"Hey, Craig! Stop brooding in the middle of nowhere. Have you considered going to your changing room to do that?"

"No. My thoughts crept up at me too fast that I didn't think of going there in the first place." I replied to whoever was talking to me. I wasn't even bothered to look who it was; my mind was elsewhere. How was I to stop something bad waiting to happen? But if I stood there doing nothing was another story which was much worse.

I stood in my place taking my mind off the guy Ethan and started thinking about the dream I had in the morning. Maybe it was time for me to set aside my fears of the past and start using those skills once again, starting from now. So I thought through what Jenna told me earlier. 

“Ethan, a guy from high school.”

“A friend?”

“I’d say so.” 

“A good friend?”

“No, in all honesty I barely know him, but I like him, so I’d class him as a friend,”

“That makes more sense.” 

“What are you talking about Craig?”

“He doesn’t look good; it’s as if he wants to hurt you,”

“Been talking to James have we? Did James think I would listen to you over him? I can’t believe he cares so much about who I date, I mean aren’t we a little old for all this? Tell him to mind his own business!”

“James didn’t tell me to say anything…”

"James!" I muttered underneath my breath. The only person that could help and understand me in this situation was him. He has picked something up about that guy as well. He might even remember him more better than Jenna. I needed to find out more about Ethan before I could come up with a better picture.

"All this time you've been thinking about a guy? Shame on you!" said the person who was mocking me ever since the beginning.

Just as I came out of my trance, James was headed my way. Probably for some food that was on a table behind me.

"Hey, James!" I shouted a little too desperately.

"Oh boy. I'm so sorry for the young man. I wonder what he is going to do when he finds out that you are in love with him?" The man said to me. I just ignored him. Luckily, James was too far of a distance away to hear what the man was saying.

"Yo,...um....Craig, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, what's up?"

"Well..." I didn't know how to bring the topic up smoothly, my curiosity was hitting me like a jack-hammer. The only way was to say it abruptly, even though I rather not. "I need you to tell me about the guy Ethan."

"Oh, no!" said the man that looked more like a janitor at school than an employee, dropping something that was in his hands. "Either you want a three-some or to break up. The latter is more likely, after showing the face of a widow for how long. That's what you've been thinking about this whole time?" 

"What's that guy talking about?" James asked in confusion.

"Just ignore him. He is experiencing a case of PMS. Very bad for a male to have it. Can we speak privately? It's something very personal and I would like it if no one interrupted us on this topic."

James gave the intention that he wanted to say no, but changed his mind for some reason, "Sure, why not?"

But something changed our plans.

"Hey, James, buddy!" Ethan came out of the blue and placed his hand on James' shoulder, " Jenna says we need to check the lights again. There are a few technical problems and since I'm new here, she said for you to help me out. You didn't really explain it to me very well on how to do it."

Ethan turned around and left, motioning his arm for James to follow him, not even taking his time to look at me. I then realized I had to speak to James when there wasn't anyone around, especially Ethan and Jenna who was head over heals for him all of a sudden.

"Gotta go, Craig." James said apologetically. I then grabbed his arm before he could turn to leave and told him,"If you want, meet me at the Grand Cafe. I'm telling you, this is very serious. I need to know, but we can't talk here. Somebody might hear us and I want to avoid that."

"Sure." I let go of his arm and he turned around to leave. 

"Look at the poor guy. Now you've broken his heart. He has the same pitiful expression as you did a few minutes ago."

I rolled my eyes and went to my changing room. I really needed to find out that dressed-up-like-a-janitor man's name. He must have been working here for long to know my name and considering his strange behavior, I needed to do something to stop it. Or else, he'll definitely overhear me and James at some point. 

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Author guidance for This exercise

Name: Helena Seabridge
21
Appearance: Long black curled hair to mid way down her back, one green and brown eye, one green and blue, long eyelashes, fairly pale skin, 5"10, curvy.
Personality: Cheerful, loves to sing, dance and act, but has a little bit of a stage fright issue and is not confident unless she is dancing or in a group.
Character/Position: Slave of the Ring
Stargazer

Name: Cara Adams
Age: 22
Appearance: Bright blue eyes, big smile, pale-ish skin, light brown hair. 5"6, slim.
Personality: Happy, loves everything to do with theatre, seems slightly harsh when directing but only because of wanting the show to be the best it can be. Proud and confident.
Position: Director and Choreographer/Aladdin
LuneXian

Name: Isabella "Bella" Hurst
Appearance: Straight blonde hair that is waistlength, colored starlight under the lights. Arched, exotic eyes of deep chocolate, and a sassy, pursed smile.
Personality: Highly focussed and disiplined, she is fearless and daring - a showman on stage. She is a classically trained ballerina who turned some of her attention on theatre after sufffering a now-mostly-healed ankle injury. While a little competitive, she is acts mainly as a friend to everyone with a sophisticated, diplomatic air.
Character/Position: So Shi (Princess)
ZillaGirl

Name: Maria Wright
Appearance: Shoulder length, chocolate coloured hair and dark brown eyes. Average height (5'6" ish), slim. Slightly tanned skin.
Personality: Has always dreamed of being a big time star and has learnt a lot from rejection. Things are finally starting to pick up and she refuses to let her chance slip away. She's ruthless and won't let anyone get in her way.
Character/Position: Chorus
mollie1994


Name: Evelyn (Eve) Simpson.
Appearance: Shoulder blade length, wavy ginger hair. Light brown eyes. Under average height (around 5'4"), average weight. A few freckles around her nose.
Personality: Normally cheery and bright once you get to know her, but can have random mood swings that send her mood plummeting. She has always wanted to be in "a good musical, like The Sound of Music, or Singin' in the Rain".

AutumnMay


Jenna Hartley
21
Appearance: Short black hair, navy square glasses which cover her deep blue eyes, dark pink lips which stand out against her pale complexion. She's only 5ft2 but wears heels which make her taller.
Personality: She's well organised, can command respect easily, has a loud voice. She's likeable but never quite fits into the group of actresses and dancers.
Role: Stage manager/assistant director.

James Hartley
21
Appearance: Black hair, deep blue eyes, tanned skin after spending many vacations down south, deep pink lips like his sister's. He's 6ft and quite a fanciable icon.
Personality: Much more popular than his twin sister, is quiet in strange situations, easily flirts with girls, is organised but not as much as Jenna. He's empathetic and easily makes new friends.
Role: Lighting & Sound station

Craig Jones
Age: 24
Appearance: Short and shiny wavy hair, Italian brown and Egyptian-like colored skin (due to his parents' heritage) with hazel brown eyes. He is quite slim, has an angular bone structure which is perfect for the role he plays and has a height of about 5.8 ft.
Personality: He is very kind and open to everyone in the cast and crew. He seems as if he is carefree, but he has a certain enigma when it comes to his personal issues; he never opens up to anyone about it.
Role: Abanazar

Name: Grace Stylus
Age: 22
Appearance: She has wavy black curls usually tied into a bun to avoid her hair falling in front of her face when she is doing her job and has radiant green eyes. She always wears make-up to show her talent, she does dress appropriately at all times except when it comes to Craig; she is more revealing.
Personality: Jubilant, she enjoys everything as if it was the first time she had seen or done anything, although she does look as if she has a lot of experience in her life. Her attitude is towards the crew is polite even though she might hate some of them
Position: Make-up artist.

updated Oct 11 '11 by Stargazer