Chapter 2
Jonathan
I came a long way but I ain’t as far as I’m finna be, I promise I’ma die a legend, I’ma make sure that you remember me, I used to daydream, I pictured everything so vividly, I had a feeling we’d be rich since the elementary. I hummed Chosen 1 by Polo G as I did a mile around the track. Today had been pretty chaotic and I was looking for a break. After a grueling morning of script-memorizing, I was called in to play Julius for an auditioner. Once Naomi got whirled away to sign hundreds of contracts and forms, I thought I’d get an hour or two, but I had forgotten about an interview I agreed to months ago. 3 hours later, my manager, Madison, helped me sneak out of my hotel room and was timing me as I ran.
Honestly, calling Madison my manager seems wrong. She’s more like my little sister. Our parents had known each other since they were kids. There was no one I trusted more than her, so picking her as my manager was a no-brainer. She got to deal with me daily, just as she used to, except now she got paid.
“This is one of your best times yet,” Madison said, interrupting my thoughts.
“Sure didn’t feel like it,” I mumbled, as I jogged off to drink some water. She raised an eyebrow.
“You good?” she asked.
“Yeah, no, I’m fine. How fast did I run?” She looked at me suspiciously, but I avoided eye contact.
“You ran 5:34,” she said warily. I whistled. That was fast.
“Congrats to me. Let’s grab a celebratory bite at Wendy’s. I’m pretty sure there’s one within walking distance,” I said, taking pauses to drink water. She shrugged.
“As long as you’re in the hotel by 8, I don’t care where we go,” she said dryly. I smiled. We snuck out of the high school’s fence and waited for the light to turn green.
“So, they cast the new Atlanta, huh?” she said.
“Yeah. And she’s a natural,” I said. She looked at me mischievously.
“I saw the audition clip,” she said with a smirk. I blushed.
“It’s just acting. You know, my job,” I protested. What I didn’t tell her is about how the second I laid eyes on Naomi, my heart skipped a beat. That I couldn’t stop watching her, on and off stage. That no matter what I did, she was the only person on my mind.
“Jonathan, you think I was born yesterday? I saw the way you looked at her. And something everyone has failed to point out is that the kiss at the end was not scripted,” she said, rolling her eyes. The light turned green and the crosswalk sign lit up.
“Again, it was acting! And part of acting is improv,” I said as we walked.
“Sure, keep your little secrets, but I know the truth,” she said, crossing her arms. I sighed. There was no convincing her otherwise.
We walked into Wendy’s and gave Madison $10 to buy us fries and a vanilla Frosty. I pulled my hood over my head so no one would recognize me and looked out the window as I waited. I saw a couple walking towards the door. The guy seemed to be cheering the girl up. I looked a little closer and the girl looked familiar. Her boyfriend opened the door with a mock bow and she rolled her eyes. That’s when I recognized her. She was Naomi, walking hand in hand with a guy I’d never seen before. Well, you’ve never seen her before since today, I told myself. Naomi was looking around and caught my eye. I looked away quickly, hoping she hadn’t realized who I was, but I peeked back and she was looking at me with wide eyes and was tugging her boyfriend’s hoodie. He looked over at me and his eyebrows shot up. Just before I could get up and walk out, they started walking over to me.
“Jonathan! I didn’t think I’d see you here!” she said, looking happy to see me. Calm down. Be the cool, collected Jonathan she saw earlier.
“Yeah, I didn’t think I’d see me here either,” I said with a grin. She laughed and all I could think was how I could listen to that sound day and night and never get tired.
“This is Nico, he’s actually a fan of yours,” she said.
“Hey, man, nice to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand. I shook it and gave him a smile I hoped looked genuine.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” I said.
“I’ve just got to say, I’m glad my girlfriend introduced you to me. You’ve made some pretty sick movies and I never would’ve seen them if she didn’t force me to the cinema with her,” he said. My stomach churned. So they were dating.
