All Free Novel
Chapter 77
Chapter 77
Leila’s palms were raw and blistered, just like Merry’s, rendering her unable to play in the big game. Tears streamed down her face as classmates supported Leila on the way to the school nurse for bandaging incident had the staff scrambling to report to the director and assistant director
The director lost his cool, while the assistant director dashed off to find a potential replacement
During the initial auditions, they had their eyes on three potential girls. With the best and second– best Both injured, they were left with no choice but to find Juliana.
“Juliana, is Juliana around?”
The assistant director’s shout sent students scurrying in all directions. Hayley piped up, “She’s not here”
Grabbing his cell phone, the assistant director muttered, Fine, fill just give her a call”
They all had left their numbers just for emergencies so that they could be reachable at a moment of notice
He dialed the number. To his relief, Juliana picked up promptly.
“Where are you? Merry and Leila are both hurt. You need to step in!” he explained anxiously
Juliana’s voice dripped with insincerity, “I’m in the middle of physics class. I don’t really feel. know?”
The assistant director was at a loss for words. He thought, “Why audition if you didn’t want to act? Mentioning disinterest now was a ploy to negotiate terms.”
He had seen these tactics too often. Yet with only her to save the day, he conceded, “How about we double your pay?”
Juliana feigned disappointment, “Just double? You seem out of touch, sit. None of us are short on cast though I wouldn’t mind a bit extra for my allowance.”
“What will it take for you to be interested, then?”
Juliana brightened her voice, “Five times the amount, and I might consideri
The assistant director nearly choked.
This role was just a cameo with a few scenes. Since they were casting students from Greenmeadow International School, where every other kid was an heiress, the initial pay was substantial. Quintupling that was tantamount to the salary of a lead role.
But this series was on a weekly broadcast schedule. They needed to shoot simultaneously and wrap up in days or risk missing the weekend slot!
As the assistant director pondered his next move, a slender and pale hand reached out and snatched the phone before he could react.
He turned to see a striking yet indifferent girl holding the phone.
Cordelia spoke into the device with a casual air. The anonymous text to Merry was your doing, wasn’t it?”
There was a stunned silence on the other end, followed by Juliana’s flustered response, “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.” Her attitude gave it all away.
Cordelia pressed on, “Were you involved?”
This time, Juliana fell silent, evidently flabbergasted.
Cordelia got it. Juliana was playing both Merry and Leila to snag this role. It was laughable that Leils thought she had won when she was merely a pawn in Juliana’s game.
Cordelia had no interest in the petty scheming between Juliana and Leila. She only cared that someone who
Leila’s palms were raw and blistered, just like Merry’s, rendering her unable to play in the big game. Tears streamed down her face as classmates supported Leila on the way to the school nurse for bandaging. The incident had the staff scrambling to report to the director and assistant director.
The director lost his cool, while the assistant director dashed off to find a potential replacement.
During the initial auditions, they had their eyes on three potential girls. With the best and second– best both injured, they were left with no choice but to find Juliana. Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.
Juliana, is Juliana around?”
The assistant director’s shout sent students scurrying in all directions. Hayley piped up, “She’s not here.” Grabbing his cell phone, the assistant director muttered, “Fine, I’ll just give her a call.”
They all had left their numbers just for emergencies so that they could be reachable at a moment of notice.
He dialed the number. To his relief, Juliana picked up promptly.
“Where are you? Merry and Leila are both hurt. You need to step in!” he explained anxiously.
Juliana’s voice dripped with insincerity, “I’m in the middle of physics class. I don’t really feel like acting, you know?”
The assistant director was at a loss for words. He thought, “Why audition if you didn’t want to act? Mentioning disinterest now was a ploy to negotiate terms.”
He had seen these tactics too often. Yet with only her to save the day, he conceded, “How about we double your pay?”
Juliana feigned disappointment, “Just double? You seem out of touch, sir. None of us are short on cash, though I wouldn’t mind a bit extra for my allowance.”
“…What will it take for you to be interested, then?”
Juliana brightened her voice, “Five times the amount, and I might consider it.”
The assistant director nearly choked.
This role was just a cameo with a few scenes. Since they were casting students from Greenmeadow International School, where every other kid was an heiress, the initial pay was substantial. Quintupling that was tantamount to the salary of a lead role.
But this series was on a weekly broadcast schedule. They needed to shoot simultaneously and wrap up in days. or risk missing the weekend slot!
