Elina Wainwright - Circle

«I have the worst mentor in the world,» I briefly recounted my conversation with Armie and Jerome.

«I can only pray for you,» he said with a note of amusement.

Why is everyone having fun with this story? I’m suffering.

«I’m afraid but I think not even God can help.»

«Do you have any contact with Armie?»

«Well, he gave me an assignment, I did it, he dragged me down,» I shrugged.

«Whoa.»

«So the award for the most suffering role of the season goes to me,» I pretended to be sarcastic with joy.

«Hello, everyone!» I heard shouting and noise coming from the hallway.

Andrew and I got up and went to the part of the apartment where the sounds came from. Diana, Chris, and Daniel (most likely) stood at the threshold.

«Dan, meet,» Chris began. «This is Lindsay,» she introduced me to the guy.

«Nice to meet you,» he said and nodded at me.

«Nice to meet you, too,» I said, and I wasn’t lying. This Daniel was very much my type in appearance. Average height, blue eyes, black hair. A couple of years of physical training, and we’d be looking at Henry Cavill. Let’s not forget that he is my idol in the world of men.

Now, Lindsay, don’t look at him. Maybe he’s got a girlfriend, or maybe his personality isn’t your type. But those eyes…

«Shall we start the game?» I asked.

«Richard’s coming over,» Chris said. Oh, yes. The omnipresent Tea Knight.

Ten minutes later, Richard arrived.

«Hello, everybody!» the Tea Knight walked into the room. He was wearing see-through glasses, a jacket, and pants. Oh, he’s a fashionista…

«Hi,» we responded in unison.

«Will Henry be there?» Chris asked.

Who the hell is that?

«No. He has work to do,» Richard answered as he sat down at the table.

Maybe that jerk in the parking lot is Richard’s brother. Well, it serves him right.

Okay, let’s be honest. I don’t know how to play Monopoly, but the game is interesting to me. And, naturally, I lost it all. Blue-eyed Dan won. Admittedly, he played as if it wasn’t someone encroaching on his toy houses, but he was the president of Libya being attacked by nomadic tribes. His interest was clearly higher than everyone else’s. In any case, after my loss, I was already contemplating going home quickly. These were not my people. It felt like I was a kindergarten teacher.

Richard and Andrew were more or less calm. By the way, Richard turned out to be all right. Maybe he took my sister with his positivity. At night, he probably has a lot of scratching around inside. We know those lives of the party.

«Leaving already?» Dan asked me when I got up.

«Yes,» I answered.

«So early? But why?» Chris asked.

Because you’re boring…

«I have a lot to do at home. I have to write chords and so on. Plus, inspiration has come in,» I began to fib. I don’t lie, but I know how to do it.

«Would you have stayed for another hour,» Diana began.

With the prospect of falling asleep on the couch? I don’t think so.

«I really have a lot of work to do.»

Problem number one: if I’m bored, I remember absolutely nothing. An evening of nothing. That’s a shame.

«Do you want me to walk you out?» Chris asked.

«No, I live ten minutes away,» I answered.

«Let me walk you to the door,» Daniel stood up.

«Okay,» I shrugged. «Bye, everyone!» I said goodbye to the guys.

«Bye.»

The days went by one by one. Everything was quiet and peaceful. No adventures. I was trying to write songs to please Armie and his pompous face, Lizzie was actively going to shoots and castings. Things were pretty stable with the guys, too. What pleased me was that Lizzie had forgotten about Richard. At least I didn’t have to listen to her heartache about the guy.

I didn’t go to the studio much, in fact, I’d only been there a couple of times after my conversation with Armie. To be honest, I had a notice on my calendar for the end of this internship: May 31st, and goodbye, everyone! I’ve already decided that I’m not going to stay at the label after the internship ends, but I’m going to pursue my solo career. Hopefully, during my internship I will gain some useful contacts here for a successful start.

I was lying on the couch with my music notebook, humming my song to myself. I had a verse ready, but the chorus was still stuck in my head. God, am I mediocre?

I got a message on my phone. Once again, the guys.

«Hey. It’s my birthday tomorrow! You’re all invited!» – it was Daniel.

Hmmm…

«Cool! Diana and I are coming!» – Chris wrote.

«We will be there too!» – Richard wrote.

We? Is he going to take someone else with him?

Well, while we’re at it…

«And I will», – I wrote.

«Great. Tomorrow at seven o’clock at my place».

«Don’t forget to cook something vegan», – I reminded him of my taste preferences.

«Agreed».

***

The next night I was ready for the party. The girls and I had agreed that we would give money, since Dan had said he was a little strapped for cash right now. After putting on the finishing touches, I walked out and headed toward Dan and Andrew’s house. In those almost two months, I learned that the guys were from Washington. Both had gone to the same university for several years, passed the auditions together, and were very good buddies. Both had girlfriends with whom they were in a long-term relationship. Well, be yours a happy marriage, as they say.

Ten minutes later, I was at the guys’ house. Dan opened the door for me.

«Happy birthday, boy!» I cheerfully exclaimed.

«Hi! Thank you!» He smiled.

«Is everyone here?» I took off my jacket.

«Yes, just waiting for you,» he took my jacket in his hands and hung it on the coat rack. «Come into the living room.»

I rubbed my arms after the cold evening wind and went inside. Andrew, Richard, Chris, Diana, and, from the looks of it, Henry, were already waiting for me in the living room.

«Hello, everyone!» I nodded.

The girls came up to me for a hug (it took some getting used to), and the guys nodded back at me.

«You look great!» Chris started.

«Thanks, you look nice, too,» I encouraged her.

«Lindsay, this is Henry. You don’t seem to know each other,» Chris continued.

«We know each other in absentia,» I answered.

«Yeah?» The girl was surprised.

«I once confused him with Richard in front of the studio,» I explained.

«It happens to everybody,» Richard joked.

«Unfortunately,» Henry added.

I ignored his words and sat down at the table.

The evening went pretty easily: we played mafia, ate, had fun, and Richard and Henry got drunk. But their drinking didn’t bother anyone, the guys just joked and laughed at everything that breathed. About two o’clock in the morning we all went home.

«Are you sure you don’t want to fly with me?» Lizzie asked, sitting down on the suitcase so she could zip it up.

«You know I don’t have the best relationship with our parents,» I took a bite of my apple.

«Maybe you should at least try it. You know the father is trying to work things out with you.»

«I don’t want to talk about it,» I closed the subject.

«What about Mom? She’ll be upset if you don’t come,» my sister said softly.