Community Service Read online

  She gave him a fake pout. “I'm not allowed to watch you?”

  “You can do whatever you want.”

  She smiled as if he had just given her a present. To me, it sounded like kind of a blow off.

  The body language between the two of them intrigued me. I knew it wasn't polite to stare and in a weird way, I kind of felt like a voyeur but it wasn't like I was spying on them. They were standing right next to me in a public place. And technically, I was there first.

  “Alyssa, would you like to meet our new volunteer?” Jude looked at me and winked.

  Court ordered volunteer, I thought.

  Alyssa gave me a quick glance but I felt like my presence still hadn't quite registered. She placed both hands on Jude's shoulder and rested her head on them. I noticed he no longer had a smile on his face. He looked sullen. I got the feeling he didn't really want her hanging all over him but he also wasn't going to tell her no. Obviously, he was getting something from her that he still wanted.

  “I'm Maggie Mitchell.”

  Alyssa stared at me as if I was speaking a foreign language. Then I noticed she had snaked her arm around the front of Jude and was attempting to put her hand in his front pocket. I really wanted to hide somewhere. I knew I didn't belong in the theater but this was beyond anything I had ever imagined.

  I knew I shouldn't have been staring at Jude's crotch but I was curious to see how far Alyssa's hand would get. Jude stopped her before she got too far. “Babe, why don't you get me a Coke. I'm really thirsty.”

  “Sure,” Alyssa said. She made sure I saw her give Jude a kiss on the cheek before she left. There was no way that gorgeous girl could have possibly found anything about me threatening.

  “Is Alyssa your girlfriend?” I asked as soon as she was out of earshot.

  Jude laughed. “I don't have a girlfriend.”

  I raised an eyebrow. "The two of you looked awfully cozy.”

  “We hang out a lot.”

  “And by hang out, you mean sleep together.” I wasn't sure why I was being so forward with Jude. I was rarely that forward with anyone. He just brought something out in me.

  Jude stifled a grin. "We don't do much sleeping. But, yeah, we hook up with each other.”

  “I get the feeling she's not the only girl you hook up with.”

  He nodded. “Very astute. Are you a psychology major?”

  “No, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.”

  He got close to me again. It really pissed me off that I liked it. “Smart girls really turn me on,” he whispered.

  I took a few steps back and took in a deep breath. I needed to get some distance from the guy before I fell for his lines and ended up being another one of the no doubt countless girls he hooked up with.

  "I know you like me," he said. "I can see it in your eyes.”

  I shook my head. “You're not my type.”

  “And what's your type? Guys you meet in a science lab? Nerds and geeks that you don't really find attractive but you also don't find threatening? What are you afraid of?”

  I could feel anger starting to surge through me. Jude was really starting to piss me off. I just hoped it wasn't because he was right. "I'm not afraid of anything,” I insisted.

  “Really? Then why are you completely downplaying your looks? You're hiding behind a ponytail and baggy clothes. I'd love to see what's going on underneath that oversized sweat shirt and baggy jeans. I bet you've got a smoking hot body.”

  I could feel my face getting really hot and I was sure it was completely red. I knew I needed to get away from Jude Marino as quickly as I could.

  Luckily, I was saved when an older woman hurried into the building and immediately honed in on me. She brought so much energy with her it was like a storm had just blown in with her.

  She looked to be in her mid-fifties and she was wearing a long grey braid in her hair. It kind of surprised me that she was in jeans and a Rolling Stones concert T-shirt.

  “Are you Margie Martin?” she asked as approached.

  “Maggie Mitchell,” I said.

  She glanced down at the clipboard she was holding as if she didn't believe me. “Right,” she agreed finally. “Maggie Mitchell.”

  The woman wagged a finger in Jude's direction. “Don't even think about it, Mr. Marino. She's not a new toy for you to play with. Go study your lines or something.”

  “I've got my lines down,” Jude replied.

  “Fine, then you're off book.”

  He heaved a sigh and then glanced in my direction.

  “I said no.” The woman was now glaring at him. She pointed toward the stage. "Now go.”

  Without another word, Jude turned and headed toward the stage.

  “So, Maggie Mitchell,” the older woman said. She stared down at me over her bifocals, which were perched near the end of her nose. “What did you do to get court ordered community service at our wonderful little theater?”

  The older woman was a few inches taller than me but her presence was so much larger than life, I felt like I was shrinking as I stood next to her. The few inches separating us felt like it had become a few feet. She was Gulliver and I was one of the Lilliputians.

  “I rear-ended a police car,” I said meekly. I was surprised that my voice sounded so small.

  She let out a hardy belly laugh. “First time I ever heard that one.” She held out her hand. “I'm Helen, by the way. I'm the director. You'll be working directly with me for the next hundred hours. See me as soon as you get here and then let me know when you leave. I clock your hours on this sheet.” She held up her clipboard.

  “Okay.”

  She looked me up and down as if she was inspecting me. “You don't look like you can do much heavy lifting. We'll have you work with Summer on lights and sound. You can also hand out programs.”

  I nodded. It was all new to me so I had no idea what any of those duties actually entailed.

