The Waiting Game

THE WAITING GAME - 17

AUGUST 2018

GEORGIA, USA

Ariana is sitting on one of the couches at the bootcamp with a glass of champagne on her left hand and her phone on her right hand, waiting for a message from a certain someone.

"Are you sure you don't want to join? We're starting another round..." Allen asked her while shuffling a deck of cards.

The group are sitting on the floor in a circular formation. They've been playing cards for about an hour now and Ariana has yet to join. She is just watching them from the couch, laughing whenever an argument about the game they were playing comes up.

Before Ariana could answer, the door opened. All eyes snapped to whoever it is. Ariana being the most expectant of all.

"Hey, guys!" Lena greeted as she entered the house while carrying boxes of pizza.

Everyone cheered upon seeing the show's producer show up and is so willing to join them. The boys hurried to get the boxes of pizza from Lena.

Ariana smiled and greeted their producer before looking at her phone once again.

To: My Match

where are u? 🥺

"Also, I have someone to introduce to all of you." Lena announced, making everyone look at her in anticipation. She gestured behind her back for someone to come near her and soon another figure came into view. "Everyone, meet the newest addition to our family... Stacy Adams."

"Hi!" The girl greeted.

"Hey! I'm Marcus..." Marcus introduced, standing up to offer his hand for a shake. The rest did the same and went back to their original places.

"Holy shit! You're Ariana Grande!" Stacy shrieked.

Everyone laughed at the new girl's enthusiasm.

"Oh my God... I'm sorry. I'm just a huge fan."

"Don't sweat it. That is literally everyone's reaction when we saw her." Allen said.

Ariana stood up to give Stacy a hug. "Hi. Nice to meet you."

"DID THE ARIANA GRANDE JUST HUG ME?!"

Ariana giggled and shook her head. "I did..."

"Let's take a seat." Lena said while ushering the two towards the couch. "What are you all up to?"

"We're just playing cards, eating chips, and drinking beer!" Cedric happily answered.

"Okay... But don't drink too much because we'll need all of you tomorrow sane, understand?" Lena told them and they all nodded.

"Pizza?" Marcus offered while holding the opened box of pizza around everyone.

Stacy gladly took a slice while Ariana shook her head.

"Tell us something about yourself, Stacy." Ariana said before taking a sip on her champagne.

"Oh! I'm 23 and I just graduated. I auditioned for this show and I'm so grateful when I got the call back. You, guys, seem chill and fun to be with. This is my first acting gig-"

Stacy continued talking about herself and everyone was attentively listening. But Ariana's attention soon diverted to her phone when it buzzed.

From: My Match

I'm heading back now. Are you having fun?

Ariana almost squealed upon reading Traver's reply. She missed him a lot despite not seeing him only for a few hours. She can't wait to be in his presence again.