7. Nora

SEVEN

If Penelope Thompsontells me to fix my face one more time, I'm walking right out of this room.

We've been in the rehearsal studio for the last two and a half hours, and I would much rather dunk my head into a bowl of ice water than be here right now. We all know this script like the back of our hands. It's been burned into our memory since it came out. But for some reason, Ryan has managed to make Hamilton that much more annoying, and every time he speaks, I want to punch him in the face. He's going back and forth between skipping over the affectionate scenes we have to do and only doing the ones where he has long expanses of speech while I have to sit in the corner with Kie and run our lines together. I mean, the play is called Hamilton, but he's taking it to a new level of arrogance.

I've never been much of a violent person, but this guy is making me question every reason I committed to treating people with kindness when really all I want to do is–

"Can you save your plotting for another day?" Kiara asks, pumping her hip into mine as we collect our stuff from the side of the rehearsal space. "You could probably channel this energy into something else. Like pottery painting or selling handmade jewelry on Etsy."

"Can't," I say simply, dropping down onto my ass to tie up my Converse. An absolute monster of a shoe. They should not be allowed to look this good and be that hard to put on. "Eliza's rage is important to the story. I have a right to be pissed off at Hammy."

Kie rolls her eyes. "Yeah, but not in the first act."

I shrug. "No harm in starting early. Besides, Mr. Secretary is making it pretty easy."

Kiara sighs, standing to her feet as she plants her hands on her hips. "You need to learn how to chill sometimes, Bails."

I wish I could just tell her, ‘Yeah, fine, you're right,' but that just isn't me. I don't get to chill. A lot of my future in the artistic industry is riding on how I perform now. These are my golden years. These are the years I'm going to look back on with my kids and reminisce about how agile and sexy I look. I can't fuck up my chances by not taking this seriously. If Ryan doesn't fix up his fuckboy attitude and his inability to at least pretend to like me, then this is going to be a disaster. I know I bruised his ego the other day, and now he's using it against me. He knows how much I value having time to run lines with the person I need to, not my friend who is playing a different part.

"I think Kiara is right," Penny says, walking towards us. As lovely as a teacher she is, she has been on my ass all day, and I'm sick of it. She's usually my savior, my saving grace, my stage mother, but today she's been a grade-A pain in the ass. "You have to live like Eliza. Feel the way she feels. And from what I'm getting, you're not channeling that well into this role."

I scoff when I catch Ryan behind her, his arm slung around Daisy. So much for him begging for me back at the party. "I don't want to live like her. Her husband cheated on her, and he was in love with her sister. I don't exactly want to manifest that, Penn."

Ryan shrugs. "Well, it seems like you're halfway there."

That motherfucker just wants me to kill him today. "You know what? If you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to do it for you."

He steps out from behind Penny, meeting my stride. "You're all talk and no action, Nora. I think we both know that."

I got so close to him I could easily curl my fist in his shirt and give him a nice shiner. I took a few karate lessons growing up and spent years torturing Wes and Connor. I'm sure I could take him. He looks down at me, that annoying smirk on his lips, and his dark eyes shine at me. Before I start fantasizing about which body part I want to chop off first, Penny breaks us apart. She huffs out a sigh, running her hands through her braids.

"I do not get paid to babysit you two," she says, pointing between the two of us. "I want you both in my office once you've gotten ready."

Penny's office is frustratingly cozy and calming. It always makes me want to drop right asleep, no matter how much energy I have running through my body. The small room is filled with pastel throw blankets and cushions, the chairs feeling like mattresses. She's got a pride flag hanging from one wall and the other walls filled with certificates and the Playbill from the time she filled in for another famous actress on the West End. Crystals scatter along her desk with a stack of tarot cards, and it smells like incense. No matter how angry she looks at the two of us right now, I'm convinced that she's my spirit animal. I want to be her when I grow up.

She leans forward on her desk, shaking her head. "Okay, guys, I'm going to be brutally honest with you two." The tension settles between us like an awkward fourth person in the room. The anticipation tickles my skin, making me grow uncomfortable in the seat, which I thought was impossible. "I'm regretting casting you both as the leads."

My heart sinks. Ryan's jaw drops open. "What?" We both gawk at the same time.

Penny shakes her head. "I'm regretting the fact that I thought you would be mature enough to be able to keep it together on stage. Today was a disaster, and that was hardly even a run-through."

"What are you talking about?" Ryan asks because, apparently, I have no words.

"I'm not stupid," Penny says. "I know you two broke up earlier this year, and it's severely messed up your chemistry on stage."

"Well, we can fix it. It's just another act, right?" Ryan asks hopefully. I resist the urge to kick his shin.

I take in a deep breath. "I'm not playing pretend with you," I say as calmly as I possibly can.

"She's right. I'm not asking you guys to become best buddies or start dating again. That part is none of my business. But at the very least, I need you to get along. Or, get along enough that it doesn't look like you want to tear each other apart on stage."

We both take in the idea for a minute. If this performance means as much to him as much as it does to me, he wouldn't need to jeopardize it. If he cared about me at all, like he's claimed a million times, he would put some sort of effort into making this a good act. But, no. He wants to fumble around the stage and stand on my feet like an oaf.

