I Am No Caesar (Part 1)

"Et tu, Brute?" The tall, handsome actor portraying Julius Caesar uttered this famous Shakespeare line and then collapsed onto the floor of the stage. Fake blood began to pool around the "dead" body. The curtain closed and it was intermission.

My friend Cheryl turned to me and asked, "So Mark, was it worth the trip?" I smiled. "Yeah, it was worth the trip. It's a good show."

Cheryl had convinced me to make the trip with her back to her alma mater to see the annual Shakespeare festival. Ever since my girlfriend of three years had left me for some tall, dark, and handsome (and also idiotic, immature, and prone to infidelity) man about four months before, I hadn't gone out much. I hoped a road trip with Cheryl, one of my very best friends, would be just what I needed.

Cheryl had been in a lot of shows in college, so when the play was over she took me backstage and introduced me to the cast and crew. They were having a cast party at one of the actor's apartments, and invited