As the assistant director pondered his next move, a slender and pale hand reached out and snatched the phone before he could react.
He turned to see a striking yet indifferent girl holding the phone.
Cordelia spoke into the device with a casual air. “The anonymous text to Merry was your doing, wasn’t it?”
There was a stunned silence on the other end, followed by Juliana’s flustered response, “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.” Her attitude gave it all away.
Cordelia pressed on, “Were you involved?”
This time, Juliana fell silent, evidently flabbergasted.
Cordelia got it. Juliana was playing both Merry and Leila to snag this role. It was laughable that Leila thought she had won when she was merely a pawn in Juliana’s game.
Cordelia had no interest in the petty scheming between Juliana and Leila. She only cared that someone who
had crossed Little Parrot wasn’t getting that role.
The assistant director finally found his voice, “Hey, who are you? Give the phone back.” He trailed off as he locked eyes with Cordelia’s gaze.
On the other end, the prolonged silence made Juliana panic, “Cordelia, I’m warning you, stay out of this!”
“Oh.” Cordelia’s voice was calm, “Hold on.”
She covered the mouthpiece and turned to the assistant director, “What do you think? Can I do it?
Of course, she could! Her look was the spitting image of the role of first love as described in the book!
With someone like her, why hadn’t they approached her sooner? The assistant director shot a glare at and nodded vigorously at Cordelia, “Absolutely, you can play yourself!”
Satisfied, Cordelia spoke into the phone, “You don’t need to come. I’ll take the role.”
With that, she hung up and tossed the phone back to the director.
Silence enveloped the set. No one had anticipated that Cordella, with just a few words, would secure the role over three contenders.
Merry stood by, tears welling in her eyes. She knew acting was a waste for Lia, yet here she was, stepping up for her sake.
As Cordelia watched Merry’s tearful face, she was baffled.
Wasn’t the whole point to keep Little Parrot from crying? Now, why was she weeping more than ever? What was the next move?
The day’s commotion had delayed filming, and dusk had turned to darkness, spoiling the golden hour needed for the shoot. With the last–minute cast change, the assistant director needed to brief Cordelia about the scene, so they postponed filming to the next day.
Hayley, amidst the crowd, couldn’t believe it, “Sir, she can’t do it! She doesn’t even play the piano!”
The assistant director reassured her, “No worries, we’ve got a double from Stanton, Cordelia just needs to fake
it for the camera.” Turning to Cordelia, he added, “Cordelia, shall we go over the scene now?”
Cordelia cut him off, “I was there when you went over it with Little Parrot yesterday. If we’re not shooting today, I’m heading back to study.”
The assistant director was thrown off by her response but Cordelia, sensing his understanding, turned and left with still–dumbfounded Merry to return to their studies.
Meanwhile, Juliana was hiding in the bathroom, crying pitifully into her phone, “Mom, Cordelia is too much! She said she wasn’t acting yesterday, she’s just doing this to spite me!”
The scheming that led to Merry and Leila’s misfortune was courtesy of Rachel’s advice to Juliana.
With the tables turned, Rachel was icy, “How dare she! But don’t worry, she’s in trouble now. Picking a fight at a time like this is suicidal. Just wait.”
As Cordelia exited the school gates that evening, she spotted Larry’s car and was about to head over when a group suddenly appeared in front of her, “Excuse me, are you Cordelia, the one with the direct admission to Superiority College?”
Bewildered, Cordelia simply nodded.
Suddenly, the crowd around her shifted like a well–rehearsed magic trick. A handful of reporters thrust their microphones toward her face” “I’m with the local radio station. Why did Superiority College single you out with such an opportunity?” one reporter prodded.
“Cordelia, we’ve heard that a renowned professor from Superiority College personally recommended you. What’s your relationship with him? Why does he hold you in such high regard?” another inquired.
13.09
“Cordelia, did the Delaney family pull some strings with the faculty? Are there any suspicions of foul play regarding your National Math League scores?” a third journalist questioned insistently.
Cordelia furrowed her brow in frustration and wanted to leave but was hemmed in by the press. Just as she was about to push through, a voice called out from the distance, “Hey, reporters! Why don’t you interview me instead?”
Accompanied by the voice of Flame No. 1, Yates led the charge of the Flame Union, bulldozing through the throng to create a barrier between Cordelia and the journalists.
Yates looked at Cordelia and said, “Lia, you go on ahead!”