Note: All characters are 18 year olds in their last year of high school.
---
"Our next unit will be on musical theater," Miss Reese exclaimed in an encouraging voice from the front of the school auditorium.
A collective groan rose up from most of the drama students spread out among the first five rows of seats. A few enthusiastic faces shared their feelings on the subject, but they were few and far between.
"Your grade for this section will be based on a scene presented to the class. With so many musicals to choose from I am excited to see what you come up with," Miss Reese continued.
A tight ball formed in Tom's stomach as he thought about singing in front of the class. He involuntarily sunk down into his seat. He began to form visions of himself alone on the stage, trying to get through a song while the class tittered in laughter. How would he possibly get through this?
"You can pair off in groups of two, three, or four people if you like. Plan to present three weeks from now. You'll have time to practice in class, but I encourage you to put in the time after school to make your act memorable. This is really your chance to shine," Miss Reese directed them.
Tom's eyes scanned his classmates frantically, hoping to avoid the mortification of a solo song. At least in a group I'll not be the only one making an ass of myself, he thought.
His eyes caught those of his friend Erin who was sitting with Robert and Ashley one row in front of his. She smiled and nodded her affirmation to a question he hadn't even asked.
"Ok, why don't you go ahead and take a few minutes to decide who you want to work with and what song you want to perform," Miss Reese continued.
Tom grabbed up his bag and clambered over the seat in front of his to join Erin and the others. They had worked together in the past. Some days Tom sat next to them, but he had never found the right clique despite now being in his senior year. Nevertheless there was always something special when he talked to Erin, a little spark inside him that was fed by the twinkle in her eyes and her smile.
"Hey man," Robert said, slapping hands in greeting.
"Hey Tom," Ashley added, pushing her long, brown hair back behind her ears.
Erin smiled, displaying some of her wry wit, "So, it's A Chorus Line or Singing in the Rain, right?"
Tom and the rest of the group smirked in response. They definitely tended towards the edgier, darker material in class. It was hard to imagine banging out a traditional routine with leg kicks and jazz hands.
"I hate musicals," Tom remarked, receiving nods of agreement. "I have no idea."
"What about 'Hair'?" Erin queried.
"Ooh, that could be fun," Ashley said, with a hint of naughtiness in her voice.
"I'm not getting naked in front of the class," Robert declared.
"That's just the one song," Erin shot back.
Naked? What is he talking about? Tom thought. "What's Hair?" he asked the group.
"You've never heard of Hair? It's like the musical about the 60s," Erin said, a note of surprise in her voice.
"Well, that could be ok," Tom said hesitantly, not wanting to go against the group.
"Let's meet up at the public library after school to see what we can find," declared Erin, settling the matter.
She was a slight girl with chin length, wavy strawberry blond locks. They were matched by a button nose covered with a sprinkle of freckles. But she filled up any room with the force of her personality and fearless confidence.
The bell rang and each of them was off to their next class.
---
Entering the library building, Tom soon saw his classmates clustered around one of the computer terminals and made his way over. Robert and Ashley nodded their hellos, and Erin put her hand on his forearm in greeting. Tom felt a few hairs stand up on the back of his neck in response to the warm touch.
"We think this song catalog should cover what we need," Erin explained as she turned back to the screen, writing down the appropriate call number on a piece of paper.
The foursome made their way up into the heart of the library, eventually retrieving the tome in question. They moved to a nearby study table, spreading out the book and circling around.
The list of song titles flowed past, making Tom's mind churn. Colored Spade, White Boys, Black Boys, Hashish, Manchester England, Hare-Krishna, what kind of musical is this he wondered.
Erin flipped through the pages as they scanned the musical scores and read the lyrics. It appeared that Ashley and Robert were at least somewhat familiar with the show, but the words brought out a share of collective giggles as they dug into the show.
"Well, there is no way they are going to let us do this one," Robert remarked as they moved down the page for a song entitled Sodomy.
"Yeah, I think this is the best one really. I remember hearing it one time when my parents were playing the radio in the car," Erin proposed.
The page offered up the opening song for the musical, Aquarius. The lyrics, borrowing heavily from astrology, promised a new age of love and understanding.
"'Golden living dreams of visions,' what does that even mean?" Tom asked skeptically.
"It means letting go of your logical brain and just going with what moves you," Erin replied. "Something you should do a little more."
Tom felt his cheeks get hot and wondered if the others could see him blushing. But a closer examination of Erin's face revealed a soft smile, suggesting her words were ones of encouragement -- not ridicule.
"This is pretty wild," Ashley agreed. "I wonder how we are going to put together a dance routine for this."
