003. the smell
THE SEATS WERE PACKED, ALMOST AS IF EVERYONE FROM TOWN WERE THERE. to say everyone was nervous was a complete and utter understatement.
ivy anxiously bit her nails as she looked through the crowd. doubtful thoughts raced through her head. what if they didn't show up? what if this was all a big mistake?
"relax they're probably running a bit late." crawford spoke encouragingly.
"your probably right." ivy says.
"wow, you saying i'm right. now that's a first!" he chuckled.
"and now it'll be the last time you'll hear that." she teased.
not so far away was lilian. she was a mess. she was worried about her future. a scout can be anywhere in that crowd. watching her, criticizing her every movements.
she held the script in her hand going over the same line over and over again.
"now life gets better with each of your letters-no. now my life gets, better every letter you writ—"
"two minutes til curtain call!" oakley calls out.
lilian gulped harshly, she rubbed her palms against the baby pink dress.
"try not to screw this up, hollywood." kadence taunted, bumping into the shorter girl on purpose. the papers flew out of lilian's hands as she dropped to the ground, desperately trying to put them in order.
ever since lilian got to wes ham, the girl had it out for her. in kadence's eyes lilian was an easy target. she was quiet, had no friends, and could easily be pushed over.
her reasoning for bullying lilian was still unknown to herself but she still continued doing it anyways.
"shit, let me help." crawford offered, gathering the remaining papers.
"um t-thanks—" lilian got out before kadence scoffs walking away.
"take my advice, and don't pay attention to kadence she has nothing on you. she's just jealous." crawford says, handing the items to lilian. "it'll be okay." he smiled, walking away.
"okay everyone! places!" ivy whisper-yelled.
"it'll be okay." the blonde whispered to herself.
➤
"it's good to see your face!"
"angelica, tell this man john adams spends the summers with his family." lilian huffs, repeated the memorized lines word for word.
"angelica, tell my wife john adams doesn't have a real jobs anyways."
"...your not joining us?" nova asks.
"i'm afraid i cannot join you upstate." tyler says.
the scene continues but to ivy her focus was on the audience. this was the second show and it was nearly over. maybe they had given up on her.
but then everything fades out a bit as ivy's mother meets her eyes. they lock eyes as ivy smiles widely at her, her mother returns the action but keeps her lips sealed. crawford's father didn't budge to look at her, he took his seat and continued to watch the show.
her mother and cawford's father, take the seat in the second row.
"they came." she whispered to herself as she smiled sheepishly.
➤
and everything went good in the end. both shows went well, the crowd cheering loudly for all the cast mates and crew members. they all took their bows before running backstage.
"guys someone got us roses!" nova squealed.
nova bryant was spunky to say the least. she rolled with punches and sometimes be a tad bit bossy. she's outspoken and doesn't really
nova bryant had her other best friends, arzaylea and paisley join the the theater club's tradition, the after-show dinner at the local dinner.
it was a nice gift primarily aimed at the seniors in the drama club. who could possibly say no to burgers, fries, and milkshakes?
"wooh whooo!" ruben yelled as him and tyler pushed open the back doors. "smells like freedom!"
arzaylea scoffs, pinching her nose. "it smells like a damn jockstrap."
"i think the smell is back." oakley spoke.
"oaks is right, man that smells disgusting." tyler exclaimed.
the odor was truly foul scent in the air. there wasn't really an exact smell to it but everyone knew the smell came after dark.
"i'll tell my mom about it when i get home. she'll probably had those guys back by tomorrow morning." paisley said.
paisley ericsson was the daughter of the mayor of wes ham. she was more so on the wealthy side of town but unlike her family her twin brother cameron ericsson, paisley was well centered and humble.
her brother pretty much had a reputation of being a grade a asshole. he smoked, drank a lot, and had a past with violence. twins most people wouldn't think they'd be polar opposites.
their mom claire was adored by most people. she was elected nearly year after year because she was a great people person. she was good at communication and helping others. and that's what paisley strived to embody.
her mom had hired a few men from outside of town to take care of the problem but up until now the smell was gone.
they walked the short distance to the dinner, pop loffler's. the group greeted mr.loffler as they took their seats at two booths.
they laughed, talking about what most teenagers talk about. romance, college, and telling silly stories from their youth.
"remember that time when we all went camping in the third grade and we were playing hide and seek in the woods and ivy hid in poison ivy." crawford told, making the group laugh.
"if i remember correctly which i always do. you, crawford chased me into that bush!" ivy defended.
"or you fell into that bush and gave it to me." he snickered as she playfully riled her eyes.
"no i'm pretty sure that's what happened, like when you convinced me to touch the iron..." ivy went on.
"did not!" he childishly yelled.
"okay what about that time you and jason tried to feed us worm pies!" siemae added.
"okay i have no defense there." he chuckled. "but you can't hold a eight year old accountable."
"what about you paisley?" arzaylea asked.
"hm?" paisley hummed, regaining focus to the conversation.
she was too busy staring at the brunette girl in the back of the restaurant. she looked lonely and depressed.
"what are you thinking about?" nova pressed.
"taylor." she spoke softly.
"that girl over there, don't we know her?" oakley wondered aloud.
"yeah, that's taylor sinclair. she's on my tennis team, she's really quiet." paisley mumbles, quietly eating her fries.
"so why do you look grumpy all a sudden?" tyler asked.
"it's nothing, she just looks lonely." the blonde spoke.
"then let's invite her over." ruben says.
"hey taylor! come eat with us!" nova shouted from their booth. paisley tried to keep her face hidden from the other girl.
unfortunately for her, nova sat back down as the girl approached them. taylor caught on to paisley's awkwardness. they both stared at each other until paisley broke eye contact.
"no thanks, i actually have somewhere else to be. see you tomorrow guys." she said before walking away.
after she left the restaurant paisley felt bad. she didn't mean to come off as unfriendly or anything like that but she didn't really have much to say to the girl who kisses her twin brother every now and then.
she hated him, and for taylor...she didn't hate her but her feelings weren't positive either.
𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒!
[ june 1st, 2021 ]
edited? yes
authors note:
happy pride month faves!!
i keep changing parts of the story to fit the characters better so that why this took so long. i also have the next five chapters planned so expect some more stuff coming your way!! i love you all so much 🤍
—bria <3