Status: On-Screen

12. Honest Confessions

Zara Costanza

Sleepily, I took all of my things from the living room and moved them upstairs. Zendaya, Tony, and Laura had all left to go back to their apartments in Atlanta. I carefully held an overly large folder as I made my way up to the room I was staying in. Harrison and Jacob were already in theirs.

I took a warm shower and changed into my plaid printed pajama pants and the hoodie that Tom gave me for my birthday. I had to admit, it was very comfortable and warm.

I plugged my charger and phone into the nearest outlet and turned off the lights. I shut my eyes and tried to fall asleep, but there was so much on my mind. 

All of the Disney stuff kept on trickling back into my thoughts. Was I making the right decision? 

Maybe it would be smart to properly see what they had to say, what the role entailed, and all of that before being so quick to turn it down. I turned on the lamplight beside the bed and opened the folder full of paper that Gina had given me this morning.

I began to skim the first few pages when suddenly a few solid knocks hit the door. 

"One sec," I said, I tried to shove the folder beneath the covers, but Tom had caught me in the middle of it. 

He gave me a puzzled look, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," I said, trying to shove the rest of the papers below the covers. 

"You do know that I can see you doing that, right?"

"Well, when I said 'one sec' I meant give me one second before you barge in," I responded, crossing my arms. 

Tom walked over to my bed and sat on it across from me. "If you want to be secretive about that, then fine. But I'm not going to ignore whatever happened today on set. It may not have been obvious to others because we all know that you're a damn good actress, but I think that I know you well enough to know when something's wrong."

I sighed, "Okay... you're right," I took the folder from beneath the covers and put it on my lap. I flipped through the first couple of pages, then handed Tom the letter that Gina had read, describing exactly why I should accept the role.

I sunk back into the bed while Tom read it. 

"Oh my god, Costanza... this is amazing, holy shit, congratulations! Wow, it's definitely clear that they want you. This is really big, wow... I am so proud of you!" 

He looked up from the piece of paper to look at me. I buried my hands in my face and suddenly for some reason, my eyes began to well up and I wasn't entirely sure why. I was never really someone who cried, but this feeling of overwhelm just waved across me. 

"Wait-why aren't you happy about this? Costan-Zara... what's wrong?" He began to hug me and rub my back. "This is not the reaction that I expected, please don't cry."

"I-I'm sorry, I don't mean to get your shirt wet-" I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and took a few deep breaths, trying to stop the tears. 

"No, no, don't worry. Are you okay? What's wrong?" He handed me a tissue. 

"I-I-I can't take that role..."

Tom looked at me utterly perplexed. He jumped off of the bed and began to pace around the room. "Zara, are you mad? This is Disney... have you read the letter? They literally list at least 10 reasons as to why you're perfect for the role. 'Not only have we seen your work as an actress, but a role model as well-'"

I put my hand up, "Holland, stop it. I'm being serious, please don't go on..."

"'We think that you'd exemplify this character very well on and off-screen. We'd love to welcome you to star in an upcoming live-action film as a Disney princess-'"