Holding On

The sky had already started to darken by the time Ria left the drama room. The familiar clang of lockers and distant laughter echoed down the nearly empty hallway, but outside, the evening felt calm. Ria zipped up her jacket and started walking home, her breath visible in the crisp air. The weight of the coming weeks pressed down on her, but tonight, for just a moment, she tried to let it go.

She replayed the conversation she'd had with Kael earlier that day—his tired smile, the subtle tension in his voice. He'd been trying to hide it, but she could see through the cracks. He was struggling more than he let on. Ria shoved her hands deep into her pockets, kicking a pebble down the sidewalk as her thoughts swirled.

"Maybe it's time to stop thinking about it for just five minutes," she muttered to herself, though even she didn't believe it.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw a message from Olivia.

Olivia: "Study group at my place tomorrow? Bring snacks or suffer."

Ria grinned. Leave it to Olivia to make a study session sound like a party. She quickly typed a reply.

Ria: "On it. I'll bring chips."

She slipped her phone back into her pocket, her pace slowing as she neared her house. The porch light was on, and inside she could see her siblings chasing each other around the living room, their laughter muffled by the window. The sound made her smile, a soft warmth spreading through her chest. For a moment, the stress of rehearsals and exams faded, and she felt like just a regular high schooler heading home to the chaos of family life.

Stepping inside, she was immediately greeted by the smell of something warm cooking in the kitchen—probably her mom's famous lasagna, if Ria had to guess. Her younger brother Josh was sprawled on the couch, engrossed in some video game, while her sister Emma raced by with a doll in one hand and a hairbrush in the other, already in her own world of pretend.

"Hey, Ria!" Emma called over her shoulder as she zoomed down the hallway. "I'm giving her a new hairstyle!"

Ria waved, laughing softly. "Go easy on her, okay?"

Josh, without looking up from his game, grunted in greeting. "Are you famous yet?"

Ria dropped her bag by the door and made her way into the kitchen, rolling her eyes at Josh's familiar line. "Not yet. Ask me again after districts."

Her mom was at the stove, humming softly to herself as she stirred a pot of sauce. She glanced over her shoulder as Ria entered, her eyes lighting up in that soft way they always did when she saw her kids.

"Hey, sweetheart," she said warmly. "How was rehearsal?"

Ria shrugged, leaning against the counter. "Good, I guess. Busy. Ms. Reyes is really pushing us since the dress rehearsal's coming up. And the competition is right around the corner."

Her mom gave her a sympathetic look as she turned off the stove. "You've been working so hard. Just make sure you're not overdoing it, okay?"

"I know, I know." Ria smiled, but there was a flicker of something heavy behind her words. "I'm managing."

Her mom turned to face her fully, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter. "You know you don't have to do it all by yourself, right?"

Ria's chest tightened, the familiar weight of her responsibilities pressing in again. She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything, the front door creaked open, and her dad's voice called out from the hallway.

"Hey, everyone! Who's hungry?"

The moment shifted, the conversation left hanging as her mom turned to greet her dad with a smile. Ria was relieved—she wasn't ready to dive into that talk just yet.

Dinner was loud and chaotic, like always. Josh kept interrupting with updates on his game, Emma proudly announced the new "hairstyle" she'd given her doll, and her parents exchanged knowing smiles over the table. Ria found herself laughing more than she had all week, the stress of rehearsals and exams pushed to the back of her mind for just a little while.

The next few days passed in a blur of study sessions and rehearsals. Ria spent every spare moment either hunched over textbooks or running lines in her head. Olivia's study group turned out to be more fun than expected—though that might have had something to do with the mountain of snacks they brought. Even Alex showed up, cracking dry jokes between scribbling out formulas for physics problems.

It wasn't until Thursday afternoon, when Ria walked into the drama room for what was supposed to be a light run-through, that the intensity hit again. Everyone was there—Kael, Olivia, Ethan, and the rest of the crew—but there was an unspoken tension in the air, as if everyone was acutely aware that time was running out.

Kael stood at the front, glancing down at his script before looking up to address the group. His voice was calm, but Ria noticed the slight tremor in his hand as he gestured for everyone's attention.

"We're almost there," he began, his eyes scanning the group. "The dress rehearsal is tomorrow. It's our first full run in front of an audience, so we need to treat it like the real thing. This is our chance to work out any kinks before districts."

There were nods around the room, but Ria could feel the pressure settling in. The dress rehearsal was more than just practice—it was the moment they'd see if all their hard work had been enough.

Ms. Reyes stepped forward then, her usual confident smile tempered with a seriousness that made everyone sit up a little straighter. "I know you've been juggling a lot with exams, but we're in the final stretch now. Tomorrow's performance is for the whole school, and we want to make sure we leave an impression—so let's run through the key scenes, tighten up any loose ends."

The group broke into action. Olivia and Alex immediately dove into the tech side of things, adjusting lighting and sound cues. Ethan, ever the natural performer, took his spot center stage, running his lines with the kind of ease that made it clear he wasn't worried about tomorrow. But Kael… Kael was different.

Ria watched him closely during their run-throughs. His lines were solid, his blocking on point, but there was a flicker of hesitation in his performance that hadn't been there before. Twice during the big confrontation scene with Ethan, he stumbled—not with his lines, but with his timing. He was just a second too slow, a beat behind, and it threw off the rhythm.

By the time they reached the final scene, the tension was palpable.

Kael stood in the center of the stage, his character's final, emotional speech hanging in the air. He was supposed to deliver the line that brought the play's conflict to its climax, but instead, there was a long, uncomfortable pause. Ria held her breath, watching as Kael's expression flickered, like he was searching for the words that wouldn't come.

Finally, Ethan stepped in, his voice steady, filling the silence. He improvised smoothly, delivering a line that wasn't in the script but kept the scene moving. The rest of the cast followed his lead, but the moment had already passed—the tension had been broken.

Kael stepped back, his face pale, and Ria could see the frustration simmering beneath the surface.

When the rehearsal finally ended, Ms. Reyes called for a quick debrief, her tone encouraging but firm. "Good work today, everyone. We've still got some things to tighten up, but we'll be ready for tomorrow. Let's take tonight to rest, and we'll meet here an hour before the event to get set up."

As the group began to disperse, Ria made her way over to Kael, who was standing by the edge of the stage, staring down at his script with a clenched jaw.

"Hey," she said softly, stepping up beside him.

He didn't look at her right away, but when he did, his expression was a mix of exhaustion and frustration. "I blew it."

"No, you didn't," Ria said quickly. "It was just a rough run-through. Tomorrow will be better."

Kael shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I forgot the line. I… I can't keep doing this, Ria. Every time I slip up, it feels like I'm losing control."

Ria felt her chest tighten, the weight of his words settling heavily between them. She wanted to say something, to reassure him, but she knew that nothing she said would change the way he was feeling. He was fighting a battle she couldn't fully understand.

"You're not losing control," she said quietly. "You're still leading us. And we're going to get through tomorrow. Together."

Kael gave her a small, tired smile, but the doubt in his eyes lingered.

"I hope you're right," he whispered.

Ria stayed with him for a few more moments, the silence between them filled with unspoken fears. Tomorrow would be the first real test of everything they'd worked for, and Ria wasn't sure if Kael—or any of them—were ready for what was coming.