Cassie and Zoey both practiced for the auditions. They both hoped to get at least a role, regardless of how big or small it is.
After Cassie and Zoey were done with going over the lines and rehersing, they headed out of Zoey's house and went to the bakery.
"Have you heard from Harley?" Zoey asked Cassie.
"No," Cassie shook her head as she pushed the door to the bakery open to enter. "Have you?"
"I haven't," Zoey said.
"I'm sure he's okay," Cassie said, "but..."
"Text Maya," Zoey suggested. "She might know if he's okay."
"Good idea," Cassie said.
"Hey, guys," Farkle Minkus greeted the two.
He was sitting in his usual spot at the bakery.
"Hi, Farkle."
"Hey, Farkle. What's up?" Cassie smiled.
"Nothing," Farkle shrugged. "Everything okay? Why do you need to text Maya?"
"Uh," Zoey glanced at Cassie.
"It's nothing," Cassie said.
Despite being good friends with Farkle and Harley being friends with him as well, this was something Cassie was not sure if she wanted to share.
Farkle looked at the two, confused. He knew something was up. Cassie knew that he knew they were keeping something from him.
"Everything okay?" Farkle asked.
"Yes," Zoey nodded. "Everything's okay."
"It's nothing to worry about."
"We're just going to order something," Zoey said.
Cassie nodded.
The two walked over to the counter.
Katy Hart, Maya's mother, was at the cash register.
"Don't worry, girls," she said. "I got your orders down."
"Thank you," Cassie said.
"What do you need from Maya?" Katy asked.
Cassie glanced behind her at Farkle.
"Have you or Maya heard from Harley?" Cassie asked.
She lowered her voice a bit to make sure that Farkle did not hear from where he was sitting.
"No, I haven't," Katy shook her head as Cassie and Zoey took out their wallets. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Zoey assured her.
"I can ask Maya when I get home from work," Katy said. "I'll tell her to talk to you."
"Thank you," Zoey smiled.
Cassie and Zoey paid for their muffins and drinks and joined Farkle.
"Thanks for inviting Smackle," he said. "She said it was fun."
"She did?" Zoey asked, surprised.
"Oh, it's fine," Cassie said.
Farkle looked at Zoey, puzzled.
"Why is it surprising?"
"I don't know," Zoey said. "It didn't seem like she had fun."
Farkle looked at Cassie.
"I, uh," Cassie hesitated.
"I'm sure she did," Zoey said. "But, I don't know, Farkle, everything felt awkward."
"Why didn't you tell me that you felt awkward inviting her?" Farkle asked.
"We felt bad," Cassie admitted. "And you're our friend and she's your girlfriend and it seemed important to you."
"We didn't mind her having around, but I guess we don't know her like we know Maya, it felt awkward and weird," Zoey added. "And after the way I talked about your friends..."
"Oh, right," Farkle said. "I appriciate the effort, but just talk to me next time. If you have a problem with anything, just come and talk to me, okay?"
"Okay."
"Alright. We will," Cassie said.
Zoey nodded.
"Here you go, girls," Katy said.
She came over with a tray of their usual orders.
"Thank you."
"Thanks."
Cassie and Zoey picked up their smoothies and plates of muffins.
"Anytime," Katy smiled.
Cassie and Zoey set the glasses and plates on the table.
"Are you guys doing anything tomorrow?" Farkle asked.
"Oh, um, we're both busy tomorrow," Zoey said.
"Oh," Farkle said.
The smile on his face dropped.
"What are you guys doing?" he asked, curiously.
"Um, we're going to that local theater to audition for the play," Zoey said.
"There's a play?" Farkle asked, now hopeful.
"Yeah," Cassie said, glancing at Zoey. "There is."
"What time is it?"
"It's at three - thirty," Zoey said.
"Ooh, can I come?" Farkle asked.
"I mean, if you want to," Cassie shrugged.
"Where is it?"
"Let me text you the address," Zoey said.
Zoey picked up her phone and texted Farkle the address to the theater. She even sent him the information of the play so he knows what's going on.
"Thanks," Farkle said, looking up from his phone with a smile on his face.
"Anytime," Zoey said.
Cassie and Zoey hung out with Farkle for an hour before they both had to leave.
***
The following day, Cassie and Zoey met Harley before heading to the theater.
"Where were you yesterday?" Cassie asked Harley concerned.
"Oh, my mom took Peter's and I's phone so we can spend the day as a family," Harley said. "She took it before I got the change to text you guys and Maya."
"Oh," Zoey said. "Well, at least you're okay."
Harley smiled.
They headed over to the local theater.
Farkle outside of the theater for the auditions. He was sitting on the steps of the building, waiting for them to come.
"Hey, guys," Farkle greeted them.
"Hi, Farkle," Cassie said.
"Hey."
"Harley?" Farkle said, surprised. "What are you doing here? Are you going to audition?"
"I'm here to cover it," Harley said, gesturing to his camera.
His camera was hanging around his neck.
"Oh, right," Farkle remembered. "You work for the local newspaper."
Harley nodded.
Cassie, Zoey, Harley and Farkle entered the local theater for auditions.
