“Thank you,” I say. “I’m, uh, flattered, but I’m not really looking for a girlfriend right now.” This kind of thing is always so awkward.
Cora deflates a little before murmuring, “Please enjoy the cookies anyway,” and walking away. After she’s out of sight, Noi picks up the bag of cookies and tosses them into the large trash bin behind him.
“What did you do that for? She actually makes pretty good cookies.”
“If you can’t eat your lunch, you can’t have cookies,” he says, returning his attention to his meal.
I want to point out that I can put them away for later and even share them with him, but the look on his face says to drop it. So, I decide to leave him to his weird mood.
Later that day, I’m in the shower with my hair lathered up when my cell phone rings. I have the ringer on high, so I clearly hear it behind the sound of the water. Without bothering to rinse, I jump out of the shower and grab it off the counter, telling myself it’s probably just a call from Noi or someone else. I don’t even waste time looking at the screen.
“Hello?”
“Khun Sutthipong Chanthaphan?” a male voice asks.
“Yes.”
“This is Khun Intapong’s PA, Trim. She would like to schedule a meeting with you and Khun Somprasong tomorrow at three.”
I am so excited I barely hear the rest of what he says. Once off the phone, I get back under the water and rinse all the soap off me, then I dress and run to Noi’s dorm. As soon as he answers the door, I grab him up and swing him around the room, noticing too late that Jess and a younger girl are sitting on Jess’s bed, staring at the spectacle I’m making.
“Sud, what are you doing? Put me down!”
I do, and Noi gives me an exasperated look before he introduces the girl as Jess’s little sister.
“What is wrong with you, anyway?” Noi asks.
Grinning, I tell him about the phone call.
“What?” Noi’s eyes get big and round. “That’s wonderful, Sud! But did you say tomorrow at three? I have a class! I guess I could get Bua to take notes for me.”
“Awesome! Thank you!” I pull him in for a hug, and Jess and his sister congratulate us.
“I’ll be at your place by two tomorrow,” I tell Noi.
***
“Would you calm down?” Noi says when he gets into my car the following afternoon. “Seriously, you’re vibrating.”
I laugh. “I’ll try. It’s just—they wouldn’t be calling us in just to turn us down, Noi! That guy would have just told me on the phone.”
Noi smiles at me. “Congratulations.”
I groan. “Stop! We’ll celebrate when she says it.”
But when Khun Intapong does say it—offering both me and Noi the secondary leads inHearts Set on Fire—I’m struck dumb. It’s like a hive of bees have taken up in my head. When they finally clear out and I can hear again, Noi’s worrying his lip with his teeth.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Um. It’s just…” He glances at Khun Intapong, who is looking at us expectantly, bright red lips stretched in a smile.
“I’m not…er. I’m not an actor,” Noi finishes. “I’m not even in the theater arts program. I was just helping Sud out.”
“Oh, that doesn’t matter. We take new people in all the time. You’ll be trained in workshops by the acting coach. No worries. Now, I have a contract for you to sign, but I assume you’ll want to talk to an agent first. I’ll go get Khun Sukprasert. He’ll be your agent unless you want to hire one for yourself outside the company.”
Khun Intapong stands and leaves the room, and I turn to Noi.
“You don’t want to do this,” I say, coming to my senses. All this time, I’ve been talking about “when we get the parts,” but I’m the only one who wants a part in this series. Noi auditioned to help me out. Again.