My Life, My Light, My Love, Cora

Prologe

Alex stood in front of the bulletin board, staring at the cast list for the upcoming production of *Mamma Mia*. His heart raced as he scanned the names, searching for his own. The hallway was filled with the excited chatter of his fellow theater kids, all eager to see where they'd landed in the show. But Alex's focus was singular—he was only concerned with one role.

When he finally found his name, right next to the word *Sky*, he couldn't believe it. His eyes darted to the line just above, where *Sophie* was written in bold letters. And there, next to Sophie's name, was Cora.

For a moment, the noise around him faded into the background. Cora. She was going to be Sophie. And he was going to be her Sky. Alex's mind raced with the possibilities—hours of rehearsals together, late-night practices, the chance to finally get to know her beyond those fleeting smiles and backstage conversations.

He remembered the first time he noticed her during their freshman year, how she'd quietly slipped into the theater world, just like him. Over the years, she'd become more confident on stage, while he remained the guy who was always way too loud on stage but always too shy to say more than a few words to her. But now, they'd be sharing the spotlight.

"Alex!! You got Sky? That's awesome!" His best friend, Julie, hugged him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah," Alex replied, a little dazed. "Yeah, it is."

He felt a sudden wave of nerves. How was he going to handle this? He'd always admired Cora, appreciating her talent and her shy yet funny personality. But now it's different, they'd have to be close—really close—and act out a love story that he'd been dreaming about for years.

As the hallway started to clear out, Alex finally saw her—Cora—standing by the water fountain, a folded piece of paper in her hands. She looked up, and their eyes met. For a split second, neither of them moved. Then, she gave him that familiar smile, the one that always made his heart skip a beat.

"Looks like we're going to be spending a lot of time together," she said, her voice light but with a hint of excitement.

"Yeah," he managed to say, hoping he didn't sound as nervous as he felt. "Guess so."

They stood there for a moment, the weight of what this meant hanging between them. Alex wanted to say something, anything, to break the awkwardness he felt, but his mind went blank.

Cora glanced down at the paper in her hands, then back up at him. "I've always wanted to play Sophie," she admitted, her shyness peeking through. "And Sky is... well, Sky's kind of perfect for you."

Alex felt his face heat up at the compliment. "I'm glad it's you," he blurted out before he could stop himself. "Playing Sophie, I mean."

Her smile widened, and for the first time, Alex felt like maybe, just maybe, this was his chance to finally get closer to the girl he'd liked for so long. They had a whole production ahead of them, filled with rehearsals, songs, and scenes where they'd have to pretend to be in love.

As they walked toward the auditorium together, Alex couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and anxiety. This was it. His senior year was going to be different—no more just standing on the sidelines, hoping for a smile or a small conversation. He was finally going to take the stage with Cora, and maybe, if he was lucky, they could turn this act into something real.