Page 13 of A Little Bit Extra

For now, I’m content. It’s enough. I have a few loyal friends. I have a job that earns me money. It’s a privilege to have even that, and I’m grateful. There’s just a small part of me that wonders what it would be like to wake up in the morning and have someone next to me. To have that person you text when you have exciting news or when you have something dreadful happen to you. Another person who adds to your strength and multiplies it, giving you the confidence to do whatever you want to do. Maybe then I’d have the courage to chase my dream.

4

Cassie

Somehow the day is over, and I've made it back to the car. Marcy had me running between the set, wardrobe, and offices upstairs. It was all a blur. I've never walked so much in my life. My legs are heavy, and I know they're going to be sore tomorrow.

I allow myself to sink into the driver's seat. I'm exhausted. I need to figure out my sleep schedule if I'm going to survive. I need time to reflect on the day, from working with Marcy to the surprise that is Emmett.

I thought I wouldn’t see Emmett again, that he was too big of a celebrity to notice me more than once. It just wouldn’t happen. I’m normal me, a simple server working at a diner. A girl with too much on my plate and hair that never lays the way I want it to. In the diner, I assumed him asking me to sit with him was him being nice? Or maybe he was lonely? Hard to say.

I’m taken out of my thoughts by my phone ringing through my car’s speakers. It’s Annie.

“Hello?” I answer.

“You didn’t call me yesterday!” she says.

Oh, shit. I call Annie, my only sibling, most days before my shift at the diner. We’re five years apart, and she still lives with our mom back in Indiana.

Annie is currently a senior in high school. She’s planning to move out here to attend UCLA in the fall, but she hasn’t told anyone yet. Definitely not our mom. When I left, our mom didn’t take it the best. While aware of my love for acting, she thought my dream was unattainable, so she tried to talk me out of moving here. She bluntly informed me that because I wasn't from here, my aspirations of becoming an actress were trivial.

Aren’t parents supposed to support and root for you? Aren’t they supposed to tell you that you can do whatever you put your mind to?

Well, not my mom. If it weren’t for Annie, I wouldn’t have moved out here. Little Annie encouraged me and, even though she was only 13, I believed every word she said.

I wanted to achieve my dream so she knew it was possible, that you can do hard things. Failing is just a part of life's journey. You fall; you get back up. Discover the people that will support you and encourage you. You choose the people you have in your life and you hold them tight.

Yeah, it’d be nice for your family to want to know what you’re up to, to ask questions, and to support you, but that’s not the case for everyone. That’s not the case for me. It’s why I don’t talk to my mom a lot. Maybe once a year when I come to visit to see Annie for the holidays.

“Sorry Anns. It’s been a busy day. Well, busy two days. I, um, got a new job?”

“You got a new job? What new job? What about the diner?”

“Still at the diner. It’s a long story and my drive home is short, so to summarize: I forgot I applied for a job, and I ended up getting it. I started today as a production assistant at January Studios.”

She gasps. “The studio Emmett Davis films at?”

“How do you know that?” I ask.

“His Instagram, sis. And the online forums. Seriously? You don’t know what’s going on at the studio closest to your apartment?”

That’s what Lucy said to me as well.

“I hardly have time to think about what’s going on in my life. So, no, I don’t follow what’s going on in other random people’s lives.”

“Well, then yes, Emmett Davis is filming his new movie there. Did you see him? Is he as dreamy in person as he is in photos? Ugh, have you seen his smile? I just melt whenever I see him,” Annie says, practically swooning over the phone. She’s definitely laying in bed, daydreaming about Emmett. This is great, everything is great. My sister is obsessed with the guy that I am hanging out with tonight. Shit. I just remembered I’m hanging out with him tonight.

Emmett. Emmett “Hotshot” Davis. One of Hollywood’s most famous young actors. His smug smirks, dark brown eyes, shaggy mocha hair. Long enough to run your fingers through…

“You there?” Annie pulls me from my thoughts once again.

“Yep, sorry. Just distracted. Um, can I call you tomorrow or later this week? I just pulled into my apartment and I need to eat. I’m starving.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll want to hear about your day though, and know if you ran into the hottest actor ever!” she yells into the phone.

“Yeah, yeah. Next time. Love you, okay? Keep me updated on your college plans too. Don’t think I forgot about that.”

Her sigh and groan are loud enough to come through the phone. “Deal. Love you! Bye!”

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