My muscles are tense and each sentence that leaves my mouth feels stilted. I’m careful to avoid the topic of Sofia entirely, instead only discussing the auditions taking place in front of us.

Emmitt is also nowhere to be seen, so my attention isn’t momentarily stolen by his shenanigans, though a worry arises in the back of my head that he’s ditching film club altogether—he hadn’t mentioned anything about missing today’s meeting, but that doesn’t mean anything when it comes to him.

For all I know, he could be busy flirting with half a dozen girls outside the auditorium. Or maybe he’s just lost again. I’ve found him wandering the hallways countless times this past week alone, looking bewildered by his surroundings. It’s a distinct reminder that for all Emmitt blends in with the film club, he doesn’t belong here. This is all a learning experience for him, so he can go off and play the main role in a blockbuster film for Firebrand Studios.

He’s not like us. He’s not like me.

And I still don’t know if I can depend on him to come through and deliver on our deal.

As if my thoughts are being astral projected, Emmitt appears from behind the curtains, his expression cool.

I blink in surprise, but Rosie is smiling. “Next!”

Emmitt walks toward center stage and stops in front of us. “Hello, I’m Ezra. I’d like to audition for the role of Nick. I’ll be reading from the second scene.”

“Did you know about this?” I ask Rosie in a hushed voice.

She laughs under her breath. “Well, we can’t just give him the role, right? We have to make sure it seems fair. He told me you gave him the script to study.”

I blink, recalling my fit of irritation during auditions the other day. “Oh. I suppose I did do that.”

“Before we start, can I ask for a quick favor?” Emmitt asks, and a flicker of a smirk passes across his face. An uneasy feeling rises in me, butterflies fluttering insistently.

Rosie raises her brows. “What is it?”

His eyes are glittering. “I’m a little too nervous to audition with you. You are a goddess descended from the heavens, and I am but a mere mortal. Could I audition with Samina instead?”

“Yes,” Rosie agrees before I can shut it down.

I give my best friend an appalled look. “Rosie, I—”

“The competition is at stake,” she says back, her tone sickly sweet. “We need him, Mina.”

I scowl. “We flipped a coin!”

“He asked for you specifically,” Rosie says with a shrug, her eyes lit up mischievously. “The sooner you go along with it, the sooner it’s done.”

“I hate you,” I say darkly, but turn my script to the third page, meeting Emmitt’s gaze. “Go ahead.”