Broken Juliet(36)

And so Ethan and I orbit each other. Get on with things. Learn the art of pretending. Hone our craft to lie to others as skillfully as we lie to ourselves.

And every morning, the first thing that goes through my brain when I see him is, “I’m fine.”




Erika leans on her desk.

“This term’s acting assignment focuses on passion. Romantic, sexual, suppressed, violent, artistic. I’ll be assigning each of you excerpts designed to confront and challenge you. Some of the material will make you uncomfortable. Turn those feelings into something you can use. A lot of the plays are controversial and contain issues of a sensitive nature. I expect you to handle it with maturity. Mr. Avery, please note, I’m looking at you.”

Jack gives his best “Who, me?” expression, and everyone laughs.

“You’ll have four weeks to rehearse and will present your pieces the week before Presidents’ Day weekend. Questions?”

Jack puts up his hand.

“Mr. Avery?”

“Please say you’ve given me something from Equus. I’ve always had a thing for horses.”

People laugh.

“As a matter of fact, no. You’ll be performing with Aiyah in a little piece called Soft Targets. It’s quite controversial, sexually.”

Jack rubs his hands together. “Ooh, tell me more.”

Erika suppress her grin. “It’s about men who enjoy having their female lovers sodomize them with monster strap-ons.”

Jack’s face drops. “What?”

Erika hands out the group lists as Jack turns to Lucas and says in a whiny voice, “She’s joking, right? That was a joke?”

I take the list and skim it to find my name.

The Killing of Sister George

Cassie—Sister George. Chain-smoking alcoholic lesbian. Ex-soap opera actor. Psychologically sadistic.

Miranda—George’s lover, Childie. Passive. Simple.

The character description makes me nervous. I like to think I can rise to a challenge, but this character is so far out of my wheelhouse, I have doubts I can pull it off.

I look through the list of the other plays. They all have an element of the shocking or taboo. It turns out Erika wasn’t joking about Jack’s excerpt. He’ll be playing a married businessman who pays a Dominatrix to regularly spank, degrade, and sodomize him. When I look over at Jack, he’s a little green. Aiyah, on the other hand, is grinning with sadistic glee. She often tells Avery how much she wants to smack him. Now she’s going to get her chance.

Miranda, Troy, and Angela are doing something called Picture Windows, in which people fall in love with inanimate objects. Lucas and Zoe are doing Unwrap Me, a play examining a married couple who enjoys cross-dressing, and Holt has been cast with Connor in …

I almost laugh out loud. It’s bad enough that Erika cast two guys who hate each other in the same play, but to make matters worse, Enemy Inside is a touching love story about a gay soldier coming to terms with his homosexuality.

Oh, my.

Connor is playing the closeted gay soldier. Ethan is the experienced and caring love interest who convinces him that loving another man isn’t a sin.

My, oh, my.

I find the concept vaguely arousing. In reality, I think the likelihood of Ethan pulling off a character who’s loving and patient is a major stretch. Also, he regularly glares at Connor like he wants to pummel him. Trying to convince an audience he’s attracted to him? Erika couldn’t have come up with a more difficult challenge.

I glance over at him. He’s frowning down at the piece of paper like he can make it say something different if he just concentrates hard enough.

A sharp laugh bubbles out of me. He looks up and scowls, so I suck the inside of my cheeks to stop myself.

Oh, this term is going to be fun.




Erika rubs her forehead and sighs. “Miss Taylor, you have to stop laughing. We’re wasting time.”

“I’m sorry,” I say as I fail to stifle my giggles. “I know it’s not funny. I just—”

I’m lying on the floor and Miranda is straddling me, and every time I laugh, she bounces up and down, which makes me laugh more.

“Miss Taylor!”

The giggles abate, and I take a deep breath to try and calm myself.

“I’m sorry. I’m ready.”

Miranda sighs. She’s used to kissing girls. I’m really, really not.

“Right. Let’s try it again. Remember, this is one of the truly intimate moments in the play. It’s when we see a brief glimpse of George’s vulnerable side. How she genuinely cares for Childie despite how she treats her. We need to feel the sexual tension between you. Are you clear?”

“Yes. Clear.”

It doesn’t make this any easier. Doing a love scene with Ethan was difficult enough. Doing one with another girl is totally out of the realm of my experience. Still, that’s what this whole term is supposed to teach us. That passion is passion, no matter who it involves.

My passion is kind of rusty. Maybe that’s why I’m having so much trouble.

“Okay. Stand and go to first positions. Take a moment to center yourselves.”

I stand opposite Miranda and close my eyes. Breathe. Remind myself to treat this just like any other character. I project myself into George’s mind, so I can discover her motivations. She’s experienced with women. With Childie. She loves her even though she torments her.