A month passed by quickly. Alicia became even more comfortable in school and in her life. She had great friends that she could hang out with and relate to, she had a great living situation with her cousins, aunt and uncle, her classes were giving her the challenge she needed and she was coming into her own as an actress. But she still was feeling as if this was all a dream. For once, she wasn�t the outcast that nobody paid attention to, and when they did, it was to make fun of her or make her life miserable. She felt like she was beginning to belong here and no one was going to take her away from that.
At first, she had been a little nervous when read-through practices started. She couldn�t make much eye contact, and stumbled on her words. But from gradual encouragement, she was coming out her shell. And that became even more so when they started in the auditorium. Alicia was really surprised herself on what she could do, and it got better and better as time went on.
And her and Nick�s friendship had also blossomed a little bit. They�d talk a little bit before or after class, and also the chemistry between them as Jamie and Kassandra was starting to show through.
Today for practice, everyone had to stay, except extras and stage crew. Which meant that Sara was there. Alicia had noticed that the relations between the two had been rocky since the play parts had been announced. She had no idea, but it was also none of her business. But no doubt Sara was jealous of Alicia, because she always shot her deathly looks at her every time they passed by each other and she would mutter offensive words under her breath. Normally, Alicia would have been really offended, but she knew that it was just because she had gotten the lead and Sara had not, so she tried to ignore it.
Nick walked in the auditorium looking like his feathers had really been ruffled.
�Hey Nick� She said.
He looked at her and put his backpack down. �Hey.�
�You look upset. Are you feeling ok?�
He shook his head. �No, but Its really nothing I want to talk about. Thanks for asking, though.�
�Ok. You ready for practice?�
�Yeah. All I want to do right now is disappear under someone else�s skin� He said flatly. Slowly, one by one, everyone arrived and practice started.
Rehearsal went on for about an hour, and then Ms. Collins gave them a 10 minute break. She pulled Alicia aside. �Ok, Alicia, do you remember when I introduced the play, I said that Kassandra had a big song she had to sing?�
Alicia nodded. She was eager to hear that song. �Do you have it?�
�Yes, I have it recorded with demo vocals. I want to play it for you and see what you think�
�Ok� Ms. Collins handed her the cd it was on and she listened to it. The song was called �If Only� and it was about being in love with someone and wishing that you could tell them how you feel. The song had a little bit a range, but it was nothing she couldn�t handle.
�I love it, Ms. Collins. I can definitely relate to it and so can Kassandra.�
Ms. Collins smiled. �I�m glad you do. I wrote it specifically for this play and it took me back to when I was in high school� She paused �I bet you all are tired of straight lines. We are going to learned the other songs as well with a little dances to them�
Alicia was scared. Dancing? She wasn�t very good at that. �They aren�t hard, are they?�
�No, I designed them with the thought that some of you are not great dancers. So it wont� be too hard, I promise.�
She nodded.
Everyone came back together and then Ms. Collins told them it sit on the stage. �Ok kids, we are going to take a break from straight lines. I want to play you all the songs I wrote for the play and start teaching the dances to some of them�
Aaron rolled his eyes. �I�m not a good dancer, Ms. Collins.�
Ms. Collins gave him a reassuring smile. �Don�t worry, Aaron. I designed these dances based on this fact. They will be a little complicated, but not too much.�
They listened to all the songs and Alicia liked them. They were very contemporary but also seem to fit the play.
�Ok. I need Jamie, Derrick, Will and Eric on the stage� Ms. Collins had been getting in the habit of calling them by their character names during rehearsal. So, Nick, Jeff, Drew and Aaron began to learn the dance and it was a cute dance. And Aaron was wrong about his dancing. He was pretty good once he started to get it.
Then Alicia, Ashlyn and Missy began to learn part of their dance. It was a slight bit more complicated than the guys but not much.
Alicia�s assignment was to start learning the song because she was going to sing in front of the cast in a demo performance in a few days. She was nervous because it would be the first time she would be up there doing something be herself, but then again, it was only her cast mates and not an actual audience. But it still made her nervous. And after she was done with her homework that night, she started to learn it, playing it over and over again and stopping to check to see if she was doing something right. She really loved the song and couldn�t wait to sing it. But she wasn�t going to tell anyone outside of theater class about it because they would have to see it for themselves. Oh how she wished Chloe could come to see her in February. But the way relations were going with her parents right now, she knew they wouldn�t let her.
Alicia really didn�t understand her parents. Why couldn�t they at least be happy for her even if they didn�t approve of what she was doing? They had been really opposed to letting her live with her relatives and go to the art school. Their philosophy was �She�s got a good enough education where she is. Why does she need to go to a �specialized� school?� But Jeremy and Katie had seen something in her that she did not see herself and let her live with them.
She couldn�t understand how they couldn�t even enjoy anything creative. You could recreate a beautiful place with a picture, tell a story of love or heartache with a song, bring back things to life in plays� and even if they didn�t approve of it, shouldn�t they be happy that she was doing something that made her happy? Hey, at least she was doing something that most people would be proud of. She wasn�t out there getting herself pregnant, or selling drugs, wasting away her life. No, she was doing something that could touch people�s lives. She really wanted to express those emotions to them, but she knew if she did she would be forced to go back and live in Ackensburg. And there was no way in hell she was going back there, even if her sister was still living there. Oh why did Chloe and Alicia end up with the parents they did?
Jeremy came into her room. �Leesha, your father wants to talk to you�
Alicia inwardly rolled her eyes, but then took the phone from him. �Hello?�
�Hello, Alicia� Her father�s firm and strict voice greeted her.
�How are you?� He asked.
�I�m fine. Yourself?� Alicia was polite as she always was over the years when she spoke to her parents.
�Good� He told her about some of the things that he had been doing and though it was BORING to her, she listened anyway.
�So, how is your life?�
Alicia said something that she wouldn�t have even dared to say a couple months ago. �Why should you care? You never really wanted me to come here anyway�
�Kelly Alicia, don�t be disrespectful to me!� Her dad was getting angry.
�I�m not trying to be disrespectful, I�m just saying the truth� She hung up on him, without feeling the least bit of guilt. She knew that she should not have done what she just did, but she did it. Man, she was definitely changing.