The big thing occupying my spare time at the moment is local Am Dram (Amateur Dramatics) society. Named the "Village Players," they usually do a small play around October time and a larger pantomime around.. well.. now. A pantomime - for you non-Britischer-chums out there - is a traditional British form of theatre involving song, dance, witches, people in drag, magic, audience participation, slapstick, etc etc. It's aimed primarily at small children (though some of the jokes are multi-levelled), and it's all a lot of fun. (It has nothing to do with miming.)
This is the second time I've been involved - last time I was a henchman and stagehand, and this time I'm a full-blown member of the chorus as well as an escort (no tittering at the back please). I sing, I dance (oh how I dance) and I even have a few lines. So that's all well and good. The run starts next Thursday; I think it's six in total (matinees and evenings, Thursday Friday Saturday). There's even some tickets left, if you're in the Bicester area...
One of the people there is a 12-year-old girl. She's new this production, signed on through a friend (another 12-year-old girl who is the daughter of two of the principles). Initially they'd only talk to each other, but recently I chatted to her a bit, and she's a very sweet girl.
The problem is, I think she's developed a crush on me. I've chatted to her a bit at rehearsals, and she seems like a perfectly normal young teenager - gothic tastes, heavy metal, etc (though not obnoxiously so - she has a sense of humour that means we get along well together). Tonight, she gave me a picture she drew of me (I look really cool in it, actually) as well as.. well, what I think is a love poem. It's never really been my thing but there's stuff about trust and "eyes that carry your reflection."
I'm wondering what to do. I don't want to hurt her feelings - after all, it's only natural that she should be attracted to me (*ahem*) - but more pragmatically, I don't want things to be awkward over the next week. Similarly, though, I don't want to lead her on to something that could never work out. So yeah. Wondering. Advice would be appreciated.
