I was so tired to even stop my alarm clock from blaring. So it’s Monday again. I yawned and pulled the sheets tigther on me. I was not a school jerk but I got an idea not to go to school today. I should better be writing or having more adventures with Marvin. My teachers did not announce quizzes or special activities for today and my friends hated me anyway.
The snooze of my alarm blared for the third time. “No plan to wake up, Elz?” I lowered the covers and saw Marvin lying beside me. I moved closer and set my head against his shoulder. I gave a head shake for a reply. He sat up, supporting my lazy weight and shook my shoulders a bit. “Wake up,” he said while laughing. “You have to start the week right.”
I grunted and covered my head under the pillow.
A knock came from the door and Dad opened. “Ella, honey, aren’t you going to stop your alarm?”
I stopped the alarm clock on the bed side table and yawned again.
“Seems like you slept late again, huh?” Dad sat on my bed. “You should keep your hobbies on sched next time.”
I sat up and saw that he was holding a white mail envelope. “What’s that?”
He smiled and handed me. “A letter for you.”
A letter?! Who would send me a letter through mail. For a brief moment I had funny ideas of who in my mind. One of them was a letter from Liam and Aly, they might have realized to forgive me for not coming in the second audition.
To Ms. Gomez,
Sorry to inform you that your short story, Grendel: A Monter’s Point-of-View, did not win the contest.
However, we are pleased to inform you that one of our judges who is a magazine editor would like you to submit a sample article that has the chance to be published in one of their issues. For more details, an e-mail was sent to you.
All the best…
Like a lightning bolt, adrenaline perked me up. Dad asked what was the letter about but I wasted no time to grab this chance. I gave him the letter for him to read and I rushed to get my laptop from the study table. I reached for it from the edge of my bed.
“Wow! This is amazing, Ella! Your mom will be very proud of you.” I heard Dad exclaimed. I glanced at him while my Inbox was loading.
“Thank you Dad. I can’t believe it. I hope I’d really have this chance.”
Dad hugged me. “You will.”
~
I got a little late to school even though it was Monday and there was a morning assembly before classes started. My parents sent me to school, they got late mainly because of me. Dad and I told Mom the goodnews and I explained to them the email.
“Bye!” They waved before leaving. I entered the school grounds almost an hour late, so I had to skip the first class. A group of students stood by the bulletin board. One turned to see me, I recognized her as the girl from the Theater Club. “Hey, you’re the girl who sang with Liam in the First Auditions, right?” I was surprised that she recognized me and Liam.
“I’m Bea, by the way. The president of the Theater Club.” She stretched her hands in front of her. I took it and introduced myself. She was tall with long dark hair in a ponytail.
The three other students turned to us. “Bea, she might want to join our crew team,” one said.
Bea nodded. “Oh, if you are interested, you can be part of the team. Props, stage and costumes? We might need a little help.” She smiled.
I checked their faces. All of them seemed to be nice. “I’ll think about it.” I returned their smiles.
“By the way, no classes?” Bea asked. I briefly explained that I got late. “Oh, you better catch your next class. Sorry for holding you up.”
“It’s fine. My next class won’t start in fifteen minutes.”
“Okay, uhm, see you around?”
“Sure.”
“Oh, and if you like, you can be the one to inform your friend that he got the role.”
“What?!” My eyes widened. The four of them pointed at the newly pinned post on the board. Typed on a sheet of bond paper was a long list of characters of the play and the student who would perform them. I scanned through the main roles and saw the names of my friends.
Marius: William Venida
Eponine: Alyssa Llano
“I’m looking forward to play as his Cosette.” Bea said and they all walked out of my sight.
I was so happy until I remembered that they still hated me. I frowned and read the rest of the characters. Below, there was a note addressed to the chosen students:
NOTE: Kindly report to the theater club at Organization Room 7 in the fifth floor within this day to get the script and short memo from the moderator, Mrs. Gonzales. Thank you.
I walked to my classroom, deciding whether or not to talk to them. I waited outside for the first class to end. Liam got out five minutes early, I had to explain why I had been absent. When I got inside, I took most of their attention.
“Ella!” Liam and Aly welcomed me to the door. “What the hell happened to you?” asked Liam.
“Why are you absent?” Aly asked.
They cared after all. I just smiled all the way to my seat forgetting about the misunderstanding we had and they sat on the vacant chairs beside mine, Liam on my right and Aly on my left. “I have good news.”
“What?” They asked at the same time.
I laughed at the overwhelming feeling I had for myself and them. It just felt so great when another blessing came your way especially when you weren’t expecting it. “Okay, so let’s celebrate yours first.” I looked from Liam to Aly. “Congratulations! You got the roles!” I shouted that my announcement was heard in the whole room. Beth even sat beside Aly. I explained how I knew and the president's offer to be part of the crew.
“And the other good news?” Liam asked.
I had no plan to tell them this earlier but since we’re all okay again, I assumed that I should. “Remember the short story contest I joined in?” They nodded. “Unfortunately I lost but one of the judges wanted me to send an article that can be published in a magazine.”
“Wow, congrats!” Aly said.
“Thanks. It’s not yet sure but I’m really happy for the two of you.”
Liam placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s a step anyway. One step closer to your dreams.”
“Thanks, guys. I’m glad you’re not mad at me anymore.”
Aly and Liam laughed. Aly said, “We’re just sad that you weren’t there to watch and grab the chance to be Eponine.”
Liam continued, “Right and maybe a play is not really for you but a magazine article is.”
I nodded. “Besides, the two of you deserves the roles. I promise not to miss the play itself.”
“Of course!” Aly sneered at me.
“We’ll really hate you if you missed that.”
I laughed. “No I won’t this time.”
And just like that, we’re good again and the misunderstanding evaporated.
YOU ARE READING
My Fictional Boyfriend
Teen Fiction"What if one morning you wake up and see the fictional love of your life next to you?" Who says you can't love someone who is fictional? Ella Grace, an aspiring young author, can prove you can love fictional people and by that love, you keep them al...
