Let's Get Ethan ✔

Chapter 35

"What's up?" Ethan asked. Olivia turned on her beside lamp. Dull, yellow light illuminated the small room, casting their shadows up on the walls. She closed her eyes and smiled then stretched, pulling her arms out in front of her. A picturesque scene laid out before them of an overflowing hamper, Cheetos bag, and half-empty chair. She settled the gray sweater somewhere else.

Her room was a cream white with matching carpeting, but that was all but covered with her large fluffy green rug. She had a large orange and red tapestry over her bed and a collection of black and white ceramic mugs on her desk along with stacks of papers. Her curtains were left open and Ethan marveled at the view, even though it was just the street, it was beautiful because you could see, lowly in the distance, the water and that made all the difference. Most surfaces were covered with unpacked clothes or scraps of homework as she was still getting organized for the next day which would be the first day of spring semester.

"Ethan, I am so happy for you. And I cannot believe I've never asked before, but what do you want to go into?" Olivia asked.

She patted the rolling desk chair next to her bed, and she sunk down on her blue bed and looked over at Ethan, his breathing hitched. He sat down at her desk chair. Well, here goes nothing.

"—I think I want to go into comedy writing," he told her, checking her reaction.

"That's great, Ethan. I am sure you will do wonderful!"

She did think he'd do fine. His eyes lit up at the sudden realness of it all. He was really telling someone he cared about what he wanted to do. It almost like a dream, but right here and now, it was real. Though he had to hold his heart, there was always a "but."

"I really do think you'll do great, and I am not just saying this because I have to live with you now. But I should warn you about me, I may or may not have a 'past,' as it were, in Improv," Olivia said.

"You do? And you never told me?" he said with a smile.

"Well, you never told me you were going to be comedy writer. I think we'd have discussed this already, but here you are living with me, and we barely talk about our pasts'. But, yes, I did have a 'past' in Improv. Would've even continued but I just got busy. So, I thought you, as a rookie, could use some advice from the old timer, me. I just have to help you out.

"When you're doing a scene, play it cool."

"How do you mean, don't acknowledge the audience?" 

Olivia shook her head looking away from him.

"No, you can acknowledge them." She suppressed a laugh, then clarified, "But there's always this—thing I remember from back when I tried doing it. The best people on the team are the most levelheaded, non-judgmental, and unbothered people I have ever met, almost nothing gets to them. But what I am saying is anyone who plays it 'cool' does well."

"Interesting. Do Aaron and James know about your 'past'?" Ethan asked, curiously no one had discussed it.

"Hmm, I am not sure. It was Freshman year, so I would've met them at the end of it. Cannot say I blame them if they don't remember. But I am telling you this because I want you to do well, Ethan. That's all." She smiled. A genuine smile that he wished he could see more of. But in this lighting the colors seemed invisible. Undistinguishable from each other.

"So, what is the best way to stay 'cool'?" Ethan asked her.

She tapped her finger to her chin, "It really depends." Then she deepened her voice, "One must be careful on stage, you can't break, you can't stutter, you can't be boring, you can't let the audience in on the joke to soon, and, I guess, you can't do a lot of things."