pieces | ethma

the roommate

Narrator's Point of View

"Dammit, Jake. Are you serious?"

"I'm sorry," Jake said. This wasn't the first time he's flaked on Alayah, but his band couldn't pass up the opportunity to go on tour this summer. They were opening for a band that nearly headlined Coachella in the spring. "The opportunity just came up a couple of days ago."

"I gave up everything on the East Coast to come live here, Jake. I don't know anyone in LA except for you. I haven't even found any jobs yet!"

Alayah had built a great life for herself in New York. She had great friends, her family lived there, and that's the place she felt the most at home. After all, she had lived in the city since she was seven.

Jake was another part of her life that felt like home. She'd loved him for as long as she could remember, but it was never quite mutual.

She'd had her fair share of broken hearts supplied by Jake Redding, and he was letting her down yet again. Deep down she knew this would happen. That he'd flake, and her moving out here to live with him was too good to be true.

"I'm not leaving you alone here," he said. "I found someone to sublet my room while I'm gone over this summer."

"You're leaving me to live with someone I've never met?"

"Don't worry. He's great. I met him a couple days ago."

"A couple days ago? What the actual fuck, Jake?"

"He's a nice guy," Jake said, pissing Alayah off even more. Jake had met Ethan on Craigslist and figured he was a good enough person to stay in the house with Alayah.

"Where did you meet him?"

Jake shrugged his shoulders. "Craigslist."

Alayah rolled her eyes. "Wow. Some stranger on the internet is coming to live with me, instead of the one person I know on this side of the country! Not to mention you'll be gone for the whole summer. I could've just stayed in New York if I knew this was going to happen."

"Sorry, Lay. I don't run the management part of the band."

"Will you at least help me unpack?" Alayah asked.

Jake nodded, and they headed to her room to organize Alayah's things. She had thought this was going to turn out way different. That her summer would be filled with the thing she's always wanted—being with Jake. She felt like she should've seen this coming.

-

After unpacking Alayah's things and organizing her room, they each said goodnight and went to their separate rooms to go to sleep. Jake was already packed up and gone in the morning, but it didn't stop him from leaving breakfast for Alayah. He wasn't that terrible of a human being.

As Alayah walked into the kitchen, she saw a note from Jake on the counter. Her heart started to beat faster at the anticipation of what he'd tell her.

Lay,

I left the spare key on my nightstand for when Ethan arrives. I promise this summer will still be fun for you. Maybe I'll even send you tickets for a tour date, and we can see each other. Miss you already. Don't burn the house down.

-Jakey

Alayah sat down at the counter and took one of the chocolate croissants from the bakery box on the counter. Somehow it still felt warm, so Jake must've left a little while ago. He had left Ethan's phone number for her, but she was too stubborn to put it in her phone yet. She was still pissed that Jake was leaving her to live with a stranger for the summer.

After eating breakfast, Alayah took a long shower and got ready for the day. She decided to be as productive as she could, yet she still couldn't stop thinking about the last twenty-four hours.

When she got home, she dug out her laptop and started researching agencies that were based in LA. She loved her agent in New York, but they were location based. She needed to find a new agent if she was going to live here.

Alayah secretly hoped that her next audition would be for something more than a commercial. Most of her work previously included commercials and modeling gigs to save up some money. She wanted to go for what her biggest dream was—to star in a sitcom— because she had always wanted to work in comedy. She even dreamed of the day she'd host Saturday Night Live. It was better back when they had Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg, but she still liked the show nowadays.

After sending resumes and portfolios to multiple places, she decided her work for the day was done. By the end of the day, two of LA's biggest talent agencies had contacted her back, and she had booked an audition for a pilot of a sitcom. She hoped this was finally it.

Her heart beat quickly when there was a knock on the door. When her eyes met Ethan's, it was like her whole being went into shock. She's expected an average Joe kind of guy, but he was one of the most attractive men she'd ever laid eyes on.

"You must be Alayah. Jake told me all about you," Ethan said, walking past Alayah as if he owned the place. He didn't look around as if the space was new to him. Jake must've had him over before Alayah got there.

"Yes," Alayah says. "I just moved here."

"And he already left you? He didn't mention that. I'm sorry."

"I'm used to him flaking," she admitted. "It's kind of my fault. I should've known better than to listen to his impulse."

"Where are you from?"

"New York," she said. "You?"

"Fifteen minutes from here."

"Oh," Alayah said. "What made you want to sublet here?"

"My girlfriend kicked me out. Well, ex. But we'll see how long that title will stay."

Something about Ethan looked familiar. She knew him from somewhere, but couldn't place it.

"What do you do for a living?" she asked him.

"I'm an actor."

That's where he's from. She knew she recognized him. She couldn't believe she didn't put his face to his name. He'd been in two of the highest grossing films in the last three years.

"Me too," she said. "But I'm just getting started. Most of my work was commercials in New York."

"That's a great start. I started in commercials."

"Yeah," Alayah says. "I booked an audition for Wednesday this week. I feel like it can be a good start. I'm not sure though, because I'm sure they'll have other folks audition that have more experience than me."

"Don't count yourself out. A lot of people get introduced to the acting world through lead roles. What show is it anyway?"

"The pilot is called 'High School Reunion'. I guess the directors haven't picked the actual show's name. They're just trying to set up the pilot."

Ethan's heart started pounding in his chest. Alayah was a super pretty girl, and he'd seen a lot of girls like her in the acting business. He also knew some of the big name actresses that were auditioning for this role. Alayah better be good in this audition if she even wants a chance.

"Oh," he says. "I'm auditioning for the same show. Mine's on Thursday though, since they're looking for the main woman first."

"Wow. What a small world."

"Live in LA long enough, and you'll sure realize how small it actually feels."