“How so?”Lilian asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
Alex shrugged.“It’s so much busy work, and for what?As soon as I finish putting on one production, it’s on to the next thing.There's no time to stop.And the professors put all the work on us TAs.”
“I never realized that before.”There was a lot about acting she’d never thought about before.Stage performances were so different from Hollywood, and even the lifestyles she saw at the faire were vastly different.People like Logan and his band of pirates made their living traveling from faire to faire, camping on the grounds.
“That’s right, you went to K-State, too, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I majored in English.Not that it's doing me much good now.”Lilian straightened a nearby stack of books to distract herself from the familiar dose of regret that hit when she remembered she had an underutilized college degree.
At first, college had felt like her savior.A place where she could get away from Tenison and talk to people who loved books as much as she did.But then she took out loans, and she realized job prospects with an English degree weren’t in high demand.
Her last two years had been nonstop stress as she applied for internships and jobs too late.In the end, she’d had no choice but to return home, tail between her legs.
For two years, she’d worked from home while living with her parents.It wasn’t the life she had imagined for herself, but it was easy to justify.Her mom needed her, the bookstore needed her.It was all true, but something deep inside her knew she was using both of those things as an excuse.
“I wish we’d known each other in college.It would have been a blast to hang out with you.”
Lilian smiled at that; they were the same age and had gone to the same school, but different majors meant different crowds.Sometimes she wondered what would have happened if she’d decided to go to grad school.She’d be living in Manhattan with Margo and Alex.Closer to an actual coffee shop, having brunch with her friends.It would be a different life.“You think?”
“Of course!The more faire friends the better.”Alex gave a wistful sigh.“I’m one year away from graduating, and I’m kind of freaking out about it.”
“And then what are you going to do?”
Her face scrunched in a look Lilian knew well.“I’m not exactly sure.I probably need to leave and find a job, but that would mean leaving all my friends and everything I’ve built up here.”
A clump of dread filled Lilian’s throat at the idea of Alex leaving.“But you’re our new pirate queen.”
Alex smiled at the sentiment.“I know!But being the pirate queen doesn’t pay the bills.”
She couldn’t argue with that.The faire paid its actors, but only enough to cover a meal and gas money.Vendors paid the faire for the space with hopes of making the money back.Lilian hadn’t paid much attention to her finances, but she knew she was in the red from her decision to stand up the bookshop.She prayed that it would pay off by the end of the season.
“Have you been looking for theaters to work at after you graduate?”
“Yeah, most of the crew head up to Chicago, but Hawk has been telling me I’d be better off going to New York.Apparently, he knows some people there.”
Lilian’s fingers froze on the keyboard.“You’ve talked to Hawk about this?”She did her best to add a casual tone to the question.She wasn’t sure if she succeeded, but Alex seemed happy to answer.
“Yeah, I mean, he needs to know if I’m going to be with the faire for the next couple years.Plus, I’ve known him a long time.He’s trying to help me out.”
“I didn’t realize you guys were friends.”
“He’s only a few years older than us.I’ve been working at the faire since I was a freshman.He had just started his master's program.We’d see each other on campus occasionally because some of my older classmates were friends of his.”
Lilian nearly spat out her coffee.It was impossible to imagine the Venn diagram that connected theater major Alex with friends of Hawk.
Alex laughed.“You look surprised.”
“I’m sorry.I assumed you didn’t like him based on our earlier conversations.I wouldn’t have badmouthed him if I’d known he was a friend of yours.”
“Oh, don’t worry.I badmouth him all the time as well.The guy is insufferable.”Alex laughed.“If it makes you feel better, we’re more like acquaintances.We’ve been to a few parties together, know the same people.But he absolutely hates that he has to see me at the faire once a year.When I was younger, I bugged the shit out of him, trying to get bigger parts.”
“But you guys are cool now?”
“As much as we can be.”Alex shrugged.“He’s always all business at the faire.It's kind of hard to be his friend.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that as well.”
“He puts up a tough front, but he can be reasoned with,” Alex said pointedly.
