Suddenly Starlet

Suddenly Starlet--Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty Five

            Laney ended up going back in for wardrobe fittings three more times that week. By the time the day had come for them to begin shooting, she had modeled more clothes than she had owned in her whole life.

            Today’s the day, Laney said to herself as she pulled on her comfy workout sweats.

            Only, today she wasn’t heading for another grueling workout with Brooke. Today, she was going to put all her acting chops to the test and find out whether she really deserved to be a part of the cast. Because that day, Laney would be shooting her first scene.

            She had gone over her lines about a million times the night before, even garnering applause from her mom when she’d finally agreed to perform in front of her. And despite the fact that she practically knew her role as if it were another part of her, she still wasn’t sure what to expect.

            Her wise-cracking teacher, Wes, had been just as swamped as she’d been the last week, having his own preparing to do. So, she hadn’t had time to pick his brain about the day’s activities. The two had managed to get in a few sentences the other day as he was leaving for a fitting and she was coming back from one. Other than that, Laney had barely seen Wes since bowling night at Chad’s house.

            Checking her watch, Laney saw that she only had a few minutes before she was expected in the lobby. Flipping her hair up into a loose bun on top of her head, Laney tossed her script into her bag and popped her head out of the bathroom.

            “Mom, you ready?” Laney asked sleepily.

            “This is strange,” her mom said, walking over to her. “Usually it’s me dragging your butt out of this room.”

            Laney gave her mom one of her signature “ha, ha, you’re so funny I almost forgot to laugh” looks and continued out the hotel door.

            As they walked down the hallway, the only sound Laney could hear was the buzz of the ice machine, which was conveniently located only 10 feet away from their room. Being that it was only 5:30 am, Laney guessed that most of the hotel guests in the rooms they were passing were still asleep.

            She wasn’t surprised to see Wes sitting in one of the big lobby chairs, drinking a cup of coffee as they walked into the big room. In fact, the whole scene gave her a minor case of déjà vu.

            “Hey dude, what’s up?” Laney said as she plopped down into the chair next to him.

            As her mom made her way over to the coffee cart and began to fix herself some herbal tea, Laney motioned for Wes to hand over his coffee.

            Shaking his head, he watched as she drank the rest of his cup in one big gulp.

            You owe me one, he mouthed to her as he took the cup back and tossed it into a nearby trash.

            Wes settled back into his chair as Laney’s mom walked back over to them with a steaming cup in her hand.

            “So, you ready for today?” he asked, leaning his head back and looking at her sleepily.

            “I think so,” she said. Then remembering that he knew what he was doing, she said, “So how does today go anyway?”

            Wes crossed his arms and yawned loudly.