Beyond the Cameras

Chapter 5

"Ahh, Mrs. Pinnock. It's nice to have you join us at River High," Mr. Charming said. "I welcome you and wish you good luck as you go through your senior year," he said with a smile.

I smiled back at him. Maybe this class won't be so bad. If Mr. Charming was as cool as everyone said he was and I had Ashton here, I think I could have a pretty good time in this class.

****

Mr. Charming had given each of us the script of the play we would be performing in the near future. I scanned through a few of the scenes, just to get a feel of the play, but didn't think too much about it. We were performing Sleeping Beauty and I was determined not to be the lead. That is why I moved to Texas in the first place, to get away from the stressful acting and Hollywood world.

My thoughts were interrupted a few seconds later when Ashton plopped down in his seat with his script in his hands.

"Do you know what you are going to audition for," he asked.

"Maybe one of the fairies, but probably just a minor character. What about you?"

"Prince Phillip. Very macho," he said as he puffed out his chest and dramatically stared into the distance.

"I didn't pin you down as the lead of a play," I laughed. "I'm impressed."

"I'm just full of surprises," he smiled, raising his eyebrows at me. "So, have you met anybody yet? As in like made any potential friends or anything?"

"Well, I met this girl Grace and she seemed pretty nice," I said.

"Ahh, yes. Grace Jacks. Brunette with a passion for "anything in the fine arts"?"

"Yeah. I'm guessing you know her," I laughed, thumbing through the script.

"Yeah. I've worked on a few plays with her. She's very...interesting. I'll say that," he said with wide eyes.

"Should I not try to be friends with her," I suspiciously asked.

"No. No. She's a good person, just really odd sometimes."

I nodded and reached into my backpack to pull out a highlighter.

"Did you meet anyone else?"

I felt my face heat up a little as I thought about the other person I meet. I tried to cover the blush up by acting like I was still looking for a highlighter in my bag, even though it was gripped in my right hand.

"Um yeah. I met this guy, Noland, I think his name was. Do you know him?"

I thought I saw Ashton stiffen from the corner of my eye, but when I looked at him, he looked completely normal. I guess just a trick of the eyes.

"Yup. I'm pretty sure the whole town knows who he is. Besides your cousin, he is one of the best soccer players around and super popular in general."

"Ohh."

I felt my hopes go up in smoke. He probably only talked to me because I'm famous and my status can only help his to grow.

Man, I'm so stupid. This is why I don't get involved with guys.

Just as I was having a pity party, something else Ashton said struck me.

"Wait, what do you mean other than my cousin?"

"Don't you know? Callan is like the soccer wizard. He's one of the best, maybe the best, player on the team. Him and Noland went up against each other for team captain, but the vote was tied sot they're co-captains."

"Do they get along? I mean, are they friends," I asked.

"No way," he immediately replied. "They've hated each other since like, fifth grade, when they started playing soccer together. They work really well when they play the game, but once that's over, it's like they try to kill each other. It's actually quite amusing to watch."