Page 43 of A Certain Step
“What about you?” Sam asked.
“I used to get really nervous with ‘Forbidden Corridors.’ The ladders lock in place, but I would picture the worst possible outcomes with them solely because of the angle we move in. It took a while for my eyesto adjust, if that makes sense, but not so much now,” she answered.
Sam’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, shit yeah. Those ladders do look like they move, especially from the wings.”
Willa nodded along. “They do technically. The mechanics are wild, but there’s only so far they go from the bookshelves.”
“It’s wild to me that the show’s sexiest moments are in some hidden passageway through a library,” Sam remarked.
They laughed.
“Right?” Willa concurred. “It’s one of my favorite details, though, because I’m such a massive fan of murder mysteries that this lets me live out those fantasies.”
Sam continued to look through incoming messages. “Oh, I really like this one,” he noted, pointing to a username. “tayjennnjoneswants to know what we listen to when we get ready.”
Ethan curled his lip between his teeth, thinking.
“I go through phases. Right now, I’m back on an early 2000s emo kick,” Sam answered, doing a dramatized rendition of Fall Out Boy’s ‘Dance, Dance.’”
Willa and Ethan chuckled collectively, with Willa joining Sam in the singing. “You know what I love? Everyone said the emo stage wasn’t forever, but when you’re in deep, it’s engraved in you. I have some of those songs memorized way better than I do more recent obsessions.”
“It was integral to our development, so it probably did something to our brain chemistry,” Sam said.
“No, but it’s true. People have been using that statement a lot recently, and I genuinely do think it’s applicable here. I can recognize the notes in so many of those songs quickly, but I’m not good at that generally.”
Ethan tilted his head. “You’re pretty good at it, I’d say.”
“No, that’s you. How many times do I have to figure out what’s about to play when we’re watching something, and you already know,” she countered.
Ethan clicked his tongue. “She’s being modest.”
Willa made a face to the camera to dispute the statement.
Sam read the next question, or rather, statement, aloud. “This whole cast is so hot, it’s borderline offensive.”
They all laughed loudly at the sentiment.
“That was part of the auditions. We’re trying to compete with the Firths and the MacFadyens, people,” Sam said.
Willa put up a forefinger. “And don’t you dare forget Matthew Rhys.”
“Right, right,” Sam acknowledged, eyes searching again for another question. “Oh, what’s something you want to see on Broadway and be a part of?” he read.
Willa’s eyes darted toward Ethan. She knew his answer better than her own.
Sam caught the look. “Am I supposed to know his answer? Do you?”
“I do,” Willa declared proudly.
“What is it?” Sam asked.
Ethan started whistling to the tune of “Lovin’ You Lots and Lots” by The Norm Wooster Singers.
Sam’s eyes lit up in understanding. “Oh!That Thing You Do!”
Ethan bobbed his head up and down. “Yeah. It’s one of my favorite movies. It’d be so fun to perform those songs.”
Willa smiled, remembering how he’d been the one who introduced her to the film.
