Chapter 5
Lexa was still trying to get used to the new route that she and Lincoln would take home. The area was a lot more wooded, much different than the suburban streets that they lived on in D.C. Her head rested gently against her brothers back, watching as the trees blurred into a mix of green and brown. The colors hadn't started to change yet, but that was something she was looking forward to. She always loved the fall.
The drive was short but sweet, and soon enough they were pulling into the long dirt road that she was slowly becoming used to. The road was more of a driveway; lined with various weeds and wildflowers that had grown over the weeks they had been there. Lincoln would probably end up mowing the lawn that day. She never understood why but her brother enjoyed doing the chores around the house.
As they pulled up to the large, farm-like home Lexa released a sigh, feeling Lincoln’s legs move from the bike to push them to a stoic position. She hopped off the back as he turned off the bike, and in one swift movement she removed her helmet and put it back in the bag attached to the bike. She was glad that Lincoln had taken the time to get the bike; it was something that they couldn’t really have in D.C. because of the traffic and everything else. She was lucky if she ever got a chance to attempt to drive.
She waited for him to throw his backpack over one shoulder and they walked into the front door together, the wooden steps squeaking slightly under their feet. The door was unlocked and open, with only the screen door blocking the outside world from the inside. Having a screen door was something entirely new to Lexa, too.
In D.C., they lived in a very basic townhome, with three bedrooms and no basement or attic. It was in the middle of suburbia, where everyone had a neighbor and at least one car that nobody ever really used because everyone either walked or took the subway. They lived not too far away from the Smithsonian museum, which meant that traffic was always hectic and nobody wanted to deal with that. She remembered walking with Lincoln every morning to the metro, where they would spend an hour or so just riding the train to get to school. It was time consuming, but Lexa appreciated it. It was something so.. Normal that added to her daily routine.
Her foster mother, Indra, was a museum director- one of the best for the Smithsonian. She loved her job and loved talking to people, informing them of everything that had to do with history. She’d help bring in new pieces, or provide tours for the various buildings. She was one of those people that knew so much about everything, it didn’t matter which building she was in. She could give tours of all of them. Lexa always admired the passion that she got from her mother.
They had to move when Indra was told about a new museum opening up in Arkadia, West Virginia, and was asked if she’d like to become the director at that new museum. She’d be given almost full control of what went into the museum and the traveling exhibits, and she knew she’d be crazy not to pass it up. That night was hard for Lexa and Lincoln, knowing that they’d have to pack up their things and move away from their friends to a new town, a new state, and start their junior and senior year at an entirely new school. They managed to get through it, just for the sake of the person who gave up so much for them over the years. When they moved they decided against suburbia, instead buying a house in the woods, surrounded by foliage and forest. It was a simple two-story house with so much space that they didn’t know what to do with it all, but it was a nice change.
As they walked into the house the smell of tomato sauce and garlic was filling the air, making their little farmhouse feel a little more home-y. Lexa grinned and removed her shoes at the door, set her backpack on the stairs and headed right into the kitchen. Indra turned as the two entered, a grin on her face.
“There you two are- I was wondering when you were going to get home. How were auditions?” Indra asked, turning her back to continue working on what she was making.
Lincoln immediately went to help her, earning a smile from his foster mother as he grabbed a pot and started to fill it with water. Lexa hopped onto the counter, crossing her legs as she faced the back of her family. “They went really well- there was a lot of competition but I think I did a pretty good job.”
“Really? That’s great. I’m sure Anya will pick a great cast.”
“It depends if you count the kids that purposely bombed their audition, though.” Lincoln piqued, earning a raised brow from Indra.
“A few kids actually did that?”
“Auditioning for the play is a requirement for the drama class. A few kids thought that if they bombed their audition they could at least be backstage or just not do the play altogether.” Lexa explained, watching as Lincoln moved the pot to the stove and turned on the burner.
“Well that’s ridiculous, but also pretty smart if I do say so myself. I know that I’m not the best actress in the world, but if it’s a requirement I’d try my hardest to not get cast. Lord knows that I’d end up tripping over my lines.” Indra commented, and Lincoln chuckled.
“You sound like you’d get along great with Clarke.”
“Who’s Clarke?”
Lexa blushed and shifted in her seat, moving to sit Indian Style on the counter. “She’s a girl in my drama class- she’s not like, super good at acting but she’s.. Okay. I don’t think she really wants to be in the class, though.”
“Why do you say that?”
“She doesn’t pay attention in class and from what I’ve heard she’s really into sports..”
“Ahh, so like Costia?” Indra asked, turning towards Lexa for a brief moment.
“..Yeah. Like Costia.” Lexa’s smile fell as she looked to the floor, folding her hands in her lap. She didn’t like to talk about Costia a lot.
“You know, Lex, Clarke reminds me a lot about her.” Lincoln stated, moving away from the stove to stand next to Lexa. “She’s.. Definitely something. A mystery, kind of.”
“Says the guy who can read her like a book.”
“I’m just saying, there’s something about her that just screams.. Costia. And it’s not just the fact that they both play sports.” Lincoln stated, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl behind Lexa and going to walk into the living room.