"Nora, it seems to me like you've got some tension that's been unresolved with Ryan," Penny says, her voice sickly sweet. I nod stiffly. "And Ryan, you seem incredibly apologetic. I think that if you just–"

I hold out a hand to stop her. "I don't want an apology, Penny. I want the last five and half years of my life back. That's not going to be fixed by a simple ‘sorry.'"

"You're right, but obviously, I can't do that. You need to find some sort of peace with each other or within yourself, whichever it may be. You've clearly got all this pent-up inside you, and it's showing. Just please try to get along. For me." Penny bashes her beautiful lashes at the both of us, her brown doe eyes almost hypnotizing me.

I sigh, pushing out of my chair. "Fine."

I spend the rest of the day with an annoying ache in my chest, and the second I step through the doors to my dorm, I say, "I'm dropping out of college."

Sometimes, there"s nothing better than starting a conversation with your best friends with a controversial statement that will get them immediately hooked. Elle and Cat have been lounging in the living room area of our dorm since before I left for rehearsals and they're still there by the time I come back.

I drop my bag on the floor next to the couch, where they're curled up within a large blanket. Cat's reading a romance novel that my brother bought her, and Elle is editing a video for her YouTube channel on her laptop.

Cat looks up at me, squaring her eyes as I perch myself on the edge of the coffee table. "I've heard that sentence come out of your mouth too many times for it to be true."

"Well, it is," I say seriously. I gesture at myself in the same outfit I've worn twice this week. "Get a good look at this, ladies, because you'll never lay eyes on me again."

Elle snickers, not bothering to look up as her eyes focus on her video with concentration. I never knew how intense it was to be an influencer. Cat rolls her eyes. "I'm dating your brother. I'm sure we'll bump into each other at some point."

I throw my head back, shouting in fake disbelief. "God! Don't remind me, ew!"

Cat shakes her head, laughing. "You're impossible, Nor-Nor."

"No, you're impossible," I argue, pointing at her.

"You know what, for all of our sakes, I hope you move out." Cat points her nose up, dismissing me with her hand.

Elle gasps, finally. "Wow, that was catty."

Cat shrugs, making a very posh ‘hmpf' sound as she crosses her arms against her chest. The second the tiny noise leaves her mouth, we're all in a fit of hysterical laughter. There is no one on the planet I can laugh with like this over stupid arguments like the one we just had.

I'm going to value our friendship, no matter how hard life gets sometimes. I always get this looming feeling in my chest when something goes wrong, like the world is ending, but it's not. And these are the people that can bring me back to reality when I feel like that. The ones that remind me of my worth and my potential. Growing up with a twin brother was fun, but I've never wanted sisters as bad as I did when I met these two. In some way, I guess they're already my sisters.

A weird feeling washes over me, and I suddenly have the urge to call my parents. As overbearing as they can be, they're the best two people on the planet. My mom got pregnant with Connor and I when she was younger than me. I can only imagine how it must have been being eighteen and raising twins with the talkative, nerdy guy who has had a crush on you for years. Still, they managed to make it work, and they both got a degree in teaching and have been doing what they love for years. My parents have been to hell and back, and as much as I can pester my dad about going to New York or bug my mom to show me how she used to do my hair when I was a kid, they mean everything to me.

I pull my phone out of my back pocket, but I'm instead distracted by an email from Max, my agent. My heartbeat instantly starts to grow erratic, and I don't fully register the words in front of me until I've read them a few times.

[email protected]

Updates on recent tapes.

Hi, Nora! I hope you're doing well. I know you've been waiting for an update, but it's been a busy month for everyone. I did manage to get some updates on the tapes you sent in August.

1 The one for the A24 project wants to send you an updated script and see if you can do another take. They're very picky, but the fact that they want you to do another tape is good news!

2 The Netflix one was a bust. Apparently, they want someone blonde, and they've changed their mind. Wigs and dyes are out of the question, apparently. Suddenly, they care about authenticity. Pathetic, right? Sorry about that one.

Also, a short film reached out to me about wanting to cast you for the lead in their film. It's created by influencers, so be careful when you have a stalk of their social media. They want someone who can work as soon as possible, but I let them know it might be unlikely due to your current class schedule. I added their message below if you want to have a look.

The A24 project is a big deal! Let me know what you're most interested in. I really want the best for you.

This is going to be your year, Nora. I know it!

Regards,

Max :)

My heart leapsin my chest as I read through the message again. When I click the link to find the short film that needs casting, it doesn't exactly check my boxes, but new things are good, right? It's a murder-mystery, suspenseful thriller with a romance side-plot. I'm open to pretty much anything that can get my name out there. Everyone wants to be an actor these days, and with the amount of talent in my generation, I don't know how I'm going to be able to make myself stand out. How I'm going to prove that I'm special.

This is probably the best news I've had in a while, so I don't take it lightly. Maybe this is finally the start of something good. I'm sick of feeling like there's another shoe about to drop and like there"s a piece of my life missing.

This could be exactly what I need.