It was Friday, the final weekday of a largely busy week at Amfo Visions Entertainment. As usual, every crew member was in place, getting their task done, and the actors, when on stage, were executing their scenes well. Of course, there was the odd slip-up here and there, but that was to be expected.

All this had Leslie in the best of moods. From his mischievous grin on full display to the funniest of jokes every other moment, everyone could see the man was absolutely delighted with the state of affairs. And so were they. After all, the success of this maiden production would not just be a win for him, but for all of them.

It was mid-afternoon now, and after a well-deserved lunch break, everyone was in place once more. Sakyi, Dufie, Etornam, Gertrude, and another supporting actor, Francis, were on stage,  their energy evident as they prepared for one of the play’s most crucial scenes.

In this scene, Kwame and Samuel had rushed over to Rose’s home to see her and her brother and close friend after hearing that her father had suffered a bad stroke. This was to start with the five on stage, but end with the main actors, serving as the catalyst for their love story.

“Places, everyone!” Leslie called, prompting Sakyi and Etornam to step out of sight while the other three took their places, putting on morose looks and sighs of worry.

“Okay… annnd… action!”

They stepped into character, with Gertrude and Francis, as Gifty and Yaw, comforting Rose while looking worried themselves.

A few seconds passed, and Sakyi and Etornam, as Kwame and Samuel, rushed in, looking extremely worried.

“Sister Rose! Sister Rose!” Samuel called worriedly as they entered the hall where the trio sat, looking grave. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes, we heard of the news and came by as quickly as we could,” Kwame added. “Please tell us your old man is doing alright.”

Delivered with precision, his eyes were fixed on Dufie, waiting for her response.

But nothing came.

A beat passed. Then another.

Dufie’s eyes widened as she scrambled to recall her next words, but the delay was enough to throw off Sakyi’s rhythm. He hesitated, fumbling over his own words before trailing off completely.

“Cut!”

Leslie’s voice cracked like a whip through the air. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, staring sharply. “Dufie, what the hell was that?”

Dufie rose to her feet and clenched her fists, visibly flustered. She genuinely had no idea why she blanked out. “I—I just blanked for a second. I’ll get it right next time.”

Sakyi scoffed, stepping forward with a glare. “A second? Please, that was like 5 seconds you wasted there, throwing me off my damn game!”

Dufie snapped her head toward him, eyes flashing. “Sakyi! Please and please again, don’t bring yourself! This isn’t the time for your shenanigans, please–“

“Massa, massa! See who is talking about time! If you put in half as much effort as the rest of us, we wouldn’t be wasting time like this.”

 “Oh, please! Maybe if you would focus instead of holding grudges and throwing tantrums, scenes wouldn’t be ruined.”

The tension in the room spiked. Etornam and Gertrude exchanged uneasy glances, while Francis shifted uncomfortably. The other cast and crew members winced, with some of them trying their best to catch their attention and snap them out of it.

Unfortunately, the two were on fire at that moment. Both had been triggered, and were now going at each other viciously.

“Excuse me? Me, a tantrum thrower? Are you f**king for real?”

“You heard me loud and clear, Mister Man!” Dufie shot back, stepping toward him. “That’s all you’ve been doing since we started these rehearsals, acting like some poor little victim, sulking and waiting for me to trip up so you can throw another fit. Well, congratulations, Mister Man! Here’s your moment. I hope it’s worth it.”

Sakyi scoffed, his patience snapping. “You think this is about me waiting for you to fail? No, Dufie, it’s about you not taking this seriously.”

“And what the hell do you mean by I’m not taking this seriously?”

“I mean that you’re not! Every time there’s some unnecessary error somewhere, it’s you! Every mistake biaa, it’s you! Ah, can’t you just get it right…”

“Guys, guys!”

Leslie’s irritated voice could barely be heard; their voices were that loud in each other’s ears.

“I’m human, for goodness’ sake! I’ll always make mistakes. You’re just so locked up in your hurt, you wanna take offence at everything!”

Maybe if you weren’t so—”

“EEEENOOUGGHHHHH!”

Leslie’s voice boomed, silencing them both.

They turned slowly to face him. His usually composed and cheerful face was twisted with anger.

“I have had it with the two of you!”

The two, full of ire seconds ago, were now silent.

