There was a lot going on the summer before my sophomore year of high school. I would no longer be attending Madison High School but would be transferring to Marshall High School at the beginning of the following school year. This was my own choice and a goal I'd worked hard to achieve (with the determined help of my longsuffering mother).
I was also heavily involved in a local drama company called Kids on Stage. Through a contact of the drama company, I learned of an audition for a low budget movie. Part of the audition involved kissing the male lead. I was horrified. At fifteen I had never kissed anyone. My fantasy was to kiss some hot, long-haired rocker, not a pimply-faced teenager. It galled me to think that my first kiss would not be with Jon Bon Jovi or Stephen Pearcy (or even someone who looked like them). Instead, it would be with a kid I did not like at all. He barely spoke to me in between audition takes. I did not want to kiss him. But I was a compliant kid and the director was telling me to do it, so I did. Blech.
Afterwards, the director offered me the part on the spot. All of the kids at the drama company were so excited for me and so were my parents. Strangely, I wasn't nearly as excited about it as everyone else. Over the next few days, I became less and less enthusiastic about the idea until my hesitation grew into near panic.
My family couldn't understand my sudden resistance, and the owner of the drama company was very disappointed (she had been a made an executive director and was already working on the set by that time). I couldn't explain my trepidation to everyone, but it was one of several times in my life when I felt a strong premonition against something.
Later, I found out through V--the owner of the drama company--that the girl who took my place eventually moved in with the director. V said she had excused herself from the role of executive director because she also felt something wasn't right.
Instead of making a movie that summer, I went to Tennessee and began taking guitar lessons...and fell in wild, teenage love with my guitar instructor (who was ten years my senior). Within a few months he would be my first real kiss...a scandalous story for next time...
Do you remember your first kiss?
