CHAPTER 11

Royal Arts Academy.

Mr Austin and Daniel headed straight to his office as soon as he arrived. It seemed like they were in a haste, and immediately they got into the office, the conversation took off.

" I have great news for you." Mr. Austin revealed after exchanging pleasantries. He couldn't wait to see the look on Mr. Daniel's face after sharing his discovery with him.

" I'm glad that today someone has good news for me," Daniel muttered, " Let's get right into it."

Mr. Austin gladly opened his PC and went straight to the folder where he saved the videos selected from the auditions. He took a glance at the content of the file, and without a blink, clicked on the very clip he couldn't get enough of.

Daniel saw the girl in the footage, and knew he had met his main character. Nevertheless, he patiently watched the clip till it was over and couldn't put into words how he felt.

His spirit resonated with that of the actress in a way that he had never felt with anyone else before. Her delivery of lines, expressions and body language spoke volumes of how talented she was as a newbie.

A fact that solidified his faith in her ability to deliver a good lead. By the look on his face, Mr. Austin knew his search was over.

" I want her as my main female lead, and I want her as a scholarship student here in Royal Arts." Daniel finally spoke, and Mr. Austin was all smiles.

" Definitely. I will make the necessary preparations for her schooling; and send you a list of possible male leads to know what you think."

" Great." Daniel stood up and they shook hands. He suddenly felt an urgency to get back to his job, with the female lead, everything was coming together. " Thank you, Mr. Austin. Looking forward to working more with you and Royal arts." He said and headed for his car.

Daniel couldn't understand just why he couldn't get the young girl out of his mind. Since he left the academy, her wide eyes popped into his mind. He felt a familiar pull to her and wondered if he'd encountered her previously.

Later on, he pinned it to the fact she was a rare talent. One he couldn't forget after her enchanting performance.

Daniel pushed the thought out of his mind, pinning it on the fact that he was so taken with her because of her rare talents and looks. Her eyes brought back memories of a certain someone, alongside a kick in the guts.

Surely, she didn't forget about him. She couldn't have moved on when he held something that belonged to her alone. He felt determined to seek her and wasn't losing hope regardless of the obstacles.

He wasn't losing hope despite the news, matter of fact he just grew a greater zeal to seek her out. He had to meet her, even if it was a gravesite, but he earnestly hoped it wasn't.

*****

Anna, Deloise, and Esther were seated in the living room. " Good afternoon ma," Anna spoke, finally breaking the long and overdue silence.

" How are you doing dear?" Ma'am Esther asked calmly.

" I'm alright, just preparing for my resumption this week." A wry smile pitched on Esther's face at her words.

" Yeah, Karen won't quite shut up about it, we are both proud of how your life is shaping up."

Esther felt happy that one of the girls she watched grow up had actual plans to do something worthwhile, meanwhile, Anna couldn't help but notice the lack of communication between Deloise and her mother.

She stylishly hit Deloise by the side, and with her eyes, willed her to say something, hinting on their discussion prior to this meeting. Deloise lost the urge to speak to her mother upon setting foot in her house.

The pep talks were useless the moment she saw her mother comfortably seated without care. Did she even mean anything at this point? Did she notice her absence or did it not mean anything to her.

Just like her dreams meant nothing to her.

Nevertheless, she decided to do what she had always done - suck up and bend to her mother's will. During the time spent away from her, she realized her mother was the light of her world.

Everything revolved around her mother, including her best friend who came by extension of her mother's best friend, Karen. How could she possibly survive without her?

She was her only family and despite her dream of acting, she couldn't imagine herself doing it without the consent of her mother. It wasn't possible. Who would be her active support system? There wasn't anyone else.

Deloise felt a headache hit from her thoughts and decided to bite the bone. There was nothing to lose anyways.

" So you've decided to disown me?" The words rolled with an air of arrogance that shuffled Esther's feathers.

" Good afternoon." Esther spoke softly, too soft for comfort; her eyes focused on her daughter, and her face wore a permanent scowl at her tone.

" I don't want to play good girl today, Mom. You should answer, and let's be done with this conversation." Deloise spewed with disregard, having had enough.

Anna saw the exchange leading to w disaster and immediately dragged Deloise out the sitting room. " Why are you being difficult? For goodness sake, we talked about this! Why are you letting your head get in the mix? " She asked in exasperation, attempting to keep her voice low.

" I'm sorry. I-I just wanted to know why she said that. " Deloise stuttered, " Why would she use our relationship against me like it meant nothing to her? " She asked rhetorically, visibly hurt.

" Your being rude wouldn't get you the answers you need. We need to go back in there and solve the equation. Okay? " Anna got an affirmative nod from Deloise.

Meanwhile, Esther felt scared. She had never seen Deloise in such character and it freaked her to imagine she pushed her off the cliff.

While Anna spoke animatedly by the corner, her mind fell back to the last person she put up with those conditions and the results that followed. Her heart ached as her psych relived the traumatic experience, poking a barely healed wound.

Esther sensed the girls coming around and immediately placed her guard up. Every emotion formerly reflected disappeared, and She resumed a stoic position, ready for the final tug.

She was ready to accept whatever happened. Maybe her life was made to be that way, maybe no one could ever love her enough to choose her - Not her daughter, and definitely not him.

Anna and Deloise sauntered into the living room and cautiously sat on the couch with Anna beside her. This time, she wasn't cajoled to speak.