Better Than Revenge (Special Edition)

Chapter 7: Christian

"Sweet." He flipped the stick around in his hands.

"Please don't break that," Nora said, her hands hovering nearby in case he dropped it, which was pretty much 50/50.

"Right. Sorry. Alright, well, my name is Blake Grey, and I'm playing Eric Knight. I've been in the business for a few years, but somehow I always end up back here. Probably because Nora and Rachel promised to stock my trailer with as much popcorn and Skittles as I could ever want. A fun fact about me is that my buddy Chris and I co-parent a dog." He reached over to slap me on the back and grinned. "He likes to shit on his bed."

"Thanks for that. Really. Thanks." I yanked the stick out of his hands, happy to revoke his speaking privileges. I glanced around the room, realizing everyone was staring at me expectantly. "Do I really have to introduce myself? I think everyone knows who I am."

I could almost hear Sophia rolling her eyes next to me. I glanced over at her out of instinct and confirmed my suspicions. "What? It's true."

"He's got a point," a girl with short blond hair interjected. While I couldn't remember her name, I knew I'd seen her around before. "I mean, he's Christian Ryder."

My lips turned upwards into a smug smile. Thank you, random citizen.

I didn't say anything else, figuring that was that. Everyone else remained silent until Sophia spoke up.

"Are you going to introduce yourself or not?" she finally asked.

"You want to hear my introduction, huh? Maybe you are a fan after all."

"Hardly. I've just come to realize that every time you open your mouth, you give me an opportunity to make you look bad."

"You introduce yourself, then." I threw the baton at her without bothering to give her a heads up. She barely caught it even though she was sitting right next to me.

"Fine." She carefully turned the stick over in her hands before looking around the room. "My name is Sophia Hastings. I'm playing Emma van der Bilt. This is my first movie role, and I couldn't be more thrilled to be sitting here. It still sort of feels like a dream I don't want to wake up from."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blake give her an encouraging smile. Traitor. "How about that fun fact?"

She paused. "This is kind of random, but I can do a pretty good chipmunk voice."

"Like on a computer?" Blake asked.

"No, like... with my mouth."

Blake shot her an amused look. "Really? Let's hear it."

She shrugged and looked over at me. When she spoke, she sounded just like the chipmunks in that live-action kids movie. "Hey, Christian, why did the chicken cross the road?"

I tried to stop my lips from twitching upwards, but the voice got to me. I couldn't help it. "I don't know."

"To get away from you," she said in that same voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Very mature."

"I'm known for it. Your turn." She threw the stick back at me without warning and almost hit me in the face.

"Hey, watch it. Not the face."

She just shrugged.

I tried to get out of my introduction again to no avail. Once the other girls at the table started urging me to do it, I had to oblige. How could I say no when my adoring fans were requesting it of me?

I smirked at the girls who had insisted on my introduction. "Alright, I'll go. My name's Christian Ryder. I'm playing William Knight. I'm not sure how I got roped into doing this again, but I guess there are worse ways to spend the next few months. Maybe I'll use this time to impart my wisdom on the less-fortunate."