Lester heaved a sigh of frustration, staring with ill-disguised impatience at the crumpled piece of paper clutched in her hand . His frazzled hair stood out in distinct clumps as he ran his hand yet another time through it, mutter and groaning under his breath.
" How am I supposed to finish this?" Lester beseeched to no one in particular, raising his arms in supplication. " The budget is too high and we our props are lousy". I could not resist an inadvertent grin at his distraught state and lengthy rants about the lamentable lack of facilities in our school. Lester caught sight of my hastily hidden smile, frowned in silent castigation, and dragged me to an empty table, demanding that I suggest something to save him.
Despite my vigorous protests to the contrary, he compelled my capitulation through a mixture of threats and earnest pleas. At the look of resignation etched on my face, he started to regurgitate the entire process, culminating in an unrestrained vociferous exclamation at the impending deadline.
I checked the clock, and finally gave in, realising that there was not much time for me to study any more
The play was to centre on the theme " Around the world in 8 minutes". Meagre budget and pitiful help aside, the logistics of this endeavour was truly overwhelming; the props would be gargantuan and thus extraordinarily cumbersome, expensive and time consuming to create. The audience had to maintain focus on the characters, who would likely be dwarfed over shadowed peripherals. Exacerbated by a severe lack of funds and and manpower, this task indeed seemed insurmountable.
With these obstacles weighing on our minds, the tedious process of figuring a feasible and practical solution began. Pondering deep, a startling idea, slightly unorthodox and odd, flashed across my thoughts: the protagonist of the play might just be a common household pest, and the iconic buildings and features could be substituted with everyday items : The Statue of Liberty represented by a refrigerator, the Grand Canyon by the distance of two cabinets, et cetera.
Dawning hope lit up Lester's eyes as he started to pace around the table, fervently working out the details to himself. Running his hand once again through his unkempt hair, he gave a seemingly maniacal grin and declared feverishly that we might just succeed.
The next week flashed past in a paradoxical blur of frantic activity and agonising slowness. I had to sacrifice my time to think with him, and now I was lagging. Little by little, the details of the play were determined.
The play became an astounding success with the audience deeply engaged. I noticed Lester's cherubic smile and my heart melted, and I know deep down that my sacrifice was well worth it.
benedict (:
No comments:
Post a Comment