Cultured Spirit

As soon as the whistle hanging down Riley’s neck sounded throughout the pool, Ian clambered over the edge and reached for his towel. Adeline, with her hair darkened by splashes of chlorine water, was making her way to the girl’s changing room at a brisk pace and he intended to catch up.

After a weekend of brooding and scheming, taking what Ryan had unknowingly suggested straight into action, he decided that he would slip in questions about Daniel to Adeline as a conversation starter. They were to likely drift off topic and she’d realise how completely she adored him. His plan would wrap up nicely when he helped the school drama production’s rating skyrocket, finally getting on Mr. Dautry’s good side.

Panting when he reached her, his body still tired from the workout and his mind still working out the kinks of his manipulation, he took a minute to catch his breath. Her blue eyes stared at him curiously with only vague familiarity, but he grinned in response. “Hey Adeline.”

“Ian.” She smiled as she slipped on her bag. Polite as she was, she asked how he was doing.

“Me? Great! But hey, I was just wondering – do you know if Daniel’s holding auditions today or tomorrow?” He knew the answer before she said it.

“Today, I think.” She paused, regarding him as if for the first time. “I never knew you were into acting.” This information seemed to please her from what Ian could s see.

With an arched brow, Ian leaned a bit closer. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

So, maybe the cliché movie line was pushing it, but Adeline laughed a small, delicate laugh anyway and Ian grinned.

“How come you weren’t at the play last week, then?” She asked, her tone actually genuinely curious.

At that point, Ian found himself beaming. She had noticed he wasn’t there, and that sign was better than any other sign he could have hoped for. “I decided to help Dan out with the play,” he said easily and his eyes followed the last of his team as they went into their respective change rooms.

Adeline smiled a little shyly. “How dedicated are you?” She said with a playful smirk, before her eyes drifted along the empty pool room.

The bell signaling it was time to get to homeroom went off just as Ian was about to reply. He sent her a regretful and apologetic look as he waved goodbye and sped off toward the change room, his stamina somehow restored.

“Thanks for your help!” He added as Adeline waved her own goodbye, her gaze lingering in his direction until he disappeared behind the door.

His spirits were high for the rest of the day, even though he bombed his chemistry test. Nothing could have dampened his mood at that moment. Not even Ryan, who was staring at him with a serious look on his face – which was rare to see.

“Okay, so let me make sure I’ve got this straight. You never listen to me, EVER, and then the one night I’m on the brink of unconsciousness you decide to tarnish that record?”

Ian made a face. “It was a good idea. Getting Daniel to accept me will be easy, definitely more so than Adeline because firstly, he’s male and I don’t have to worry about impressing him and secondly, I’m going to help get his play rating up. You should’ve seen him the other day, admitting no one ever went to those things. I felt sorry for him.”

Snorting skeptically, Ryan crushed his potato chips into crumbs before prying the bag apart. “Easy? I don’t even know why I hang out with you.” He teased, pouring out a handful into his burger. “But say Daniel does become your puppet. How will that help your situation in landing a date with his sister?”

“I get along with Adeline perfectly; I’ll be able to land a date. It’s Dautry Sr. that keeps me away. Once he realises I’m such a model student and caring friend – to his son – he’ll definitely let me go out with her.”

Ryan coughed in what sounded like choked laughter. “Caring friend, model student, cultured spirit… what’s next?”

Ian laughed grudgingly, before stealing the bag of chips and reaching inside. “Master of manipulation, that’s what.”

After falling asleep in his last class during a history lecture, Ian was finally on his way to the drama room to see “Dan.” He expected to find the creepy stage hall abandoned with a lonely looking Daniel sitting with an empty sign up sheet in front of him. Needless to say, he was surprised when he ambled into the room, a bit late, and had to search for an empty seat somewhere near the front.

Daniel looked excited, his script plastered onto a clipboard in front of him and his short hair disheveled near his ears. It was a contrast to how he looked yesterday: smart and collected.

He had already begun some speech to who was seated, smiling at later arrivers slightly but not pausing in his instruction. Ian managed to step on someone’s foot, catching the speaker’s attention, and he cursed under his breath. Daniel looked disbelieving, his eyes raking Ian’s form with confusion, but he quickly got over it and continued to explain the script. His light brown eyes shifted to Ian more than once during the lecture, but Ian pretended not to notice.

“… Allen is a writer who lives with his wife and no children in their small house. He doesn’t know, but his wife has been having an affair for months and …”

Ian yawned. He was certain he’d seen several movies with the same storyline – none of them particularly any good – over the summer.

When Daniel was finished explaining the script and applause broke out, Ian had to pretend he had paid attention. Ignoring the boy’s suspicious look, he clapped energetically. The auditions began with Allen’s wife, and Ian watched with an uninterested gaze as Hannah Webb took her place on the stage.

Even though he should have been watching the audition, Daniel sidled up to Ian and sat next to him on the spare seat that was abandoned when everyone split up into their separate groups.

“I told Cowen you were spectacular help.” He said suddenly, forcing Ian’s gaze away from Hannah’s hideous attempt at a monologue.