"Oh, I'm sure we can come up with some fun stuff to do," Robert commented, his hand flipping forward in the songbook.
Robert's eyes connected with Tom's and the nonverbal message was clear, don't mess this up by not being into it.
"Ok, I trust you guys," said Tom, trying to cover the hesitation in his voice.
"Good, let's make some copies and we can meet tomorrow to start working on the choreography," Erin said enthusiastically. Her hand was back on Tom's arm, causing a tingly glow to spread across that side of his body.
---
The morning had broken and light was spilling into the room from under the pulled shades on Tom's bedroom window. He was lingering in the space between sleeping and awake, refusing to jump up and start the day. His mind flitted back through the snapshots of his last dream. Erin, Ashley, Robert, and him were garbed in the peasant attire he had seen in so many histories about the 1960s. They had all moved in a flowing dance, twirling and swaying as they came together and then spread apart. Each had begun shedding their clothes until a naked Erin approached him. Her trim figure was punctuated by tight, round breasts and wisp of reddish pubic hair that framed her skinny hips and legs. Her lips moved towards his, but right as they were to touch he awoke.
Tom's hand moved down to give his hard prick needed attention. He began to stroke it, carrying that vision of a naked Erin (and Ashley) in his mind as he worked himself to completion. He was still a virgin and had never even seen a naked girl in the flesh. But the clarity of the dream drove his desire as he imagined what would have followed from that kiss.
"Tom, get your ass out of bed or you'll be late for school," his mom's voice shattered his fantasy from a floor below. He tugged a few more times, but realized there was now no way to get back the moment. Giving a heavy sigh, he released his grip and slid his feet down to the floor to begin his day.
---
After school, the quartet met in a practice room deep in the bowels of the school to begin mapping out their performance. They took turns auditioning for each other for the four solo parts of the song and then how to stay in harmony during the chorus. By mutual agreement, Tom took the third set of lines -- helping him hide his questionable singing voice among the others. Soon they had the lyrics and melody down and turned to the challenge of creating an appropriate dance routine.
"I'm not even sure where to start," Erin exclaimed, trying to get her mind around how to reflect the feel of the musical. "It isn't like we can offer some kicks from A Chorus Line..."
"What if we spun and twirled a bit?" Ashley asked pensively, deferring to Erin.
"Yeah, that could work," Erin responded. They began working out different moves, experimenting and rejecting different ideas as the choreography slowly took shape.
After a few hours they were each wet with sweat, bodies exhausted from putting together a few minutes of movement to accompany the song.
Erin beamed as they took a moment to rest, having finally put together all the elements and steps into a single series. It was rough, but it would work. Tom was happy because they were all happy, and it was done. He didn't know if it was good or not, but he knew he could do it without embarrassing himself.
"Oh shoot, I'm going to miss by bus," Robert exclaimed, grabbing up his stuff and scooting for the door.
"Hey, don't forget you've got to walk me to my car," Ashley called, scooping up her bag and racing along behind him.
Tom and Erin were left alone in the practice room. She smiled at him, but said nothing -- slowing collecting her belongings, as she made ready to leave. He found himself suddenly nervous, butterflies forming in his stomach as his mind told him to say something while providing zero idea of what that was.
"Uh, so do you really think it is good?" he engaged lamely, trying to stall for something better to come in his mind.
"Honestly, I don't know," she replied, turning to face him. "But I think it is worth a shot and probably better than most of what Miss Reese is going to get from the rest of the class."
"Yeah, that's probably right," he chuckled recalling some of the other lame ideas that other groups had shared with their fellow students in the past few days. His brain continued reeling, searching for a line that would help him know if she thought of him as more than a friend.
"C'mon, let's get out of here -- you can help carry this stuff to my locker," Erin added, grabbing the portable stereo and the lyrics sheets. She handed the equipment to him, Tom gladly taking it.
They walked down the halls past various spirit banners and signs for the upcoming dance.
"Are you going to go to that?" Tom pointed out one of the posters for the dance, adopting a tone to suggest he was simply asking for information -- not implying anything more.
"The dance? Nah. A bunch of kids trying to secretly get drunk or making fools of themselves on the dance floor. Not really my scene on the weekend, if you know what I mean."
"Oh, right," Tom tried to keep his noncommittal tone, but he failed to hide the note of disappointment. Erin immediately picked up on it.
"I mean, I do like going out dancing -- at a show or a club or something," she added quickly. "Why, were you thinking about going?"
"Oh no," Tom said, trying desperately to hide his shyness. "Like you said, not really my scene either. I'll probably just hang out with my friends and watch some old movies or something. Not as cool as your plans."
