PERFECT TWO! ricky bowen

CHAPTER NINE, a night of nights

"Does the dress twirl? I feel like that it needs to twirl." Miss Jenn spoke. She and Ophelia were in the dressing room at school the next day as she helped her pick out a dress for a conference that revealed Quinn's new movie and how she would be the female lead.

"Oh, yes, definitely. The dress needs a twirl." Ophelia agreed with a grin as she went through the clothing rack full of dresses that were put in the dressing room for her.

"Ophelia, I can't believe I'm helping you find a Hollywood ball gown." Miss Jenn gushed.

"Oh, please." Ophelia laughs, rolling her eyes. "You're making it sound like I'm famous."

"You're on your way to be." Miss Jenn smiles at her. "And I'm so proud of you for how far you've come."

Ophelia smiles softly. "Thank you, Miss Jenn. That means a lot to me." She admits. She turns back to keep looking for a dress, pausing when she realized something. "I don't know if I should be doing this..."

"What do you mean, dear?" Miss Jenn asked softly.

"I mean...Like, do I really want to be a movie star? Or do I wanna go to college and be a photographer?" Ophelia questions as she began to ramble. "I haven't had really any time to focus on photography and honestly I miss it. Like, it's been so long since I got my camera out that it's collecting dust." She admits. She sighs. "What if I go to this conference thing and decide I want to stay here and go to college?"

"Whatever you decide, I'll support you and your choices." Miss Jenn smiles reassuringly. "Just follow your heart and what makes you happy."

Ophelia smiles softly at her, appreciating her words. "Thank you, Miss Jenn." She's quiet for a few moments before speaking again, sounding nervous. "And then there's Ricky." Ophelia says, feeling her heart race more as she overthought this. "This movie would be filmed in New Zealand...No one else knows but you, not even my parents know." She confesses. "I'm so nervous and scared about how he'll react and I just-"

"Hey." Miss Jenn gently cuts her off, stepping forward and resting a hand on her shoulder. "Breathe. Relax." Ophelia does as she's told, taking deep breaths and relaxing her tense shoulders. "There you go." She smiles softly. "Now, don't think about the 'what ifs' and overthink. I know for a fact that boy loves you and would support you no matter what you choose. I have no doubt about that."

"Jennifer." Mr. Mazzara peaks into the room before Ophelia could say anything. "A word." Miss Jenn sent her a smile and then walked out to talk with Mr. Mazzara. Ophelia sighed heavily and kept looking through the dresses, pausing when one in particular caught her eye.

It was a dress where the bottom half was a very light pink, almost a white color that was long and big enough for the perfect twirl. The top half was black, the sides of the top half having sparkles that were in different designs and it had small black straps. She grinned, walking over to the closest mirror excitedly. She held the dress up in front of her to see what it would look like if she wore it, her grin widening and eyes lighting up. She knew this was the dress for her and it was perfect.

****

It was now opening night and everyone were getting ready. Ricky had been handing out cards in honor of Nini who had asked him if he could hand out cards for her like she usually did on opening nights. Ricky was confused about not seeing Ophelia anywhere, he figured she would be there somewhere and no one knew where she was when he asked. Then suddenly he turned around when he heard familiar voices and a smile tugged on his lips.

"Did we miss half-hour call? And does it matter if we're not in the show?" EJ questioned, walking into the dressing room, hand in hand with Fallon, who was smiling brightly.