Belter

Prolouge

What’s your story?” the casting director asks me. I knew what he meant, but did I have to? I mean, it’s my story for a reason. He didn’t have to know, nobody has to know, but I knew I had to tell him in order for me to even be in contention for the part.
“Well, I guess it starts like this…”

I didn’t think that it would be the last time I got to see her face. We practically said our goodbyes and went our separate ways, never colliding again. It slowly shifted back to my own life. Everything was absolutely the best and I felt happy… until I got that dreaded call, then all hell decided to break loose. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, you know? We were supposed to live a happy, normal life. No one had to die young, no one had to feel so lonely that they wanted to kill themselves. No, it wasn’t meant to be like that. The world didn’t care if it was meant to happen or not. It just did what it wanted to do.

So here I am at Cassie’s funeral. All I can really say I why? Why didn’t she tell me any of this? Why did she put up this façade for us? My other best friend, Lyina, sat next to me, keeping a stone-cold mask on. I knew deep down that we were both hurting, only she wanted to keep strong for Cassie. It was all I could think about... Cassie, Cassie, Cassie. Seeing her coffin, it really dug at me. This is how I’ll remember her. Not for going to Starbucks, not for helping her in algebra. She looked blissful in there, like she finally found what was missing. It made me miserable.

Just as she was laid to rest underground, a cold breeze fell over the yard. Luckily, I had my denim jacket on. I know it’s not the most conventional thing to wear in this event, but it was our favorite. She would have wanted me to wear it. I wore it on Graduation day, which was only 3 days ago.  What is going to happen when I get to Juilliard in 3 months? Would I be able to focus on my work? It was all a blur after she was buried. Only one thing was clear. Everything is going to change.