Chapter 21: Chapter 21: The Last Veteran
Alexander pushed open the heavy double doors of the theater hall while the familiar smell of dust and old wood hit him instantly. Usually the room was buzzing with the voices of the seniors but today the stage felt hollow. He walked toward the center of the room and saw two freshmen sitting on the edge of the stage "Is this the place and the Theater Club?" said Leo who was lanky and thin.
"Yeah I think so but where is everyone?" said Ben who looked a bit chubby in a shirt that was a size too small.
Alexander stepped into the light of the overhead beams making both boys jump "I’m Alexander and I’m the lead here" said Alexander.
"Whoa you’re the guy and the one they call the Prince!" said Ben while standing up quickly "I’m Ben and this is Leo because we saw your posters from last year."
"Nice to meet you" said Leo while nodding so hard his glasses nearly slid off "But where are the girls because we heard this club was where all the beautiful seniors hung out?"
Alexander let out a long breath and sat down on a folding chair "They graduated and all of them since as of this semester I’m the only veteran left so it’s just us for now" said Alexander.
The two freshmen looked at each other with faces dropping in disappointment "So no girls at all?" said Ben.
"Not yet because we have to run recruitment but until then you’re stuck with me" said Alexander.
"Damn because my brother said this was the place to be if you wanted to meet a girlfriend" said Leo.
Alexander looked at them and felt a strange sense of irony since just a few hours ago he had pinned an elite professor against a wall and spent the night with two different women. He was now the king of an empty castle "Don’t worry about the girls because if you want to stay in this club you need to learn how to command a room first since if you can’t act no girl is going to look twice at you anyway" said Alexander.
His voice was firmer than it had ever been because he wasn’t the Prude Prince in this room. He reached into his bag and pulled out the script for the fall play "Get up both of you because we’re going to start with presence since if you’re going to be on my stage you’re going to look like you belong there" said Alexander.
Ben and Leo scrambled to their feet with a mix of fear and genuine respect "Yes Prince!" said Ben.
"Stop calling me that and just call me Alex" said Alexander. He looked at the empty theater seats thinking about Isabella Vance and his mission while the floorboards creaked under his boots "Listen to me because the seniors are gone and the glory days of this club are currently in the trash so it’s up to us to restore the honor of this theater but we aren’t starting with Shakespeare."
"Then what are we starting with?" said Ben.
"Seduction" said Alexander.
The two freshmen blinked with their mouths hanging open "The world is your stage and not just these wooden boards because every interaction you have with women is a performance so you need to control your breath and your posture and your eyes" said Alexander.
He spent the next hour coaching them on how to stand and how to lower their voices while sharing the techniques he had used on Sophie and Isabella "Now we’re going to do some field work" said Alexander.
"Wait like right now?" said Leo with a voice cracking.
"Right now so let’s go" said Alexander. He led them to the campus plaza to find a target "Target spotted so Ben go talk to that girl reading on the bench and just ask for the time while trying to hold the conversation for thirty seconds" said Alexander.
Ben gulped and marched over but halfway there his knees turned to jelly "Uh do you... is it... time?" said Ben. The girl looked up confused and Ben shouted "Time! Clock! Yes!" before he bolted back to the group with a purple face.
"Horrible and Leo you’re up because the girl at the vending machine is yours so go" said Alexander. Leo walked up to a girl and tried to lean against the machine but his elbow slipped and he slammed his face against the glass "GAH! My nose!" said Leo.
"Are you okay?" said the girl while stepping back.
"I am... I am the theater... thirsty... please..." said Leo while he stammered and shuffled back to Alexander defeated.
"I can’t do it Alex because I just freeze up since my brain shuts down" said Leo.
"I felt like I was having a heart attack" said Ben.
Alexander looked at them and remembered being exactly where they were a year ago "You failed because you’re trying to be yourself so stop being Ben and Leo and be the characters we practiced since if you can’t handle a simple conversation you’ll never survive the real world" said Alexander.
He checked his watch and saw it was almost 4:30 PM "I have to go so practice the command presence in the mirror until your eyes hurt and I’ll see you tomorrow" said Alexander.
He left them there shivering in the afternoon breeze while he headed toward the parking lot to put his own acting skills to the ultimate test.