“Shouldn’t you be watching this?” Ian stalled, turning to the other and rearing back when he saw Daniel had leaned into him so he could keep his voice low.

“No. She tries out all the time, I think her performance is dreadful.” He was once again, shockingly blunt and Ian felt a surge of sympathy.

“At least she’s interested.” He ventured.

“Of course, that’s why I always include her in the play and give her a lesser part.” His lips turned upwards when Ian grew defensive, probably at amusement. The truth was Ian knew he wasn’t much better than Hannah and was offended on both their behalves.

Hannah’s audition time was just about over, and Ian guessed that’s why Daniel changed topics so suddenly.

“Anyway, like I said, I told Cowen you saved me from missing my deadline. She’s very pleased with you.” He pushed, and Ian rolled his eyes.

“Well, I decided I want to tryout.” He challenged, eyeing the shorter boy in what he hoped was a ‘back off’ kind of look.

“You can’t.”

The simple reply made Ian frown. “Why is that?”

“Because if you’re any good, I’ll have to give you the part.” Daniel was staring at Hannah stubbornly, avoiding Ian’s confused expression. “I’m fair that way.”

Not mentioning Daniel had nothing to worry about because Ian was an atrocious actor, he put on a decidedly insulted look. “What’s the problem with that? Isn’t that how auditions are meant to go?”

“Look at it this way. If my script is incredible,” Ian tried not to look skeptical as Daniel explained his strangeness, “no one will care the slightest about that if Ian Hadley is playing the lead role. You’re going to be the subject of talk for weeks. They won’t even know the name of the character you played. But, if the play is a total disaster, no one will give me proper criticism because of the same reason.”

Ian didn’t really see any of that as a problem. He figured it was a good thing if Daniel got praise either way. Leaning an elbow territorially on the arm rest, he watched Hannah exit the stage. “Okay, but you and I both get a standing ovation either way.” The other boy nodded slightly in defeat. “Then there’s no problem. Who’s next?”

Daniel sighed heavily, pulling his clipboard away from his chest and scanning it. “You.” He murmured.

But Ian was suddenly preoccupied, light shining into his eyes and reflecting them as a thoughtful, murky green. “Actually, if you’re really worried about all that, I have another idea.” It would depend on what Daniel saw worse – false credit or sharing credit.

“What’s that?”

“As you know, thanks to Cowen’s input, I’m really looking forward to all this … play stuff…” He began eloquently and waving his hand dismissively. “And since you really aren’t into me gracing the hall with my wonderful acting skills, I think we can work up a compromise. I’ll help you direct the play… and edit the script.” The way Ian saw it, not having to audition worked out better than anything else. There was definitely no guarantee Ian would land a part, not even stage lighting, and his whole plan would wilt into the gutter. Having to actually help produce it would give him even better opportunity to stitch himself into Daniel’s side.

Daniel grimaced, but he wasn’t lying when he said he was fair. “I guess you really weren’t lying when you told Cowen you were one with the arts.” Then, by some bizarre coincidence, he let out a reluctant laugh. “Dedicated, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, so I’ve heard.” Ian replied dumbly.

“Well, it would be awful of me to shut you out of the play completely.” He muttered to himself, even though his external appearance made it obvious he was not liking the idea at all. “But I’d rather have Hannah on stage – no offense.”

“None taken,” was the smooth reply, the nerves already dying out in Ian’s posture.

After a moment of consideration, a short one anyway because the group was growing restless, Daniel pushed wayward hair from his eyes and relented. “Okay. You can’t mess around though, you have to be here to help direct auditions, rehearsals and whatever else is required.”

Ian grinned. “You can count on me.”

Daniel ignored him, standing up and turning back to his drama group. “Okay, Cooper, you’re next. Act IV, page six.”

Ian droned out the rest of the auditions, pulling out his phone and texting numerous people out of boredom.

When the last person had auditioned, for the role of Bennett, the man of which the wife had cheated with and a part Ian never expected to actually have anyone trying out for, Daniel bid the flushed faces goodnight and mentioned that the callbacks would be posted sometime next week.

He sat a few seats away from Ian when everyone was gone and leant his clipboard on his knee with an unwilling expression. “Right, let’s get started.”

Fully expecting that he was going to be let off the hook after long hours of watching amateur actors – it was as if he was watching the auditions for American Idol – Ian put on a scandalized expression. “Started? We got started hours ago.”

Looking smug, like he knew Ian wouldn’t cope well with the workload (and probably making it more terrible than it had to be) Daniel shook his head. “We’ve got to pick who we want to call back.”

“You said they’d be posted next week!” Ian remarked, still horrified that he wouldn’t be able to get home for another couple of hours. “We have tons of time to choose.”

Daniel, seemingly unable to keep up his charade of Nazi-producer any longer, smiled widely. “Fine, you’re right.” He laughed quietly to himself, before flipping the pages of his clipboard to the first auditions. “Let’s at least pick out one from each category that we liked best.”

Ian had to remind himself of the definition of “compromise” as he nodded grudgingly.

It was only forty or so minutes later that Ian pulled up in his modern driveway, noticing the lights were still on in their house. That meant his mom wasn’t at work yet and he happily trotted in through the garage door, kicking off his shoes.

