Page 1 of Off Script

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A burst of adrenaline pulsed through Jada’s veins, the sensation familiar but unwelcome. She exhaled shakily, secretly resenting that no matter how many auditions she’d been on, her nerves kicked in every time. Five years into her career, she had perfected her routine: 1) practice relentlessly beforehand, 2) arrive early and flawlessly dressed, and 3) jam out hard core to “Lose Yourself” by Eminem for some kick-ass motivation while she waited for her turn. Yet, Slim Shady’s rapid lyricism could only do so much. Once Jada left the relative comfort of the waiting area to step into the casting room, she always froze up.

Now, as she faced the stern casting director, a lump formed in her throat. Alongside the casting director, the showrunner forDeadly Intentionsalso stared at Jada, although her expression was friendlier. The whole reason why Jada had been excited to audition for this production was because the creator, Jackie Fox, had a history of putting rising stars on the map. Snagging an audition to play the lead on her newest show had been a dream come true—one that Jada was about to royally mess up. Forcing herself to snap out of her BS, Jada flashed them a confident smile.

“Hello, how are you guys? My name is Jada Berklee. I’m twenty-four. I’m really happy to be auditioning for the role of Monica today.”

The team returned her greetings and ended with the typical ready when you are spiel. Arriving at the moment of truth, Jada put aside her anxiety and allowed herself to get lost in the character: her motivations, emotional conflicts, everything that played into the makeup of the street-smart detective. After they asked her to try a few more run-throughs, Jada’s optimism returned. Everyone knows you don’t ask for seconds unless you like what’s being served on the table.

“Thank you, Jada. That was lovely,” Jackie acknowledged after several takes. However, her razor-sharp eyes flicked over Jada’s appearance. Based on her rule to always be flawlessly dressed, Jada assumed she was taking stock of what Jada might look like in character.

“One last question, dear. Do you usually wear your hair this short?”

Reflexively, Jada lifted her fingers, tracing the short edges of her red curls.

“Oh, well, I currently have a supporting role in Ren Kurosawa’s latest film,Love Locket. It’s a rom-com. They had a particular look they wanted for my character.”

“I see. How long does it typically take for your hair to grow out?” Jackie asked innocently enough, but Jada saw the writing on the wall.

Unless she could get her curly locks bone straight and as long as Gabrielle Union’s, she could kiss this role good-bye. She fought back the urge to explain the intricacies of growing out Black hair, replying with a vague “Not that long.”

“Ah, I see.” Jackie’s courteous smile remained cemented in place, more like a bad FaceTime freeze-frame than sincere understanding. Of course Jada’s answer hadn’t made the cut.

With an offhand “We’ll let you know,” they escorted her ass out the door.

Refusing to give in to the brush-off, Jada kept her head held high as she exited the building and made her way to her car. But once she slipped into the driver’s seat, she rested her head on the steering wheel, a sense of defeat washing over her. To be fair, she could be overanalyzing. Yet she knew those backhanded comments and questions too well. The last time someone had made that kind of remark, the role that had been advertised for a woman of color had gone to a white woman.

“Whatever. There will be other roles, other jobs,” Jada said, determined to give herself a pep talk in her rearview mirror. “Perk up, Berklee!”

Before said perking up could kick in, Jada’s phone buzzed in her pocket. Her cousin, Mikayla, had sent her a text through the group chat with their other BFF, Alia. Jada had grown up next door to Mikayla back in Chicago, and had met Alia when she got her first big acting job in L.A. Back then, Jada had a supporting role on the popular fantasy showFallen Creatures—with vampires and werewolvesgalore!—and Alia had been one of the staff writers.

Alia became a close friend who even helped Jada and Mikayla find the apartment they currently lived in—right across the hall from Alia. The trio had become tight knit, and their group chat was a daily texting must.

Mikayla: Hope the audition went well! <3

Alia: Ohhh, same. Sending well wishes from set. Where we are currently drowning in demon blood by the way

Picturing the poised Alia covered in sticky, fake blood definitely led to a much-needed chuckle. Alia’s star had continued to skyrocket afterFallen Creaturesended. She was now the showrunner of her own supernatural series,Unbound.

It was good. Fingers crossed!Jada typed back, deciding not to bore them with the racial microaggressions she’d experienced.

Mikayla: In that case . . . I thought you might want a heads-up on this . . .

Along with the ominous text, Mikayla sent a link to Jada’s least favorite site.Sip That Teahad gone from a small, superficial blog to a digital kingpin of celeb gossip. The site’s founders, social media influencers and fraternal twins Tegan and Tammy Downton, came from old-school, old-Hollywood money, which apparently meant they could spend all their free time and connections hounding and exposing everyone in the entertainment industry.

Luckily, Jada wasn’t high enough on the A-list to make it into their headlines often. Her ex-boyfriend, however, had his face plastered on the front page.

DANIEL KANE SPOTTED WITH YOUNG SONGSTRESS

Sip this, Tea Fam! If you were wondering what our residentFallenhottie has been up to, here’s the scoop. The luscious Daniel Kane has just gotten back from filming a period drama in Germany. Aside from learning the country’s mother tongue, he’s also been snogging their hottest idol, Tilly Becker.

The German singer recently turned nineteen, but the six-year age gap can’t stop young love! After being spotted all around Munich, Daniel brought the European beauty with him on his return flight. We’re looking forward to seeing more of these two! What about you? Will they crash and burn like Daniel’s past conquests or stay #relationshipgoals?

As she finished the article, a sour feeling hit Jada’s stomach.

Reading it brought back awful memories, but seeing Daniel’s smug smirk and the redhead clinging shrink-wrap tight to his arm made it worse. The young singer was staring up at him with complete, oblivious adoration. Jada had been like that once—a lovestruck fool—until Daniel’s true nature had revealed itself. Because the one thingSip That Teahad gotten right was thatallof Daniel’s

“past conquests”hadended up burned. Jada was no exception.

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