Alex's POV
Upon seeing that message, I quickly got into action. She was not someone to mess around with. Throwing the apron on a sole chair with pile of all my semi-dirty clothes, I rushed to the temporary closet, picking out some to change.
"Margie has called us to her room, " I said, browsing through them, choosing what to wear.
Ben turned towards me, "Hey! Can you lend me so–"
Before he could mutter words, I threw a hoodie and sweatpants at him. Meanwhile, I picked out a beige t-shirt with black pants for myself.
"Ouch." He muttered, rubbing his temple hurt by the buttons on the pants that landed on his head.
"Haha...serves right."
"Whatever," he said, rolling his eyes and dragging the clothes off his head.
We both quickly put on the outfit and ran to Margie's room and walked inside. She was sitting, dressed in a red bodycon dress and a messy bun, with her face full of heavy makeup.
"Another party, eh?" I questioned, as I sat down on the chair.
"A big one," she muttered without looking, focused on the screen and her fingers gliding across the keyboard.
Ben also took a seat right next to me, placing his elbow on the table and leaning his head against it.
"So... What do you want me to do?" I asked, knowing something disastrous was awaiting me.
She finally broke her eye contact and looked at me, "I need you to replace me."
'So what about people wanting to push me out?'
I looked at Ben, who hadn't looked away yet, but I caught his attention. I hid my face from her and tilted my head at him, whispering, 'who wants me out then?'
My expression twitched into a smirk, almost unable to bear such a swell of pride.
He looked back at me, didn't react, not even an ounce of embarrassment, instead, he slightly tilted his head away, and sighed, eyes softer than what I anticipated.
"Your play was," she said, picking up a file and browsing the contents, "really great! Sales outdid the production costs so we broke even."
In case you can't tell, Margie started off as a financial advisor.
Although my mouth was held in place, still like a sculpture, my inner joy knew no bounds. If I had the choice, I'd be dancing around on a bed of flowers in a lush garden, covered with morning dew.
Margie's compliments were THAT RARE.
"Besides that, the critics loved the story presented, it was fresh and thrilling."
I shot a glance at Ben, with one eyebrow raised.
'Who said it was bad huh?'
"Because of the immense success of the play, lots of investors wish to take part in the production and this is why I'll be away on a cruise trip."
Yes! Keep it coming!
"Which is why I'll be rewarding you all and sending you to a trip yourselves!"
"That's great," I said, placing my hands on the table, "maybe we can go to the hills for a snow-camp!"
Ben looked at me, shaking his head in disagreement.
I took my clue well and ran with it.
"Ben loves the idea, look at him so excited!" I said, pointing at him.
He looked nervous, "yeah, maybe we could."
"Perfect!" She exclaimed, glancing at her watch. "I have to leave now, catch you later," she said as she ran to the door with her handbag.
Just as she reached the door, she turned back and dropped the worst doom on me that I could even imagine.
"Alex will manage everything, while Ben will ensure things are smooth," she said, as her voice trailed off.
Manage everything...
For some reason I felt like I had been pushed off a rabbit hole with a spiral that kept it going downwards. Managing kids was one thing and managing these self-proclaimed adults was another.
Guess which one was more difficult?
You're wrong.
I sunk back in my chair, as I remembered what they managed to pull off one day...
It was one of my first days here, new people new dimension. I had no clue how things worked and was just going with the flow to start off. There were less responsibilities and I only had to write my plays and it would suffice.
Then suddenly, one day, just like today, Margie decided to dip off, leaving me with a single message,
"On trip, please manage."
What the frick would manage mean? I didn't even memorise names yet!
Still, I decided to give it a go as I had no other choice. I rushed towards the stage, where lot of preparations were going on for the upcoming 'Macbeth' adaptation. Costumes were being racked into piles, props were being designed and lights were being fixed, along with backgrounds being checked.
'What trouble could a bunch of adults even make?'
Enter Lay, the main actor.