Lexa thought about what Lincoln had said and swallowed thickly. Lincoln was right, Clarke did have a lot of similar attributes with Costia. But that didn’t mean that Clarke would ever replace Costia- nobody could. With a shake of her head she stepped down from the counter and after telling Indra she’d be working on homework, she headed upstairs to her room; her backpack in tow.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Thursday morning had Lexa waking up to the sound of birds chirping out her window and her alarm clock blaring from the other side of the room. She sat up with a sigh, running her hand through tangled locks and a tired body to walk over and shut off the annoying machine. She hated her alarm clock, but it was either have the annoying sound or music, but she knew if she woke up to music that it would only be incorporated in her dream somehow and she wouldn’t end up waking up on time. She stared at her clock for a brief moment, wondering if she’d have enough time to hit snooze and fall back asleep, but when she realized what day it was the thought of falling back asleep snapped her out of it.
It was the day of callbacks.
Immediately feeling awake she took to showering and picking out her clothes before all but bouncing down the stairs, meeting Lincoln and Indra in the kitchen for breakfast. The grin she had on her face seemed to be glued there, like nothing could stop her from being excited. She was never nervous about callbacks, always excited. Even if she didn’t get one. She was excited for those who did, knowing that if they got the part that they wanted, they’d be happy and grateful. Besides, she knew that if she didn’t get a callback, that didn’t necessarily mean that she didn’t get a part. Even if she was really, really hoping that she did.
As she and Lincoln headed outside to start the day, a light fog had wafted in surrounding their home. It took a few tries and the help of their cellphone lights to find Lincoln’s bike, and when they did the older boy was glad that he had covered it the night before. The tarp was coated in water drops, showing that the cause of the fog was from a light rainstorm that morning. They were still getting used to everything that didn’t involve the city, so the smell that the trees created after it rained was still semi-new to the two of them. Lexa took a moment to take it all in, admiring what she could through the fog.
They made it to school in one piece; being grateful that Lincoln’s motorcycle was loud enough to make any students that were lingering in the parking lot move to the sidewalk. They had fifteen minutes before the bell rang, but Lexa was growing more and more impatient as the time went. She wouldn’t be able to look at the callback list until her drama class.
As she slipped off her brother’s motorcycle and put her helmet away she waited patiently for him, despite her mind running a mile a minute. It seemed like Lincoln was purposely taking his time to make the morning go by slower, and Lexa almost smacked him. He laughed and linked arms with her and led them into the school, Lexa almost having a skip in her step.
It seemed like her first few hours were dragging on; causing her to look at the clock every five minutes. It was driving her insane and she was constantly shaking her knee, without a doubt earning glares from her neighboring students who found that particular movement annoying. She wasn’t going to be able to focus until she found out if she had a callback or not. She found herself constantly distracted in each of her classes and she actually had to be told to pay attention more than once.
Soon enough it was time for her drama class and Lexa didn’t even bother waiting for Lincoln after her previous class. She sent him a quick “sorry” text before she all but ran towards the classroom, not paying attention to where she was going. Before she knew it she was on the ground in the hallway with a book that she didn’t remember carrying in her hands, and she furrowed her brow as she stood. She was holding a sketchbook, which was strange because she didn’t own a sketchbook.
“Looks like I’m not the only one who needs to pay more attention, aye Lex?” Clarke chuckled, slowly pulling herself up to her feet. “We’ve got to stop running into each other.. Literally.”
Lexa’s smile was shy and she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah.. sorry. I was.. Kind of in a hurry. Callbacks are posted and I’m just.. Really excited.” Lexa explained, looking down. “Oh! This is yours.. I didn’t know you could draw.”
Green eyes watched as Clarke attempted to be smooth as she took her sketchbook gently, then leaned against the wall next to the door. “I do.. On occasion. It’s kind of a hobby.”
“Maybe I could see them sometime?”
Clarke paled a little and Lexa had to keep from laughing.
“I uh- yeah, totally. I’d like that a lot. Um.. Maybe I could get your number, we could plan something?” Clarke asked, looking just a little too eager. If Lexa didn’t find this girl infuriatingly adorable she probably would of thought this was a joke.
“Of course. Let me see your phone.” When handed the device Lexa put in her number and gave the blonde back her phone before she gave a gentle goodbye and headed inside; assuming that Clarke was going to wait for Octavia.
As she walked up to the front of the board where a small crowd had gathered, she learned that Octavia was already there, waiting impatiently just like herself. She heard a few gasps of “yes” and a few groans of displeasure coming from the small crowd but that only made her want to see the list all the more. When it was finally her turn to look at the list she held her breath, allowing her eyes to scan over the the list.
Callback List for Romeo and Juliet:
Romeo: Cage Wallace, John Murphy
Juliet: Octavia Blake, Lexa Woods
Mercutio: Kyle Wick, Wells Jaha
Nurse: Clarke Griffin, Maya Vie
Please understand if you are not called back that does not mean that you did not get a role. Callbacks are purely to test the chemistry between actors on the stage and will help me decide the final cast. Cast list will be posted tomorrow. Break a leg, everyone!
