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“She’s sick?” A backflips

“Yes!” Michael said, finally taking on a normal tone Oftentimes his theatrical nature would overwhel for a cup of coffee sound apocalyptic

“I blame you,” he said absent-e Now come on, to wardrobe!”

“Uh, yeah! Okay!” A the want ads to the green room floor She quickly followed behind as Michael marched into hair and makeup, with a stylist at the ready to turn her into a perfect piece of stage art

“It’s so funny because I’ sick like every week, yet no one else ever gets sick around here I even told her we should start cranking up the AC,” Ahed, but Michael et cold and maybe—”

“—develop a debilitating illness?” he interrupted, dragging her by the ar the stylists without a word “I get the joke, Amie, it’s just a little morbid”

“Right…” she pursed her lips aardly “I mean, I didn’t really do it, so…”

“Just, be ready in 30! You do know the lines, yes?”

“Yes, of course!” she said quickly, watching as he disappeared out of the dressing roo as the women behind her fussed and fawned over her makeup and curls; deep down, beneath her sarcastic veneer, she was relishing everyback every jealous thing she’d ever uttered about this play

She practiced her lines in a whisper for the next half hour, reht weeks rehearsing these lines alongside the play as she watched fro to worry about

While Carolina and the Bridge wasn’t exactly critically acclaimed in thesoo theater scene It didn’t go beyond Ae hand swooped into her ear with an excited whisper announcing: “You’re so invited to the after-party”

Amie squeezed into her first costuehand She could hear the assistant director ushering her to the curtain with a wild energy as all the actors took their places

Breathe Aet out her first line, she’d be golden for the rest of the performance

She stepped onto the stage and quickly took her place at a faux-antique writing desk She stared at the velvet red curtains and then down at the leather-bound book before her She could see where Sharon had scribbled on the pages, either while pretending to write, or accidentally, out of nerves She sn of Sharon’s blessing on her stepping into her shoes that evening

Suddenly, A red curtains had been drawn; the bright stage lights blinding her vision of the vast audience before her

She stared wide-eyed at the hot lights above and then back down at the book in front of her

Say, your, line!

“Endlessly, endless dull…” she said in her best Sharon igerated swing of her hand A chuckle ran through the audience at the gesture, which As to come

Aht The next two hours went off without a hitch In fact, she dared think that the audience seemed to react even better than they norle of nervous excitee and could barely believe it when she found herself saying her last line of the night

Moe alone to do her final bow She couldn’t believe it when the audience rose to their feet and roared with thunderous applause She took a brief look around the stage toher, to which the audience caught on and began to laugh She felt a s for her Just her! A tall, well-dressed arded her intently; the look on his face silently telling her he thought she was absolutely brilliant