Opening Marathon #3

So I’m officially a junior. It’s very, very cool. I am all in favour. The party last night was a lot of fun, overwhelming like most drama parties, but a good event. Eventful, too.

So my Little turns out to be excellent. His name is Eric, he’s really sweet and polite and courteous. He was so funny last night, he didn’t have any questions and he didn’t seem to need me for moral support, but he barely left my side all evening. It was like, no, I don’t actually need you, but I’m going to stand right here and make sure I don’t lose you just in case. Even Kara didn’t do that last year – she cried on my shoulder before the party, or just about, and then went off to hang out with her new friends. But anyway, the freshmen seem like a nice enough group, although they are right out of high school so of course they’ve still got a long way to go before they really understand what our department is all about.

Before we went to

Marathon , we stopped in at Riddler’s Corner, which is the name Parthenon settled on. Brendan’s house, crazy house with 14 drama students. Anna and I almost lived there, thank Heaven we escaped that. But anyway. Most of that time was fun but largely unimportant, but just as we were leaving, Brendan stopped me on the stairs and told me that he loves me and I have renewed his faith in humanity so many times, and really saved him so many times…this was not news to me, but it still always surprises me to hear him say it. He frequently tells me this when he’s drunk, but for some reason last night it made me cry…I know Brendan depends on me in ways I don’t quite understand and for reasons I don’t quite understand. But one of the things he also said was that he wanted me to know that he hadn’t cast me because of our friendship, but because I’m right for the part. And that if he doesn’t give me much direction, it’s because I’m perfect. Actually, that was the first thing he said in the whole conversation. I’d gone past him already, and he said, “Stephanie. I just want you to know. You’re perfect.” And I started to cry. Odd. But really beautiful.

Later, at the party, Robbie spotted Eric and Anna and myself and came running over with a hug for me, which he then shared with Anna as an afterthought, it was cute. And he told me that I had a great Little, and that we would really get along, and I asked him if he gave Eric to me on purpose, and he said yes – “I was like, this guy watches the Daily Show, I have to hook him up, yeah, Steph Mitchell!” Or something like that. And I said, “I’m the only Stephanie in the building this semester. That means no one has to call me by my last name,” and he said “Steph! Stephanie! You’re definitely the only Stephanie in Lend Me a Tenor.” And I said yes. And then he said that we already had a crew for the show, which I already knew because I was there when he found it out, both his Littles happen to be on crew for the show, and I said good, that saves us from being like Freedom last year. And he said, what happened with Freedom was terrible, it was such a good show too, you were hilarious. And then he did an imitation of me that I did not recognize as myself, and I said, did I really do that? And he said yeah, you have this particular physicality, and Paul and I watched and said, she’s so Maggie, she’s Maggie. And he said he’d talk to me all about what I’d done and what he liked from it and so forth. And I felt great, because he was happy to have me in his cast after all and we have a conversation coming up again. Always a good thing. Come to think of it, he might not actually have cast me until after that. I don’t really remember. As soon as I’m back online, I’ll look it up in my diary.

I don’t know what exactly Eric must think of me…it’s so hot here that I spent most of yesterday in the skimpiest clothes I have, just because I couldn’t stand the thought of putting on more clothes. And it was Opening Marathon, so everyone was all over each other, hugs and kisses all round, compliments etc, so I don’t know exactly what impression my Little has of me.<span style="mso-space

run: yes”> Heehee. Oh well. Everyone is telling him that he has a great Big, though, so I hope I can live up to it. Danny wasn’t around for him much, he has another Little with his roommates, I think probably it will be up to Kara to look out for Eric second semester instead of Danny. Ah well. I’m just grateful to have him.

So towards the end of the night, or at least the end of the night for me (I left quite early), I was talking with Eric and Mike B—–, a senior who I met about midway through my freshman year when we were both helping out with prospective auditions. Since then, we’ve had a really casual, easy acquaintanceship, he’s 6’4” and I’m 4’11”, so I call him my tall friend and he calls me his small friend. Or sometimes his short friend. I like small better, though, because then it rhymes. Anyway, he’d been joking around about what a great couple we’d make because our heights are so funny, and there was something about the way he was talking that made me think that he might actually be attracted to me, which was nice but not a big deal, he had had a bit to drink and who knows what inflections actually mean at that point. But I told him I had to go, and he said, we have to hang out, and I said yes, and he said no really, let’s actually do it! And I said sure, we will! And he bent down to whisper to me, “I have to tell you. I have a crush on you. I have since you came here.” Then he laughed at himself a little, and said “I don’t think I can look you in the eye now.” So I said, “Mike. Look at me.” And he did, and I said, “Thank you for telling me. Really. Thank you.” And he said, “So…?” And I said, “It’s something to think about.” And he laughed again and said, “Well, now that’s out in the open.” And I said “I really do have to go. But we’ll hang out. We will. OK?” And he said OK. And Eric and I collected Anna and left.

I had never considered Mike B—– as a possibility. He had an ongoing half-thing with a friend of mine called Cassie last year and the year before, but I don’t know how much of that was Cassie’s wistful thinking. The idea that he had a crush on me through all that is…kind of shocking. I had no idea. Less than no idea. Wow. It’s very flattering. It’s very tempting. Just…not to be alone anymore.

But then there’s the fact that I barely know him. I don’t have a clear enough idea of his personality to even know if I’d ever be interested. He’s not bad-looking, but he’s really tall. And I just don’t know him as a person.

And then there’s Robbie. How can I, in good conscience, date someone I don’t have feelings for when I know there’s someone else for whom I do?

But I fully intend to hang out with him, as planned. We’ll see what happens. I mean, you never know, right?

This morning, I woke up bright and early for ballet with Karen. Ballet III. Yeep. However, I seem to be presently the only person signed up for the class. That will probably change, because David’s kicking people out of his Ballet III class, and at least some of them will brave the hour and come to Karen’s, but we need at least 5 people to have a class. I know that the twins were planning on taking class with her, but they might be taking II again, not III. I told her that I thought if she asked them to, they’d take the early class. So that’s what I’m hoping…a five person class with the R——-s. I would love that. But as it stands, there isn’t really a class happening at all. Yick.

On my way out, I ran into Geri, who told me that she wanted to do the play I started writing last year in her class for New Playwrites’ this year. I said, but it’s not finished! And she said, well, you have a month, finish it! And I said, but I won’t be here! And she said, who cares! And then she left to go to CORE. I also ran into Kathleen, the movement teacher, and she said that she was sad she wasn’t going to be able to teach her advanced class this semester, and she asked me what I was doing this semester, so I told her, and we joked about how busy I am right now. Or will be, very shortly. And as she was leaving, she asked me if I was auditioning for Midsummer Night’s Dream on the Mainstage this year, and I said I wasn’t going to be here, and she made a sad face. I feel like she’s the second faculty member to ask me that this week, but I don’t remember who the first one was. I’m so sad that they’re doing Shakespeare on the Mainstage directed by Lisa the semester I’m not going to be here. I know I would have had a good shot at it, and it’ll be a fantastic show. Oh well.

I think that’s all from me for right now…I really have to get my room in order, I’m still working on that.

–Stephanie