Loveless(36)

‘No, no. Sorry.’ Pip nudged him with an elbow. ‘It’s cool.’

Rooney clapped her hands together loudly, halting their conversation. ‘Attention, please.’ She flipped up her MacBook. ‘The presentation will now commence.’

‘The what?’ said Pip.

‘Jesus,’ I said.

On the screen was the first slide of a PowerPoint presentation.

A Shakespeare Medley: A short but compelling presentation by Rooney Bach

‘Short … but compelling …’ I repeated.

‘I relate,’ said Pip.

‘What’s happening?’ asked Jason.

Rooney clicked to the next slide.

Part 1: The Premise

a) A medley of several Shakespeare scenes (only good ones) (NO history plays) b) We each play different roles in various scenes from various plays c) All the scenes explore the theme of LOVE and it feels very deep and meaningful This did actually pique my interest. And it seemed to interest Jason and Pip too, as they both leant forward to watch as several images appeared on screen: Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes looking traumatised in their Romeo and Juliet movie, followed by David Tennant and Catherine Tate lounging around in their West End production of Much Ado About Nothing, then a picture of someone with a donkey mask on, which was presumably from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

‘I have decided,’ said Rooney, ‘that instead of just doing one play, we’re doing the best bits of a load of them. Only the good ones, obviously.’ She glanced at Pip. ‘None of the history plays. Comedies and tragedies only.’

‘I hate to say it,’ said Pip, ‘but that’s actually a fun idea.’

Rooney flicked her ponytail back with a triumphant expression. ‘Thank you for admitting that I’m right.’

‘Hang on, that’s not what I –’

Jason interrupted her. ‘So we’ll get to play lots of different parts?’

Rooney nodded. ‘Yes.’

‘Oh. Cool. Yeah, that actually does sound fun.’

I raised my eyebrows at him. I’d thought he’d rather join the Musical Theatre Soc, honestly. He’d always preferred musicals to plays.

Jason shrugged at me. ‘I want to be in a show this year, and you know if we try and audition for the Freshers’ Play or Musical Theatre Soc, we either won’t get in because so many people want to be in it, or we might get relegated to a tiny role. You remember in Year Ten when I had to be a tree in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’

I nodded. ‘A thrilling experience for you.’

‘I don’t particularly feel like wasting a year of my life turning up to rehearsals just to stand still and wave my arms around occasionally.’ Jason glanced at Rooney. ‘At least with this we know we’d get lead roles and a decent amount of lines. And we’d be doing it with friends. It’d be fun.’ He slapped his thigh and leant back in his seat. ‘I’m in.’

Rooney was beaming wide. ‘I should have hired you to do the presentation.’

‘Oh my God,’ said Pip, folding her arms. ‘I can’t believe you’ve converted Jason to your side already.’

‘It’s my charm and intelligence.’

‘Fuck off.’

Rooney moved on to the next slide.

Part 2: The Plan

a) I will decide on the plays and scenes we’re doing b) I will direct

c) Weekly rehearsals until our performance in March (YOU MUST ATTEND ALL OF THEM) ‘Hang on,’ Pip spluttered, running a hand through her curls. ‘Who made you supreme overlord of the Shakespeare Soc?’

Rooney smirked at her. ‘I think that’d be me, actually, considering it was all my idea.’

‘Yes, well …’ Pip went a little red. ‘I … I think we should have some say in who directs.’

‘Oh really?’

‘Yes.’

Rooney leant forward over the table so she was staring directly at Pip’s face. ‘And what’s your say?’

‘I –’ Pip cleared her throat, not quite able to maintain eye contact. ‘I want to co-direct with you.’

Rooney’s smirk dropped. She said nothing for a moment. And then – ‘Why?’

Pip stood her ground. ‘Because I want to.’

That wasn’t the reason. I knew exactly why Pip was doing this.

She wanted to one-up Rooney. Or at least be her equal.

‘That’s my condition,’ she said. ‘If you want me to be a part of this, I want to co-direct.’

Rooney pursed her lips. ‘Fine.’

Pip smiled wide. She’d won this round.

‘Moving on,’ said Rooney, and clicked to the next slide.

Part 3: The Fifth Member

a) Find them

b) Lure them in

c) Shakespeare Soc gets approved as a full society d) SUCCESS

‘Lure them in?’ I said.

‘Yikes,’ said Pip.

Jason chuckled. ‘Sounds like we’re trying to persuade people to join a cult.’

‘Yes, well …’ Rooney huffed. ‘I didn’t know how else to phrase it. We just need to find a fifth person,’ she went on. ‘Can you all ask around and see if anyone’s interested? None of this matters if we can’t recruit a fifth person. I’ll ask around too.’