Chapter 10: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

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A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I started my last year of college two weeks ago and moved into a new apartment, so I've been getting into the rhythm of things (and dying of a cold, thanks new roomies) but here's the next chapter! Better Than Me will be updated this weekend as well, for those of you who follow that story!

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Chapter 10: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

"Sophia? Are you there?"

"Yeah," I said, trying to contain my feelings despite the way my mind kept whirring with complaint after complaint after complaint. "I'm here."

"How do you feel about this?" Rachel asked.

"Honestly? I'm really excited. I mean, this is an amazing opportunity. My mind is blown that I was even considered, much less chosen. It's just..." I paused. "Christian and I don't like each other very much." That was the understatement of the century.

"We thought that might be a bit of a problem," she admitted.

"I don't understand then," I said. "I'm honored to have been picked, of course, but –I don't know."

"Sophia, come on." Tori tugged at my arm. "There are too many people here." She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of the store. I just barely set the book I was holding down in time. I'd have to come back for a copy of Kidnap My Heart later.

"Well... that would be something best explained by Nora," Rachel said, slyly avoiding the question. As the casting director, she was the best person to explain it, so my guess was that she just didn't want to.

"I just don't get it. We're obviously incompatible, and this is a romance. What if we can't set that aside?"

Part of me – actually, most of me – didn't understand why I was fighting this, why the protests just kept pouring out of my mouth against my better judgment. I'd just received the best news of my life. What was wrong with me?

Then that other part of me reminded me of the reason. It was Christian Ryder. It was always him. The thought of working with him and being around him on a daily basis made me want to hide out in the wilderness, reduced to living off of berries and leaves for the rest of my life, even though I'd failed at basically everything during my short bout as a Girl Scout and would probably die. He reminded me of everything I wanted to forget.

"Sophia, you can do this!" Tori said. She didn't know what was going on, exactly, but she still felt the need to try to pump me up when I was feeling down on myself.

"It won't be so bad," Rachel said. "I'm sure you two will learn to get along eventually. You might have gotten off on the wrong foot, but that's not an end-all, be-all."

"But what if we don't?" Why was I such a downer? I needed to shut up already.

"We're gonna have to work some things out," Tori said, nodding resolutely and shoving me back into the real world. "First of all, we're gonna have to find a place to live in L.A. We can't stay at that hotel forever."

"Tori, not right now," I whispered, moving the phone away from my mouth.

"How will I tell my parents?" Tori wondered out loud, having completely missed my quiet but frantic plea to be quiet. "They're not gonna be happy. They knew there was a chance you'd stay here, but I never mentioned my plan to stay with you if that happened. Oh, I know! I'll write them a letter. No, I'll send a postcard once they get home and realize I'm not there!"

I made a face at Tori, silently begging her to shut up. Somehow, that did the trick, because she smiled sheepishly and said, "Oh. Sorry."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I quickly returned to my phone call.

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