“See, let me remind you right now: this is going to be Amfo Visions Entertainment’s first major production, and I have worked and laboured way too hard for anyone to come and mess up all that work with some irrelevant bulls**t! Look at the crew here! Look at all your fellow actors and actresses here. Do you think they gathered here to watch you two exchange words for whatever reason? Huh? Obviously not! They’re here for serious business! They’re here because a major play is on the way, and they want to get it done as perfectly as possible! Nobody here gives a flying f**k what the issue is between you two! Nobody!”

Sakyi and Dufie, now red with humiliation, looked around. The rehearsal space was silent, save for Leslie’s angry rant, and everyone who looked at them had the most disapproving expressions on their faces.

It was at that point they both knew they had screwed up spectacularly. Once again, their grip on professionalism had slipped, and they gave in to their emotions.

“Listen, this rubbish must end, and it must end expeditiously!” Leslie demanded, pointing at both of them. “Once again, I do not care what your issues are, because we all have issues of our own, and we don’t let them get in the way of carrying out our duties. We have a show to prepare for, and as the leads, I will not have you two ruining it with your childish bickering! Now listen to me and listen very carefully. We’re taking another long break, and you guys won’t be doing any more scenes today. Instead, you are going to meet up, get your s**t together and sort out whatever nonsense is causing all this fracas. And if another blowup between you guys happens after this, I will replace you. Do you hear me?”

The threat hung heavy in the air.

“I’m dead serious! I’m not going to tolerate any more foolishness! If I have to find new leads and push back the play, trust me, I will do it. I’d rather delay it and have two professionals do their job than stick to this and risk some nonsense happening on the big day. Go and fix your issues and make up your mind that it’s professionalism you’re moving with. Otherwise, if you can’t, tell me so I can find new leads.”

Neither Sakyi nor Dufie spoke. The fire in their eyes dimmed, replaced by a reluctant understanding. They meekly nodded.

“We’re-we’re sorry, Leslie,” Sakyi murmured, his eyes lowered.

“We… we’ll work this out,” Dufie added.

“You had better,” Leslie snapped, his eyes still burning with frustration. “Take ten. And fix this, or you’re both out. Get yo s**t together!”

With that, he stormed off, his tension still crackling in the air.

The room was still uncomfortably silent. Etornam let out a slow breath, shaking his head while looking at the two of them. Gertrude and Francis shared unimpressed looks and stared at the two of them from head to toe before walking off without a word.

“Chale, make you guys fix this thing ooo,” Etornam muttered, “na what you dey do no be fine kraaa,” before following Gertrude and Francis.

Sakyi and Dufie remained frozen, the weight of Leslie’s ultimatum pressing down on them.

The only sounds in the room were the distant murmurs of crew members, obviously expressing their dissatisfaction with the duo’s behaviour.

Clearly, everyone was done with them. And it was time for a change if they wanted to keep their roles.

***

Backstage, on the path to their dressing rooms, the tension lingered between them as they avoided each other’s gaze. Sakyi crossed his arms, while Dufie rubbed her temples, still frustrated.

They stood at Sakyi’s door for a few moments, silence reigning as neither party was ready to speak up.

A few moments more, and Sakyi begrudgingly started.

“I, uh… I guess we… we need to talk. We… we don’t have a choice.”

Dufie let out a slow breath. “Yeah… I know.”

They stood in silence for a moment before Dufie continued, “Leslie was furious. And with the way he blew up, he looks pretty serious about throwing us out. We can’t afford to mess this up.”

Sakyi’s eyes darkened, and when he looked at her, the pain beneath the anger was evident. “I know that. But I’m not happy about this. You think I enjoy this? You think I want to fight with you every damn day?”

Dufie sighed. She could decipher the hurt beneath his words.

Sure, his behaviour was rather irritating and unprofessional, and she was really over it with these silly outbursts when he could just rein it in. But maybe… maybe this was the time.

The time for everything left unsaid to be laid before him. Time for him to know why she had run away from everything. He was acting out of deep hurt, and it was only fair she explained herself in some way to give him some closure.

“Let’s just talk,” she pleaded, her tone softer now. “I promise you, I’ll let you know everything you need to know.”

Sakyi folded his arms, looking at her for a long moment before he nodded. “Agreed. Let’s meet at the cafeteria after we change.”

Dufie gave a small nod. “Fine.”

Without another word, they turned and headed to their dressing rooms.

Well, can’t say they didn’t deserve that takedown; that is not what the crew and cast need at all. Hopefully they do get themselves in order and act professional now…