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‘It’s a little suspicious, isn’t it?’ Anushka adds, her arms folded over her chest, her body angled away from David. My brows furrow at the oddness. ‘We announce our cast list with Zayan, and the LSDCATS drop a tweet about how “theatre is for the underdogs”.’
‘As if Zayan being involved in our play is elitist or something,’ David scoffs, his eyes darting to Anushka before looking away. Something is definitely up with them. ‘Like they’re the victims.’
Zayan intervenes as the conversation gets more heated. ‘Look, if this is the LSDCATS’ way of fighting against the backlash, then fine. One tweet is nothing. They’ve fulfilled their duty by emerging from their silence online, and as long as we don’t say anything back, we can put this to rest. And, honestly, I don’t expect the LSDCATS want to go up against us anyway. This is their first and final attack.’
‘And why’s that?’ Ben asks. The Tragedies look disgruntled at the thought of not fighting back, and I can’t blame them, because a part of me feels the exact same way – filled with the urge to silence the LSDCATS like they tried to silence us.
Zayan smiles and steps closer to me, so that he’s back in my orbit. ‘Because Farah and I are going to be great at duping everyone. The public is going to fall in love with us, and the LSDCATS can’t do anything about it.’
I try to plaster on a matching smile, hoping to showcase the confidence he feels on my face.
The Tragedies look only semi-convinced.
‘Are you kids coming in or not?’ Marvin’s voice startles all of us, and we turn to see him standing with the Limelight doors wide open. His white brows are drawn together, a stern look etched on his face.
Immediately, we start scrambling up the stairs to get inside.
‘We’re coming in,’ Nur says.
‘Right away, sir,’ David replies eagerly.
‘Could you be any more of a suck-up?’ Anushka shoots under her breath. But instead of being tinged with humour, her response is sharp. Cutting, even.
I share a look with Nur, who shrugs helplessly. Ben looks disturbed by Anushka’s tone, and Zayan’s eyebrows are raised at her.
‘How about you focus on yourself?’ David fires back, equally intense. ‘Your obsession with me is becoming a little much.’
Nur stifles a gasp, Ben’s jaw tightens and Zayan looks away from the two of them like he’s unwilling to watch them argue. I stare, gaping at my two friends who are glaring at one another like they’re mortal enemies.
What is going on?
But before any of us can muster up the brain cells to say anything, both David and Anushka stalk through the Limelight’s front doors at the same time.
‘Does anyone know what happened there?’ I ask, vaguely pointing in their direction.
Nur and Ben shake their heads, equal looks of confusion on their faces.
‘Well, this will be an interesting first rehearsal,’ Nur murmurs, and then gives my arm a squeeze. ‘See you in there.’
Following Anushka, David and Nur, Ben gives me a quick nod before slipping through the doors as well. Zayan and I are the last to enter, and just before we set foot into the theatre, his hand catches the edge of my sleeve.
‘You OK?’ I ask, glancing at him with concern.
His face is a contortion of emotions. Many I can’t decipher, many I’d have to spend an age studying to understand.
‘We’ve got this,’ Zayan says, holding my stare. ‘You’re going to be great.’
I let myself smile – and it’s not fake in the slightest. ‘We’re going to be great.’
Unfortunately, we are not great. No one prepares you for the drama that commences when trying to produce a play. No one tells you about the underlying tension between actors, the multiple mishaps with the tech crew or the fact that it’s impossible to stop your real life from bleeding on to the stage.
‘They’re ruining the scene,’ Anushka says through gritted teeth, her entire being blazing as she looks at the group of cast mates on stage. I would put a hand on her arm to calm her down, but her anger will probably throw me from the theatre seats to the stage. ‘They can’t stop gawking at Zayan. It’s terrible. You’re the only one who can act beside him. You’re the only one who’s immune to his face.’
I’m so glad she’s not living in my thoughts, then.
‘Have you talked to David about it?’ I ask, ignoring every mental image of how good-looking Zayan is by focusing on my friend instead.
David and Anushka decided to share the role of stage manager, alongside their respective producer and director roles. Whatever tension they had before entering the Limelight is definitely still present.
