Tell Me Where's My Hollywood Ending?

After my initial week of moving in my dad was finally able to get me enrolled in a school here in L.A, one that was just simple and normal. It was my first day, and the new semester was starting. I was a little nervous, I had never been the new kid at school before, but I knew I would do okay. I woke up early in the morning at five thirty am, threw on some sneakers and went for a run through the Palm Woods Park and around the block. As I made my way back towards my apartment to shower and get ready for school I saw Logan’s friend, James. I ran beside him and took out my headphones before tapping his shoulder. He saw me and smiled as he took out his headphones.

“Hey, Caitlyn right?” he asked. I nodded. We both slowed down to a walk. “What are you doing out here so early?”
“Same thing as you,” I told him. I eyed the water bottle he carried as I took deep breaths. He handed over the water bottle to me. I took a drink from it and handed it back to him. “Thanks.”

“No Problem, so why are you going for a run so early in the morning?” he asked. I shrugged. I told him how I was starting school today, and running helps me clear my mind and relax.
“I figured it would be a good thing to do,” I replied.

He nodded and said that if I ever wanted a partner to run with to call him. I explained to him that I didn’t have a phone yet, because my old phone was in my mother’s name and she said she would refuse to pay it should I move in with my dad. Which left me no choice but to get a job and save up for a phone.

“What are you going to do? I only ask because I think you would make a good model,” he told me. I raised an eyebrow at him.
“No, I mean.. I’m flattered, but um, I’m not... i don’t want to..” I stammered. I huffed waiting a second to compose myself. “I’d rather have a normal job, like a Starbucks Barista.”
“So you’re going to live at the Home of the Future Famous, but you don’t want to be the Future Famous?” he asked. I shrugged.

“When I was younger, yeah, but then that became Camille’s thing,” I said.

James said if there was something I wanted to do that I should let my sister stop me. I nodded, we had finally reached the Palm Woods Lobby. I told him I would race him up the stairs to his floor and booked it. He caught up to me in no time on the steps. I felt his hands on my hips as we were on the landing between floors. He was trying to slow me down but I was able to climb the last remaining steps. I tripped on the last one, James however, with his hands already on me was able to stop me from falling. I laughed and so did he as I turned around.

“I’ll definitely let you know if I want a running buddy,” I told him. “Have a nice day James.”
“Have fun at school Cait,” he replied, and we left to our separate apartments.

------------

The school my dad had enrolled me in had a strict dress code, and when I say strict I mean that we had to wear uniforms and that was the only thing allowed. I had a grey polo tee shirt, with a purple and gray plaid skirt, knee high socks, and some black flats. I looked at myself in the mirror after I had gotten dressed. I look ridiculous. I put my curly hair in two loose pigtails and left the bathroom. My dad drove me to the school and I went to the office to get my schedule. I had English, Science, Drama, and Math. Seemed like an easy enough semester, though I wasn’t too thrilled about having drama. I was given the text books I needed and was told my assigned locker number. I went to my locker to put away the books I didn’t need. I put a few books in my locker and then hoisted my bag onto my shoulder, and went to find my English classroom.

I found the place just before the bell rang. I took a seat in the back next to a red headed girl with glasses. She wore the same skirt as me, but had paired it up with a grey button up teeshirt, purpled heels, and black knitted leg warmers. She was reading a book when I sat down. Students filled up the class room, we recited the pledge of alligence and then the teacher told us to read to ourselves for fifteen minutes. I looked around dumbfounded, I hadn’t known what classes I would get, so I hadn’t brought a book. The girl next to me saw my confusion.

“No book?” She asked quietly. I shook my head. She reached into her bag, this cute brown thing with tassels and an orange peace sign on it. She pulled out a brown colored book and handed it to me. I looked at the side ‘All These Things I’ve Done’. I opened the book and started to read. It was a good book, as far as I had got, which was about half way through chapter three. The teacher told us what we were going to be learning and going over during the term. She talked until the bell rang when all the students packed up their things and went off to their next class. I gave the girl back her book and then walked out of the room.

“Hey!” Someone called. I turned around, it was the girl. “What class do you have next?”

“Uhh Science with Mr..” I rifled through my bag for my schedule. I found it and looked at the sheet. “Foster.”

“Ouu,” she cooed. She leaned against a locker. “I would kill to be in that class.”

