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“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
I love the way she asks this, like we aren’t already grown up and being asked to make big decisions about our futures.
“When I was five, I wanted to be a fire truck, so I’m gonna go with that,” I say.
“A firetruck? Not a fireman?”
“Correct.”
“Okay, yeah. That checks out for you. You don’t quite have the physique to be a truck, but if you hit the gym three . . . hundred hours every week, you could get there for sure. Now,the hose situation . . . How long is it . . .? Because I think there are requirements.”
My face heats, and Jade cackles. I tried to beat her at her game and forgot it was her game to win. My mind blanks. I can’t even think of a clever response. I’m just trying to recover from her comments about my . . . hose.
“Okay, but for real, what do you want to do?” she asks, and the way she looks at me gives me pause. There’s genuine curiosity in her tone and it gives me hope that maybe she wants to get to know me as much as I’d like to get to know her.
“I’d like to be a light designer in theater in some form or fashion. Traveling around from show to show or Broadway—I’m open to whatever opportunities come my way.”
“That’s so . . . free-spirited of you,” Jade says with some surprise.
“Iamin theater. It’s not like I chose to be an accountant.” I don’t tell her the idea of moving from place to place chasing lighting gigs scares me, despite the desire to do it.
“Fair point. Also, gross.”
“Agreed. Math is the worst,” I say. “And you? What do you want to do?”
We’ve both long finished our meals, and I sit back in my chair, crossing my arms. Jade is showing me a depth I wasn’t expecting. I like it. It makes me want to know more.
“I’d like to do something theater-related. Something with makeup. I don’t know about movie makeup, but that is one of the biggest crossovers of makeup and performance.”
“That didn’t really answer my question,” I press.
Jade is quiet for second, like she’s thinking about what she wants to say. Or how she wants to say it. If she wants to at all.
“If I could have it my way, I’d just . . . take whatever jobs I could find. Costume and makeup in Austin for the summer,Portland for the fall, Atlanta for the spring. I just think there’s something fun about all the possibilities.”
There isn’t a hint of sarcasm or a joke in her voice—something I’ve found to be rare even in the short time I’ve known Jade. It feels like maybe I’m getting a peek at a version of her she doesn’t share with a lot of people.
I try to read her face to see if I should respond with matched sincerity or if she’d rather I turn the tone light again.
“Your dad won’t try to make you be a CEO somewhere?”
I can tell by the way her mouth curves up in a cynical smirk that I made the right choice.
“You know, he might. Those rich white men love to tell you how to live your life.”
I snort, and the vulnerable moment dissipates as quickly as it arrived.
Jade checks her phone and then tucks it back into her pocket. “Hey, I’ve got another class in fifteen minutes, so I’m going to head that way. See you tomorrow, though?” She stands and gathers her trash and backpack.
I give her a nod, and she leaves with a smile and a wiggle of her fingers. I watch her go, a smirk plastered on my face.
Spending the past couple of days with Jade has been more fun than I anticipated. Every day, I’ve found myself leaving our time together wishing we had more of it and looking forward to the next time I’ll get to see her.
Even now, I wish she’d come back so we could run lines again or talk more about our mutual interests in an unconventional career. I want her to come back and tease me again; I want to watch her throw her head back in a laugh at something I said.
But she’s off to class, and I need to work on my light plot. It’s half-done, but John wants it in four days, on Monday.
I head to the theater, and on my way through the lobby, the wall of framed photos next to the ticket booth catches my eye.It’s a new display, showcasing photographs from past shows, with students I’ve never seen before and a few I know pretty well. The photo fromThe Taming of the Shrew—last year’s fall show—has my friend Owen Chao playing Petruchio, one of the male love interests in the play.
