I grab my elbow and stretch while looking out the window.
It's raining heavily. But surely it'll stop soon.
It doesn't rain in Cali. We have to keep up a reputation.
My phone rattles against the coffee table.
Guess Rickie texted me back.
I'll check that in a second.
This is actually kind of peaceful.
Unlike basically the last year and a half plus. With little interlude.
Sorry, let me at least introduce myself. I'm Robbie Shapiro. Graduate of Hollywood Arts Performing High School's Class of 2011.
As you might guess, the timing matches up. The graduation was a year and a half ago. Creeping closer and closer to 2 years than I'm comfortable with.
But it's not like anybody can slow down time.
"I got everybody together. You sure you want to go to a bar and not like a restaurant?" –Rickie
"Yeah, I can't design the night around me. I'll be fine." I try reassuring him.
He knows I don't subscribe to the theory that you need alcohol to have a good time. I'll drink to be social but I have a better time if it isn't involved.
I hate peer pressure.
Reminds me of Rex.
And Tori.
Such a drama queen. And Rex is well…Rex.
The group I hung out with at Hollywood Arts…well, there's a story after the story.
If that makes sense. I'll just get right to it.
The last time I saw Victoria Vega was graduation day. That was the last time any of us saw her in person. She promised to keep in touch.
The first sign was her not answering anyone's texts. Within a few weeks Andre was frantic. Then Jade got tired of his conspiracy theories about her moving and looked her up.
Where Andre was instantly validated.
Tori moved to New York. Something about Broadway and a fat contract with a record label.
Everybody was shocked. And enraged. She ditched us. We understood that people weren't going to live a few blocks from one another and we might not see each other much, but what Tori did…
I'm still mad. She's slowly becoming a name. Mostly because of her singing, which I have always said is better than her acting. The Broadway thing hasn't exactly panned out.
Her first show was reviewed ok, but she was replaced a few weeks later. According to the always reliable "sources" she let it go to her head and became a pain in the ass, and since she had literally done nothing except two shows they fired her.
And that show took off. Without her.
Her and Jade are near each other geographically. Jade's with family in New Jersey, also trying to get a break and bust into the Broadway scene. As long as they don't see each other Jade won't murder her. Beck made her promise him that before she left last September. He jokingly called it the "Tori Act".
I wouldn't mind if Jade gave her a piece of her, and collectively our mind.
In a interview with a small magazine that popped up in my email only because I had "Tori Vega" as an alert, she said a boatload of crap. Depicted HA as a torture chamber, bullied by Jade, weird people, Hollywood culture is revolting and she considered herself lucky to get out.
After seeing that, I disabled the alert and blocked her on Splashface. I don't care about her 160 character thoughts.
We're all done with her.
Sorry, I was talking about Jade. She's ok last time I talked to her. Tiny apartment on Staten Island, and she has to commute just to do laundry but she's happy. She always has been a minimalist, but she won't say no to a little extra.
I view stuff like a washer and dryer to be essential to be self sufficient, but it is the Tri State area and space is limited. Makes sense to me that she had to take less to eventually get more.
She and Beck are still together. Lots of internet dates, and he's gone up to see her twice. Once was a planned visit and the other was a surprise on her first night of her first show outside of the West Coast. She had like a 30 second cameo and said only three words, but Beck ponied up the cash and saw all 30 seconds and heard all 3 words in person.
From what he told me when he got back, she broke down in his arms. She won't admit it but the grind of busting into the East Coast acting scene is harder than it is out here. And she's getting worn down. She doesn't have the cash to come visit us, but Splashface keeps everybody pretty much up to date. I spoke to her once this week on there, saying she looked nice in her newest dress.
She sent back a smiley face. And hashtagged "Thank you"
I should probably text her.
She never changed her number. I still have everyone's number except Tori. If I get asked I say "I lost it".
You can guess what I really did with it.
Beck still lives out here. He is filming a TV show now, which sounds pretty good. I saw it pop up on my feed the other day. Something about trying to find and escape from a serial killer. I admit I only scanned and that was a few weeks ago. Sounds intriguing though, and I'll definitely check it out.
Speaking of texts, I need to get together with him. Get him his pearPhone charger back.
I can't blame him for not wanting to spend $40 on a new charger. He got the pearPhone 5 with the new dock and cord that costs $40.
It's so stupid, and that's partially why I'm not getting the 5. I'm happy with the 4S.
His apartment is on the other end of LA, near the UCLA campus. He's not one for class though, he's more there for the social scene and parties.
Andre's near him too. DJ, making his own jams and carving a niche out of a packed industry.
Out of the 5 of us, he's the most commercially successful. Beck's pilot should be shooting soon, I don't try to get what he's getting, partially because it's apples and oranges, Jade's scraping by and Cat's mini empire she lucked into is for whatever reason dormant.
I'll get into Cat later.
But Andre is busy almost every weekend and most week days in the studio. Most of his Splashface posts are about working in the studio. I saw him about a month ago, and he looked tired but happy.
That leaves Cat.
