1 Chapter One

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

Nora counted her steps as she paced back and forth in her apartment.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

She worried at her lips as in anticipation of her phone to ring.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

"They said they'll call at me today" She mumbled and changed her course. She started to circle around the couch in her small living area.

"Nora, hon you have to breathe." Briana, her roommate, spoke. "It will ring."

"But it's been three fucking days, Bree. If I don't get this, I'm going to have to give up on my dream." Nora stops. She put her hands on her waist and looked at her friend with worried eyes.

She was scared.

Nora Elliot came to L.A when she was just a girl of 19. She had just dropped out of college to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. She had always dreamt big and her heart's desire was to make it as an actress in Hollywood.

As she was dropping out of her college, her father warned her about her mistake, about how every street in L.A was crawling with people wanting to make it big as an actor or an actress. He warned her of the cruel world she'd be stepping into. "Hollywood would chew you up and spit you out, kid." He had told her.

But Nora was persistent. She believed in herself. So, she threw caution to the wind and dropped of her university and fled to Hollywood.

Three years and several rejections later, Nora was at the rock bottom. She worked two jobs for minimum wages to survive in this hell of a city that was Los Angeles. In between her jobs as a receptionist at a dental clinic downtown and her waitressing job at a local diner, she would find time to go for auditions most of which she would return back from with a heavy heart.

In her three years of struggle, she'd heard it all.

"You're too tall."

"You're not the face we're looking for."

"You can't even act."

"You're pretty but not enough for Hollywood."

"Why don't you put some meat on those bones?"

And worse.

She was exhausted, but always hopeful. She believed it was her life's calling, to become an actress. To shine behind that camera and onto the world's screens. There were many moments when Nora felt beaten up, but not once did she her passion wavier.

Until now.

"I promised myself, Bree that this was going to be my last try. I've been at it for three whole years and I've got nothing but disappointments."

"You've got some good opportunities." Briana said.

"I've got all but peanuts in my pocket!" Nora yelled at no one in particular. "If this audition doesn't pull through then I'll have no option but to bow out." She dropped down to the floor on her knees.

"Nora." Briana stood up from the couch and walked over to the distraught girl on the floor. "I have a good feeling about this one." She reassured her.

Nora titled her head up and looked at the other girl, "I just feel numb."

When Nora had first came to this city, she lived in a rented garage space. She barely made scrapes flipping burgers at a local joint back then. When she realized that her job wasn't enough to help her survive. She could barely afford her rent let alone a proper meal for herself.

So, one day Nora walked into Joe's diner downtown to apply for waitress position and that is where she met Briana. Briana's father owned the diner that was passed onto him by her grandpa Joe. With a job position open and a two-bedroom apartment in the city, Nora just fit right in with Briana. And Nora was beyond grateful to her.

"What if they already found someone else?"

"What if they are just dialing your number? How would that be?" Briana plucked a weary Nora from the floor and walked her to the couch. "You've been so strong and have held onto your dream for so long. It hurts to see you like this, Nor."

"It hurts me more." Nora sighed.

A loud shrill from Nora's phone had her up on her feet. With fast and trembling hands, she picked the device from the coffee table and her heart skipped a beat as she read the number on the screen.

"It's them." She announced.

"Well, pick it up!" Briana said as she stood behind her.

Without a second's delay, Nora swiped up on the screen and pressed the device to her ear.

"Hello? Is this Nora Elliot?"

"Yes. I'm Nora." Nora's heart was beating so fast she was afraid it would leap out of her chest and run away.

Her body tensed as woman on the other end of the line continued. "Nora, I'm Sharon and I'm calling from the Netflix office…"

Upon hearing those words Nora felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. She steadied herself for whatever came next.

"… and we're so pleased to inform you that you're going to be the lead heroine opposite Jamie Xavier in our upcoming show. So, congratulations Nora!"

As the woman conveyed that message, Briana watched Nora's eyes bulge out and then her mouth opening into an 'O' before she finally spoke, "Thank you."

Briana inched closer to Nora so she could hear what caused Nora's face to look like that.

"We'll contact you again with all of the details. I'll be sending you the script very soon and it'll be great if we could meet up in the coming week to discuss your contract."

A wide smile spread across Briana's face and she circled her arms around Nora, who snapped out of shock as she digested the words she just heard. "Yes! Yes, we can meet. I'll be there." Nora said. She could finally feel the words sinking in.

She got it. She got a role on a show on Netflix opposite Jamie Xavier!

The moment Nora disconnected the call, Briana squealed. "Yay!" She sounded excited.

"I got it Bree!" Nora hugged her friend back with equal enthusiasm as they both jumped up and down, squealing in excitement.

Briana broke the hug first, "I am so fucking proud, Nora." She smiled with her heart full of love for the other girl.

"It's opposite Jamie Xavier!" Nora screeched and another loud squeal by Briana filled their apartment.

"This calls for a fucking celebration!" She announced, ablaze with excitement.