Page 28 of Merciless Prince
It was going to take a hell of a lot to drag me down from this high.
A sudden noise made me jump slightly, until I realized what it was—Killian’s voice floating down the dorm above mine, along with the sound of footsteps. Usually I’d be annoyed over how loud he was, or irrationally jealous at the thought that a girl might be in there with him, but instead I smiled and kept staring up at the ceiling.
That’s right, Killian, I thought to myself, wishing my words could telepathically transfer upstairs.Not evenyoucan drag me down.
8
Shay
OMG.I can’t believe you’re actually going to be on SNS! Yay!!
I smiled down at my phone and shot a text back to Cori.I know. I can’t believe it either!It’s crazy.
Lucky that surrogate went into labor, huh? Omg seriously though, I’m so excited for you. Have you met any of the other actors yet?
I’ve met a few of them,I texted back.They’re all super friendly. But I’ve been in wardrobe and makeup for the last hour, so I’ve mostly been talking to the people there.
That still sounds awesome,Cori replied.Btw, how did the Summer Bay audition go?
It went really well! I felt like I totally nailed it, and afterwards I overheard the casting director saying they want me! So I just have to wait to officially hear back about it now.
That’s awesome. Congrats! Anyway, I’ll be watching you soon!!! Break a leg, babe. Love you xoxo
“Can you tilt your head back a little bit, hon?” The petite blonde hair stylist behind me looked at me in the mirror with a patient smile as she waited for me to move.
I slid my phone onto the counter in front of me. “Sorry,” I said, tilting my head back.
“No problem. I just need to tease out this part,” she said, eyes narrowing with concentration as she worked at the side of my head with a thin comb. “There we go. What do you think?”
I smiled as I looked at myself in the mirror. The elegant updo with a slight bouffant near the front made me seem sophisticated and mature beyond my years. “It looks great,” I said, turning to the side to check out the different angles. “Thank you.”
“Let’s go over to the full-length mirror so you can see what it looks like with everything else,” she replied, motioning toward the left.
I stood and headed over to inspect the final look. The wardrobe department had dressed me in a chic cream-colored Chanel suit with black Louboutins, sheer black pantihose, and a string of pearls. I looked at least ten years older than I usually did with my unofficial uniform of casual clothes and simple makeup.
“Wow. I definitely look like I belong in DC,” I said with a grin as I did a quick twirl. In tonight’s show, I was playing a White House intern in a skit about a sticky political situation involving the president and his staffers’ hacked tax returns.
“You certainly do,” said the hair stylist, returning my smile. “It’s a very chic look.”
“Yeah, it is. I was kind of surprised that they put me in an outfit like this, though,” I said, smoothing the front of the skirt.
“Oh? Why’s that?” the stylist asked, raising a brow.
“I just didn’t think someone in my character’s position would wear something so expensive.”
The stylist gave me a strange look. Then she laughed, as if she thought I was joking. “Trust me, you look perfect. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead.”
“Thanks. I really hope so.” My heart thudded as I glanced at the clock on the wall. The seconds seemed to be ticking by painfully slowly. I just wanted to run out onto the stage and get into my character so the pre-performance jitters would go away.
One of the assistant producers showed up a few minutes later with a harried expression on his face. “You’re on soon, Shay. Are you ready?”
I straightened my shoulders and sucked in a deep breath. “Yes.”
“Cool. Come with me.”
I followed him down a series of halls in the studio, and we came to a halt at a closed door. Behind it was the stage my skit was being filmed on—2A. It wasn’t the main stage, where the show’s host and house band were situated, but it was right next to it, so most of the studio audience would get a good look at me and everyone else in the skit.
My fellow actors started speaking on the other side of the door as the scene began. I couldn’t hear their exact words, because the door muffled most of the sound, but judging by the rousing cheers and applause that followed, things were already going well.
