I glared at her. “As long as it takes. I’m telling you, I think this might lead somewhere.”
“Or you had a vision of the future, and you’re looking for someone who isn’t born yet,” she mused.
I grunted and snapped the album shut.
“It was her,” I said. “It was my mom’s memory. I don’t know how, but I’m sure of it.”
Isabella sank into the chair adjacent to me and pursed her lips in empathy.
“Alright,” she said. “I’ll help you, but on one condition.”
I pouted as I waited to hear my sentence.
“After this, you go to the dorm with me, take a shower, we get gussied up and you go to the play auditions with me,” she said.
“What auditions?”
I stared at Isabella as she quickly put makeup on using the mirror of her vanity.
“Are you serious right now? They announced it weeks ago! It’s only going to be the most tragic and amazing love story ever!”
I winced. “Fine. If it’ll get you and Roslyn off my back then I’ll go, but I must get through this stack.”
She glanced at my towering pile of bound leather books and shook her head like I was an insufferable nerd.
I couldn’t believeI’d let her talk me into this.
The theater was in pure chaos when we arrived. There were students everywhere and I was so concerned about getting ploughed into that I could hardly take in the incredible design of the theater itself. The red velvet chairs lined the upper balconies in perfectly curving rows; many filled with students who sat sideways and chatted with each other. Intricate wrought-iron railings lined the upper areas like a theater you might find in a large city. The stage was already lit and looked ready for a performance with several students rushing about with papers in their hands. Intricate moldings with golden leaves outlined the stage where Professor Elara was shouting at Adepts who were running around trying to follow her instructions. High overhead, a chandelier of jewels hung, casting glittering lights on the ceiling, which was decorated with frescoes.
“Anyone here for auditions and not to ogle and take up space should report to me immediately!” Professor Elara shouted at the crowd.
Isabella yanked my arm and pulled me with her.
“Isabella,” I said, but she didn’t stop. “I wasn’t planning on auditioning.”
“Hush,” she said when we got to Professor Elara.
“What role are you looking for, dears?” she asked, her tone irritable.
“Any,” Isabella said.
I stood there, gaping when she looked at me. “Anna, dear, oh, how good to see you are auditioning! Lovely!”
Isabella watched the scene unfold like a dirty fae in disguise and I pinched her making her yelp quietly beside me as I smiled at Professor Elara. It didn’t matter though. It’s not like I was going to get a part. I had no idea how to act.
We made our way to an open block of seats toward the middle of the floor when Roslyn and Blake neared us. Seeing him, I straightened and tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Are you two here to audition?” Roslyn asked.
“Well, Anna is, I really want to be in charge of costumes,” she said.
My jaw slacked as I glared at her but she innocently avoided making eye contact.
“Funny how these things happen,” I said. “What play is this for anyway?”
“The Tragedy of Aryus Ryth’Enir,” Isabella said. “We read it earlier in the year in Forgotten Lore.”
Oh.