“Food!” He called, swiping the plate set aside for him and placing it in the microwave. It looked like pasta, but he would have settled for anything right about then.

Ms. Hadley smirked, drying her hands on a dish towel. “I got a call.”

The microwave noisily hummed as Ian scanned his refrigerator for something at least partly made with sugar. Finding a spare can of orange crush stuffed into a corner behind a carton of milk, he tossed it into his left hand and shut the door with his right. “Socializing? That doesn’t sound like you,” he teased, spreading himself out onto a chair and opening the can with a hiss.

His mother rolled her eyes, but the humor was still evident in her expression. “One of your teachers called. He said your history mark is dropping and if you really want to participate in the school production while keeping up your swim career, you’re going to have to bring up your effort a notch.”

The microwave beeped and Ms. Cowen walked over to get it as Ian digested her information. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand uncaringly. “Tibbins is an old grouch, but he’d never kick me off the swim team…” He trailed off as his mother placed his food in front of him with a raised brow. “Oh, the play.” He clued in.

“You never told me you were into that kind of thing. I would have shared more stories about my time in America doing film studies.”

“Uh, yeah, sorry about that, mom.” He stuffed his fork in his mouth to avoid any further replies. His mother didn’t notice as she began to pack away leftovers.

“I’m proud that you’re finally getting into something new. It’s always good to have a plan B, especially since you’re graduating soon and you need to keep your options open…”

Ian laughed to himself, wondering how one small play had turned into something so “life-altering” as his mother put it. In fact, the only life altering thing about it was Adeline had actually approached him the next day after homeroom rather than the other way around. And that wasn’t even exactly life-altering… week-altering maybe.

Her eyes were bashful as she sauntered to his locker, holding her physics textbook to her chest. Ian was vaguely reminded of Daniel, and how the boy seemed to do the same thing with his clipboard the other night. Of course, he held onto it like it was a lifeline while Adeline did it naturally, in a way that had just the right amount of helpless femininity.

“Hi.” She said, a broad smile on her features. Her hair was straight, curtaining over her ears freely but held securely out of her eyes with a headband.

Ian, pleasantly surprised, replied lamely. “Hi.”

“You weren’t at the pool today,” she said casually, waiting for him to collect his books and then walking along his side.

Ian looked surprised. “There wasn’t practice today… was there?”

Adeline grinned. “Oh, no. But sometimes I see you at the pool even when there isn’t.”

A warmth reached Ian’s toes. Adeline noticed him more than he thought she had. “Couldn’t today, had a late night.” H explained with a crooked smile as they paused at her classroom.

“Daniel told me about how you’re helping out with the production. He seemed really happy to have the help.” She sounded sincere, but Ian seriously doubted that.

As if on cue, Daniel appeared at the doorway. His fingers were gripping his physics book loosely and Ian figured he was more relaxed now than the night before. Reflexively, they tightened when he stood awkwardly at Adeline’s side.

“Riley’s looking for you.” He told her dryly, and then looked at Ian from the corner of his eye. He seemed unsure, before reluctantly relaying the rest of the message. “He wants to reschedule your date – uh study session.” His statement ended with a tone that sounded more like a question and Ian held back his scowl.

Adeline looked somewhat mortified that her personal life was being discussed so openly, but Ian was used to Daniel’s abrupt habit of being suddenly frank. After a quick goodbye, Ian heard her snapping at her brother, who was surprising taller than her.

Daniel seemed to be rather moody himself, but Ian didn’t linger on their topic of discussion for very long, partly due to the loud bell signaling he was going to be late.

To Ryan, in Biology, he continuously glowered until finally the blond surrendered and asked what was bothering him – even though Ian knew Ryan secretly looked forward to his favourite science.

“Riley Kirk.” He said in a surprisingly civil voice, rather than the snarling mess that he’d been chanting in his mind.

“Be specific, idiot.”

“He’s got a date with Adeline, and now I’ve got to add him to my plan of glory.” Ian sighed, clicking the back of his pen continuously as Cowen hovered above the overhead.

Ryan laughed, selecting an orange pen to label his diagram with. It was always amusing to see the otherwise apathetic boy dote over his biology notes with his fingerless gloves flexing along as he wrote. “I thought you said she was beginning to like you.”

Ian frowned. “I thought so.” He was reminded of the sight of her greeting him, leaning halfway on the locker next to his. “No, I know so. Maybe I’ve got everything mixed up.”

As he thought about it, he was sure he had. However, the thoughts of Riley and Adeline occupied him throughout the rest of the day and he was beyond stressed when he met Daniel in the drama room at quarter after three.

“You look like crap.”

Surprisingly, the statement came from Ian as he stared at Daniels lithe frame squatting down while he peered at a mess of charts on the floor. Brown hair was sticking up in all directions once again, but even his sleeves were rolled to his elbows and his jeans dusty when he stood up to greet Ian.

He didn’t linger across the room and Ian finally had a chance to see him up close. He was actually taller than at first glance, but his eyes had a frantic glint to them.

“They don’t want to fund my play.” He said lowly, picking up a chart that displayed his budget.

Ian cursed his plan of glory to Hell.