Page 10 of First Impressions of You

What is up with him? Am I not professional enough to even talk to informally?

Fuck it. He’s not worth the time or energy. I quickly turn my attention back to Cameron, only to realize he’s staring at my sister. When I follow his gaze, to my surprise, I notice Julia looking at him too, a rosy blush creeping up her neck. They hold their gazes for so long I almost feel like I’m intruding a private moment.

“I’m Cam, hi,” he says, flashing her his brightest smile, and I swear to God I hear her gasp.

“Hi…” Julia mumbles, as if that’s all the English she knows.

I suppress a smile at the sight of my flustered sister. I can’t recall ever seeing her so affected by someone. Julia is the biggest advocate for personality over looks. I didn’t think it was possible for something like this to happen to her, and yet, here we are. She’s completely awestruck by Cam’s beauty. Not that I can fault her for that—he is gorgeous.

Under the table, I nudge her leg with mine to get her talking. When Cam’s eyes fall to the tabletop, I remember a second too late that the mesh wrought-iron tables are see-through. He politely suppresses a smile. “This is my sister, Julia,” I offer.

“Cameron. Cam,” he repeats, reaching out his hand to Julia, who finally shakes herself out of her mental freeze and accepts his hand.

I know Cameron is tall, but now I realize that, somehow, he doesn’t look it. When he slips his hands in the pockets of his jeans, his shoulders hunch as if he’s trying to take up less space. The white of his jeans and the pale blue of his T-shirt produce a beautiful contrast with his rich brown skin. When he turns his upper body to Winter, I shoot Julia a quick glance. Her shy smile tells me all she tries to hide by looking down.

“This is Davis,” Cam says, but his eyes are already back on Julia, as if he can’t help himself any more than a compass can help pointing north.

“Oh,” Julia lets out, eyeing me quizzically. I know what she’s asking even if she hasn’t said a word. I dart a quick glance her way to confirm that indeed this is the same guy I briefly mentioned before, the awful human being I had to audition with. “Hi,” she greets him with a smile because Julia can’t fight her nature of being nice and polite to everyone.

“Hi,” he responds with a fraction more enthusiasm than he offered me. I don’t want to read too much into it, but that’s what my brain is best at. Is his problem only with me?

I had figured he had a problem with the world in general, like something in the way the planets were aligned the moment he was born had made him as sullen as he is. Now I’m debating if his problem is with me specifically.

It doesn’t help that he keeps staring at me as if I’m committing a crime just by existing. The way he sizes me up makes me feel like a heavy cloud on a summer day. Unwelcome. Unwanted.

But what bothers me the most is how much thought I’m giving him. He doesn’t deserve the time of day.

“Are you guys visiting the park?” I make sure to look at Cam while I’m talking. One attempt at being nice to Winter is enough for the day.

Winter lets a scoff out as a response, and I narrow my eyes at him, but Cam clears his throat. “Uh, nope. No. We’re actually here to talk to Emily.”

Of course. I think Winter would be caught dead before voluntarily visiting the park.

“You should, though. Whenever you have the time,” I insist. Now I’m doing it just to get a rise out of him. “It’s so much fun!” I pepper my voice with a little too much enthusiasm. I know I overdid it when Julia looks at me as if I’ve gone mad.

My bright smile is turned to Cam, but I can feel Winter’s glowering at my comment. That just spurs me on. “You definitely have to check Unearthed. The cast this season is unbelievable! They’re so professional.”

Unearthed is Movieland’s longest-running live show, full of stunts and visual effects. Of course, it’s where most aspiring action actors land when joining the theater department here. Marvel has plucked actors from this show to join the cast of some of their movies, but the biggest name to ever come out of the show has been Hazel Williams.

It must really get on Winter’s nerves that someone who started off doing theater at a theme park has gone on to become one of the most beloved heroines in recent years. It’s virtually impossible to meet a teenager who hasn’t heard of or wants to be Scarlet Armas. I smile at the thought of his insides churning every time he sees the character in promo material all around.

“I heard the Russo brothers have hired them all to be extras in the next Avengers,” he deadpans. I try not to react to his voice. To the low, husky quality of it, which my memory didn’t do justice.

“Oh, and you’ll be their new superhero?” I snap back. I don’t know if he realizes he’s also a part of Movieland’s team now, but if this is how he’s playing this, then two can play at the game.

“Cam.” There’s a warning in the tone of his voice. “We need to get going. Em’s waiting for us,” Winter says, completely ignoring my remark.

“Shoot, you’re right,” Cam agrees. “I…” Now it’s his turn to be flustered. “It was great meeting you,” he says to Julia. Then he turns to me. “Both of you. I mean…” He shakes his head trying to clear his thoughts. “It was great seeing you again. Great job on your audition, by the way. You were amazing.”

When they leave, I’m left speechless, both because Julia is a bouncing ball of giggles by my side and because of his parting comment.

I don’t run into either of them for another week. Nor do I hear from Emily. At this point, I’m starting to get comfortable with the idea that I’m not being cast in the play. The director didn’t give us a timeframe for when she’d be contacting us, but I’m guessing I would’ve heard from her by now if I had gotten the role.

It’s the next Monday, and I’m back at Movieland for another shift at the front gate with Olivia. Even though we’re in the middle of July, the weather has taken an unexpected turn, and it’s kind of chilly. Instead of my usual extra-large T-shirt, I put on a loose cropped sweatshirt with my mid-thigh denim shorts today, hoping I won’t regret it when it’s time to come home in the afternoon.

Olivia has opted for a summer dress and a vintage cardigan that belongs in a Taylor Swift music video.

I don’t understand her insistence in carefully choosing her outfits to come to work. It’s not that I’m completely void of a fashion sense. I just don’t see the point in wasting an outfit only to arrive here and have to change into our uniforms. I consider it a waste of effort, to be honest. No one cares what you wear. No one sees it.

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