Third Person

"Bye-bye, Kuuga-kun!" Sakura grinned, before shutting the front door. Misaki sighed.

"Sakura... It's been like four hours and I still have yet to memorize this all by tomorrow!" The stressed raven haired girl frowned. Sakura took a seat beside her.

"Don't worry! We'll make it work," her pink haired best friend/manager encouraged. "Here, I'll be Aaron," she offered, clearing her throat. Misaki cracked a smile.

"Aaron, what should we do? The whole town is looking for us," Misaki recited.

"Melanie, go on without me. Run away," Sakura said dramatically.

"But... Aaron... You'll come back for me, right?" she asked, her voice sounding sad.

"Yes... I will," Sakura nodded. Misaki stuck her pinky out.

"Promise?" she offered.

"Promise," Sakura concluded. The two looked at each other for a few moments, before bursting out into laughter.

"That was great," Misaki grinned. Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Totally! And I'm sure you'll rock even more when you're on set with a professional to recite lines with," Sakura added. Misaki giggled a few times more, before standing up.

"I think I'm ready for tomorrow," she said determinedly, stretching her arms.

"I think you are too. Show them you're not afraid to put on a fight!" Sakura cheered. Misaki grinned at her friend's enthusiasm.

"I would say something like 'I'm going to go make dinner now', but you know me and my cooking skills," I joke. Sakura giggled and stands up as well.

"I guess that's my cue to start cooking," Sakura jokes.

Sakura made a very healthy dinner of macaroni and cheese, and the two ate in silence.

"Oh, by the way," Sakura spoke up, breaking the silence. "Kuuga said that one of his best friends were specially recruited for the new Hirayama movie as well," Sakura said, chewing on another spoonful of mac and cheese.

"Really?" Misaki piped in. "What role is he trying out for?" she asked, genuinely curious. Sakura sucked on her spoon for a moment thoughtfully.

"I'm pretty sure he was trying out for one of the leads- Aaron if I'm not mistaken," she replied. Misaki almost choked on her food.

"W-what?! I have to pretend to be in love with your boyfriend's best friend?!" she yelled in disbelief. Sakura shrugged.

"It's not a big deal," she said. "There's a first time for everything. Besides, it's all professional, so no need to worry," she assured her anxious friend. Misaki's expression seemed to soften at her words.

"Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't be getting so worked up over this," she agreed, finishing off the last of her meal. "I'm off to bed," she announced, walking off to her respective space.

"Night," she heard Sakura call from the kitchen. Misaki closed the door to her bedroom behind her.

"Tomorrow's the day..." she muttered to herself. Yes, tomorrow is the day. Her entire career would be decided- after all, being in a Hirayama film was no joke. It could change her entire life. Misaki tried her best to shrug off the nervous feeling she had, but she couldn't. What if she failed? What if she let down Sakura and her family...

"No. I won't allow that to happen," she said to herself sharply, pinching her cheeks. Sighing, the raven haired female decided it was time to go to bed. She read her script a couple times more, before she felt her eyelids grow heavy. Allowing herself to drop the binder, she felt her body go limp as she fell asleep.

7:15 A.M.

Misaki's P.O.V.

"Misaki! Wakey wakey," I hear a voice call. What the hell... I'm pretty sure my alarm didn't sound like that.

"I'm up..." I groan weakly. Upon hearing no reply, I relax and drift back off to sleep. That is, until my crazy best friend decided to jump onto me and smack me in the face with a pillow.

"AUDITIONS ARE IN 45 MINUTES! GET YOUR LAZY BUTT UP!" she squeals. I jerk up at that. 45 minutes?! I'd better hurry up.

"What?! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?!" I ask, running over to my wardrobe and pulling out a random outfit. I ran into the bathroom with my clothing, and quickly undressed.

"You wouldn't budge!" she defends from outside of the door. I roll my eyes, before climbing into the shower. I turn the two knobs, and shudder at the feeling of the cold water against my skin. Eventually, it warms up, and I quickly wash up. Climbing out of the shower, I don't even bother to dry myself off, and instead justthrow on my outfit for the day. I open the bathroom door and fly out.

"Let's go, let's go!" I scream hurriedly, running a brush through my knotted hair. Sakura nods, slipping her beige sandals on. We both rush out of the house in a hurry, and she climbs into the driver seat of our red Mercedes, while I seat myself in the passenger seat.

"We have half an hour," she informs me. I sigh in relief. "Luckily you don't wear any makeup, or we'd be running late by now," she laughs.

"Phew," I say, leaning back in my seat. I look at the outfit I had randomly chosen. Fortunately, it looked pretty good. I wore a coffee brown short-sleeved dress that reach my mid-thigh, along with a pair of black leggings. I had cream-colored flats on, and I used a hair tie to pull my hair back into a ponytail. Feeling quite put together, I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the engine running. Soon, I heard Sakura twist the key and pull it out.

"We're here," Sakura announces. I suddenly felt very nervous again like I was last night.

"Yay..." I say weakly, opening the door and stepping out. I saw a small building with a sign that read 'Japan Hall'. I gulped. I felt a reassuring hand on my shoulder. Sakura grinned at me.

"Just like we practiced," she winks at me, before walking into the building. I trailed shortly behind her. As I entered through the door, I bumped into someone.

"Ah!" I cry. I fell backwards, cringing at the incoming pain. Only, the pain never came. Instead, I feel a pair of strong arms catch me. I peek an eye open to look at the person who caught me. He was a very tall man, with spiky blonde hair. Not to mention very captivating emerald eyes.

"Be careful," he says, allowing me to regain me balance. I can't help but blush a bit. Why the hell was this stranger making me blush?!

"T-Thank you..." I mutter, my legs feeling a bit wobbly from embarrassment and nervousness of the audition. He releases my waist, before walking off past me. I shrug my purse back onto my shoulder, and make my way to the audition room. I see three people sitting at a desk in front of a large stage.

"Ah, Miss Ayuzawa," a man with black hair says. "Right on time. Please do go up on the stage," he gestures towards the large platform in front of him. I nod, making my way up onto the stage.

"Hi, I'm Misaki Ayuzawa, 21 years old. I'm auditioning for the part of Melanie Summers," I introduce myself. I see a couple of people jot down notes.

"Okay, please read Scene 19 where Melanie is alone in her room," the black haired man, who I assumed to be Director Hirayama, instructs. I clear my throat.

"Oh, why won't mother understand?" I say in a broken voice, as if I were talking to myself. I sink down onto my knees. "I want to marry for love, not for power or status," I whisper, biting down on my bottom lip. "I just want to be free. I hate being a princess. I wish I lived my problem-free life I had before I knew I was someone with worth..." I mutter, tears threatening to spill. Yep, I learned how to cry on cue.

"Thank you, Miss Ayuzawa," he thanks me, and I step down from the stage. Of course, Sakura immediately comes up to me, squealing and showing me with hugs.

"Woo-hoo! You were brilliant, Misaki!" she congratulates me. I roll my eyes.

"I don't even know if I got in or not yet," I laugh. She grins at me.

"Yeah, but they'd be crazy to not accept someone as awesome as you!" she cheers. I smile.

"You're opinion is biased since I'm your best friend," I say, patting Sakura on the head.

"Don't ever underestimate yourself, Misaki," she pouts.