  The door at the main entrance opened another good looking guy and girl walked in. I assumed they were also actors. They waved in Helen's direction as they headed toward the stage. They were followed by a girl in an electric wheelchair. She looked like she was in her teens, maybe 15 or 16, although it was hard to tell because she was small and thin.

  “There's Summer,” Helen said as she headed toward the teen.

  I made the assumption I was supposed to follow, so I did.

  “Summer, we have a volunteer to help you with lights and sound.”

  Summer smiled and I noticed one side of her seemed to move better than the other. I also noticed her hands didn’t look completely functional. I wondered if she was living with Cerebral Palsy. I'd never met anyone living with the disorder but I had read a little bit about it in my Biology classes.

  “Hi,” Summer said and she held up a hand in a kind of half wave. She seemed to really struggle with motor coordination.

  “Her name is Maggie Mitchell,” Helen said.

  Summer got an odd expression on her face. Was there something about me she didn't like? It made me feel anxious. I had just met her but I felt like she was already judging me. But why? Helen had called me a volunteer, which I appreciated. She hadn't revealed that my service was court ordered.

  “Do you mind showing her the ropes?” Helen asked.

  “I don't mind,” Summer said. At least that's what I think she said. I realized I was really going to have to listen when Summer spoke because her speech was far from perfect and it was a little difficult to understand, especially if you weren't giving her your full attention.

  Helen was already heading for the stage before I could ask any questions. I wasn't sure how much Summer would be able to tell me but I decided to give it a go.

  “How long have you been working with the theater?” I asked.

  “Two years.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “I love it. I want to study theater when I go to college.”

  My mind started to race thinking about Summer negotiating her way around a
college campus in an electric wheelchair. That made me think about Sawyer. I wondered how difficult a transition it had been for him to go from being a freewheeling jock to a wheelchair user. Summer had most likely been born with her disability. She'd already had 15 or 16 years of practice. And she had never been able-bodied like Sawyer. She didn't know what it was like to be anyone else.

  “What year are you in high school?” I asked.

  “I'm a junior.” She still seemed hesitant to talk to me. I wasn't sure why it bothered me so much.

  “I'm a senior at the university. It's my last term. I'm a Biology major. ” It felt strange revealing those details because she hadn't actually asked.

  I thought I heard her say, “I know” but how could she possibility know that? We'd just met. They were details I didn't even think Helen knew about me.

  Before I could ask Summer to elaborate, Helen called everyone's attention. A few more people had entered the theater. Most of them looked like actors but there was also a short guy with a rather large protruding stomach that I had a difficult time imagining on stage.

  The short guy glanced in our direction and waved. Summer gave him at wave back. “That's Larry. He's the stage manager.”

  Larry was now staring at me. As I looked at him more closely, I noticed he had a bald spot forming on the back of his head. He was older that I initially thought, maybe in his mid-thirties.

  Helen clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. “We're going to finish blocking the third act. If you're not in a scene we're working on, please pair up in the back of the auditorium and run lines. Don't waste time goofing around just because you're not onstage. I hope I don't need to remind you the Little Theater isn't a pick-up or hook-up place, or whatever you kids are calling sex these days. We're here to work, not engage in foreplay or fornication. Is that understood?”

  Everyone gathered around Helen nodded.

  “Good. Jude and Alyssa, you're up. Everyone else run lines until I call you onstage. Larry, why don't you start working with Summer and Maggie to get the lighting and sound cues set up.”

  Larry wasted no time practically running up to me. “You must be Maggie,” he said excitedly. He actually licked his lips as he stared at me. His sad brown eyes made him look like a love sick puppy dog.

  “I am,” I replied.

  “Volunteer?”

  I nodded. I was getting used to the little white lie.

  I noticed Jude hop down from the stage and hurry over to us. His sexy eyes were on me but he stepped up to Larry and whispered something into his ear. Larry just nodded and I could see him visibly deflate with whatever Jude was saying to him.

  “Jude!” Alyssa screamed. She was standing with her arms crossed over her chest and she didn't look happy. “We need to get started.”

  Jude winked at me then ran back over to the stage and hopped back up to join Alyssa.

  I wanted so badly to ask Larry what Jude said to him because his entire demeanor toward me completely changed. He looked like he was all business. No more puppy dog eyes.

  “Did you bring your script, Summer?” He asked as he turned toward the girl.

  “Yes ” I watched as she tried to remove the script from a bag slung to the side of her wheelchair. She was so wobbly and her movements were so shaky, it took a while for her to get the script. I took every bit of patience I had not to grab the script from the bag for her but I knew that would be rude.

  “Sit over there.” Larry pointed to one of the seats in the auditorium.

  I sat where he instructed, one seat away from the middle isle. Larry plopped down in the seat next to me and Summer wheeled up next to him.

  “Did Helen give you a script ” Larry asked me.

  “No.”

  “I can give you one of mine. I’ll bring it for you next time.”

  Next time. The reality of having to spend a hundred hours with this motley crew was staring to sink it.

  Larry and Summer were going through the script and Larry was telling Summer his ideas for lighting cues and various sound effects. I admit I kind of zoned out. Not only because I didn't know anything about the play but also because I wasn't sure about all of the terminology he was using.