Farkle attempted to audition but unfortunetly, since he missed the deadlines for sign ups, they wouldn't let him.
Harley cringed as he watched Farkle attempt to convince them to let him audition.
"Oh, god," Harley said.
"Did you know there were deadlines for sign ups?" Zoey asked Cassie.
"Honestly, no," she said. "But someone needs to stop them."
Harley hesitated.
"F - Farkle! Farkle!" Harley called.
Farkle looked over. He was talking to the instructor of the play.
"What?"
"Come over!" Cassie motioned him to come over.
"Hold on!" Farkle said.
He turned his attention to the instructor, who was now talking to a thirteen year old who had a question about the auditions.
"Hold on," Cassie said.
She stood up and walked over to Farkle.
"Farkle, Farkle," Cassie said.
She got his attention the second time she said his name.
"You missed the deadlines," Cassie said, lowering her voice. "You need to stop."
"But I want to audition," Farkle said. "I need to do this."
"There are auditions for another play coming up," Cassie informed him. "You can help out with this play."
"But I -" Farkle said.
"Farkle," Cassie gave him a look.
"Okay, okay," Farkle gave in.
"She's right," the instructor, Mrs. Bennet, said. "We need someone to help us with painting the set and all."
Farkle nodded.
"Thank you," he said.
"Thanks, Mrs. Bennet," she smiled at the teacher.
She looked back at Farkle.
"Come on," Cassie said. "Let's go over to Zoey and Harley."
Farkle nodded.
They both walked over to Zoey and Harley.
Harley was taking pictures from his seat as he and Zoey talked about the play.
As Zoey and Cassie waited for Mrs. Bennet to call them to the stage, they rehearsed lines. They made sure they were prepared for anything that Mrs. Bennet threw at them. They wrote down who they were auditioning for on the sign up sheet, but to be safe, they thought it would be a good idea to be prepared for anything.
Farkle helped them as they went over their lines.
"Zoey Evans!" Mrs. Bennet finally called.
Zoey's eyes widen as she froze.
"Zoey," Cassie said, "Zoey, go. She called you."
Cassie had to push Zoey, gently, to get her to start walking to stage.
Zoey performed the scene she had prepared.
Zoey fumbled some of her lines but managed to recover quickly.
She rushed off the stage the moment Mrs. Bennet told thanked her. She practically ran over to Cassie.
"You did great!" Cassie said.
"Are you kidding me? It was horrible!" Zoey exclaimed.
"No, it wasn't," Harley said. "You did a great job."
"You saw me fumble my lines," Zoey said. "It was obvious."
"It wasn't that obvious," Cassie said.
"Hey, you did a great job," Farkle said. "I didn't even notice you messing up some of your lines."
Zoey shook her head.
"Oh, no, no, no," she said. "I did a horrible job and she knows it."
"Okay, okay," Cassie said, "let's sit down."
Zoey nodded.
Cassie and Zoey sat down and Cassie helped her calm down after the audition.
Cassie was finally called over an hour and a half later to audition. She had prepared herself for the audition.
"Good luck," Harley and Zoey said.
"You'll do great," Farkle said.
"Thanks," Cassie said as she stood up from her seat and walked onto stage.
She introduced herseld and told Mrs. Bennet who she is auditioning for before she began performing the scene. She felt her heart racing as she began reciting the lines. She began feeling her hands shaking as she did. She rarely ever gets nervous performing on stage, but when it comes to audition, it's a differeny story, especially if it's a role she wants to get.
After she performed, Mrs. Bennet thanked her and told her when to expect what role she got if she got a role.
Cassie smiled and thanked her and walked off the stage calmly before she rushed over to her friends.
"Oh, god, was it obvious that I was shaking?" Cassie asked.
"You were shaking?" Harley asked, confused.
"I don't know, I felt my hands shaking as I performed," Cassie said.
"Oh, you must really want the role," Zoey said.
Cassie nodded. "If I don't, it's fine, but I really want it."
"What's happening?" Farkle asked.
"Cassie starts shaking during an audition if it's a role she really wants," Harley explained.
"You were shaking?" Farkle asked. "It was barely noticable."
"Obviously, because you guys were sitting so far from the stage," Cassie said. "If you guys were closer, you'd notice. I saw some of those high schoolers whispering as they watched me audition."
"It might not be about you," Harley said.
"Are you kidding me? I saw them covering their mouths whenever they looked at each other," Cassie said. "They were definetly talking about me."
"It's going to be okay," Zoey said.
It was Zoey's turn to calm Cassie down.
They both sat down as Zoey tried to distract Zoey from the audition and get her to talk about something that will make herself feel better.
"How about we get sushi when I'm done with taking pictures?" Harley asked as he stood up.
Zoey looked from Harley to Cassie with a smile on her face.
Cassie only nodded.
"Alright, great," Harley said. "Farkle, you coming?"
"I'm sorry, I told Smackle that I will meet up with her," Farkle said.
"Oh," Cassie said.
Cassie noticed Zoey and Harley glance at her and at each other.
