The Truth About Hollywood

"Aren't you excited?" my best friend Gia exclaimed. "It sounds like you'll definitely get the part."

Gia had black hair that was cut choppily to her chin, and it looked really awesome on her. Her eyes, eerily enough, were almost the opposite color than mine, gray-blue with light green specks, and she was short at only five feet tall. Despite that, she was probably one of the loudest and definitely the most opinionated people ever, and I mean ever.

"I have a good feeling about this one," I admitted. I wasn't a cocky person at all, so it took a lot for me to admit something positive about myself.

"She sounds just like you," Gia laughed, "so if you don't nail it, then you don't even make a good you."

I swallowed noiselessly. Exactly what I was afraid of. After a couple of seconds, I regained my cool. I was definitely going to do well and everyone in my little town of Massachusetts would be rooting for me. Hopefully, anyway. I didn't think I had any enemies...

"Girls!" a teacher in a nearby empty classroom snapped. It was lunchtime, and Gia was running a little late because she'd had to come from the other side of the school. "What are you doing?! You're supposed to be somewhere."

"I'm getting my stuff from my locker..." Gia trailed off, rolling her eyes as she turned back to her books.

"Well, hurry up, or I'll report you."

"Report us for what?" Gia mumbled indignantly. "Being late for lunch?"

"What was that?" the ugly, grumpy teacher reacted.

"Nothing. Just clearing my throat." Gia gave her a bright, sickeningly sweet smile before the teacher actually left, shooting me a brutally mean look as she went.

I clammed up slightly, since I didn't like to get in trouble. Gia, on the other hand, threw her books so they slammed against the back of her locker loudly and whipped the door closed to get back at the teacher, whose classroom was on the other side of the wall.

"That oughta show her," Gia said proudly as we started walking down the three flights of stairs to the cafeteria.

"Bitch," she hissed once we were completely out of earshot. "I can't believe that. It's not like we were skipping class or something... or even disrupting any other classes. The whole floor is at lunch!" Gia was a big venter, that was for sure.

"I know." My face still felt hot from blushing about being yelled at.

She shook her head and huffed angrily. That meant the conversation was over because if she talked about it anymore, she'd go into a fit. There were different little quirks about Gia that one could only figure out by spending a lot of time with her. Everyone else was clueless and usually had to face her wrath.

"So anyway," she changed the subject, taking out her headband and fixing it, "Do you have your script with you?"

I shook my head. "I haven't done that since I lost that script in seventh grade." I shuddered a little big, remembering how I'd left it in the bathroom and when I went back to retrieve it, it was on the floor and was soaking wet. Whether it was just water or...something else, I didn't know and didn't want to know. After all, ignorance is bliss.

Gia nodded, empathizing, and lunch continued. I really couldn't wait for a week to pass so I could try out for that show...

***

Last period on the day before the audition, Friday, I was sitting in my last class of the day, Spanish. Some kid named Charlie that I didn't know that well ran into the room, all color drained from his face and a panicked look in his eye. "Oh my God, what the hell is wrong with this school?"

"What?" another kid questioned, his eyebrows pulled together.

"I don't know exactly what happened, 'cause I didn't see the actual thing, but some kid was hit with a wrench!"

"WHAT?!" a few kids, including me (I think) screamed.

"I don't know, just some kid brought a wrench to school and beat another kid with it. There was blood everywhere." Charlie looked like he was going to puke or pass out...maybe both.

There was definitely something wrong. We were a small town with the violence of a big city. Just a couple of weeks ago, a different kid had been taken out of the school in handcuffs. Was it never going to end?

More than ever, I wanted this show part so badly. Then, I could finally get out of this wretched town and...make something of myself. If only, if only...