Chapter 2 ~ The Auditions
#2 of Romeo & Romeo?
The next morning, I had gotten to the shop early to prepare Rolland a coffee to go with two milks and two sugars, just how he liked it. I also threw a couple chocolate chip cookies into a paper bag for the two of us. Burt emerged from the kitchen, giving me that smile he always gave when he knew something. He was wearing the same dark jeans and uniformed t-shirt.
"Ya sure there ain't no otha reason your takin ‘im ta the theatre?" He asked.
"Yes, Papa Burt, I'm positive."
"Then who is da coffee for?" His smirk only grew wider. I had told Burt two years prior about my attraction to the same sex. And like most father figures, he was in disbelief at first, but quickly came to terms with it.
"Is that any of your business?"
"It is if ya ain't plannin on payin for it."
"Fine," I let out a hard sigh, admitting defeat to the persistent bruin. "...you know who it's for."
"Nah I don, could ja tell me?" He was now rubbing my nose in what he knew from the very start, right from when he sent me on break. Man he was a pain in my ass sometimes.
"It's for Rolland... there are you happy now?" Just as I had said that, the sound of the shop door could be heard closing. There, in the door of the small coffee shop, stood Rolland However unlike the night before, he was dressed in a pair of dark denim jeans and a black button down shirt. If you ask me, I think he look rather handsome.
"I know I am." He said, wearing the same coy little smile I had seen the night before.
I handed him the coffee nervous. "Y-y-you ready to g-go?" I managed to stutter out. He laughed a little, at my inability to act normal around him.
"Yessir!" He said, saluting me, giving me a giggle as he did so.
"Yu ta ‘ave fun now." I glared back to Burt, giving him a look that would make even demon hounds from the deepest pits of hell cringe. This caused the older bear to laugh "Don be like that boy. I'll pick up da pups an bring'em back ta your place. See ya in a bit."
"Yeah, whatever, Papa Burt. See yeah." I said, leaving out the front door to the coffee shop. I lead Rolland around back to where my van was parked. We both hoped in, I put my keys in the ignition and turned them, bring the beast to life. We drove in silence most of the way, exchanging awkward smiles and looks between each other. I could feel his eyes glued to me for most of the ride, looking me over from my dark brown cargo pants to my ride t-shirt.
"Thank you." He said, breaking the silence.
"What for?" I asked him.
"The coffee, the cookies and the ride to the school silly." He replied, taking another sip from his coffee.
"It's no problem at all, I'm just really looking forward to seeing you perform again. How do you get into character so well?"
"I just have my ways. They seem to work for me." A blush crossed under his beige furred cheeks of the leo in the passenger seat.
"Come on, there must be more than that."
"I just... well..." The lion let out a soft sigh. "I just imagine myself in the character's place, and place other people in other roles?"
"That's a cool way of doing it. I'm glad that works for you." I paused for a second, debating whether or not to ask the question on my mind, but I worked up the courage to do it. "Who did you picture as Juliet?"
The lion shifted nervously in his seat. "Umm..." He looked out the window, noticing the school coming into view. "Is that the school?"
"Yeah, it is." I turned into the parking lot, finding a close available spot. After I had parked, we both sat there in a brief moment of silence. Again, Rolland was the one to break it.
"Danny, I promise I will tell you after, ok?"
A small smile crossed my face and I nodded. "Alright, since you promised." The two of us got out of the car and made out way into the theatre where the auditions were being held. As soon as we walked through the door, there was a young feline girl sitting at a table to the right, she was handing out numbers to order the audition. We made our way to her table. She was wearing a pair of thin rimmed glasses and cute flowwy blue dress.
"Are you two auditioning?" she asked in a rather excited voice.
"Nope, just the lion." I relied.
"Okay, here is your number, and can I get your name, Mr. Lion." Se said giggling.
Rolland just smiled that same coy little smile he always gave me, making the kitty girl blush. "It's Rolland."
"A-alright, just take a seat and w-wait for y-your number to be c-called." She wrote down his name and we found two seats near the front of the theatre.
Rolland leaned in towards me, whispering into my ear. "She almost sounds like you." He chuckled a little. Me on the other hand, I was blushing right through my thick white fur. I guess he really didn't know what kind of affect he had on people. He wasn't intimidating, just really cute and charming.
"So what number did you get?" I asked, trying my best to change the subject.
"Twenty six." He replied. A few moments later, a rather large wolf made his way to the stage. He had to be around his fifties because of his grey head and facial fur. He wore a pair of loose fitting sweat pants and a hoody, on the left breast of the shirt was the theatre company's logo of the two masks of comedy and tragedy. Under the logo, there was the word "Director" embroider showing his position within the company.
"Okay every, shut the hell up so I can talk here!" The wolf shouted over the crowd, not only getting their attention, but causing some to maybe even crap their pants. The anger in his face drained as the theatre went quiet. A smile even replaced the scowl. "Thank you, now we are going to begin our audition. I will not comment on your skills until after I have cast the parts. So number one, please come to the stage."
One by one, the actors and actress made their way to the stage. When it was finally Rolland's turn he made his way to the stage. "Hello, I'm doing Romeo soliloquy at the masquerade ball and..."
"Just fucking begin already kitten!" The director blurted out, interrupting Rolland.
"Alright, sorry." Rolland took a deep breath, calming his nerves before he began. "Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear, Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear. So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night"
Everyone in the theatre was bewildered, this included me. Even though I had seen him perform that scene once already, it still had the same effect on me. I could no believe what I was hearing. Rolland came back to the seat beside me. "How do you think I did?" he asked nervously.
