Adrenaline

03 | sophomore slump

"I never know what to order here," I say while I drape the napkin across my lap. A glass of apple juice waits for me.

Lucy Cohen brushes her honey blonde hair over her shoulder. The sun catches all the right spots, illuminating her fresh highlights. "I already did. Your girl is starving."

"Tell me about it." A faint breeze cools my skin while I take a sip of my drink. "How are you? You've been busy."

Lucy shrugs. "Not as busy as you've been. How was the show?"

"I think I can safely say I've finally recovered after a week and a half." I flick the charm on my friendship bracelet. "You think I'm getting too old for this?"

"You're twenty-four."

I pause. "Is that a yes?"

The melody of Lucy's laugh is one of the greater joys in life. While we don't hang out as much as we'd like to because of our busy schedules, she's one of the few people I've met in this industry. That she surrounds herself with an army of amazing women is the cherry on top of her sweet personality.

"Zoe said she's sorry she couldn't make it." Lucy's smile falters before returning to her full glory. Being an actress means being able to disguise her feelings when she needs to, but not enough that it's impenetrable because she's still human.

"It's alright." I wave off her comment. "I know she's been staying low lately."

"She's officially converted me." Lucy gestures at the surrounding space. "Save the planet. Play nice with the animals. All that good stuff."

I cock my head to the side. "Weren't you already vegetarian before?"

"Yes, but now I get to feel even more superior," Lucy jokes.

I reach for my glass and lift it in the air. "Cheers to vegans and women."

The server brings our food and we take a brief pause while Lucy prepares our bowls.

After eating for a few minutes, she tosses me an extra napkin and points at the corner of her mouth. "You've got dressing on your face."

I swipe it off. "This break has been the best thing I've done in over a year. Can you believe it's been that long since I did just....absolutely nothing?"

"We were all debating taking a trip to New Zealand soon," Lucy says. "Zoe wants to do all of those Lord of the Rings tours."

"Lord of the Rings?" I scoff. "Since when does she like those?"

"I'd be hard-pressed to think of a movie she doesn't actually like," Lucy responds, waving her fork in the air. A few pieces of quinoa fly off and conveniently land on one of her napkins. Even when Lucy is being a messy eater, she does it with grace. "But if it happens, we were thinking of maybe spending some time in Australia too."

"Never been."

"You should come with us!" Lucy exclaims. "Lauren and Seira, too. We can make it a fun girls' trip."

"Maybe after this next album is done," I laugh. "I'll need a break before we tour again."

Lucy takes a bite of sliced radish. "The last time we saw each other, you said you were aiming to drop it next year."

"That's the idea," I say. I use the back of one of my rings to scratch an itch on my neck, arising from the mere mention of the album. "There's a lot of....pressure."