PRIDE & PRINCESSES: A Pride and Prejudice (type) of teen story (Sunrise High #1)

Teenage Aliens (chapter eight)

Chapter 8

Teenage Aliens

    “Definitely, definitely do not text him first. He has to make the effort and text you. It says so here, in...I believe this one’s called, The Rules of Young Adult Romance,” I advised.

    We were sitting on banana lounges in the water, swerving Wednesday around in her tyre, trying to explain to her the things about dating no one ever taught us.

   “Of course you have to actually get a date,” Mouche added helpfully, straightening Wednesday’s sunglasses.

    That’s when I got a text that changed my day and interrupted the boy-rating diaries and our potential date-planning for at least a few hours.

    “Gotta move it Mouche – get off the couch potato zone and bring it...forget about school plays, I’m going professional.”

     It was Thom, my theatrical agent. He used to run an agency called Thom’s Kidz but now It’s just called Thomz Starz since all his “kids” are mostly teenagers (except Wednesday).

    “You mean?

    “You betcha...”

    And in the space of an hour I’m preparing to ace my third professional audition. This time it’s a recall (which means instead of a thousand other teenage girls it’s between me and twenty others) for a part in the low-budget film, Teen Alien. 

    So I’m pulling on my best skinny jeans and painting on tooth whitener for the recall for a teen horror flick. Mouche is helping me find a suitable outfit.

    I am pretty excited. I’ve forgotten all about Mark and the Princesses and school play auditions. Instead, I’m all fired up about driving into LA with Mouche. This will be the first time we drive to an audition without a chaperone. And I’m not excited just because I think I might get the part, or because going to Century City will be an excuse to gaze longingly at the surrounding movie studios, or even because I get to play someone else outside my comfort zone. No, I’m excited because I’m definitely on course for implementing the first of our dating strategies – meeting up with an older man (an eighteen-year-old called Matt). We used to take drama class together on Saturdays. I heard he is interning as assistant to the director on this film. He was a PA student at Sunrise High a few years ago. Now he goes to UCLA.

    Mouche has offered to drive me to the Alien movie recall and do some window shopping before meeting me for lunch at Century City. “What are best friends for?” she’d asked. “Besides, it all goes in the diary...”

    Wednesday and Mrs Mouche were sleeping in. Wednesday was curled up at the foot of Mrs Mouche’s bed as her older daughter tiptoed out of the house that morning. They made a pretty picture. 

    I had stayed over but we hadn’t had much sleep because we were both extremely excited. Thom had tried to get Mouche to audition as well, but as she explained to him, “I’m sorry, no can do. I have decided to concentrate on school. Acting is not my forte anymore, Thom. I want to get my scholarship to NYU. Besides, I think I prefer real life.”

    Perhaps Mouche had a point and it certainly helps to have a supportive friend, not just a competitive one. I’m not sure if the desire for the good fortune of a friend can outweigh envy, but I’m working on it. I’d almost forgotten about Mark Knightly and his hotness when Jet texted just before we left for Century City:  Mark is coming 2. Text address pick u both up @ 8pm next Saturday night. Jet. PS. Are you going to be in Santa Monica this afternoon? Wanna hook up with us?