Funny Apples

                GAIL

                April 14th 2016

        Here I am. Standing in the single most amazing place on Earth, The Big Apple. I had just graduated from high school, and I have plans to be a comedian on the hit late night show, Funny Apples. My parents never approved of my lifestyle. My dad is a lawyer who went to a top notch, Ivy league college, and my mom was an award winning chemist. I have plans here, big plans, and nothing can stop me from achieving them. Not my parents, not my past, and certainly not any future involving a boy. I've heard stories of people wanting to follow their dreams, but didn't because of some barrier, but I promised myself I'd never become that girl. My best friend from my hometown is a phenomenal dancer, and I'd always thought she'd pursue her dreams. I later learned that she wouldn't when she decided to become a teacher at our old high school. Her biggest achievement was becoming Teacher of the Year. 

        I walk inside of my new apartment I had bought over winter break. It's gorgeous. It could have very well been the cheapest thing in the city, but it was good enough for my standards. I don't need some penthouse with a view of the Hudson river, I need a home. I need a place I'll remember when I'm seventy. I need a shelter. 
        I look around. I touch the frail, decaying, yellow wallpaper. I hear the floorboards creek with every movement of my body. It's perfect. Well, at least it's perfect for me.

        

        April 20th 2016

        I walk out of the audition room with a straight back and my chin held up high. I'd just auditioned for Funny Apples. Ever since I was little, I'd watch Tanya Janeson do hilarious sketches, making the crowd roar with laughter. The show had been on since before I was born. I always had related to Tanya in a way. We both had blonde hair and brown eyes. She was the head writer, and I aspired to be the head writer. I always re-watch one particular home video from when I was seven. I'd written a skit called My Pet Elephant. It was about a purple elephant who wants to join the circus, but doesn't know how. It travels around the world until it finds itself at one. It was poorly written, it wasn't that funny, but I was only seven, so it was pretty decent. 
        I walk on the streets of the city. Some people say that the people of the city are rude and aggressive, but I say otherwise. The streets are filled with people heading somewhere. I don't know when, and I surely don't know where, but it's somewhere. I know I belong at Funny Apples. I just need to wait for one phone call. The call that determines everything.

        August 15th 2016 (3 months, 4 weeks, and 5 days later)

        I wake up with sun in my eyes. I rub my eyes with the balls of my hands and hop out of bed. I check my social networking apps on my smart phone. As I'm about to take an 'I Woke Up Like This' selfie, my phone rings. It's an unknown number, but I'm not afraid to pick it up.

        "Hello?" I ask through my phone.

        "Hi, is this Gail Brookes?" They ask me.

        "This is she." I reply with a yawn.

        "We have called you from the show Funny Apples. You auditioned approximately 4 months ago. We wanted to inform you that you have made it as a cast member, and we enjoyed the skit you wrote."