She groaned, internally, knowing that they picked up on her disappointment.
Thankfully, Farkle did not pick up on her disappointment and had his attention on stage.
"I'll be right back," Harley said. "I need to talk to some of the people who auditioned for the play and the instructor."
Cassie and Zoey nodded.
"Okay," Farkle said.
Once Harley was done, the trio left the theater. Farkle had left before Harley was done with his work at the theater.
They went to the same sushi restuarant they had gone too when they went to the movie theater.
Coincedentally, the waiter who served them the last time was the one who was serving them.
"Hello, my namd is Randy and -" he paused for a moment.
He recognized them.
"Did I serve you guys before?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah," Harley rememebered. "You did."
Randy smiled. "Well, obviously, my name is Randy. Um, what do you guys want or should I give you guys a moment?"
"We actually know what we want," Zoey said.
Randy nodded, the smile still on his face.
He took their orders and their drinks.
When he came back with his drink, Harley asked, "Which school do you go to, Randy?"
"Oh, I go to Lincoln High School," Randy said.
Harley and Zoey looked at Randy than at each other, trying to remember where that high school was that. They knew of that high school, but they couldn't remember at the moment where it was.
Cassie, on the other hand, was able to remember easily.
"Wait, you guys are pretty close to Abigail Adams High School, right?" Cassie asked.
"Oh, yeah," Randy nodded. "Do you guys go there?"
"Yeah, we go to Abigail Adams High," Cassie nodded.
"Cool," he smiled.
"Oh!" Zoey rememebered. "I remember it now."
"I can't... oh, okay!" Harley finally remembered. "Okay, I know where it is, okay."
Randy chuckled. "What are your guys names?"
"I'm Harley," Harley said, "and this is Zoey," he pointed at Zoey, "and she's Cassie," he pointed at Cassie.
"Hi," Cassie smiled.
"Hi," Zoey said, giving Randy a small wave.
"Well, it's nice to meet you guys," Randy said.
"You too," Cassie said.
"Um, yeah," Randy looked around the room, "another party came in and I have to serve them."
Cassie, Zoey and Harley nodded, understandingly.
Randy walked over to a nearby table and greeted them.
Not too longer after, Randy came back with their food and Cassie, Zoey and Harley reached over to the plates to help Randy out a bit.
"Thank you, Randy."
"Thanks."
"Thank you."
"Well, enjoy your food, guys," Randy said, smiling at them before going to the back.
"He's cute," Zoey nodded.
Cassie nodded in agreement.
Harley didn't comment as he reached over to pick up a sushi roll.
Cassie picked up a few pieces of the dynamite shrimp as Zoey said, "I think he likes you, Cassie."
"What?" Cassie looked to at Zoey as she placed a piece of shrimp on her plate.
"Randy likes you, I think," Zoey said as Cassie reached over for another piece.
"We just had one 'proper' conversation with him," Cassie said. "You can't tell if someone likes another person based on a single conversation."
"Well, you kinda can," Harley said. "He kept looking at you."
"What if he did?" Cassie said. "Doesn't mean anything."
Zoey and Harley smirked.
Cassie rolled her eyes at her friends and ate the food she placed on her plate.
"Just watch," Harley said. "He'll probably ask you out."
"I doubt it," Cassie shook her head.
Cassie changed the conversation to a different topic, not wanting to continue the converstion they were just having.
After they finished eating, they waved over at Randy to bring over the check.
He instantly noticed when Cassie waved.
He came over and asked, "Do you guys three checks or one?"
"One," Harley said.
Randy nodded and went to the back to get the check.
"Again, he likes you," Zoey said.
"Hey, I know you like Farkle, but -" Harley began.
"He has a girlfriend," Cassie finished. "I'm not the type of person who would go after a guy who has a girlfriend. I would never do that, especially to Smackle."
Randy brought over the check.
"I'll pay," Cassie said.
"And we'll Venmo you," Harley nodded.
Zoey pulled the check towards her to check the total price. She pulled out the calculator app on her phone and typed the price in and divided it by three as Cassie pulled out her debit card and placed it on the check.
Randy smiled and picked it up.
He went to the back and came back not to long later.
Cassie picked up her debit card and the receipt as they got up.
"Wait, what's that?" Harley noticed something scribbled on the bottom of the receipt.
Cassie and Zoey looked at the bottom to see a note specifically written for Cassie. Randy wrote it. He wrote his number down for her and underneath it said to text him sometime if she's interested.
Zoey and Harley looked at each other with smiles on their faces.
Cassie rolled her eyes.
"You should text him," Zoey said as they walked out of the restaurant.
"I won't if you keep pressuring me and bringing it up," Cassie said.
"Wait, you're going to text him?" Harley asked, surprised.
"Yeah, why not?" Cassie shrugged. "What's the point of waiting around for Farkle?"
"Yeah, that's true," Harley said.
"He has a girlfriend, and will probably never like me back," Cassie said. "So, what's the point of waiting around for something that will most likely never happen."
Authors Note
Hi, everyone!
Sorry for taking a while to update😅. I've been so busy with school and honestly burnt out. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you guys think!