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A nthony

UNKNOWN: Hi, my name’s Emerson. I’m a friend of Layla’s. She gave me your number because she heard that you needed a ride to New York. I need help with expenses so if you’re willing to help with gas and hotels, then I can give you a ride.

I stare at the new text on my phone for a solid minute, trying to remember who Layla is. I meet a lot of people at the different comedy clubs and it takes me a few minutes to place a face to the name. Black hair, talkative girl. I’ve seen her here and there at different clubs.

That shouldn’t be the part of the text that I’m worried about though.

I had just gotten the call yesterday about auditioning for The Comedy Vault but I was at a loss as to how I was going to make it out there.

I have a million things to do before my audition next week. I should be tightening up my set, working on new jokes and perfecting my timing. If I can nail down my details on making it to New York though, then I would only have to focus on my craft for the rest of the week.

I grab my phone and my fingers hover over the screen as I think of what to say.

ANTHONY: Hey, man. Yeah, I need to get to New York by next Friday night. When are you leaving?

EMERSON: I’d like to leave Sunday morning. Before noon, but the earlier the better. I need to be there by Thursday so that should give us plenty of time.

ANTHONY: Sounds good. I’d like to stop in a few major cities so that I can hit up some open mics.

EMERSON: I’ll have to check the route. I was hoping that we could drive straight through and take turns sleeping.

Jeez, doesn’t this guy sound like a barrel full of fun. I roll my eyes, studying the text messages. Maybe I should just suck it up and ask my brother to help me pay for a ticket or something. This Emerson dude seems super uptight with his schedule and routes, but if he can get me to New York….

It’s only going to be a few days , I remind myself. You can handle a few days with this guy.

ANTHONY: Okay. Do you need me to meet you somewhere? I live on North Soto Street.

EMERSON: That’s on the way. I’ll pick you up at ten.

ANTHONY: See you then.

I smile, sliding my phone into my pocket. It feels good to have one part of the trip figured out at least.

The apartment door opens and my friend and roommate, Theo, comes stumbling in, dragging a case behind him.

“Hey, man!” he calls out, grinning as he kicks the front door closed.

“Hey. How was the shoot?” I ask him as I stand and head into the kitchen to grab something to eat.

Theo is my roommate. We’ve been close friends since we were kids, grew up playing at each other’s houses, but we had lost track of each other when we went off to different colleges.

I had been back home when my mom told me that Theo had moved out to the west coast. He’s a kickass photographer and was trying to break into the industry.

I had messaged him and asked if he needed a roommate.

Luckily for me, his last roommate was just about to move out to go live with his girlfriend back in Chicago and I was able to move in two weeks later.

Theo has been working his way up from photographer’s assistant to running his own shoots. In the last few months, he’s managed to snag a few high-profile jobs but he’s gone a lot, flying to New York or Europe for shoots.

“It was great,” Theo says with a sigh.

He looks tired and I try to remember where he just flew in from. I think it was Florida.

“How have things been here?” he asks as he grabs a beer and leans back against the countertop.

“Same as when you left. I heard back from The Comedy Vault. I audition next week.”

“No shit?” Theo asks, grinning at me.

“No shit. I’m leaving Sunday morning.”

“How you getting there?” Theo asks, well aware of my current financial situation. “Is Alexander footing the bill?”

Alexander is my millionaire younger brother. He owns a real estate investment company out in New York City and I’m planning on staying with him when I get out there but I haven’t told him that yet.

I could ask him for the money or to buy me a plane ticket. I know that he would do it, but it doesn’t feel right to ask him for money. I’ve always been proud and I want to make my own way in life. I have enough in savings to split the trip with that Emerson guy.

“No, I found someone who is driving out to New York too, and I’m going to get a ride with them and split gas.”

“Who?” Theo asks, his head disappearing into the fridge as he looks for something to eat. Joke’s on him, because I haven’t gone grocery shopping since he left on his trip.

“Some guy named Emerson.”

Theo looks confused, probably trying to remember when I mentioned him before. I reach past him, grabbing the milk that’s about to expire out of the fridge and dumping the last of it on my bowl of cereal.

“Did you put in your notice for work yet?” he asks and I shake my head no.

I work at a little bookstore in downtown Los Angeles. It’s probably going to go under soon. Not many brick and mortar stores can compete with the online retailers. That’s part of the reason why I’m so excited for this audition.

Getting into The Comedy Vault would open a ton of doors. I could hire an agent, start booking some shows, even if I’m an opener. I could start touring.

“Will you be moving out then?” Theo asks, and I notice that he doesn’t seem that upset about if I were to.

“If I get the spot, then yeah. I’ll be moving to New York.”

“I got offered a few contracts out there and with Fashion Week and stuff coming up, I was thinking about moving out to New York too,” he admits and I’m shocked to hear this.

I thought that Theo loved Los Angeles. He’s right though. He has been spending more and more time out there lately, and I know that the modeling scene is big out there.

“Maybe we can room together,” Theo suggests, and I jump on the offer.

“That would be awesome. Otherwise I was going to have to crash with Alexander and Eden.”

“Aren’t they newlyweds?” he asks and I nod, wincing as I think about what a nightmare it’s going to be to stay with him for a night or two.

I love my brother and his wife, but of the two of them, Alexander is the more uptight of the two. His wife, Eden, helps to make him more laid back but I’m not thrilled to spend time with the newlyweds. The last time that I saw them, they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off of each other.

“Cool, then we’ll wait until next week before we start looking for apartments or making any decisions.”

I nod, shoving a bite of cereal into my mouth as I lean back against the countertop and watch him look through the cabinets for something to eat.

“Is that all of the food we have?” he finally asks and I give him a cocky grin.

He curses under his breath before he looks at his watch.

“Don’t you have a show tonight?”

“Yeah, in an hour and a half.”

“Perfect. Let’s go get something to eat and then I’ll catch your show before I come home and pass out.”

I finish off my cereal, rinsing out the bowl before I grab my notepad, cell phone, and keys and follow him out the door.