ASTRID looked at the time on his Terminal. It wasn’t even eight in the morning. And yet, here he was standing in front of his apartment building waiting for Ellis to come. He didn’t mind though. He just felt a bit of regret since he wouldn’t be here once Reas returned from military academy.

            It’s the weekend, so the other was allowed to return back home. His brother would probably be back before noon. That’s why he had already cooked lunch for the other. Hopefully, he could return before evening so he and Reas could have dinner together.

After a while, a flying car stopped in front of him. He opened the door of the car and sat on the passenger’s seat. 

“Good morning, Sister Ellis,” he greeted the woman sitting on the driver’s seat with a smile.

The other smiled back. “Good morning. Did you have a good rest?”

“Yes, I slept quite early.”

Ellis smiled at that answer. There were no dark shadows under Astrid’s eyes, even his skin was radiant. Showing that he really did sleep early without any worries. Which was a good thing. Because it meant that he wasn’t nervous about his audition today. But then again, Astrid did seem like the type who wouldn’t be anxious about things like that. Probably because of his faith in his talent.

This also showed that the other had a strong mentality. The type that was not prone to crumble under pressure. Which was a good quality for an actor to have. At least, she wouldn’t have to worry that Astrid’s performance would be affected because he’s nervous or something like that.

She started the car and flew it to the direction of their destination for today – the main building of Kaleido, the biggest entertainment company in the Empire. They were going there today because the audition for the fourth male lead for the TV drama [The Great War] would be held there. 

The reason for that was Kaleido was one of the investors of this drama. When Ellis found that out, she was quite torn whether she should let Astrid take this audition. Many in the industry knew that Kaleido had a bad habit of inserting their artists in every production they invested in. 

But this fourth male lead was really an attractive role. It might only just appear in a few episodes, but the impact it could bring to the audience was no less than the starring roles. Of course, that all depended on the acting ability of the actor playing it. On that regard, she had no worries at all. 

Another reason why she couldn’t just pass this role was because the director of the drama was a famous and respected director in the TV drama circle – Mason Scott. He had won many awards in his career. [The Great War] would be his comeback work after three years of hiatus. 

There were a lot of attention being given to this drama. So, being a part of it would be a great exposure to any newcomer who was just starting out. 

So, with these reasons, she decided to just go with it and fight for an audition slot for Astrid. Besides, she also heard that Director Scott would be there during the audition and would be one of the people deciding who the role would be given to. 

Although she hadn’t personally met Director Scott before, he heard that he was a very strict director who wouldn’t compromise the quality of the drama he’s shooting for the sake of the investors. In that regard, he was quite similar to Director Trevane. Well, both of them had that capital.

Even if Kaleido insisted on shoving someone from their company to play this role, as long as Director Scott hand picked the actor himself, could they still complain? The other was not a newcomer director that they could bully into submission. If Director Scott chose to abandon this drama because of their meddling, the one who would receive the most backlash would be them. 

It was the same situation with [The Sleeping God] movie. Knowing that this would be the first movie that Astrid would appear in, she researched about it extensively. So, she found out that Kaleido was also one of its investors. And the role that Astrid played was supposed to be given to one of their newcomers. But didn’t Astrid get that role nonetheless?

It was all because Director Trevane personally chose him for it. Astrid managed to prove to the other with just his talent alone that he was the right person for the role. So, Ellis believed that the same thing could happen with Director Scott.

“How was your first week in school, by the way?” she thought of asking. She didn’t bother to ask whether the other had prepared for his audition today. Because she already knew the answer. 

“It was okay,” Astrid answered.

Except for that once incident the other day, no one really had bothered him that much. It’s most likely because that incident was spread to the campus forum, dubbed as the ‘vomiting incident’. Those three didn’t appear in front of him again. Although they’re probably just waiting for this incident to subside before brushing their existence in front of him again.

Well, not that he cared.

“No one bullied you, right?”

Astrid chuckled at Ellis’ question. “No. You don’t have to worry about that happening.” He wasn’t the type to let himself be bullied unilaterally by others. “In fact, I made a friend.”

Remembering Kiran, a big smile involuntarily crossed his lips. Yesterday, the two of them met again for lunch. The other was no longer that awkward while interacting with him. At least in comparison when they first met the other day, Kiran was more natural. 

He was glad for that. He truly wanted to get close to the other. A feeling that didn’t really come to him naturally. Astrid wasn’t sure if it was because Kiran reminded him of his past self.. But one thing’s for sure, he wanted to be his friend.

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