  I noticed that Summer wasn't taking any notes. Larry was saying a lot and I wondered how she was going to remember it all. I certainly couldn't. But then again, I didn't have motor coordination issues that probably made writing difficult.

  As Larry droned on about different kinds of theater lighting he wanted to use, I looked up at the stage where Helen was working with Alyssa and Jude. She was directing them in a kiss. Jude was so hot, he rivaled the hottest guys in Hollywood. It made me wonder why he wasn't in Hollywood himself. He was certainly attractive enough to be a leading man. I didn't know anything about how people got into acting. Maybe the work he was doing with the Little Theater was similar to what I was doing with my research internship. Was he trying to get experience and hone his skills before he took the plunge into the big time?

  He kissed Alyssa so tenderly at first and then with growing passion, it made me wonder what it would be like to be the one he was kissing. The idea made my lips tingle.

  “What do you think, Maggie?” Larry said loudly, knocking me out of my reverie. I knew I was going to have to admit I wasn't paying attention. He already sounded frustrated with me.

  “About what?” I replied meekly.

  “It would be nice if you paid more attention to what we're doing and less attention to Mr. Hot Stuff on stage.”

  “I wasn't—um—” I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to lie but I also didn't want to admit I was watching Jude. As much as I didn't want to be one of the many girls he 'hung out with' I found myself getting sucked into his web like a fly to a spider. I knew my fate would probably be no better than the spider’s if I allowed myself to fall for a guy who was an obvious player but it was hard not to. It was like he had me under some kind of a spell.

  “He's a dog,” Larry said. “Uses and abuses women and they still come back for more. Don't say I didn't warn you.”

  “It's not like that,” I lied.

  I could tell by Larry's pursed lips and dubious expression that he didn't believe me. When I glanced over at Summer, she was scowling. I guessed she didn't like Jude very much either.

  Larry carried on and I tried to pay better attention but I have to admit, it was difficult. My eyes kept drifting back to Jude. I noticed this time that two other actors had joined them onstage, a young guy and a young woman. The guy had dark hair and eyes. He was tall and muscular but not quite as tall and muscular as Jude. He wasn't quite as good looking either. The young woman was much more petite than Alyssa and she had blonde hair. She was better than average looking but she certainly didn't match Alyssa's stunning good looks.

  When Helen was finished for the day, she dismissed the actors and I watched as they all talked and laughed with each other as they gathered their belongings.

  Helen then made her way up the aisle to us. “So?” she asked as she stopped next to Summer's wheelchair.

  “We've got some great ideas for lighting the kissing scene,” Larry exclaimed as he rose from his seat.

  “I'd like to meet with the three of you tomorrow for a few minutes before the actors arrive. Is that okay?”

  “Sure,” Larry said.

  “I'll have to ask my brother if he can get me here early,” Summer replied. I guessed her brother gave her rides. It made me wonder if Summer could ever drive a car with her disability.

  “No problem,” I said. I wasn't even sure if I had a choice.

  Summer started moving toward the door and I followed her. Larry opened the door, so Summer could roll out and hurried out behind her.

  I noticed the actors were standing in a small circle near the far end of the building. They were all smoking and laughing. It was already dark but the area around the theater was well lit.

  Summer stopped her wheelchair at the other end of the building. It was about as
far away from the actors as she could possibly get and still be in the lighting of the theater building. Not that I could blame her for not wanting to be near their cigarette smoke. But I felt like there was more going on than that.

  As I glanced over in the actors’ direction, I could see Jude turn toward me. He watched as I looked back and forth between the actors and Summer. Then I finally decided to head in Summer’s direction.

  I stood next to Summer and gave her a smile when she stared up at me. She didn’t return the gesture. She was really one tough nut to crack.

  “You don’t have to wait with me,” she said. “My brother will be here any minute. Practice sometimes runs over.”

  “What kind of practice?” I asked. I’m not sure why. I didn’t even know her brother. At least I didn’t think I did. I was starting to think there was something more to her aversion toward me.

  She didn’t reply. I could see a frown overtake her face and I felt someone approach from behind me.

  “Hey, Maggie.” It was Jude. He took one final drag of his cigarette then threw the butt on the ground and stamped it out.

  “What’s up?” I replied.

  When I glanced over at Summer, I could see she was now snarling. She might not have liked me very much but she seemed to hate Jude.

  “Need a ride home?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No, I’ve got a car. I just wanted to make sure Summer was okay.”

  As if he had just noticed her for the first time, Jude glanced at Summer. “Oh, yeah. Right. Does she have a ride?”

  Summer just glared at him.

  Jude moved in closer to me and said softly, “Maybe we could hang out some time?”

  “I don’t want to be one of the many girls you hang out with. Thanks but no thanks.”

  “The offer never expires,” he said.

  The fact that I even considered what it might be liked to hang out with Jude made me mad at myself. I wasn’t the type of girl who just hung out with guys. I’d only hung out with guys when I was in a relationship, which I’ll be the first to admit was not very often.

  There was just something about Jude that was completely irresistible, though.