Outcast Read Free Page B

Welcome to Acting I. I’m Father Dodd, the thespian of the school. But you can call me Chris. I see all of you are spread across the theater. I would like everyone grouped in one area.” Father Dodd surveyed the auditorium. “You and you,” he pointed to Trina and Jamie, “Move in the center area here.”
    With a roll of the eyes, they reluctantly budged.
    Father Dodd wasn’t finished. “And you two in the nosebleed seats…” he was talking to us. “Why don’t you move behind these two?”
    God, no. Behind Trina and Jamie. I thought of dashing to the guidance counselor’s office. Despite my interest in acting, a deep desire to drop Drama and opt for a low-profile subject like pottery or shop crept through me.
    “The rest of you pinch inward toward the center of the theater.”
    We moved behind Trina and Jamie. Grace fumbled with her endless supply of bracelets. While Father Dodd took roll, she retrieved a bangle of rose quartz and jade. She hesitantly tapped Trina on the shoulder. Slowly pivoting at the obvious disturbance, Trina glared at us. Like a peace offering, Grace held out the bracelet to her.
    “Here. I made it myself.”
    Trina and Jamie eyed one another skeptically. What was Grace doing? Unless that bracelet was laced with arsenic, she had no right offering it to Trina.
    Trina managed to choke out a muffled thanks , complemented by a roll of the eyes that Grace didn’t see.
    I leaned into Grace with my shoulder. “What are you doing?” I mouthed. Grace ignored me.
    I was drawn away from the beaded jewelry fiasco by Trina’s question. “So, have you been in anything famous?” she asked Father Dodd, then looked at Jamie with an odious smile.
    “I’ve had several parts in various plays in college. I played Mr. Velasco in a charitable production of Barefoot in the Park .”
    “Please,” Trina uttered. A snide smile curved into a fishhook at the corner of her mouth. Jamie blanketed his laugh with a hand.
    “What a loser,” Grace whispered to me, referring to Father Dodd.  
    “We traveled around the state performing the play at various nursing homes.” He continued as though he needed to explain himself to a spoiled and selfish North Scottsdale brat. “It proved to be an excellent learning experience.”
    I felt sorry for him. He only wanted to impart his passion for acting onto us. But Trina humiliated even him in her malicious attempt to gain attention.
    In the middle of Father Dodd’s unbridled recital of lines from his favorite play, Barefoot in the Park , the main door swung open, and it felt like brightness flooded the theater like stadium lights. It was the guy from the cafeteria, Grace’s mystery man.
    Father Dodd scurried to the fourth wall where his clipboard and roster lay. He scanned the list of names. “You must be...Chad McCormick.”
    Chad snaked his way through the theater seats. I could deny it all I wanted, but he was hot. Apparently, Trina thought so, too. She seemed mesmerized by the sight of him. Even Jamie worshiped his appearance.
    Chad handed a pass to Father Dodd and took a seat at the end of our row. He sat there like a temptation, a bag of chocolate I just couldn’t leave alone. When he caught me glancing at him, a smile crept to the side of his mouth. I turned away as the heat rose to my cheeks. Suddenly, theater had rekindled a fire in me.
    I quickly extinguished the flame. What was I thinking? Someone like Chad could not possibly hold a genuine interest in me. I was the class loser, the outcast that everyone reveled making fun of. He was probably mocking me, too. I focused my attention back on Father Dodd. 
    With the bell, Grace and I filed into the hallway with the rest of the class.
    “I forgot something. I’ll be right back,” I said.
    I entered the darkness of the theater in search of my forgotten notebook. Father Dodd slumped in a chair at the lonely eaves of the stage. He glanced up, sadly.
    “Left my notebook,” I explained.
    “Sure.” He