This is the tenth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, and Part IX before continuing.
“So, how did your date go?” Britney asked a few days later when she met up with Sarah for another study session.
“It was not a date.”
“Really? ‘Cause I figured you would walk him to the theater department and come back, but you never came back.” She stared at Sarah suggestively.
Sarah laughed and smacked her friend across the arm with her bag. “Shut up! The only excuse I could come up with for why I would be walking in that direction would be to go to the conservatory and snag some time in a practice room. Then I figured, hey, I’m already here. Why not actually snag some time in a practice room?”
“By yourself?”
“Of course, by myself! Perv!”
“I’m just saying,” Britney said, holding up both hands defensively. “I’ve heard about the nasty things you guys do in those practice rooms.”
“Gross!”
“I know. You’re all animals.”
Sarah rolled her eyes and decided her best option was to try to change the subject. “How’s the script coming along/”
“Actually, pretty well.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Once I got the hang of it, I just got into this groove.”
“See, I told you you could do it.”
“Hang on now. I just finished the first act. There’s still a whole act to go. Plenty of time for me to blow it.”
“You’re already halfway through!”
“With another half to go.”
“Look, you can choose to go through life with play-half-unwritten attitude, but I prefer to go through life with a play-half-written attitude.”
“You are so corny.”
“I know. It’s part of my charm.” Sarah batted her eyelashes and Britney dissolved into giggles.
“So, what are you working on?”
“Nothing. Just studying for my Psych exam.”
“Anything interesting?”
“It’s all interesting. Did you know that when you ask someone how they would react in a certain situation and then put them in that situation, they’re no better at predicting their reaction than a total stranger?”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. We’re all basically living our lives with a total stranger. Isn’t that creepy?”
“Totally creepy. What if I go crazy and murder myself in my sleep?”
“Very funny. Seriously, though. How can we spend our whole lives with ourselves and still have no clue what we’re really like?”
“People are really good at lying to themselves.”
“You think?”
“I know. I had this friend in high school who couldn’t stand to be single. Every time she and her boyfriend broke up, she would find some other boy and convince herself she was in love with him just because they were both available. Then she wondered why she got bored of them (or they got bored of her) after a few months.”
“Harsh.”
“What? Haven’t you ever met someone like that?”
Sarah hesitated because she was afraid to admit she might be more like Britney’s friend than not. Instead, she said. “I had a friend who I think was the opposite. I could swear she had a huge crush on this one guy, but she always denied it so strongly that I think she really convinced herself she didn’t like him.”
Britney snorted. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”
“Well, yeah, there’s that.”
“So, the guy was never into her?”
“No. He was always dating someone else.”
“That’s so sad.”
“I know, right?”
They both stared morosely out the window for a few moments before Britney said, “Oh, I could totally use that for my play!” Sarah smiled crookedly. “Happy to help.”
To be continued…