The sunlight streamed through her windows as she firmly shut her eyes against the glare. It wouldn't stop the inevitable though. She had always been one of those annoying morning people - leaping out of bed at least 5 minutes before her alarm, eager to great the day.
Today was different. She had been dreading her 30th birthday. She didn't feel old. She wasn't old. But in Hollywood, she was now officially over the hill. It was a hard thing to swallow.
There was a knock at her bedroom door. Her kids spilled into the room, jumping onto her bed. The girls planted kisses on her cheeks, screaming "happy birthday mommy!" at the top of their lungs. Her husband followed behind them, smiling broadly, carrying a tray loaded with breakfast goodies. The pancakes and syrup were for the twins, the cinnamon roll with its sugary icing for him. It had been ages since she ate any of those foods - back when she didn't have to watch her figure religiously and spend half her day exercising like a fiend.
She never dreamed of being an actress, falling into it completely by accident. In college, she studied journalism and had won national awards for her writing. Her roommate - Jill - was the actress. Senior year, Jill earned herself the lead in Romeo & Juliet and spent every waking moment rehearsing in the room. Then, taking the expression "break a leg" a little too literally, Jill fell down the stairs on her way to the theater for the performance, shattering her tibia.
On the way to the hospital, Jill begged her to take the role. Julie was terrified of the stage and refused, until Jill started to cry. She could never resist her roommate's tears.
Julie dressed in Jill's costume, put on way too much makeup so the lights wouldn't wash her out, and stepped out onto the stage making a seamless transition into her role. And Hollywood's hottest new actress was born...
As she tried to pretend like her birthday, like she wasn't aging in dog years and over the hill , she wondered how things would be different if she never set foot on that stupid stage.
Missed Part 1?
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2 comments:
It seems that no matter what paths that we choose, we always wonder if life might have turned out better.
I was so into writing the comment for the VS series that I forgot to say that this one is great too. You have me hook, line, and sinker. I am into this one too. I guess if this is good escape from work than go for it.
God bless.
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