“Uh...” I said. She raised her eyebrows, realizing I was a new student.
“He’s this really cute young teacher, He’s filling in this whole year for Mrs Fritz who’s gone on Maternity leave,” she said. I nodded. “I’ll show you the way there.”

I followed this girl, who I didn’t even know through the school hall ways as she led me to what I could only hope was my science room. She stopped in front of an open doorway and looked at me.

“I haven’t told you my name yet have I?” she asked. I shook my head. “I’m Aurora Briggs, I am the Chief Editor of the year book staff.”

“I’m Caitlyn Roberts, new kid,” I replied. She nodded and told me to follow here lead. She grabbed my wrist. and pulled me into the room after her.

“Hey there Mr Foster,” she smiled. The teacher stopped writing on the board and looked at us. Aurora was right, he was really cute. He had a bit of scruff on his face that looked really good, he wore a waist coat vest over a collared button up shirt. “This is my new friend Caitlyn, she’s new here so I showed her the way here.”

“Thank you Aurora, Caitlyn you can take a see over there in the middle isle of desks,” he told me. I nodded and put my books down and looked at Aurora who was standing there.

“I’ll come back after and we can have lunch together. I’ll show you around and introduce you to people.” she said. With that she left.

Class went by realtively fast, I mean, I wasn’t a genious at science, but I wasn’t horrible at it either. I walked out of the room, when a group of three from the class stopped me asking for my autograph. Upon my confusion they had seen me on a show called ‘The Magic Middle School’ but my hair ‘had been different’. I told them that wasn’t me, and they told me that would have to be impossible. I shrugged and told her it wasn’t me and they left me alone.

“Hey there Cait,” Aurora said as she walked over to me. She linked our arms together and brought me to the cafeteria. She got us both a salad and water bottle. I offered to pay her back. “Don’t be silly, it’s your first day and we’re going to be best friends, so today I’m going to treat you.”

She led me to this table out side that we sat at. She asked me many questions; Why did I come to this school? Did I just move to L.A? Was my mom’s boyfriend really that much of a douche to me? I told her pretty much everything that had happened in my first week in L.A. She listened to my every word, and her eyebrows raised when I mentioned I lived at the Palm Woods.

“The Palmwoods like where all those upcoming actors, dancers, musicians and models live?” She asked. I nodded slowly. “That’s cool, and your sister is an actress there?”

“Yea a crap one,” I scoffed. “She’s only good a method acting, which she takes too far, and being a melodramatic bitch.”
“Hey Roar, oh..” I looked over to see a cute boy with dark brown hair and a bit of a side fringe standing by our table. Aurora looked over and saw the boy.
“Hi Jay, do you want to sit with us?” She asked. The boy just sat down next to Aurora and put his bag down in front of her. I looked between the two of them before blurting out.
“You two aren’t dating are you?” I asked. “I mean, like, it’s cool if you are just, I have friends back in Connecticut who did nothing but make out around me.”

The two of them looked from me to one another and laughed, resulting in me looking at both of them puzzled. Aurora took a sip of water as she composed herself. She put a hand on the guys shoulder.



“This is my nephew, Jay,” she laughed. Jay told her not to call him that, though im not sure if he meant not to call him Jay or not call him her nephew. I looked at her in baffled confusion. “My sister is twice my age, and before I was born she got pregnant with some looser who she left with out telling, and gave birth to Jay here. Making me his Aunt, despite the fact I’m younger than him by about a month.”
“Okay.. so how old would that have made your parents when they had you?” I asked trying to do math in my head to see if it was scientifically possible. She explained to me that they had used a surrogate with eggs and sperm her parents had frozen a long time ago if hey had ever decided they wanted to have more than one child. “Sounds really complicated.”
“Tell me about it,” she said. I laughed.

Aurora and I had a good time during lunch, she even invited me to come to year book with her after school. Unfortunately, my dad said I needed to be home right after school because Camille was going to an audition again today, and he wasn’t going to make two trips in the same direction. The bell rang and I said good by to Aurora while Jay stuck by me. I looked over at him, he had barely talked all lunch.

“What class do you have?” I asked.

“Drama,” he replied.
“You?”

“Same thing,” I told him. He nodded and led the way into our drama class room.

