Second Chances

~Chapter 1~

I graduated with a degree from Columbia in Linguistics with a minor in Music Therapy, can speak ten different languages and I was Mickey Rourke's dialect coach for his role in Iron Man 2 and I'm only 26 years old; I was born on October 31, 1982. Let's face it, I was a nerd, and I was a gleek in school.

As far as my looks are concerned, I've been told I'm mousey (my nickname is Mouse) thanks to my light brown hair. I have amber colored eyes and rarely wear make-up. Flat-footed I am five feet, seven inches tall. I take care of myself, but I hide my body because I'm very self-conscious of it. According to the "Hollywood" standard, I'm overweight. I wear a size ten and I'm overweight. It's ridiculous but true.

After coming in half way through the filming of season two of True Blood to help the actors with their linguistics, I had become fast friends with Deborah Ann Woll. I usually just called her Deb or Red. She was my best friend in the world now. I'd say she knew me better than Uncle Alan did. Uncle Alan is the only reason why I had gotten the job. It's not that Liz wasn't doing a great job, but Uncle Alan had been getting complaints. This was the third date he has set me on since I moved out to California to work. The other two were a bust after a few dates. So far, Paul seemed interested in me. He was asking me questions while we were waiting on our food.

"So what languages do you speak?"

"English, of course. I can speak Spanish, French, Swedish, Finnish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, and German."

"Wow. That's impressive. How did you get into that?"

"The first time I heard French I was mesmerized by it. I think I was 8. It just multiplied from there."

"What about the music therapy?"

"It is a way for me to share my gift with people without being in front of a huge crowd. I have nerve issues if I'm in front of too many people."

"I see. And you said that you started taking ballroom dance lessons?"

"Yeah. I really like it. I've lost two pants sizes so far. I mean, if you think of normal standards, I'm fine physically, but by Hollywood standards, I'm fluffy," I said with a giggle.

"Fluffy, that's a cute word."

"Thanks. Being from the south, you find polite ways of saying things."

"So your family moved from Georgia to Oklahoma and you ended up at college in New York."

"Yes, that's what happened. Moving away was the best thing I could've ever done. It made me be a stronger person. I had to come out of my shell to get the things I was after in life."

"That's good to know."

The waitor came and sat our food down. I had ordered light like I usually do at lunch.

"So what kind of music do you like?"

"I like all kinds of music, but rock is my favorite. And, I'm a bit fond of Broadway."

"I bet you are if you lived in New York for over five years."

"I did frequent shows."

My cell went off about halfway through my lunch date.

"I'm sorry. I need to take this."

"It's alright."

Opening my phone, "Hello?"

"Hey there, sexy."

"Hey dance instructor," I said with a giggle.

He chuckled at me; "You're late."