Scars To Your Beautiful : A Modern Beauty and the Beast retelling ✔

28. Waiting for that moment

Mr. Campbell directed the actors through the scenes and Callie watched their interaction once she was done with the odd jobs she was assigned to do.

Maddie waved her hands frantically. "Am I supposed to show complete shock in this scene or just hide my surprise with a small gasp?"

Mr. Campbell bounced his gaze around everyone in the room, and finally placed it on a beaming Maddie. "Your total surprise would be necessary. Just don't exaggerate it. I can't handle any more of that."

Damien Pierce laughed and wrapped his arms over his pouting friend's shoulders. "Did you hear, Madeleine? No more overacting."

Maddie swatted his arm when he called her name out in full, earning another laugh from Damien Pierce. "Shut up, Pierce."

Callie held her own grin and turned her head around when she felt someone tap her arm. Her smile widened when she saw Naomi leaning against the table next to her. "Hey you. You added a new piercing."

Naomi self consciously touched her right ear, which held a trail of many piercings around her earlobe. "I had it fixed yesterday. Thanks for noticing."

Callie hummed. "It looks good. What's up? You've never come to see me work."

"You've never come to see me work either, but I didn't come to talk about that." Naomi's voice turned calmer. "Jacques came to see me while I was working. He wanted to talk about his lead role."

Callie groaned. She hadn't heard from Jacques in weeks and now, he was just trying to make her pissed off again. "I'm so sorry, Nae. I'll go talk to him. I'm sure he acted like a jerk. He had absolutely no right to-"

"No, no. He wasn't rude." Naomi tucked a few loose tendrils of her pink and blonde hair behind her other ear. "He was sincere about his personal problems and I really hoped you'd give him a chance."

"Personal problems?" Callie repeated. Callie didn't think she had ever seen Naomi give a shit about someone else and it surprised her.

Naomi simply stated. "His parents are going through a cut throat divorce and custody battle, and he wasn't taking it well at all. He lashed out unfairly because of his family problems."

Callie's words came out in a hushed tone. "I had no idea."

Naomi had an intense look in her cadet grey eyes. "I'm not justifying his actions. There are better ways to deal with one's angst. I just want you to give him a chance." Then she let out a scoff. "So that he'll stop popping up at my workplace, especially when I'm busy."

Callie chuckled lightly. "I'll see what I can do."

Naomi's brief smile was immediately clouded by a grunt. "How's Pierce doing up there?"

Callie followed her gaze to Damien Pierce and the other cast members rehearsing their lines. "He's surprisingly good."

"Jacques would go nuts if he knew that. But whatever." Naomi shrugged, then added quietly. "Maybe when you're not busy, I could come over anytime and we'll hang out."

Callie loved the sound of that. It felt like she wasn't seeing Naomi as much as she'd love to. "I'm down for that."

★★★
Once Callie got to see Larkin on Friday, she found him sitting on the patio and soaking in the glowing sun like he usually did. Callie couldn't help startling him for a second and she let out a loud squeak. "I did it."

The look of shock on his wide green eyes was worth it, after all. And then he switched to a scowl. "Jesus, Callista. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"