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This is a challenge for FictionNET ( http / sycotic . org / fnet ) If you're looking for a nifty (mostly based on Harry Potter) writing forum, join Fnet and say that Keladryie sent you. It's seriously worth it.
This is written for the challenge: Original Challenge 10 - Schools Out!
Under these guidelines: Hokay, so, it's apparently nearly the end of school somewhere in the world gets hit by Aleta :p
Write about it. In pure original (can't write in fandom here) write a fic, hopefully a one shot of the end of school. Be it just for a holiday break or forever, it's up to you. So…that’s it!
Although the lights were still out, it could clearly be seen on their faces. Sorrow, worry. Hope that it didn't have to end like this.
Those looking in from the window would be slightly mystified by what they saw. Four members of the class, the entire class actually, standing on the stage in their acting blacks. The lights were positioned to only illuminate their faces so they looked as if beheaded, their throats meeting nothing but an eerie black as their collars met the darkness perfectly.
Of course, everyone knew they were simply wearing black for that effect, so it didn't exactly freak anyone out. New kids got a bit of a fright though at times.
That night would be their last on stage under their school name. For five years they had been together as a close knit team, gaining new members for a few terms every so often, losing them all until it was only the four of them again. Once this was all over, tomorrow, what would they do? Sometimes they wondered, individually and never vocally (for that would show weakness) whether they'd be able to cope doing the same thing out there in the big wide world. As actors, you grew to bounce off each other since most acting depended on bouncing off each other, using each others words to remember your own, using each others reactions to build your own. Since these four had worked together for five years now on different productions they were firm in their places as who they were, and they were almost type cast already, even though none of them were over 20 years old. Hanna was always the cheeky one, the dancer. She had been Puck in Midsummer’s Nights Dream and Elly in the Waiting Womb, now finally in their last production, she was Abigail.
Alysha was always the coy little precious one, the weaker character. She had also always been the main star when doing a musical, since she was the best singer of the entire school. It was almost a pity she was fat and didn't even try to become better with active sports, without the ability to dance or move gracefully at all it was doubtful she'd get a career in musicals where you needed to be able to dance at the same time, generally.
Matty was the only male in their class and had been everyone from Ren in Footloose to Stanley in a Streetcar named Desire, now he was Proctor in The Crucible and had been offered the character role in a touring version which was set to tour the country, since The Crucible was a text in the Year 12 certificate.
This was along with Katie, who had been offered her part as Elizabeth Proctor. Those two were lucky. They had depended on each other for five years now with their lead roles; she had been Stella in Streetcar alongside him, amongst other things in their five years...
With school now over, their training at its end, what would happen to them? They had been to a relatively small school, at the most they probably only had 1000 students so there had never been much competition for the parts they went for. Most of the school was more interested in sports anyhow, and more than half the students were indigenous Australians, way 'too shame' to get up on stage when they could be playing footy instead, or painting silently in the art block.
Would they make it out in that big scary world? Hanna and Matty were planning to audition for NIDA in dance and acting respectfully. Alysha was planing to study musical theatre in university and Katie had no idea what she was going to do, only what she didn’t want to do.
"Closing Night tonight guys." Mrs Stokes-Chapman announced, raising gracefully from her seat at the back of the room by the lighting board. "Are you all ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Katie murmured, rubbing her knees. They had just done a run through of the closing act, and falling to her knees sobbing for the past two months of performing had made them slightly bruised. Her script husband offered her a hand up, causing Alysha to glare at the couple. It was no secret she wanted the lead male and had already him on numerous occasions anyway, but that wasn't enough until 'Katie backed off'...even though it was also clear Matty wasn't interested in Katie, nor her in him. They simply worked well together and were strong friends in a way a person like Alysha could never comprehend.
"Will we get roses?" Hanna asked from her upside-down position. She was also a gymnast and apparently felt more comfortable standing on her hands, either way it was amusing to watch and try to imitate.
"If someone buys them for you, you will." Mrs Stokes-Chapman replied with a wry smile, known better as Aunty Lou to her students.
"Are you going to buy them for us?" Hanna asked, she had always been straight to the point.
"You'll have to wait and see now, won't you?" Aunty Lou chuckled as the bell rang. "I'll see you all tonight before 6pm, in full costume and your butt-" she added to Matty, "In that makeup chair. But right now…” Their teacher paused, testing her memory to see if she knew her students timetables. “…Alysha, you have music, don't you? Hanna-banana, to remedial Maths, Matty to PE class and…what do you have Katta? Geography or Design?"
Katta being Katie's nickname, she replied. "Design. But Ms Bradley won't even be there..."
"So either go there and work anyway, or help Matty write his final assignment." Aunty Lou had already packed up her notes and files and was more than used to her students trying to avoid class even though they were in their final year, on their last official day. As Year 12 students this was the end, but their assignments didn't have to be due for weeks after, just as long as they were handed in by the last day of the school year. Year 12 students finished going to school almost two months earlier than other students, simply because they usually ran out of things to learn before their exams. Australia, Darwin especially, had a strange school structure.
The four students followed their teacher out and then disbursed, except for one who followed another.
There was a slap, some swearing and a yell, and then both headed in opposite directions.
"Hey, what happened?" Matty arrived early for once and found his fellow cast member holding her cheek still with a tissue, seething with silent anger.
"Your little fun whore," the shorter girl replied, checking the tissue for the amount of blood still flowing from the cut on her cheek, "Decided to attack me for 'being too close to you."
"Would you quit calling her that?"
"Hey, you sleep with her like that when it means nothing makes her a whore." she shrugged, chucking the tissue away in a bin beside the table. "Want to finish that essay or not?"
Before they even knew what was happening, it was the end of school. Time to head home, get changed and then head straight back out to the Entertainment Centre to prepare for their final night. They had left their last official day at high school forever without even really noticing. Sure, they would return once to pickup their ticket for Graduation and perhaps hand in a hard copy of an essay that just wouldn't open in an email attachment, but over 50 of the students wouldn't even set foot back on the school grounds.
Everything had been too casual. It seemed as if no one cared it was a point of change in their life lines, just as if it was another usual Friday among a crowd of other plain and boring Fridays, and all they had their minds on was closing night, nothing else.
They, along with two hundred or so others left the school grounds that day with other, more important things on their mind, some even favouring the thought of a movie and a McDonalds dinner over the fact that it was a last day of school.
They had now finished their usual days of schooling…
And it was as if no one even noticed.
