Sitting down, Dream nervously adjusted the off shoulder dress she was wearing. It was uncomfortable and scratchy, the neckline was too low, and the dress was too short. Dream was a hundred percent more of a hoodie and jeans type of girl, and she didn't exactly appreciate E! Entertainment's attempts to completely change who she was as a person, but sometimes, sacrifices were necessary.
"Right here," the secretary entered the room, handing her a contract. "I need you to sign here, here, you already signed here last time, let's see...oh, and don't forget to sign here, here, here, and here," she pointed to the places where Dream had to sign her name.
"Okay," Dream said awkwardly, twirling the pen before signing her name in the designated places. She had to sign her name hundreds of times already. Was this many signatures necessary?
The secretary left the room.
"Once you sign the contract, you and your friends will need begin to start working on theme songs and such," Mr. Harbert told her. "I'll have a few music producers meet with you to work that out."
"Great," Dream grinned, signing her name with a flourish, "I can't wait to start, Mr. Harbert."
"It's definitely a pleasure to work with you too," Mr. Harbert gave her a pleasant nod, as she stood up and prepared to leave.
"Yep, I'm so excited," Dream told him sincerely. "Because of my personal experiences, this is something I'm really, truly, passionate about. And, I still can't believe I get to work with E! Entertainment. I have to pinch myself from time to time because I can't believe this is real."
He chuckled. "It's real, all right. I look forward to the premiere of Acadreamia."
Acadreamia. That seemingly so perfect yet ultra-cringe name they came up with for the show.
As Dream stood up, about to leave the room, she heard a voice say, "Wait!" She spun around.
"Mr. Parkings?" she frowned in surprise. He had been at the majority of the meetings, but he hadn't ever said much.
"I just wanted to say...thank you," he nodded at her.
"Of course," Dream gave him a tight-lipped smile. "I should be thanking you for giving me this really great opportunity. Really." And for hiring your psychopathic cousin to work at this school, causing hundreds of deaths, she silently added. Yes, you are indeed responsible for that. Although, the whole drama with Mrs. Woods did kind of start this thing, so I don't know if I have a right to complain. She paused for a moment. My life was put in danger many, many times. Of course I have the right to complain.
She was just about to push open the door when she heard a sound coming from the pocket of the dress she was wearing.
"I learned from you that I do not crumble, I learned that strength is something you choose..."
"Sorry," she quickly muttered, hurrying out the room to answer her phone.
"All of the reasons, to keep on believing, there's no question, that's a lesson, I learned from you..."
Dream glanced at the caller ID. Savannah. Seriously? Didn't she know that Dream had a lot of meetings with Mr. Harbert, especially around this time? She grudgingly answered the phone. "What?" she asked in annoyance.
"Wow, hello to you too."
Dream sighed. "Why are you calling me? Can't this wait?"
"This is urgent, okay?"
"What?"
"Do you remember Lili Robinson?"
"Short hair, kinda shy, the girl whose life we saved? Yeah, I think I do. What about her?"
"She's...dead. And the police are almost certain it was a murder. A planned murder, to be exact."
---
"After my experience, I just feel so passionate towards this cause. Like, education is important. And no one should ever be denied a good education," on-screen Dream said, folding her hands in her lap.
The video cut to Savannah. "My school shut down for a few weeks due to security reasons regarding a certain teacher. No one should ever have to go through that."
The video continued, showing multiple clips of Zac, Sawyer, Axel, and Chloe speaking.
Finally, it came to its big conclusion, cutting to the six of them laughing while posing for a group picture, pausing just as the picture was taken.
"Acadreamia," the words appearing on the screen read, "Starring Dream Cadison, Savannah Jameson, Sawyer Jameson, Zac Tyler, Axel Hunter, and Chloe Scott. Premieres Saturday, August fifteenth, at eight pm EST."
As the video on Dream's TV came to its end, Dream leaned back, satisfied, as her dad and Ava applauded.
"That was beautiful," Ava commented, "And so inspiring."
Her dad smiled too. "I'll miss you when you leave tomorrow to start. But I'm just so, so, proud of you."
Dream forced a smile. While her dad and Ava's comments were encouraging, she couldn't help but feel shaken at the thought of Lili's death. What happened? Mrs. Woods and Sinclair were both jailed, how could they have done this?
Was there someone else out there? Was she even safe?
"You know," she said suddenly, "You two are used to moving around a lot."
"Well yeah," her dad said.
"Why don't you...come with us?"
"Come...with...you?" her dad echoed.
"Yeah."
"Dream, this is...I'd like to. But are you sure?"
"Yeah," Dream nodded. "Really sure."
Beside her dad, Ava was nodding too. "Really?"
"Yes," Dream said, shrieking when she was attacked by Ava and her dad hugging her.
Well, there's that, she thought.
She was starting a new chapter of her life, this time, as a reality television star, and with both her friends and her family by her side.
---
The End
A/N: Thanks so much for reading!! My super sappy long message will be in the next chapter XD for no particular reason at all besides me being totally random
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The Mrs. Woods Mystery
Teen Fiction"Between you and me, I specifically requested to be in Mrs. Woods' class," Zac said, slightly louder so Dream could hear him. "What?! Why would you do that?" "To investigate," Zac admitted. "Investigate what?" "It's a horrible thing," Zac sa...
