This is the fourth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, and Part III before continuing.
“So, how did you get into acting?” Sarah asked as she and Britney both settled down at a table in the library, each having gathered their requisite stack of books for the semester.
“The musical, Wicked. I was born to play Elphaba. How about you?”
“I don’t remember. I’ve just always wanted to be an actress. My aunt is an actress and my idol. I want to be just like her.”
“Nice. Does she do stage or film?”
“A bit of both. She lives here, in New York, and you can’t act in New York and not do theater, but she also does the occasional TV role. You know, victim of the week on NCIS, that kind of thing.”
“Nice. I’ll probably end up doing something like that. Although I would also like to write scripts in addition to acting. That way I can write whatever roles I want to play.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea,” Sarah said, wondering why she hadn’t thought of that.
There was a pause as they both started to flip through their books. Then Sarah said, “So, what’s with the quarters?”
Britney rolled her eyes. “My mom doesn’t trust payment cards, so she insisted I take some ‘real’ money with me, as she calls it. I forgot to take it out of my bag when I was unpacking, but I guess it came in handy for something, right?”
“I guess. Moms are so weird, right?”
Britney giggled that infectious giggle of hers. “So weird.”
“So, does your mom, you know…”
“What?”
“How does she feel about you pursuing a career in acting?”
“She loves it. She’s a writer, so she’s convinced I got the creative gene from her.”
“Aw, that’s sweet. What does your dad do?”
“He owns an auto repair shop.”
“Nice. So he can bring in the steady income while your mom pursues her dream.”
Britney looked at her like she had suggested movie stars don’t make any money. “Are you kidding? My mom brings in way more money than my dad.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. In fact, sometimes when the repair shop isn’t doing so well, she’ll loan him money until business picks up.”
“And all she does is write?”
“Day in and day out.”
Sarah was dumbfounded. “How does she manage that?”
“She writes romance novels.”
“And there’s money in that?”
“There is so much money in that.”
“Who’d have thought?”
“Anyone who’s ever talked to someone who reads romance novels. Did you know they read more books than readers of any other genre?”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, and if they like your stuff, they’ll buy everything you write. My mom writes six books a year and she still can’t crank them out fast enough to satisfy her fans.”
“Six books a year?”
“Yeah,” Britney said with a sigh. “I can’t imagine writing six plays a year, but maybe with enough practice I’ll get there.”
“Six, full-length books? Every year?”
“There was one year when she wrote eight.”
To be continued…
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