Page 29 of First Impressions of You

“Get in the car, Luiza. I’m already going there anyway.”

“I’m taking the bus. Thank you,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest in a clear sign to end the discussion.

A notification pings on my phone at that exact time, and I pull it away from the waist of the gym shorts I changed into after taking the quickest shower in the history of showers.

“Fuck.”

“Will you get in the car now?” He gives me a look as if he already knew there is a delay on my bus line before the app notified me. Did he cause it? Did he somehow sabotage my bus in the twenty minutes that I took a shower and changed?

I eye the avenue in front of me, considering going to the park on foot.

“It’d take you at least an hour on foot,” he says as if he can read my mind.

“Fine.” I yank the door of the car open and am about to slam it shut when I think better of it. I don’t have the money to pay for any damage in a car like this.

“Was that so hard, Sunshine?”

I should’ve slammed the door. I should’ve slammed it so hard it would come out the other side.

“Do not call me that,” I hiss.

“But you’re always so bright, so full of life. Just like a ray of sun,” he teases, putting the car on drive and hitting the gas.

“Oh my God,” I groan. It’s too early and I’m too tired to deal with Winter right now. This is quickly becoming the worst day of my life.

At least the drive to Movieland is short. Less than twenty minutes later, we’re pulling up to the gates. Winter scans his employee ID, which I notice is slightly different than mine, and the gate opens to him, but instead of driving ahead in the direction of the employee parking lot, he takes a left in the first entrance.

“Where are you going?” I eye him quizzically. “We can’t park here.”

“You can’t park here,” he clarifies. “I can.”

Snobby motherfucker.

He’s pulling into a parking space, a reserved one for that matter, when my phone starts ringing. I don’t have the number saved in my contacts, but from the first digits I can tell it’s from Movieland.

“Are you not gonna get that?” he asks impatiently after it rings for the third time.

“Hello?” I’m hesitant to answer the call because I’m afraid it’s someone in management complaining about the musical chairs my sister and I pulled this morning, one taking the other’s shift.

Instead, it’s something much, much more terrifying.

“Luiza?” A smooth voice comes from the other side. It’s vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite place to whom it belongs. “It’s Emily Eddings. I’m calling about your audition.”

I gasp, loud enough to make Winter hit the brake hard.

“What?” Winter mouths next to me. “What happened? Are you okay?”

I shake my head, ignoring him.

“Luiza?” Emily repeats on the other side.

“Yes,” I say, finding my voice again. “Yes, it’s me. I’m here. Hi.”

“Hi,” I can hear the smile in her voice. “I wanted to personally call you to invite you to join Frostbound Loyalty as our Princess Melina.”

There’s a long silence before she adds, “What do you say?”

“Holy crap” is the first thing out of my mouth. Then, I slap my own forehead. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t expecting this. Yes. Of course. I’d love to.”

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