Stars in the Making

Chapter 3: Time spent with Zen

 Zen and I walk to the diner, enjoying the warm afternoon air together. We walk in a comfortable silence, soaking in the outdoors together. I enjoy going on walks. It makes me feel more free, walking or running in the streets of my city.

We enter the diner. He holds the door open for me. I step inside, thanking him.

It's a very warm atmosphere, the diner has very few people, especially since we are here at three thirty on a Monday. We are told to sit wherever we like. Zen and I choose a booth in the far back, where we are less likely to be spotted.

"So, how are you feeling about the cast?" I ask Zen.

"I haven't heard of any of them before, so I'm excited to see their careers develop," he says, flipping through the menu. "I am most excited about you in the cast."

"I, ah, thank you," I say, rubbing my shoulder. He smiles back at me, and I mirror his smile. "I am most excited about you, too."

The waitress comes and asks for our drink orders. I gave up drinking soda years ago to make sure my vocal chords are best for performances. It started as just cutting it out two weeks before any performance, but then I joined improv. I had performances all the time and couldn't always predict when I would have a performance, so I cut it out entirely. The both of us order water. We chat while we wait for the waitress to take our order.

"So, MC," Zen says. "I would like to get to know you better."

"What would you like to know?" I respond, tucking and untucking my hair behind my ear.

"What are you willing to share?"

I twirl my hair around my finger, thinking. What would he be interested in knowing about me?

"Well, I've always been a theatre kid," I say. I wait for a reaction, but receiving none, I continue, "I have probably over one hundred plays and or so under my belt, about twenty of those from my youth."

I continue to tell him about my favorite plays I have acted in, how I got into theatre. I end up rambling about my high school production of Pirates of Penzance. He gives me little responses to show he is listening and still interested, and watches intently as I explain. I go on to tell him about my friends in high school, and what kind of student I was outside of theatre. I don't realize how long I have gone on about it, but it's long enough for our food to have already arrived.

"So... That's a bit about me." I laugh nervously, realizing how long I had talked. "I'm sorry to have talked for so long."

"I enjoyed hearing about you," he says, shifting in his seat. "You're very interesting. I would love to get to know you even more."

"Well, it's your turn to share," I say, cutting up my food.

"Well, I am part of a charity group," he says. "I love doing things for charity. My favorite donations we give are to the youth, since my childhood was..." He scratches at his arm. "Well, I will tell you that one day."

He continues telling various random things about him, from the charity organization - called the Rika's Fundraising Association - all the way to his morning routine.

I enjoy every second of our conversation. We talk for what feels like forever, getting to know each other. By the end of our early dinner, I feel like I had known him for years.

At the end of the meal, the both of us fight over who gets to pay the bill. He argues that a princess shouldn't have to pay, while I argue that this is how I'll repay him for letting me come over. He convinces our waitress to let him take the whole bill in the end. I already begin to plan how I will slip the cost of the meal to him later.

We leave the diner together and walk back to his house. We decide to practice lines and help Zen fully memorize his lines.

"So, how is it you are already fully memorized?" He asks. "I am only halfway there. Memorization is so hard!"

"It's about making connections," I explain. "Your brain only has so many slots for short term memory. And when you don't make a connection in your brain to what you are memorizing, it won't work. It'll go into short term memory."

"How do I make connections?" He asks me.

"You make connections a couple ways. How I do it is I have a familiar scent that I use to memorize. I use a different perfume for each piece I learn. This time, Moonberry Shine, which is a berry scent. I won't use a berry scent for a while." I reach into my bag and show him my perfume. "I spray it on my chest and wrists." I spray the perfume on as I explain where they go. I continue to explain why you put it in those areas.

"Another way people will make connections is by taste. In school, I would use chewing gum for each subject. The taste or scent connects your lines you are memorizing to it, that way you are able to memorize it and remember it when you have that scent or taste."

"Thats crazy..." Zen mutters.

"Do you want to try?" I ask. He nods. "Would you like to use my perfume?" I ask jokingly.

"Could I?" He asks. Shocked, I nod, and pass him my perfume. "Thank you, I wouldn't want two different scents mingling when on stage."

"Are you just saying that because you don't want to get up?" I tease. He sprays his neck and his wrists.

"No, I like berry scents," he tells me. "Especially on a pretty lady like you."

I feel my heart rate increase. I am used to compliments, but hearing them from Zen makes me feel much better than the compliments I get from anyone else.

"Thank you," I say. "It is one of my favorite scents, too. Although... I may like peppermint more."

He smiles. "Thank you. We should probably get into practice now."

I nod. We launch into the scenes we have together. I enjoy practicing with him; he is a fun acting partner. We practice together for hours, enjoying each other's company. Around eight, I decide it is time for me to go home, since we both are getting tired. I leave, excited to see him again tomorrow. 

Hello everyone! this chapter was a lot of fun to write. Please remember to vote and comment as usual!

~Ali<3