He was famous for a reason. With near-perfect face chiseled with a straight nose, eyes deep as a stagnant lake, high cheekbones and rosy lips, he was bound to be a ladies favourite.
But this punk had so much attitude, even Ben seemed tame when compared to him.
"Get me French mineral water only."
"Eww...the calories must be insane in these packed lunches."
These are the things we would hear on the daily, causing inconvenience to the rest of the staff.
Now, Lay had two ladies running behind him. Remember Sarah from Sounds Department? Yeah, she was in with him, probably one sided. The other one was Kathy from the Lights department.
Not sure who he actually liked, but he kept both of them busy with himself.
Kathy, though petite, was strong. She had a high nose bridge supporting her nerdy glasses and hazel eyes that glowed in the light.
When I had asked him, he said he liked her eyes the best. As for Sarah, her curly hair.
This guy had weird antics. For example, he made sure to meet both of them just before a show, because it gave him courage or something. Everything aside, he chose me as his bait every time.
But like every other wrong deed, truth was bound to be out someday.
Just before one of my first plays, when everyone was busy, he decided to meet Kathy first. He texted her to meet him at around 3, and Sarah with a buffer of 30 minutes as usual. I was supposed to be standing on the entrance of the backstage, distracting anyone who comes there.
At sharp 3, Kathy showed up, in black denim overalls and a white shirt inside. She headed to the costume racks, which was always the most messy and crime-proof area of the backstage hallway.
He was standing there, in a leather vest, off-white shirt and thigh high boots. He had a tilted crown on his curled hair, resting promptly.
He didn't wait for any words or greetings. They had a prolonged stare contest before completely getting lost in each others mouths or something.
"Yuck," I blurted before gagging and turning away.
While they had no intention to stop, I saw a familiar figure, petite yet sharp walk towards me, as I gulped a lump in my throat.
It was Sarah.
Wasn't she supposed to come half an hour later? What is she doing here?!
I didn't think much, in fact I didn't think at all, I ran to Kathy, pulled her arm, breaking apart their awkward moment and dragged her into the curtained changing room. I pushed her to the corner and she looked at me.
"What is th–"
I cupped her mouth before she could utter a word, staring into her confused eyes. She blinked hard, signalling she understood.
I let go of her and and jumped to the corner of the room, checking for any activity.
This punk had no shame!
He was now messing up with Sarah too!
Right then, I heard familiar steps, heavy yet swift, almost urgent.
Wait, she's not here, it can't b–
It was.
It was Margie. If she saw any of this, we'd all be fired!
This f*cker had messaged them all at once!
I ran out of the room again, to grab Sarah this time and put her in the room, next to Kathy.
"What the f*ck are you doing here!" Kathy whispered.
"What are you doing here?" Sarah whispered back.
They both looked at me, wondering if I was also a part of the mix. I signalled a strong no by crossing my hands. They breathed in a sigh of relief.
Margie was talking to him for a while, but then walked back to the closet area. I could tell by her steps, she was disappointed. Opening the curtain, she found me, Sarah and Kathy inside.
"I didn't expect this from you, Alex," She said, shaking her head, disappointment in her voice.
I pointed a finger at the Lay, who acted like he was the most innocent lamb there, "It's... him, he asked me. What are you doing here?"
"Me?" He pointed at himself, "I would never, probably he is helping these girls get on with me."
"Meeting cancelled. Client backed out," she followed.
I looked at him, eyes widened in suprise. He had bailed on me. I was in trouble now. I looked at the girls, hoping for some help against our common enemy but they were silent.
The whole room fell silent, its weight bearing on me.
Then suddenly,
"It was Lay," Sarah spoke up, walking towards him.
Smack!
She landed one across his face, imprinting her fingers on his cheeks.
"This is for looking down on women!"
"And you, Kathy, I trusted you... How dare you do this to me!" She yelled before darting away.
Safe to say, he was fired right after the play.
Meanwhile Kathy and Sarah still have beef, this time backed by Lights and Sound departments respectively.