The Writer and the Host

Chapter 10

For the next two hours, everyone was working on the new ending for the show. Cilan and May started writing two new songs while the choreography teacher was called in to figure out new dances with the cast. I, on the other hand, was sitting down in the front row of the auditorium, writing the princess's ending with Sonia, Dawn, Kenny, and Bonnie, using a pen and a notebook. But every word I wrote down was forced and empty. Not one line of dialogue or action had any effort put into it. The more I wrote, the more I wanted to rip the pages off my notebook and tear it into tiny pieces. Sonia, Dawn, Kenny, and Bonnie were struggling to be of any help because they also knew deep down that this ending was out of place from the rest of the story.

"Ugh, this is so irritating," Sonia complained childishly. "Why did the princess have to pick now of all times to make us change anything in the show, let alone the ending?"

"No kidding," Kenny said. "Heck, she knew what the ending was the whole time, so she had all school year to pull something like this on us."

Dawn and Bonnie were sitting on my right side and looking me concerned. I gave them a sad look, knowing that they have likely figured out why Princess Miette was doing this. I sighed and silently went back to writing. It wasn't long, however, before I heard footsteps, and I looked up to see Drew walking towards us with a serious look.

"Drew, what are you doing off stage?" Sonia asked. "Shouldn't you be rehearsing with the others?"

"We're taking a break right now," he answered before turning to me. "Serena, I need to talk to you."

Immediately, I dropped my notebook and pen and stood up to face him.

"Please tell me you have an idea of why this is happening," I begged.

Dawn and Bonnie stood up, realizing what is on my mind while Sonia and Kenny looked at me, confused. Drew sighed and gave me a nod before he answered.

"It was Paul," he said. "He told Calem about you and Satoshi."

"What? How could he?" Dawn asked, shocked. "Doesn't Paul know what he's caused by doing that?"

"He knows, and he doesn't care," Drew said sharply to Dawn. "He also said he hopes that the show will get shut down so that you will stop bringing up your role to him."

Dawn looked at Drew, shocked, and asked, "What are you saying?"

Drew rolled his eyes, and he said, "Get a clue. What do you think I'm saying, Dawn? I'm saying Paul doesn't care about you. He's annoyed with you. He doesn't love you and he will never love you. You've been wasting your time on someone who really is cold-hearted and hates spending time with you or anyone else!"

Dawn kept staring at Drew, unable to believe what he just said. Bonnie, Kenny, and I were also surprised by Drew, though a part of Kenny and I was relieved that someone had finally said it to Dawn's face for her own good. Dawn then turned to the stage where Paul was talking to some of his fellow hosts before he overheard Drew and looked at her. The purple-haired host smirked at Dawn unashamedly, pleased that reality got through to her. Dawn's eyes began to water and her hands began to shake, devastated that her dream was crushed. Before anyone could say a word, she ran out of the auditorium, fighting the urge to cry.

"Dawn!" Kenny cried out as he chased after her, worried for the girl he cared for.

Drew frowned sadly, regretting how he broke the truth to Dawn. I patted his shoulder for comfort until Sonia stepped in and broke the moment.

"Okay, back up," she said before turning to me. "What's this about you and Satoshi somehow being the reason that we're redoing the ending?"

Drew's pupils shrunk as he realized what he said earlier, and Bonnie was also worried that someone had discovered the secret. But while part of me was also uneasy about Sonia learning the truth, I was too stressed with everything that was happening to care.