I really don't like talking about her. So I suggest listening good. Maybe even taking notes. Ok? Because this might be the only time I talk about her extensively.
She's here in LA too. Just got back from shooting a movie in Canada with Sam from iCarly. Haven't seen her since last November. For a multitude of reasons.
Primarily, it's too painful for me to think much about her. Remember back around junior year? I sung her a song specifically for her. I loved her. LOVED HER.
Did she notice?
Nope, she's Cat Valentine. She just merrily went on her way, bouncing from guy to guy, oblivious to my feelings for her. Talking to Beck and Jade about it, it was a open secret. Everybody knew I liked Cat.
Except her of course. She finally got burned May of Senior year. Her boyfriend at the time…well…
It wasn't good. They had sex. Cat thought it was more. He didn't. He broke her heart 3 weeks later.
I punched him three days after that.
Cat? Still oblivious. New boyfriend, just as happy as ever. Apparently she went thru a bad breakup since the last time I saw her, but I couldn't tell you the details. As I told you, I try to keep as much space between us as I can.
Helps that she doesn't know or care.
I don't follow her on Splashface. She doesn't follow me, but she has so many followers thanks to her amazing covers she hasn't noticed.
Those covers got her signed with a music label, the same one that signed Bieber, Britney and Taylor Swift. Fittingly, all but Bieber left within a year of being signed.
Makes sense now. Cat has been working on, or at least has posted that she's been working on music since the July after graduation. She was signed by them not even two months after graduation.
With all that said how many songs do you think she's released? I'll let you guess.
…
…
You ready?
1.
One measly song. She's said in interviews that she's written at least 27. She took a picture of a CD of a supposed album, but just a rough cut.
That was a year ago. She released a single last November. That's almost a year. It'll almost assuredly be a year due to the machinations of promotions, and press leading up to a new release.
She still posts about recording new music. I'm skeptical of her actually getting a full album out. She has a roomful of talent. She's one of this generation's best voices, if not THE best voice. Her talent is practically infinite.
Yet only 1 song. She's done a few covers, but they haven't really been any good.
I blame her attempts to stay on stage honestly. If you want to sing, sing. If you want to act, act. There isn't anyone out there that can do both simultaneously and she's proving that. Both her singing and acting have been subpar.
I haven't enjoyed any of her work really since graduation. She's stretched herself too thin. Maybe the label thinks just like me and is waiting for improvement. But if so, why not order her ass into the studio, sit her down and say she can't do both. She needs to concentrate on one, do that then maybe move back to the other.
Sorry…I'm sort of irrational when she comes up. But you can kind of see why. Broken heart, wasting her vast potential, haven't seen her…
According to the others she's got a new boyfriend. Haven't met him, Jade said they met at a new year's party.
I only noticed because although I don't follow her, I can't stay away from her Splashface page.
I check every couple of days. I really shouldn't check at all. That's how I know so much. She just got back into town two days ago, and hasn't said much since.
She doesn't usually reply to the group's occasional tweets to her, mainly because her 3.5 MILLION followers dwarf our little group of 5.
We can text her anyway. I don't because I don't trust my own self control. I can't break my silence of almost 5 months just to blow up on her for no reason.
Not that she'd care anyway. She didn't even reply to my last text.
"Happy birthday Cat!"
Nothing.
Enough about her. I'll talk about me briefly. I'm ok. Still in Southern California. In my own place now. Job. Girlfriend. Her name is Megan. Met her over 2 years ago. Been dating her ever since last St. Patrick's Day. Almost 8 months.
Since graduation I started my own little comedy circuit, touring the country and making people laugh, 300 to 5,000 at a time. I enjoy it. Just got back from a tour a few weeks ago. Went to Texas, Montana, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. All paid for by a company that sponsors the whole thing. That was all luck really.
The first show I did after graduation the owner of Deka, the shoe company was in the audience. I brought the house down, and he approached me afterwards about a tour. All I have to do is be funny, sit in front of a small sign when I perform and wear their shoes. No direct partnership, barely noticeable. I like it, the old days of blatant advertising are over.
I'm glad to be home. Back to my regular job when I'm not on tour. Speaking of that, it's at a Pear Store. I'm an associate, one of those people that wears a shirt and helps you when you walk in. I like it.
Satisfies my inner nerd.
What's better is I get to wake up beside my baby.
Don't worry, not an actual, crying baby. Megan. We live together. She works in an office part time, goes to school at USC in the rest of her time, as she likes to joke.
Living together saves money on bills, and we get to see each other daily.
It's a serious relationship. We've done what you'd expect couples to do, and it's starting to come to mind that maybe I might marry Megan.
It has been 8 months, and barely an argument. She's amazing. Always supportive and never is patient when I leave home.
Buzz Buzz.
I blink and notice the rain has stopped, just as I predicted.
How long did I stand there, my legs are tired…
I sit back down on the couch, movie paused from when I decided to stretch my legs and grab my phone.
"Ok, I'll give everyone the address. See you at 10."- Rickie
What time is it now?
9!
I gotta hop in the shower.
Hopefully when I get back from the bar Megan is home from the library.