Second Chances: Part One by polayo |  |
Author's Note: For one of the first times, I've used fictional characters
in my story. All students and teachers at Lucky 13 Acting Academy are not real
pets and are not based on any real pets. Thanks for reading!
"So, Po? How'd it go?"
I glanced at Omni happily. "I think," I said,
"that it went pretty well. I mean, I know there were a lot of other pets auditioning
and that I'm definitely not the best of all of them, but it's the experience
that counts, right? That's what you said."
She stared at me blankly. "I have never heard
you say anything even close to that, Po. Something went very, very well
in there, obviously. What is it?"
Grinning, I felt like I was practically shining.
"Oh, you know, the usual..."
Omni rolled her eyes. "Just spit it out!"
"I got in!" I squealed, then jumped up and hugged
her. "Can you believe it? ME! I got in to Lucky 13 Acting Academy! This is BIG,
Omni!"
She hugged me back, also screaming. I felt like
I was floating--this day had gone so well, so perfect. Everything about it--I'd
woken up that morning to Kastro_, EverWild, and ReginaKoneko, all throwing me
a surprise 'good luck' party. Then, when Omni and I had boarded the train to
come here, leaving Tikano and Shadow, my two petpets, with Ev, and arrived here,
it was a beautiful winter day: not too hot, not too cold, and the fragrant flowers
drifted up from the valley. I hadn't had to wait too long to audition, and then
when they'd called me back into explain to me that I had gotten in, I could
barely contain myself.
The best part, though, was when I'd told them
that I also needed to write to keep my spirits up, and they said that they'd
have a typewriter put in my room, and that I could have one day off of school
each week to write. When I'd told that to Omni, she was amazed.
"So they must have really liked your audition,
if they were willing to make a sacrifice like that," she thought aloud. "Wow.
I'm proud of you Po."
I laughed. "I'm proud of me, too!" She laughed
too, and pulled me closer, her arm around my shoulders. This is the perfect
day, I thought. Nothing could spoil it.
***
And nothing did. When we got off the train late, I was so tired I just stumbled
down the hall and collapsed onto my bed, the thought of calling at least Ev
and telling her I'd gotten in not even crossing my mind. The only thing that
crossed my mind was this: sleep. Must sleep.
The morning, though, was different. It was the
phone ringing that woke me. Groggily, I groped for the phone on my bedside table,
clumsily knocking my alarm clock off with it. "...Hello?" I said, my voice full
of the sound of sleep.
"Po!" Ev's voice came over the phone. It was
surprising--usually she was the one who slept late. My eyes traveled to my clock,
but it was blank, laying on the ground, and I realised I must have broken it.
"Yeah?"
"How'd it go?"
I was so tired, it took me a moment to put together
what she was saying. How'd what go, I thought, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
And then I remembered. Suddenly awake, I almost shouted, "I got in!"
Silence, at the other end of the line. I waited.
"Um, that's great, Po," she said finally. But it was quiet, and she rambled
of an "Oops, gotta go!" before clicking the phone down.
Why wasn't she happy? I thought, hopping out
of bed. She was probably just in shock, I decided, and bounded down the hall
to have breakfast. At noon, I'd meet Reggie, Kas, and Ev at the coffee shop,
where we met every Sunday. I'd tell them all then.
***
I stepped inside the warm coffee shop, glad to leave the brisk cold behind.
I came upon my friends, already at our usual table. Ev was chatting with the
owner of the coffee shop--they'd been friends
for a while now--and I slid into a sit beside Kas. "Hey guys," I said,
"what's up?"
Reggie plastered on a smile. "Hey, congrats,"
she said weakly, with no enthusiasm. "We're proud of you."
I stared at the blue Aisha and the fire Lupe.
"What's going on?"
Biting her lip, Reggie opened her mouth to say
something before Ev sat back down at the table. "Hey, Po!" She was a bit more
convincing than Reggie, but not much. "Sorry I-"
"No, stop," I said, holding up a paw. "Someone,
please tell me what's going on."
Kas sighed, glanced at Ev, and she nodded her
head remorsefully. "Well, Po," he said. "We know you're a great actress and
all..."
"...and we knew how much you wanted to get in,
and how much we wished you good luck, but..." Reggie put in.
"...but we didn't really think you'd make it.
No, it's not that. I think we knew you'd make it. We just... didn't want you
to."
I was outraged. "Didn't want me to? Why not?"
By now, I had jumped up out of my chair and was practically screaming. Kas made
me sit down, but I was still fuming, not caring how much attention I'd drawn.
"Because we'd miss you, that's why! This school
is four hours away!" Ev exclaimed. She was out of her chair now too, and I jumped
up again to meet her. "We'd miss you because you're one of our best friends!"
"Well, a real friend would want their
friend to be happy," I hissed. Our faces were less than an inch apart.
"Then I guess I'm not a real friend after
all then, huh?" She growled, backing away from me. "You know what? I don't care
if you're going to that stupid school. Doesn't matter to me."
I glared at her as she stomped out of the coffee
shop. After only a moment, the rest of the customers were back to their normal
business, gossiping, slurping coffee, trying to stay awake. I bet a rumour would
be started: Polayo's best friend told her off! I sighed, pressed my paws to
my temples, and sat back down.
"Can you believe her?" I said, not bothering
to look up. When greeted by silence, I lifted my head from my paws and glanced
at Kas and Reggie. "Can you?"
"Po, you were pretty harsh. She's your best
friend, and she is just worried that you guys would lose touch if you went to
that school. All she was doing as caring about you. All of us were."
I threw up my hands in disgust. "Oh, so now you're
on her side too! Well, that's just wonderful, isn't it. It's fine though, of
course. I'll be off to the school as soon as holiday vacation is over. There,
I can find some real friends who care if I'm happy or not.
"Po!" Kas called after me, as I stormed out
of the shop. I didn't turn around. I glanced ahead, and saw Ev stomping through
the falling snow, down the street that was the way to both of our houses. I
took a detour, down another street. I'd take the long way home.
***
"Po, I'm going to miss you so much!" Omni moaned as I climbed onto the train
a week later, carrying my bag, with Shadow perched on my shoulder and Tika fluttering
around my head. "No you, no Shadow, no Tika... not until the break during the
Month of Awakening. It's not going to be the same without, at all."
"Oh, Omni, you'll get used to it. I'll write
you, and we're allowed to use the phone once a week. And don't worry, I'll be
fine. And I'll send you my stories!"
Omni called something out to me--by reading her
lips, it looked like she'd said something like 'Goodbye!'--but I was already
being jostled inside by some other spoiled pet and their owner. Pushed and shoved
around I was, until I found myself in a seat. Next to me was that spoiled Shoyru,
who kept whining about his cup of tea. I shook my head, and turned to the window,
pressing my forehead against the cool glass. Omni was waving, and I waved back.
And then, as the train took started moving, it only hit me then that my life
was about to be drastically different--I was leaving my old life behind, and
embarking on a new adventure. And what was I leaving behind? A whole bunch of
loose ends.
I shook the thought from my head and settled
back into my seat, watching the country side rush past beside me. The Shoyru
asked my name, and began blabbering on about his huge NeoHome and how many different
colours he's been painted, and how many Neopoints his rich owner had. Finally,
I had to make an excuse that I was falling asleep. I wasn't really planning
on falling asleep, though--it just came to me as I shut my eyes.
Well, anything, really, was a relief from talking
to that starry Shoyru.
To be continued... |
