The Leading Lady

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

     Sheradin couldn’t feel more or less invaluable as she left the school, following behind Lacey. She wished that she could kick herself for picking a song from the longest running Broadway show. She could’ve used any other song, but she’d once heard someone say, “You’re not going to be the star, or get the lead, by playing it safe.”

     She could feel the regret biting her in the butt as she got into Lacey’s car. She didn’t even bother to talk as Lacey began the drive to her house. Never before had she had her confidence so shaken, just by a comment from, of all people, Katie Montgomery.

     Sheradin shook herself out of her personal funk the moment Lacey had turned onto her driveway.

     “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Said Sheradin, before climbing out of the car with her things in tow.

     “See you,” Lacey called, moments before Sheradin shut the car door.

     Instinctively, Sheradin went toward the wired fence, already hearing a familiar bark, as she got closer to the gate. And when she opened it, sure enough, her border collie Honey was there to greet her. She sat there on her hind legs a few feet away, wagging her tail, and not even bothering to make an escape attempt just like she was trained. Sheradin knew that her dog would be waiting all day for her return.

     “Hey Honey bunny.” Sheradin cooed, bending down to let the dog lick her face as she began stroking her long, multi-colored fur. In a way, letting Sheradin know that throughout the past eight hours she has been missed. Moments later, Sheradin stood up, and followed by Honey, made her way toward the back door of her house.

     She opened the door, using the key under the flowerpot containing a fern bush, and entered the house. She knew that there won’t be anyone here, at least until six o’clock, and it’s only four. To pass the time, she finished her homework. But when that was done, she immediately went back to worrying about tomorrow’s outcome.

     What if I don’t get in the show? Will Katie steal my thunder, again? Or what if I don’t get called back, period? She asked herself.

     To take her mind off of the inevitable, Sheradin headed to the living room. She knew that a little TV would be the one distraction she needed. She clicked on a recent recording from her favorite hour-long drama, and immediately she felt relaxed. All of her worries began to disappear as Sheradin watched the pretty female forensic anthropologist, and the handsome FBI agent catch the cannibalistic serial killer.

     As the program finally ended, Sheradin really hoped that tomorrow would bring her something good.

***

     After an hour and a half of mind numbing television, her mother arrived home from her job as a costumer service representative for the phone company—dispatching service technicians in a different state. In a way, outsourcing. Sheradin could see that her mother looks completely exhausted. Her cropped, golden brown hair looked like a mess from the headset she wears that connects to her work phone. Aside from that, Carol Olden has been the backbone in the family whenever her husband Daniel is out of town on business, which he is in this case.

     “Hi Mom.” Sheradin said before giving her a hug.

     “Hi Sherry.” Said Carol.

     Sheradin rolled her eyes at the mention of her pet name. “What’s for dinner?” she asked, already feeling her stomach growling mentioning the word.

     “Tacos.” Carol said, holding up a plastic bag with the logo of Sheradin’s favorite Mexican restaurant. “I also got the tortillas.”