“Why the hell does she want us to break a leg?”
Lexa almost let out a scream. She had gotten lost looking at the paper that she forgot other people were in the room. She glanced over her shoulder at Clarke, who seemed to be surprised that her name was on the list. She let out a soft chuckle and turned towards the blonde, leading her towards the circle of chairs. She picked a seat where Clarke would be in between herself and Octavia and crossed her leg.
“She doesn’t mean it literally. It’s an actor's way of saying good luck, because saying good luck is bad luck.”
“But you just said it twice.”
“I was explaining the meaning to you.”
“So it doesn’t mean bad luck if you’re explaining it to someone? How does that work?”
Lexa sighed and tried to be patient. “It’s.. complicated. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough.” She tried to end the conversation, and she swore she heard Octavia’s laugh from a few seats down.
“Here, let me break it down for ya, C. Lexa- break a leg at auditions later. Even though I’m going to kick your ass.”
“So Octavia just meant good luck?”
Lexa nodded. “Yeah.”
“You drama geeks are confusing as hell.”
Lexa could only laugh as class started with Anya walking into the center of the circle. Lexa was able to focus better now that she knew that she had a callback- and for Juliet, no less- and she was even able to actively participate in class, volunteering herself for the game that they played and other things. Anya seemed to like her, so deep down Lexa was really, really hoping that she would have a better chance at getting Juliet than Octavia, even if it would seem like an unfair advantage.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Do you always pace when you’re nervous?”
“Screw you- I’m not nervous!”
“Clarke, you’re sweating more that you were at auditions-”
“-And your point is?”
“It’s not like it’s a date or anythi-”
“Shut up, Raven!”
Lexa sighed, looking over at the group of bickering friends. Clarke had asked Lincoln to help her go over the script for the callback and he agreed, but he kept making comments or pointing out things that she was doing wrong or how she could improve. To put it simply, Clarke did not take it lightly. At some point Raven and Octavia had joined them, and the two of them were joining in on the belittling of Clarke while she prepared for auditions. Lexa had all the lines for the callback memorized- it was quite simple to that of the original audition- so she was taking in the sight of this group of people as they interacted as if they knew each other for years. She knew that most of them did, but the way that they included Lincoln into their group so easily, it made her heart swell.
Lincoln was never good at making friends. He was overprotective, always looking out for her and barely made time for himself, so it was nice to see how well he was interacting with them all. She figured it had to do with the way that his eyes would linger a little too long on Octavia, or the way that he would go out of his way to talk to her, and when things clicked she heard a small warning sign go off at the back of her mind. When Octavia and Clarke were called in for a chemistry read together, Raven took to an empty couch in the lobby and Lexa took that free chance to call her brother over.
“Lincoln.” Lexa stated, earning the attention of a few people (including Lincoln) of those who wanted to try and listen in. She sighed heavily. “beja come hir.” [Please come here.]
“Must you use Trigedasleng against me?” He asked, running his hand over his head as he walked over to her.
“It’s the only way we can speak without others listening.”
When they were growing up, Lincoln noticed that people always seemed to have something to say about him or his sister, and it always got on his nerves. People would listen in on their private conversations and would take things the wrong way, choosing instead to spread rumors about them and attempt to make things weird or wrong for them. So after a lot of persuasion and a month of talking it over with Lexa, they came up with their own language that they used to use frequently, but only used rarely now. Not even Indra knew what certain words meant.
Lincoln sighed, but nodded. Based on the reaction that they got from other people when she called for him, if this conversation was supposed to be private, there wasn’t another way to go about it. “chit ste em?” [What is it?]
Lexa lowered her voice to a whisper, just in case people could pick out key words. “why laik yu staring gon okteivia like bilaik?” [Why are you staring at Octavia like that?]
Lincoln’s eyes fell for a moment as he sat down next to Lexa. “yu saw bilaik?” [You saw that?]
Lexa nodded. “em ste only a matter gon time fou raven notices em as well.” [It is only a matter of time before Raven notices it as well.]
Lincoln took a deep breath and glanced over at Raven, then back at Lexa. His voice was quiet, wanting to make sure only Lexa heard. “ai like her, leksa.ai don a few classes kom her en ai can nou help ba..be attracted kom her.chit laik ai na do about disha? ai can nou just tel her.” [I like her, Lexa. I have a few classes with her and I can not help but..be attracted to her. What am I going to do about this? I can not just tell her.]
Lexa licked her lips and looked to the doors where Octavia and Clarke had disappeared to do their callback. She looked back at him with a smile and patted his leg gently. “yu beda talk kom her, biga bro.yu nowe know- mebi em will like yu seintaim.” [You should talk to her, big brother. You never know- maybe she will like you too.]
Lincoln was about to say something else but they were cut off by Clarke and Octavia rejoining them. The siblings smiled at them and moved over to rebrand the group, letting them all talk and relax while they waited for the other chemistry reads. It wasn’t taking as long as they all had thought, but it was still dark out by the time Lexa rode off on Lincoln’s motorcycle. As they pulled out of the parking lot she turned towards her (hopefully) new friends and waved, catching Clarke’s eye just before they took off into the darkness.