The thrilling conclusion!
"Ah, here arrives Lysander, with his fair Hermia at his side!" The same man who had recruited them greeted them as they walked through the doors of the Community Center.
"We don't have to talk like that, do we?" Denise adressed a tall boy dressed in black. He shook his head.
Ben gazed around the room, filled with people. Most of them were adults, but there were 8 teenagers in the room including Denise and himself. They all seemed to be coupled up, too. He suspected they'd been found in the same way. The slightly scary goth was stood by a chipper-looking girl with long brown curls, a blonde mop-haired boy stood arm in arm with a strawberry blonde girl with a prominent nose and a lanky boy with short, sandy hair was coupled with a bespectacled girl sporting brown pigtails. The man noticed he was observing the crowd and began introducing his co-stars.
"Well, you two, let's get you acquainted with your fellow stars." He moved behind the first pair and placed each hand on a shoulder, which the boy promptly removed, "Here we have Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the Fairies," He hurried over to the only couple that looked perfectly happy in one another's company, "Theseus and Hippolyta, Duke of Athens and Amazon Queen," They both brought a smile to their lips and the man moved to the final two, "And lastly, Demetrius and Helena, your fellow wandering lovers. I'll be your director, you may call be Peter."
"I have a question." Ben ventured.
"Yes, my boy?"
"Why is it that you only have teenagers playing the main characters while the rest of the cast are all adults?"
"Well, I need the love conveyed by my main characters to be the mad, questionless love that only blossoms in youth. Who better than youths to do it?"
A rather awkward silence ensued as Peter walked off to organise the rest of the cast. People glanced around at one another but nobody spoke. The lanky boy playing Demetrius coughed.
"So, that Peter guy's pretty creepy, right?" Denise broke the silence and a general murmur of affirmation rose. Before this thread of conversation could be followed up, Peter called the group over to the larger congregation of amateur actors.
"Right," He said to the gathering, "Let's get started." He rubbed his hands together enthusiastically and set about gathering the actors for the opening scene. Much of the time was spent directing people about and getting the staging right, but by the end of the day, most people knew what they were doing. At six o'clock Peter began dispelling his actors, "We'll be meeting at five in the afternoon for a few hours every other weekday and seven in the morning on Sundays. We'll be doing our first performance in the forest in two weeks time. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon, ladies and gentlemen."
Denise and Ben were among the first to hurry out the doors. The british sun was kind enough to cover them with warmth as they stepped on the asphalt path.
"Nice afternoon, isn't it?" Ben looked absent-mindedly at the clouds.
"Yeah, it is." Denise joined him in cloud-watching.
They continued walking, gazing at clouds and idly chatting until they reached the point where their routes split.
"I'll see you on Tuesday, I suppose."
"Yes you will," Denise smiled at him, "Regretting meeting me yet?"
"Just a little bit, actually."
She laughed, clearly taking that as a positive, "Bye, Ben."
"Bye."
Rehearsals continued uneventfully over the week. As Sunday's rehearsals drew to a close, Ben and Denise walked out together as usual. Denise thumbed absent-mindedly through her script for the umpteenth time.
"How do you remember this stuff?" She asked him.
"I suppose it's just easier to remember the stuff you really like."
"Hrmm. You say that like I don't like this stuff."
"You don't like it as much as me, that's all."
"Hm," She looked at him, "Still not regretting meeting me."
"A little. Perhaps even less now."
"You may have made a record, Benjamin."
"Excellent. See you tommorow."
"Bye."
A week passed. The first night of performance came. The actors and actresses had gathered in the forest, in a small clearing, not far from the spot where Ben had first met Denise. A few patrons had already sat themselves in the seating before the small stage. Behind said stage, the performers were preparing themselves.
"How is my hair?" Denise asked Ben.
"Great."
She dropped her look of worry for one of anticipation and sat beside Ben, "Nervous?"
"Incredibly. You?"
"Yep. You regretting meeting me yet?"
"Not at all."
Peter approached the two, "Get ready! The crowd are gathering and we're starting in 5 minutes. Denise, we'll need you ready to go immediately."
"I'll see you onstage."
"Break a leg."
"You too." She turned and walked towards the stage entrance where her cast father and the lad playing Theseus were waiting.
The play went by in a flurry of memorised words and practised motions. The cast bowed, staggered offstage and congratulated each other. Peter congratulated the group once more, told them when next they would be performing and wished them a good night as they left. Ben walked off with Denise, before stopping. She looked back at him.
"Something wrong?"
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" He looked her in the eye, "Nay. For there has been no sumer's day as beautiful, nor as brilliant, nor as lovely. I fear I shall never be happy for all my life unless I have thee by my side and can call you mine own."
She smiled at him and stepped back in his direction, "Where'd you learn that?"
"Well, the first line was tought to me by a guy called William. The rest, I improvised."
She kissed him briefly, "Nice improvising."
Ben wasn't an outgoing person. But he wasn't surprised to find himself walking home with an arm around a girl he loved.
