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Fake it till you make it is the mantra I repeat in my mind all the way to the 441 building, where I have to go to HR to make the transition happen.
I debate stopping by wardrobe first to change back into my street clothes but decide to get this done with lest I chicken out. I’m stepping out of the elevator on the second floor when a voice I hadn’t heard in forever calls my name.
“Luiza.” My name is being pronounced like ‘Louisa’, and it grates on my nerves. I see Colin standing up from one of the armchairs in the lounge. “Oh my God, it’s really you.” He opens his arms expecting a hug. I’m usually a hugger. I love hugs. I believe in their healing power. But I save my hugs for people I actually care about. Colin is not included on that list.
When I first interviewed for a position at Movieland, I was among a group of twenty candidates. Colin was among them. From the very first time he opened his mouth, I realized all I needed to know about him: he’s the most annoying person I’ve ever met. There’s not one thing he does that doesn’t annoy me. From the way he pronounces my name, to the loud noises he makes when he chews. For the entire month we had shifts together as newcomers in the team, I avoided him like the plague.
I hadn’t seen him in months, ever since he changed teams.
I awkwardly pause outside of the elevator, waving my hand in front of me to greet him from afar. He quickly readjusts, pretending he never intended to hug me in the first place.
“Colin.” I force a smile. “Hi.”
His eyes roam over my body, taking in the uniform. “You’re still at the front gate?”
The way he says it, like it’s a job that’s beneath him now that he moved on to the MovieTour, makes me defensive of my job. How dare he look down on it when he was hired for exact same position back in January?
“It’s my last day, actually.” That nugget of information sparks a new interest in him, like my climbing to higher places suddenly makes me worthy of his time again. So, I make a point to add, “I’ll miss it, though. I loved it there.”
His face contorts in a mixture of disapproval and disgust as if he can’t possibly conceive the idea of someone liking their work at the front gate. But I did. And I’m grateful for it.
I wait a second to see if he’s going to try to argue, but he completely loses track of our conversation when he sees something behind me that has his jaw dropping to the floor and his eyes going wide.
Confused, I frown at him before turning to see what has caused such reaction from him, but before I can do that, an all-too-familiar voice calls my name.
“Luiza?”
I haven’t seen Winter in a week, since he dropped me off at work and so unenthusiastically congratulated me on being cast. Not that I had expected to hear from him again, but I didn’t not expect it either. He’d been the first person to learn I had gotten my dream job. He’s the person I’ll be working the closest with. He has my number.
And yet it’s been radio silence from him ever since.
“Winter Davis?” It’s Colin’s voice that breaks the silence, as I stare at Winter waiting for him to say what he wants with me. Only then I remember the guy I was just talking to. “Oh my God. It’s really you. Right here, in front of me.”
Winter’s eyes bounce between me and Colin, trying to size up the situation.
“He’s your friend?” he asks me.
Colin speaks before I can. “Yes. Yes, Luiza and I are friends. Do you know each other?” He’s talking so fast his voice has gone up an octave. “It’s so nice to meet you, Winter. I’m a huge fan.”
“It’s Davis,” Winter corrects him in a polite but terse manner, accepting his outstretched hand for a quick handshake.
After Olivia had told me about Winter being famous, a former child star from one of Movieland’s biggest TV hits, something had been nagging me. Everyone called him Davis. Not Winter. Or Winter Davis. He was Davis to everyone.
Except, when he first introduced himself to me, he said his name was Winter.
And the day of the audition, when I called him Winter Davis outside the Palace Theater, he corrected me and said, “Just Winter.”
“Davis, sorry,” Colin apologizes, looking flustered. He brings his hand, the one Winter just shook, close to his chest if he to safeguard it. I picture him never washing his hand again just so he can keep Winter’s germs with him. That’s how stupidly starstruck he looks right now.
Apparently, everyone knows Winter Davis. I’m the only Martian who’d never heard of him before.
“Winter,” Colin starts but quickly corrects himself. “Davis, would it be okay if I asked for a picture? I’m a huge fan of School Hallway, and oh my God! I can’t believe I’m working with you now—”
“You’re not. You work at the park,” Winter cuts him off abruptly. I whip my eyes his way, indignant. Yes, Colin is probably the most annoying person to ever walk this planet, but Winter doesn’t need to be this rude.
“So do you,” I remind him.
“It’s different.”