“Oh, shut up, you know you went there out of your own free will,” Naomi said, rolling her eyes. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“It’s great seeing you guys here, but I’ve got to go. See you around,” I said, giving them a tight-lipped smile as I made my way to the door.
“Bye!” Naomi said, waving. I held out a hand in recognition and walked out. I waited till I was out of view before sitting down on the curb. I ran my hand through my hair frustrated. How could I be in love with someone who I’d had 2 conversations with? I was infuriated with myself for thinking I had a chance with someone like her. Of course she already had a boyfriend. And now I was going to have to play her love interest in the movie we’re both contractually obligated to. Without thinking, I punched the fire extinguisher next to me. I cursed under my breath. I cradled my fist and leaned my head back on the fire extinguisher, silent tears streaming down my face. Was it too much to ask to be happy?
“Jonathan?” Madison said softly as she sat down next to me. I quickly wiped my face.
“Sorry, yeah, I’m fine,” I lied, avoiding eye contact. She sighed and put our food down.
“I saw them, okay? I get it. And I’m sorry that you had to find out that way,” she said, putting her hands on my shoulders. I leaned forward and cried into her shoulder.
“I… I just… I just wish that I wouldn’t fall in love with the wrong people all the time,” I said, my voice breaking. She hugged me tighter and we sat in silence.
“I’m sorry, but can we eat before the fries get cold?” Madison asked, breaking the silence. I laughed and pulled away. As we ate our fries, her phone buzzed.
“Probably some stupid notification,” she said, as she turned her phone on. She looked at her phone and a huge smile spread across her face.
“Ooh, who is it?” I asked. She quickly wiped the smile off her face.
“It’s nothing, just some text,” she said, avoiding eye contact. I tried peeking and she turned her phone off, but I already got a glimpse.
“What did J say?” I said smugly. It was hard to tell, but I’m pretty sure she was blushing.
“Nothing important,” she mumbled. I mockingly pouted and she sighed.
“C’mon, Madison,” I pleaded.
“All he said was hey,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“And you smiled that big? You’re down bad,” I snorted. She punched me and I smiled.
“Hurry up and finish your fries. We’ve got to get back to the hotel,” she whined.
“You can’t rush perfection,” I said, holding up a single fry. She glared at me and I looked at her sweetly.
“Perfection is going to get in big trouble if his bodyguard opens the door to his suite and finds it empty,” she said impatiently. I stuck my tongue out at her and wolfed down the rest of my fries. We quickly made our way to the hotel and snuck around my bodyguard, Emery, and ran into my room. I flopped down on my bed and sighed.
“Today has been exhausting,” I groan.
“You can say that again,” she said, shaking her head. I rolled over and propped myself up with my elbows.
“So, how’s college going?” I asked her. She’s been taking a few marketing classes on the side. She shrugged.
“It’s alright. It’s kind of easy, you know? I feel like I’m just naturally good at marketing,” she said, sitting down on the desk chair.
“Do any of them know that you’re… you know…” my voice trailed off. She shook her head.
“They just think I’m a businesswoman. If they knew I was the manager of one of Hollywood’s own, I’d get an A without even attending the class,” she said. My shoulders relaxed. I didn’t want Madison to get bombarded because of my celebrity status.
“Hey, I know you’ve had a rough day, so how about I put up the Do Not Disturb sign outside your door?” Madison said as she stood up to leave.
“That would be amazing,” I said, pretending to rub the sleep out of my eyes. She smiled and kissed me on the forehead.
“Goodnight,” she waved.
“Night,” I said as she closed the door. I grabbed my phone and put in my earbuds. Flex by Polo G came on. Flexin with a hunnid cash, look at what these songs do, gangster and a baller, baby, I do what I want to. I peeked out my window and once I was sure the coast was clear, I climbed out. Time for a little nighttime adventure, I thought146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPxwR7xvDV
