Chapter 68: Chapter 68: The Theater Directive

The heavy wooden doors of the theater club room creaked open and Alexander stepped inside with Lilly closely following behind him.

Ben and Leo who were lazily sorting through a rack of old costumes instantly snapped their heads up.

The moment they saw a beautiful woman entering the room on Alexander’s heels both of them visibly shuddered in sheer awe "That’s our boss for you," muttered Ben, his jaw nearly dropping to the floor. "He actually brought a girl with him."

Lilly’s cheeks instantly flushed a deep burning crimson a wave of awkwardness washing over her.

She simply wasn’t used to receiving compliments of any kind.

Ever since her early middle school days she had always been the painfully timid fragile girl who preferred to fade into the background.

What she completely failed to realize was that her quiet gentle demeanor had actually made her the ultimate dream fantasy for dozens of shy guys on campus; however because those guys were just as timid as she was none of them had ever dared to even look her in the eye let alone speak to her.

As a result Lilly had grown up feeling entirely alone vulnerable and completely ignored by the world.

Nervously clutching the hem of her oversized sweater she stepped forward to introduce herself "Hello... I am Lilly" whispered Lilly her voice trembling slightly "I am currently working as an intern in charge of the university library.

I hold a full scholarship thanks to maintaining a perfect GPA and my blood type is—"

"You don’t need to share your entire clinical history with them haha" interrupted Alexander gently placing his hand on her shoulder to cut her off "Lilly these two are Ben and Leo my new little club members."

He walked over to the center stage his demeanor shifting into that of a focused leader.

Alexander was already fully aware of the upcoming spring festival having performed alongside his graduated seniors the previous year so he knew exactly what the campus administration expected "Let’s get down to business" stated Alexander gesturing for everyone to take a seat on the edge of the stage "The spring festival is rapidly approaching and your classroom delegates have probably already informed you that mandatory participation is required.

However you need to know how the club rules work."

Ben and Leo leaned in listening intently.

"As official members of the theater club you are technically exempt from performing in your individual classroom numbers" explained Alexander crossing his arms "Though you are still expected to help your groups set up their respective themed booths.

Furthermore as a specialized club we aren’t required to run a food or game stall but the university does demand that we prepare a main performance number for the auditorium.

So I want to hear your options and ideas."

Ben and Leo instantly leaned forward their eyes lighting up as they began tossing out a rapid-fire barrage of completely wild bizarre and absolutely impossible ideas.

"We should do a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk musical where we fight mutant corporate ninjas with lasers!" yelled Ben throwing his hands in the air.

"No way man!

We should do a medieval fantasy tragedy but everyone is a pirate and the entire stage is filled with actual water pools!" countered Leo completely animated.

Lilly catching the contagious energy of the room slowly shook off her shyness and playfully joined in on the game "What if we do a psychological thriller about a group of talking library books trying to escape a burning building?" whispered Lilly a small mischievous smile on her face.

The room instantly dissolved into a loud incredibly fun debate with each of them passionately arguing why their absurd concept was objectively superior to the others.

Alexander let out a hearty laugh holding up his hands to calm them down "Alright alright well we are a theater club so the school actually expects us to act out a proper play" said Alexander a look of mock sympathy on his face "I hate to cut your creative inspiration short but the administration doesn’t provide a single cent of funding for club productions.

We have to pay for the props and costumes out of our own pockets so let’s keep it strictly within the realm of possibility."

Ben and Leo simultaneously slumped their shoulders looking at each other "But Jefe we are only four people" said Ben gesturing around the empty room.

"That is exactly why we need to choose the perfect script and make it our mission" stated Alexander a confident smirk playing on his lips "And as for the cast I already have my leading lady right here."

He glanced down at Lilly who instantly blushed and gave a tiny panicked squeak though she didn’t object "So each of you will be responsible for bringing in a female partner to help us fill out the roles."

Leo blinked scratching his head "Wait what kind of play has exactly three couples?" asked Leo.

"We are going to perform a classic romantic farce called The Intersecting Shadows" explained Alexander leaning against the director’s table "The plot revolves around three completely different couples who all accidentally book the exact same luxury honeymoon suite at a hotel on the very same night.

The first couple is a pair of high-society nobles trying to hide their scandalous marriage; the second couple is a pair of bumbling secret agents undercover on a mission; and the third couple is a pair of rebellious runaways fleeing a strict family.

The entire comedy comes from the couples constantly sneaking in and out of the closets hiding under the bed and misinterpreting each other’s conversations through the walls all while trying to keep their identities a secret from the hotel staff." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Ben’s eyes widened as the structure of the play clicked in his mind "Wow that actually sounds incredibly funny and cheap to make" said Ben rubbing his hands together "All we need for the set is a bed a closet door and a couple of fake walls."

"Exactly" said Alexander giving them a firm nod "It’s light it’s fast-paced and it will keep the audience laughing.

You two have until the end of the week to secure your partners.

Class dismissed."