Jun Yang and Feng Qi were seated at the table placed in the middle of the stage. Cindy and Pei Ling were standing to the side by the curtains, waiting for their turn.

“Alright, action!” Mr. Sam cried from the audience seat.

It had finally started. Jun Yang felt weirdly self-conscious knowing everyone’s eyes were on him. If anything, at least this class assignment helped the young man confirm that he had no future in the entertainment industry.

Jun Yang looked at his watch as per the stage direction. Then, Feng Qi started the scene by saying, “Jun Yang, why have you been glancing at your watch? Are you in a hurry to get somewhere else?”

Jun Yang hid his hands under the table and while doing so, he pushed the edge a bit too hard from his nervousness. The wooden legs of the table created a scratching noise as it skidded slightly across the wooden stage floor, the sound was made louder by the empty auditorium.

Jun Yang gulped down a mouthful of saliva and tried to calm down as fast as he could. He said, “No, it’s nothing. I just have to meet someone else after this.” He spoke faster than he should, it was like he was speeding through the lines that he had memorized. It was clear that between the two guys on stage, which one of them was the better actor.

Thankfully, Jun Yang’s nervousness did not seem to affect Feng Qi. Instead of dwelling on Jun Yang’s mistake, he carried the scene forward. “Is that so? Let me guess, you have a date with ‘her’, don’t you?” There was a special emphasis on the term ‘her’ and it was not in a good way.

There was such a thick layer of distaste around that word that it felt as if he was saying a curse word even if he wasn’t.

The character set-up for Jun Yang in the play was not much different from the actor in real life. He could be rather oblivious to the other people’s mannerism and way of speech when he wanted to. Any sane person would be able to tell his friend had a problem with this ‘her’ in question but for Jun Yang in the play, it completely flew over his head. He replied cheerfully, “That’s right, how did you know?!”

Feng Qi did not answer but Jun Yang could see the young man grit his teeth. He was impressed by how into the character Feng Qi was, he had no idea he was such a good actor. Jun Yang noticed from the corner of his eyes that even Mr. Sam had sat up in his seat to pay a closer attention. It seemed as if their teacher was surprised by Feng Qi’s acting capability as well.

Jun Yang did not say anything because it was not his turn. Just as he thought Feng Qi had forgotten his lines, the latter continued, “Jun Yang, do you realize that you’ve changed after you met her?”

“Change?” Jun Yang asked innocently. “Do you mean I appear happier after Pei Ling agreed to be my girlfriend? Yes, I guess she does make me happy.”

Feng Qi chuckled but there was no mirth in that laugh. If anything, Jun Yang felt drawn into a bottomless well of sadness, sitting across from Feng Qi. It made him feel uncomfortable and he had a feeling it had more to do with the fact that Feng Qi was a good actor.

“Does this mean hanging out with me makes you sad?” Feng Qi asked.

“No-no, that’s not what I mean. You misunderstand, Feng Qi,” Jun Yang stammered as he tried to explain. “You and Pei Ling are both important people in my life but you have two different roles, and both of you make me equally happy!”

“So we adopt different roles in your life, do we?” Feng Qi repeated what Jun Yang said. Jun Yang frowned because this sentence was not part of the script. However, he did not correct Feng Qi because as he had learned in the improv exercise, it was important to say yes when your scene partner was fumbling. “Indeed. You are my dear friend but Pei Ling is my girlfriend. Both of you are equally important to me.”

“You know, I find that hard to believe when you’re going to blow me off to go on a rendezvous with that girl,” Feng Qi said weakly. Even though he was leveling an accusation, it appeared as if that statement caused a bigger injury to himself than to Jun Yang.

“Hey, it’s unfair for you to put it that way. We can hang out with each other almost daily but it is not that often I can go out on a date with Pei Ling. You know how tight her schedule is.”

“You know what, you’re right. That is wrong of me to say something like that, you should go on ahead, have fun with Pei Ling,” was what Feng Qi was supposed to say according to the script but instead, what Jun Yang said seemed to set the young man off. His voice rose slightly, “You want to talk to me about fairness? Fine. Tell me how is it fair that you haven’t told me about the fact that your relationship with that girl has gotten serious, about how you have gotten approval from her parents to be together? Don’t you think as your friend, I deserve to know as much?!”

Jun Yang could see actual hurt and betrayal in Feng Qi’s eyes when he shot him that question. Jun Yang was stunned for several seconds as he tried to get over Feng Qi’s realistic character portrayal. Then, he was caught in a conundrum. Feng Qi had gotten so far away from the script that Jun Yang didn’t know how to reel it back.

He sneaked a glance behind him and he saw Pei Ling rotate her hands in a circular motion, a signal that they were running out of time.

Well, with that in mind, Jun Yang decided to just end the scene right there and then. He stood up from the table and announced, “I have no idea what got into you but I’m not going to talk to you when you’re being so unreasonable.” Then, Jun Yang turned as he tried to escape the scene.

“Wait!” Feng Qi sprung up as well and reached out to grab Jun Yang’s wrist. Then, he yanked to pull Jun Yang back.

Jun Yang had no idea what was happening. He was so caught off-guard by Feng Qi’s pull that he didn’t have the time to resist. He was twirled around and before he knew it, something soft pressed against his lips. [If you like my work, I would really appreciate a cup of joe as donation. Thank you. Donate here: ko-fi.com/lonelytree]