"Do you even have to ask?"
"Kind of, I was so nervous and it felt like I said it to fast and..."
"Rolland..." I said, cutting him off. "You did great, I'm sure you will get Romeo or another great lead."
"You think so?" he asked.
"I don't think so, I know so." I gave him a reassuring smile.
We waited in our seats for the others to finish their auditions, but compared to Rolland, they didn't even deserve to perform on the same stage. After the rest of the actors and actresses had their chances to showcase their talents, the director, along with a few other furs, went into a little room next to the theatre to make their casting list. Rolland and I waited nervously for the results, Rolland obviously more nervous than myself.
When the director emerged from the room, he posted a piece of paper on the bulletin board next to the room. A crowd of anxious furs rushed over to see what parts, if any, they had been cast as. I wait off to the side as Rolland checked the list for his name. He rushed back to me, full tilt, pouncing me the floor. His face was lit by his bright beaming smile. "I'm Romeo!" he shouted.
I laughed a little, a bit disoriented from the pounce. "Congrats Rolland, I told you that you were great."
"Thanks." He said, a blush now crossed his face as he climbed off of me. "So as a thanks for showing me around and just being a great friend, come back to my house with me, and we can celebrate."
"I'm sorry Rolland, but I gotta get home and watch my little brothers."
"They can come too! Just please come." He said, giving me that same coy little smile he always gave me. I take back my earlier statement, you remember the how I said "how he had no idea the effect he had on furs", that definitely wasn't true; he knew exactly what he was doing to me. But I still had to turn down his offer.
"I'm sorry" I said again, my ears flattening to my head, my tail sinking between my legs. "But I promise we can hang out another time."
"Alright, I'll hold you to it."
I smiled and nodded. "Okay, deal. You need a ride home, or you got a ride coming?" I asked him.
"I can get someone to come get me, but thanks anyways."
"No problem. So I will see you later." I started to head for the door, when I felt him paw grab my own.
"Wait..." he reached into his pocket pulling out a pretty expensive looking cell phone. "Can I get your number, so I can give you a call?"
"Yeah sure, it's 905-321-7144" as I told him the number, he punched the digits into his phone.
"Alright and..." He lifted his phone and a quick clicking sound was heard. "There we are, now its perfect." He showed me the screen where my name, number, and now a picture of me now served as my contact information on his phone. "I'll give you a call tonight and maybe we can hang out, you, me and your brothers."
"Okay, just give me a call in a bit."
"Ight, see ya Danneh boy" he said, in a voice that match Papa burt's perfectly. I could not help but laugh.
"See you later, Rolland" I left the theatre doors and made my way to my beast of a van. Putting the keys in the ignition, turning them, the beast roared to life. I drove myself through the many side streets of Pelham, listening to the songs on the radio.
"Hey everyone!" the fur at the station announced to all of the listeners. "This is Mad Dog and you're listenin to 108.7 FM. That was Matt Nathanson wrapping up our 60 minutes of uninterrupted music with "Get higher". It's a beautiful August afternoon today, and it would be a waste to spend the time inside. So get your swimsuits and make your way to the beach. You won't be getting much more of these days." He said in a very upbeat voice. "School is just around the corner!" I quickly shut off the radio, I still had two weeks before I even wanted to think about that. I drove in silence for the rest of the trip home.
When I pulled into my driveway, Papa Burt and the twins were outside, the twins splashing around in a small inflatable pool that was put up in the front yard. Our home was nothing special; it was a small house with yellow siding and a black shingled roof. Inside, there were only five rooms; a kitchen, a living room, my mother's room and a bedroom me and my brother's shared. As I got out of my van, the twins jumped out of the small inflatable pool and ran towards me. "DANNY!" They shouted, tackling me to the ground. Burt stayed sitting in the lawn chair by the pool, laughing.
"Eh Danneh boy. ‘Ow did ‘is ting go?"
The two boys still had me pinned to the ground, giggling. "It went great." I said "He got cast as Romeo!"
"Dat good?"he asked.
"Yes, That's the lead role."
"Dat is good, good fer ‘im." Burt said, struggling to get up from his chair. "But imma get goin. Got meself a shop ta run. Eh, pups, let ya brotha up an give ya Papa Burt a big bear hug."
"Kay Papa Burt." Josh and Caleb said in unison, turning their attention from me to Burt, they ran full speed at him, only to be caught in literally a big bear hug. "Bye bye, Papa Burt."
"See ya, kiddoes." With that, Burt climbed into his small Volkswagen beetle, such an awkward little car for him, and whenever I saw him driving it, I couldn't help but laugh. I watched as the little car drove away, big mistake on my part. I let my guard down and this was a perfect opportunity for the twins to strike, which they took full advantage of. They grabbed me by the arms and dragged me over the pool, dropping me in the cold water.
"Gotcha Danny!" They said in unison.
"This ain't over, you lil monsters!"
We played for the rest of the afternoon, under the hot August sun, all the while wondering when the next time I would see Rolland was... I already missed him.
There is Chapter two, sorry it too so long. It's been done for awhile now, just been lazy. Hopefully I won't be as bad with chapter three. Also, I know my writing of Burt's dialogue changes a lot when I'm writing, but I'm just trying to perfect his language patterns right now. Please leave comments on what to improve on. It would make writing a lot easier. :) look forward to hearing from you all :)