Go My Own Way (BOOK THREE OF THE 'DIDN'T KNOW IT BEFORE' SERIES)

Chater Five: Be A Kid

"You killed it today," EJ said, putting his hands in his pockets as we started walking, "I know its not up to me, but...you're gonna be Anna." 

The prideful smile and sincerity in his voice made my body go warm.

"Thank you," I said quietly "Today was...certainly an interesting audition day. I actually thought you did pretty well!" 

"Ok, yeah," He said skeptically "Val told me to act like I knew what I was doing."

"Val told you that, did she?" I asked. He looked at me, raising a hand so he could point at me.

"Ok, see, I'm not the only one who's unnecessarily jealous!" 

"Unnecessarily?" I asked. "Have you seen Val? She's gorgeous, she's smart, she's a year older than you which makes her all mature."

"And yet, I'm delusional for thinking the attractive, funny, talented guy with a history of stealing my girlfriend is a threat?" He retorted. I shrugged. 

"Fair enough," I admitted, "Either way...I'm proud of what you did today. I'm proud of you for stepping up when the camp needed you too. Even if your Ms. Jenn voice could use some work." 

"Well, thank you," He said, "But no bad impression can hide the fact that I am drowning here."

"You are not drowning," I denied, "Maybe just...instead of acting like Ms. Jenn you...act like EJ." 

"But that's the whole problem, EJ doesn't know what he's doing."

"Then act like Rocket Man," I said with a shrug, "The actor/athlete known or his staring roles on the Shallow Lake stage. That guy knows what makes a performance. I promise, Directing is really not as scar as it sounds."

"Easy for you to say." He said, bumping me slightly. 

"I'm serious," I told him, "EJ, I told you, you know how theater works. Directing is just looking at what's in front of you, analyzing your actor's performances and thinking...what would I have done differently? Or even more importantly, what would the character have done? Would this character move or talk like that? Does their interpretation make sense with the source material? For the most part, trust your actors, let them play around with their interpretation of the character and then make adjustments when needed." 

He stopped turning to look at me. 

"How do you do that?" He asked. "How do you just...understand this stuff?" 

"Because I had to," I said with a shrug, "Because...for a long time, theater and behind the scenes stuff was the only thing that was keeping me from fading into the background. When people are counting on you, when...you are counting on yourself to make something happen, people find a way of figuring things out. I'm sure you will be no different. But also..."

I trailed off. 

"What?"

I let go of him, turning to face him. 

"I don't want to give you another thing to worry about, with the show and everything," I said, "So I just want to make sure you're not worried about...spending enough time with me or if I'm enjoying camp, because that is so not your responsibility. I just don't want you to feel like you can't focus on the show because you're worried about...the stability of our relationship or something." 

"Hey," He grabbed my hand, sliding his own up my arm, "After everything that happened last semester, you really think summer camp is going to break us?"

"No," I said "I' just telling you not to worry about me, ok? About us."

"Megan..." He took my other hand, "You and me? Its the only thing I'm not worried about."