Cressida Starr, rising, well, star, entered her apartment wearily. She could hear the sounds of a party next door at Penny Pizzazz's to which she had an open invitation, but right then, she was far too tired to party, even if she wanted to. She dropped her purse on the counter, kicked off her shoes into her closet, and fell onto her bed. She let out a sigh. Yes, even though she had ample reason to celebrate, she just landed the biggest role of her career so far, she was just too exhausted.
She let out a sigh, rolled over on her bed, and placed an arm over her eyes. Her eyelids began to droop as she thought over the script. It was a romantic adventure about two highschool sweethearts drifting away from each other because of life and unseen circumstances, part of which involved a dangerous secret the guy had. He had broken up with her to protect her, but she was brought into it unwillingly, and once the whole thing was over, the two rekindled their love and promised to be married to each other within the year. A tear dropped from her eye. The beginning half was eerily similar to her own romance. Her highschool sweetheart had broken up with her not long after they had completed college and he had moved to Glimmerbrook. Something happened to him in Glimmerbrook, but he wouldn't tell her, saying it was too dangerous for her to know and that he would come for her once he had everything taken care of. That had been five years ago. Five years. And she still loved him, still longed to hear him coming through her front door. Even now, she could practically hear him opening up her door and walking into her apartment, his green eyes lighting up with a smile.
She sat up with a bolt. Someone was coming through her front door! But who could it be?
"Cress?"
Cressida let out a soft sigh followed by a chuckle, it was just Penny. "In here!"
Penny Pizzazz entered Cressida's bedroom. "Hey, how was it? You look tired. Is my party too loud for you?"
Cressida shook her head as she sat up. "No, you're fine Penny! I'm used to it by now." She then broke into a grin. "And . . . I got the part!"
Penny squealed before wrapping Cressida in a tight hug. "Oh, I'm so happy for you! You're going to be fantastic!" She paused and really looked at her friend. "So then, those are happy tears, right?"
Cressida chuckled and explained the story. "I was just trying to get into the character's shoes, that's all. We did some shooting today, so I'm rather tired. Then again, being up since four a.m. doesn't help either."
"Oh wow, four a.m.!?" Penny looked at her in shock while Cressida nodded. "Yes, you are absolutely pooped! Are you going to have the same schedule?"
Cressida shrugged. "It all depends on if the director needs a specific time for a shot. Otherwise, it's possible. I mean, tomorrow I have to be there at five."
"Wow, I'd better go and let you get some sleep!" She hugged Cressida again. "But I really am happy for you!"
"Thanks Penny! I'm just going to have a little nap first, then I might come over to your party."
"Oh definitely! You have a great reason to celebrate!" She hugged Cressida quickly. "Ooh, this is so exciting!" After wishing her sweet dreams for a nap, Penny left. Cressida smiled as she layed back down. Penny had been so supportive of her ever since they met and tried to help her jumpstart her acting career. Cressida let out a breath, she was competing with well-known stars like Judith Ward, Lola Belle, Holly Alto, Tiara Angelista, and Venessa Jeong, and it seemed a bit intimidating. She bit her lip, but she was determined to make her way up the ranks. Her mind went back to the script, and then straight to him. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander over his image, at least, how she remembered him from the last time she saw him. They had met at a cafe, and his green eyes just seemed to light up upon seeing her. But the instance his face fell was the first clue she had that something was wrong. She had asked about it at first, but he steered her towards a different conversation, mainly talking about her life. It wasn't until she reached for his blond head to lure him into a kiss that he dropped the news that he couldn't see her anymore. She begged him to tell her why, but all he would tell her was that he made a mess, he needed to clean it up, and there were bad people involved. He kissed her forehead, and was gone.
She woke up with a start. Had memories become dreams? But that kiss, it felt so real! She blinked a few times before shaking her head. It wasn't possible, there was no way he had been there. She had never told him where she lived! She yawned as she rubbed her eyes and stretched. She glanced at the clock, she had been asleep for two hours! Well, Penny's party was going to continue until ten that night and she did want to celebrate landing this role, so she got up and changed into party wear. She freshened up and went over to Penny's, unaware that a glowing owl was peering through her window.