I hadn’t taken drama in years. When we were thirteen, just before Camille and Dad had moved here, our parents had signed us both up for a theatre group that we would go to after school. Camille had asked for it of course, they gave her anything and everything she had asked for. I however liked working hard for the things I wanted. To any outsider of our family, it would seem that I am a bitch, and I was jealous of Camille’s talents, which never fails to make me laugh that people think she actually has talent.

Jay and I walked into the drama room and I was amazed. It had everything, there was a stage, there were proper stage lighting hanging up on the rafters. The stage was lit beautifully and there was a closet that all these kids where going and grabbing bean bag chairs out of. If I didn’t know any better I would think I had choked on a celery piece during lunch and ended up in heaven. Jay and I grabbed a couple bean bags and dragged them over to the center of the room. The stage curtains opened up to reveal our teacher, she was and eccentric looking middle aged woman with black hair that she had pulled back into a pony tail.

“Welcome class,” she said. “I see a few familiar faces in the crowd from students who I have taught previously, I also see a few new comers.”


She looked directly at me. The whole class turned around and looked in my direction, and then started muttering to their friends. I wanted to melt into the seat or become invisible.

“Now, I could stand up here and talk to you and drone on and on about acting, but I believe acting is better learnt hands on,” She said. She pointed at me. “You.”

“Yes ma’am?” I asked nervously.

“Come up here,” she said. I looked over at Jay and stood up. I walked up onto the stage, the bright lights made it hard to see out into the room, but they felt nice and calming on my skin. I walked over to the teacher. “I want you to think of a monologue that you know and I want you to perform it. You have a minute and thirty seconds to perform it. You can go off behind the curtain for now to think about what-”

“I actually know what I want to do..” I said. The room was so quiet that you would be able to hear a pin drop. The teacher looked at me.
“Very well,” she said. I asked if I may have a person acompany me on stage just to be a point of reference. She nodded and I looked out to where Jay and I had been sitting I motioned for him to come on up. Once he was up there I pulled him off to the wings of the stage and whispered to him.

“All you need to do is walk to away from me until you get to stage left and I will be center stage, okay?” I asked. He nodded. “I’m ready miss.”


I waited a few seconds and nodded at him. He walked out onto the stage and I stormed after him. 

“Don’t you dare walk away from me! And don’t you dare tell me you’re sorry! And don’t you tell me to forget it, and don’t you dare tell me to ‘let it go’,” I yelled using air quotes. “God knows, I would like to. I wish I could, but I can’t! I can’t forget that we had something, and you’re running away. You’re running away! Don’t you see, Mark? You’re running from what I’ve searched for all. My. Life! Why? Because you’re scared? Well I’m scared too, but you and I we have something worth fighting for. We could make it work I’m not saying it would be easy, but I care about you. I know that deep down under this...” I gestured my hands to all of Jay, pretending for a second I was thinking of the right word. I spat it out as if it was toxic.
“Bravado, you care about me. That’s what its all about Mark, don’t you get it? Its the human experience. You can pretend all that you want, but you’re only lying to yourself! You’re denying the simple and wonderful fact that you are emotional, and vunderable and alive.”

“Can you honestly stand there and tell me that I mean nothing to you? That everything... that happened that night was a lie? That you feel nothing?” I started to sniffle and cry. I took a breath and wiped my eyes. “I feel sorry for you, Mark. I’ll move on. I’ll find somebody else. I’ll be alright, because I will know that I tried. That I did everything that I could. But someday, you will look back and realize what you threw away. And you will regret it... always.”


I waited a few seconds to let that last line just hang in the air. Utter silence had fallen through the class room. I smiled and looked away from Jay out to the class.

“And scene!” I smiled. I could see Mrs. standing off to the side smiling. I felt pretty good about how I did, and then something unthinkable happened. The other kids had started clapping. They were applauding me. I stared out at them in confusion. I felt Jay grab my hand and put it up in the air and then lead me in a bow. Our Teacher then came over and told us that we could go back to our seats. 

“That, class, that is what acting is. Is feeling. Doing. Reacting. To what is going on..” her voice faded as kids all around started to lean over and whisper too me.

They told me that I was really good up there. They had be dumbfounded. No one had ever seen a student show up Mrs Clemmens like that before. One of them even said I should be on tv, or better yet in Movies. I smiled and thanked them all. Jay leaned over and whispered to me.

“Looks like your sister isn’t the only one that’s got talent,”

I laughed quietly to myself.