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GENEVIEVE
Every night seemed like a big night by this point. Even bigger if in less than three hours you had yet another preview performance and you were currently having a photoshoot with sneakers.
As more I was yelled at to smile, the less my smile wanted to come out. We had taken over two hundred photos of me wearing the same pink and white shoes.
Why would you need so many photos?
The big warning was that one of these photos was going to be distributed nationally and that I had an image to uphold.
I know, I know. Broadway's golden girl.
The title felt too big for me. Yes, I did get cast as Annie. Yes, I did get a partnership and am currently stuck in New York. Yes, I have been interviewed for five magazines in less than a week. Yes, I get it. I got myself into this mess because I wanted to prove to people that I could handle it. And I was seemingly doing it well because everyone thought I was having the time of my life.
I wasn't having the time of my life as I sat on the floor of the small bathroom, trying to catch my breath.
I wasn't having the time of my life when I got so nervous I couldn't breathe.
I wasn't having the time of my life when I couldn't stop biting my nails because my mind was full of what-ifs.
I tried looking for the positive side, but it was impossible.
The only good thing was that I got to miss the filming for season three of Dance Moms. I didn't have to deal with the drama.
I still had to deal with the pressure. Even more than usual.
As the burning feeling in my chest continued, I forced myself to open my eyes as I stared at the painting on the other side of the small room.
It was blue. Like a beach. There's a Sun. It looks yellow. With a bit of . . . orange?
I managed to take a small breath as I continued staring at the painting.
There's also an umbrella. With red and white stripes. It looks cute.
Clutching onto my jeans, I gasped for air.
It has a palm tree. It's green. A lighter shade of green. It's really big.
My hands went from the jeans to my hair, trying to get it all out of my face. It was stuck due to the number of tears that rolled down my face.
There's a small chair. It has blue. It's all blue with a bit of brown.
And a sandcastle. It's not big, but it is noticeable.
How does it feel to be at the beach?
"Evie! You're gonna pay!"
"Cash? I don't think so."
It's hot but relaxing. I have lots of fun when I go there. That day, I was playing with Kenzie. We were both laughing so hard. That was after we all thought we had lost her at sea, but she was fine. She was having lots of fun.
Yeah, she looked so happy.
Without noticing, my breathing calmed down, going back to its normal routine.
She was so happy.
Standing up from the floor, I walked up to the washbasin and washed my face. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I forced myself to smile, even if it hurt. Letting out a puff of air, I shook my hands as I left the bathroom.
When I walked back to the crew, they were choosing some of the photos. The smile was too fake to handle, so I spoke up. "I've still got time. We can get some better photos than those."
"All right, let's do this." The "director", Julian, stood up from his chair.
I kept on forcing myself as I got back to the main area, walking past Kara on the way. Getting into a position, we resumed the photoshoot.
Then, I had to change clothes four times.
And shoes eight.
I was taking a ten-minute break when I heard two crew members talking. "It's eight-fifteen. Fifteen more and I'm over for the day."
My eyes widened as I grabbed my phone.
It was, in fact, eight-fifteen at night.
I rose from the seat and rushed over to Kara. "I'm late."
Instead of waiting for a response, I shoved the phone into her face.
The next few things that happened were a blur. We both rushed out of the place as we tried to get to the theater in time.
It was eight-forty seven when we arrived.
The place was more than empty.
"What happened?" I ask as I walked up to Emily.
"We couldn't do anything because we were missing all our Annies." She answers. "You were gone. Lilla and Sadie were gone. Taylor didn't make it on time, and Jaidyn had to leave due to a family emergency."
"But, I was here," I say. "I-I was busy, but I swear--"
"I know." Emily agrees. "At least not that many people were coming to today's preview. They'll be back Sunday, though."
"Of course. They paid for it and I ruined it." I mumble under my breath. "Thanks, Em."
She smiled as I walked away from her. Leaving the building, the cold air hit my face as I teared up once again. I grabbed my phone from the back pocket of the jeans and checked the date.
October 22.
My birthday.
Unlocking the phone, I entered the messaging app, tapping on the second conversation.
Giselle: I have a surprise for you!
Giselle: I'll send it later
Genevieve: You can't just tell me and leave me hanging!
Genevieve: Elle!
Giselle: Later
"Later" was six and a half hours ago.
I chuckled dryly as I put my phone away and felt the tears rolling down my face.
"Happy tenth birthday to me." My voice broke. "Can't even get a happy birthday from my own family."
• • •
Uh, sorry, I guess? Feel bad about Eves, but gotta talk about this dynamic. Every couple of chapters, I'll have a "Genevieve interlude". The chapter will focus on her side of the story, just as how it has been until S3, and how it'll be until she comes back. Also, the reason I took the entire Annie storyline is bc in almost every single (if not every) DM fanfic (sounds weird tbh) the character talks with Cesar and all that, but nothing ever happens. I had different ideas of what I wanted for it to happen in S3 in this story, but none of those convinced me as much as the "Golden Girl" storyline did. I thought that I could work with both sisters while still making it make sense.
Again, I am sorry about Genevieve, but I won't make any promises about it being the end. I already said to buckle up if you don't want to end up throwing up just like Paige did in S1 E8 of this story.
