Page 111 of Something Cheeky

“And the dialogue, too,” added Katie Mai.

The two had given Zoe daily updates on all the changes Derek had made to the musical. For four nights, she’d hoped with all her heart that he’d come to his senses, but he’d remained steadfast.

“He pulled rank on me, so my opinion doesn’t matter anymore.” Th?o was uncharacteristically subdued. “I had to stop asking him to revert the lyrics because I couldn’t take the rejection anymore.”

“Your original lyrics are beautiful, darling. Maybe you can use them for something else.” Katie Mai slipped her hand into Th?o’s, and Th?o kissed her in return.

“Yeah, it’s way better with them,” added Danny. The others murmured in agreement.

“You know what pisses me off?” Th?o grumbled. “If this had been Derek’s idea, I would’ve kept an open mind, but Greg wants to change things for all the wrong reasons.”

“We can’t let him win,” declared TJ. “We can’t have white men dictating how we tell our stories.”

A chorus of “Hell, no!” filled the restaurant.

“It’s clear that Derek won’t stand up to Greg. We have to do something about it before it’s too late,” declared Zoe. If she didn’t prioritize standing up for her people, then what was the point of everything she’d fought for since college?

“What are you proposing?” Th?o asked.

“A walkout. Tomorrow.” Zoe’s voice rang into the restaurant.

Several of the actors’ eyes widened. Others had worried expressions.

“We all signed union-approved contracts.” Katie Mai stood up and waved at her fellow cast mates. They nodded. “What if we get in trouble with Actors’ Equity? Unauthorized strikes have serious consequences.”

“I’m asking a lot from you. This can’t be a strike because we want the show to open as planned.” Zoe bit her lip as she explored options.

“What if we walked out for an hour?” Th?o suggested. “Union rules dictate that we’re allowed two hours for a dinner break on tech days.”

“Yes!” Danny clapped his hands. “Derek and Greg don’t have to know that it’snota strike.”

“Genius. They’ll be terrified for sixty glorious minutes.” Katie Mai laughed. “We’ll return to rehearsal after an hour and Heather can deduct it from our dinner break.”

“So we’re in agreement?” Zoe asked.

The rest of the actors noddedyeseven though a few were still worried.

“If you’re only walking out for a short period of time, you need to make a splash,” Josie piped up from their booth. “A cannonball-size one.”

“We need to alert the media!” cried Reina. “This is a big story: Asian American actors stage a walkout to protest their production’s whitewashing.”

“How can we get media to show up at Prestige tomorrow morning? That’s only thirteen hours from now,” Trixie pointed out.

“I have a list of bloggers and content creators who owe me favors.” Reina’s wicked grin hinted at secrets she’d gleaned at her burlesque club. “Not to mention some mainstream media.”

“I can put out an SOS to the food content creators we work with,” added Reina. “They have no problem covering social justice issues like this.”

“Hot damn, this is really happening.” Th?o hugged her girlfriend. “Do you think it’ll change anything?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll regret it if I don’t try,” Zoe said as her chest swelled with hope.

“Someone needs to make a speech if we convince these people to show up and cover our walkout,” said Reina. “And it won’t be this white lady.”

Everyone laughed but Reina had a point.

“I nominate Zoe!” cried out one of the chorus members.

“No, I like staying behind the scenes. They don’t want to hear from me,” Zoe protested.

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