by Andrea Hurtt
That slice of joy only lasted a moment.
Her new costar, was about ten feet away, bouncing a red dodge ball like it was a basketball.
She cringed inside.
Those balls were made of nightmares!
“Gracie! You’re here! It’s about damn time! We can’t get started without you. Hey! Catch!” The good looking, well-built twenty-one-year-old man threw the ball at her.
She stepped out of the way before it could collide with her. The flying red rubber hit the wall behind her only to roll back her way. Grace continued to ignore it, walking closer to not only him but the others in the room.
“Seriously, Grace. Would it really hurt that much if it hit you?” Charles crossed his bare muscled arms over his chest, looking at her with mock disapproval.
If you only knew.
She forced a smile and stood by the other actors. Grace, for all her name implied, had always been clumsy.
In middle school, they’d given her the nickname, Graceless. One time in gym class, she tried to dodge one of those red balls. She’d slipped and broke her left arm when she’d hit the wooden floor.
She’d screamed like the world had ended, and everyone had laughed. The horrible teasing was born. That was the day she lost her voice, not just physically, but emotionally. She’d become an introvert, caving in on herself.
If Grace talked with no one, no one could hurt her.
Years later, theater had helped change all that. Taking on characters, becoming someone else, her whole body changed.
She had poise and grace she’d never had before.
Her new addiction.
She always needed more.
“Everyone please take your seats, I don’t care where. Just sit and I’ll pass out the scripts,” Jason, the man in charge said. He was an amazing man with a vision. At six foot, five inches, his height alone made her uncomfortable. His sun-bleached hair and copper tone shouted he spent more time outside than in a dark theater. When he smiled, and those pearly white teeth shone, it set her at ease.
Jason had been on a massive search throughout the theater communities everywhere, for actors looking to spread their wings. He needed people that could act, sing, and dance and weren’t afraid to leave their homes for an extended period.
That was what’d caught her eye, and motivated her to drive the long distance to audition.
Grace took a seat next to her new costar, as she tried to push back memories she didn’t need at the moment. She had to focus.
The script in her hand took on a permanent curved because she kept rolling it and squeezing, then unrolling and smoothing it out.
Her nerves were getting the best of her.
I still can’t believe I am here. This is really happening. Mom, I’m doing it. I’m doing this for you.
The younger man bumped her shoulder, bringing her back to the moment. “Are you ready for your life to change?” he whispered in her ear, his breath warm from his earlier exertion with the damned red ball.
About the Author
Andrea Hurtt is an emerging author of various romance categories. She enjoys writing a little bit of everything.
She’s still deciding what she wants to be when she grows up. Andrea has been a dental assistant, a stay at home mom, owned her own clothing store, was a clothing designer with a vintage inspired clothing line, Amaryllis Designs, even won Omaha Fashion Week for Top Designer in her category, and Top Boutique for Cancer Survivor Night.
Andrea currently spends her days either writing books or making #EmotionalSupportPillows and traveling around the USA and parts of Canada with the cast and fans of the CW TV show Supernatural.
She is the mother of two children, two cats and a dog, and is a proud Army wife; currently residing in the MidWest.
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