I had many more important things to worry about? Like playing the lead role in my final, third-year show for a start...

The rehearsal schedule told me that this rehearsal was to take place in the auditorium, so we made that our destination. How exciting! We would start moving everything that we had learnt from the rehearsal room onto the stage. We would now have to familiarise ourselves with the different entrances and exits and some of the set pieces. It started to become real.

When Ashley and I stepped into the auditorium, the set was the first thing we spotted. I let my breath escape from me as I inspected it from afar. The technical crew did a fantastic job. The second thing I noticed was the flurry of excitement and anticipation. I wouldn’t have clicked onto it otherwise, but the atmosphere was so palpable it drew my focus. I looked over at my best friend, who had the same confused expression on her face as me. She looked back over at me, almost as if she sensed my eyes on her, and shrugged at me. It seemed she had no idea what was going on, either.

You see, Ashley and I were usually the early birds. Always the first ones at the rehearsal and usually the last to leave. I checked the time on my phone, and we weren’t any later than usual, despite my reluctance to get going. So why were there so many people here already? I scanned the area with my eyes, and it hit me. The only people in sight were the female and gay male members of the cast. Most of the students sat with compact mirrors and checked their make-up and hair.

Before I said anything, Michael entered through the doors, and he made his way up to us. When he saw his girlfriend, his face lit up and a smile spread across his handsome face. It warmed my heart to see, after two years of dating, Ashley still positively affected Michael.

“Hey girls.” Michael smiled at us both. He gave me a quick hug, before turning to his girlfriend and giving her a bigger hug, and he pecked her on the lips. He then looked around, a frown creasing his forehead. “Anyone want to tell me why there are so many people here already?”

Michael had been cast as Riff in West Side Story, one of the principal roles. He was one of the most talented members of the student body, so the fact that he was one of the leads came as no surprise. It also wouldn’t surprise me if he made it to the West End or even Broadway after we graduated. Like us, Michael was an early riser and eager. He usually met us at rehearsal before everybody else, so this surprised him as well.

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Ashley told him.

“Do we have another guest speaker or something?” I asked.

“You think if there was a guest speaker, I wouldn’t know about it?” Ashley chuckled, folding her arms across her chest.

“Fair point.”

“Has anyone also noticed that it’s only girls and gay guys here at the moment?” Michael asked us both. I nodded at him; I had already noted this, though I hadn’t voiced my discovery.

“It couldn’t be because of Hunter, could it?” Ashley announced her idea. I gave her a sharp glare. She was being ridiculous... wasn’t she?

“Are people that shallow around here?” Still reluctant to admit it, I took a quick look around. That did it. “Wait, don’t answer that.”

Ashley and Michael chuckled before we all moved to sit down on the seats. We tried to get as close to the front as possible, but excited people assumed most of the seats. Everyone bounced up and down. Seemingly, they were unable to contain their excitement. A scoff escaped my mouth, and I rolled my eyes at how crazy they acted. They didn’t even realise how pathetic they looked and sounded. This was ridiculous.

Ms Carter stepped onto the stage, preparing herself for the beginning of rehearsal. She even looked a little bit shocked at the amazing turn-out at this early hour.

“Okay, we’ll wait for a few more of the principles to arrive, and then we’ll start!” She told us, checking her watch. “So, talk among yourselves for a while.”