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SYDNEY, APRIL 9
The ninth of April was categorized as many days in Avery's head. The first day of press. Exactly two days before the premiere of season two of Heartbreak High. But perhaps most importantly, it was her 23rd birthday. Was sitting in her ready room being swarmed by makeup artists and hairstylists for two hours making sure she was camera ready the ideal way to spend her birthday? No, but it was the day she was having.
She had woken up at six to the sound of the fire alarm in her flat, Emilie and Hannah bickering in the kitchen as neither made any move to turn it off. Emilie was waving around one of her bunny slippers to disperse the smoke that was wafting from the pancakes on the stove, Hannah lecturing her on why even though it was Avery's birthday, they couldn't have mimosas for breakfast with interviews occurring later that morning. Emilie loudly called her a buzzkill with a pout, both turning in Avery's direction as she repeatedly slammed the broom handle into the smoke detector to silence it.
"Happy birthday?" Hannah said warily.
"What the hell is this?" Avery wondered as she slowly sat down on a barstool at the counter.
Emilie had already popped opened a bottle of champagne, insisting that one mimosa wouldn't derail the entire day of interviews. Avery wasn't fully opposed to the idea at the moment, still clad in her silk blue pyjama set and slightly pissed off. But Hannah slid a coffee her way in her favorite glass, which she took a sip of with a grateful smile. Hints of vanilla and cinnamon touched her tongue as well as the bitterness of the cold brew, jolting her even more alert after her rude awakening.
The pancakes were still smoking on the stove with the burner turned off, all three looking defeated. Bowls of blueberries and chocolate chips sat on the counter beside the batter, all now cast aside.
"We were trying to make pancakes." Emilie gestured towards the mess. "And failed epically."
Avery nodded slowly, taking another sip of coffee. "Yep."
Hannah had gone into damage control mode, abandoning the cooking endeavor to put the leftover batter in a container in the fridge for later. Beside Avery, Emilie had sat in the other stool as she dug into her overnight oats that had been likely been made in the case that their breakfast plan had gone sideways. While she didn't have the best execution, her heart was always in the right place.
"Goals for today!" Hannah clapped her hands together. "Avery, no substantial spoilers. Em, please try not to derail the interview by arguing with whoever you're paired up with again."
"Okay that was once, and Fallon totally had it coming! She was being so fucking rude for no reason. I love her, but she was pissing me off!" Emilie tried to justify her actions from the first season's press tour.
Avery had to agree. One of their former cast mates had been extra bitchy in the full group interview they did to promote season one when their group was a bit smaller, and it had only been a matter of time before someone gave her a piece of their mind. They all thought it was residual bitterness for only being written in for one season, while other storylines were left wide open in case of a surprise renewal.
