Amongst The Water-Fresh Waters

CHAPTER 39: First Rehearsal! Part 1

FIRST UPLOADED: AUGUST 5, 2021 3:47 PM

"After Lu5cas gets here, we can go over Ariel and Prince Eric's scene when he finds her on his beach." A plump woman explains as she looks at the students sitting on the stage. "But Mrs. Darbus; Kylie isn't here yet." Matt flips through his Script Book as he explains to her. The long-haired woman huffs frustrated. She forces a smile. "Well, then Avery can fill in for her." Mrs. Darbus says. "That's why we have understudies." She sing-songs as she looks around for Finn as Lonnie and Matt let out an eerily synchronized chuckle. They both look at Mrs. Darbus and look down at their books. "That's right Finn isn't here either." She grunts.

"But she left like 20 minutes ago because you skipped over Kylie's scenes and she got mad you weren't using her." A voice is heard, sitting next to Matt. "I knew I shouldn't have cast her as Kylie's understudy." Mrs. Darbus shifts in her chair. She looks up and her eyes grow wide. "I suppose I better keep my mouth shut." She laughs nervously looking up from her large-framed glasses, only seeing the girl's wild-untamed hair. "Would you want to fill in for her Lonnie?" Mrs. Darbus smiles at her stagehand. "You do embody Ariel better than anyone here." Everyone around Lonnie nods in agreement. Including Evie; who is sitting on the other side of Matt.

Lonnie's deep brown eyes widen, shocked by Mr. Darbus' offer. Lonnie blinks nervously. "No way." She says shaking her head, causing her dark curly hair to bob back and forth. "I'm not here to act. I'm here to help with the Props and Stage directions." Lonnie's face reddens.

Mrs. Darbus looks at Lonnie's complexion and notices it's oddly white. "Okay. I guess we will have to find someone else to fill in for both our leads for today's rehearsal. Who volunteers?" She sighs. "You don't even have to be off-book?"

"I can fill in for Lucas." Matt quickly speaks up before realizing that Kylie isn't there. He looks around and suddenly notices. Matt sighs and rolls his eyes. "Never mind. I'd rather not." He admits. Mrs. Darbus shakes her head. "No. You already volunteered. So the role is yours for today. Next, we need Ariel." She looks around waiting for someone to speak up. Mrs. Darbus' gaze goes to Lonnie again. And Lonnie hides behind her brother. Then Mrs. Darbus looks at Evie. Evie's eyes shoot open. "No no no no no." Evie shakes her head vigorously. "Just like Lonnie, I'm not here to act. I'm here for the costumes." She stares at Mrs. Darbus frightened. "I've never once acted in my life. And I never intend to." She refuses. "Well, we need to get something done. And preferably apart from the beginning that includes Ariel or Prince Eric." Mrs. Darbus sighs exhausted.

"Why aren't they here anyway?" Lonnie questions. Matt looks at his sister and chuckles. "They are probably jumping each other's bones." He laughs. Mrs. Darbus and Lonnie glare at him. He shrugs off Mrs. Darbus', but he can't shrug off Lonnie's vicious stare. Mrs. Darbus tells them that they have a 15-minute break and gets up and walks off stage.

"Finn, Lucas, and you." Damien's voice comes out from the curtains and he points at Matt. "I knew she was a slut." Damien sits next to Evie and smiles at her. Evie glares at him for the remark toward her twin. "She's not a slut." Evie growls at him. Damien flinches. "She's not here and Lucas isn't here." Damien motions around him. "So that can only mean one thing." He laughs. "I didn't mean Lucas." Matt laughs. "I meant Finn. She and Finn are probably jumping each other's bones." Matt scowls at Damien. Damien rolls his eyes. "So you also have a thing for her." Damien laughs interested. "That's peculiar." Damien strokes his short beard. "And complicated since this Lucas guy is apparently an ex of hers." Damien smirks.

Matt growls at Damien, his eyes red. Lonnie looks at her twin brother and pushes him back. She looks at his eyes and gasps. "Oh my gosh! Matt!" Matt suddenly snaps out of it and sits back down. He shakes his head. "What?" Lonnie takes her hand and feels his forehead and immediately recoils. "He's right. You do like Kylie." She says astonished. "You're forehead is burning up and your eyes were ruby red when he was trash-talking Kylie." Lonnies face once again flushes. But this time she's worried. "You chose her didn't you?" Lonnie's face slackens, she combs with her hand through her wild hair. Her Obsidian Ring getting caught in her black curly hair. "And by the weird tension between you and Finn; I can bet you that he also chose her as his BondMate too." Lonnie says it as more of a statement than a question. Matt looks at his sister's identical tawny complexion and sighs.