Chapter 3
Chloe
I sat in the front room with my luggage by the door. My dad kept a straight face because he wasn’t known to show much emotion. In fact, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’d seen him display any form of it. I was the exact opposite though. Tears rolled carelessly down my cheeks at the thought of leaving my parents and my home behind.
He took a deep breath, then wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed me on the forehead. Today was the day that I was set to move to California. Jade had mentioned the idea to me almost two weeks ago, and then it took me a week to decide, and another week to prepare. I didn’t have any money in my account until my dad covertly slid five thousand in there overnight to hold me over until I got a job.
“In case of emergencies,” he said with a straight face.
I wiped another stream of tears from my eyes. “I know, dad. Emergencies.”
My mother sped out of the kitchen, a nervous wreck. She had been moving at the speed of light all day, making sure I had what I needed, double and triple checking my luggage to ensure the essentials were packed. “Ok, now, if anything goes wrong, you make sure you give us a call and we will get you back out here immediately, ok?”
“Baby, nothing will go wrong,” my father said calmly. “We raised her to be a smart cookie, and she has the intelligence to go out there and stay out of trouble. Besides, Jade will be looking after her.”
“Jade,” my mother said, laughing. “Lord, that does not make me feel any better about any of this. When you and Jade get together, you two don’t always make the best decisions.”
“We will be fine, mom, I promise.”
She stood in front of me, a mirror image of who I would be when I got older. Suddenly, tears formed at the bottom of her sapphire eyes, and with one blink, she sent them tumbling down her cheeks.
“Mom, don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“Oh, hush,” she said as she reached out and wrapped her arms around me. My dad stood to the side as we embraced. She held onto me like she was releasing a part of herself, and I felt similarly. This was the first time I was going to be further than a car drive away from my parents. They had always been within reach for me in times of trouble, but now, I would be on the other side of the country.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I released her and pulled it out. “It’s the car. He’s here to take me to the airport.”
My mother took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with a tissue. My father left our side, then walked to the door to grab my luggage.
“Ok,” my mom said with reddened eyes, “I guess it is time to let go so you can start the next chapter in your life.”
She looped her arm in mine, and with that, we walked to the front door and down the steps of their brownstone while dad loaded my luggage into the trunk of the car.
“Like I said, Chloe, if you get in ANY trouble, you hear me? ANY trouble, you make sure you give us a call and we will help you.”
“Ok, mom.” I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as I tried to hide how nervous I actually was.
“Well, you are all set, Chloe,” my dad said as he slammed the trunk closed. “You need to get going. Traffic is pretty bad around this time of day.”
My mother, with a smile, embraced me one more time. “Knock them dead in California,” she whispered into my ear. “You are going to be amazing, baby. I just know it. I love you.”
“Thank you, mom, and I love you, too.”
I kissed her on the cheek and she embraced me once more, then released me to my father. He stood tall like an oak tree, staring down at me. Immovable. Sturdy. Full of wisdom. “Make us proud, Chloe. Make us proud.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and he cupped the back of my head with his hand, then kissed me on the crown. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you too, dad.”
He opened the car door for me and after I climbed inside, they made their way up the stairs. As the driver pulled away from the curb, my last image of them, holding onto each other, while waving goodbye, sent another wave of tears down my cheeks. My heart thumped inside of my chest like the footsteps of a giant, and for the first time, I felt like I was well and truly my own. I had no choice but to make my parents proud, and failure was not an option.
A six-hour plane trip later, and Jade was waiting for me as I made my way out of the airport. It was so comforting to see her with her arms extended towards me as I lugged my carry-on suitcase down the moving walkway.
“Chloe! Oh my God! I haven’t seen you in forever!”
“Seriously, Jade? I just saw you five months ago, before you moved out here.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever! Stop trying to ruin the moment with your technicalities!”
She wrapped her arms around me and the anxiety I felt on the plane seemed to evaporate as soon as I fell into her arms. She grabbed one of my suitcases and wheeled it away from the luggage carousel. “Well, how was the trip?”
“Long and bumpy.”
“Ugh! I hate turbulence. I always think the plane is going to go down at any moment, and I have way too much to live for to die like that,” Jade says with a flourish.
“It’s a good thing you’re an actress, Jade, because you’re way too dramatic to be an accountant.”
Jade laughed, shaking her head as we walked through the sliding doors out of the airport. The soft California breeze blew against my skin as soon as we stepped outside. The sun shone bright above us, but it didn’t seem as hot as normal.
“Well, welcome to Cali!” Jade said, smiling from ear to ear. “I know we are going to have so much fun together! This is going to be just like NYU again, except the campus is way bigger.”
We walked to a car that was parked right at the edge of a huge parking structure. Jade drove a really nice little sedan; it was all black with tinted windows and a double exhaust in the back. We placed the suitcase in the trunk of her car, then she sped out of the airport.
The city looked so different from New York and I could immediately tell that the atmosphere was far more laidback. The people moved slower and it didn’t seem like anyone was in a hurry to get where they were going. In New York, there was hardly a moment when drivers weren’t speeding past you or driving on your tail because you were moving too slow for them. Out here, people moved at their own pace.
“Jeez, is the whole city this mellow?”
“Yeah, that is just how Los Angeles is. You are going to love it here, Chloe. Absolutely LOVE it.”
As we rode down the freeway, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket so that I could let my parents know that I made it here safely. I put them on speaker phone as soon as my mom picked up. “Chloe? Is everything alright? Did you make it?”
“Yes, mom, I’m here in the car with Jade.”
“Hey, mom,” Jade said with a wide smile. “You should’ve come out here with Chloe, at least to visit.”
“No, I couldn’t come on such short notice. Besides, your father wouldn’t last a week without me here to help him out.”
“I’d survive,” daddy yelled from the background.
Jade laughed. “Oh, hey, dad! You could’ve come, too! We could have gone to a Kings game!”
Mom spoke up. “Well, with Chloe out there, I am sure that we will have more than a few opportunities to come and hang out with you all. But I don’t want to take up too much more of your time because I know Chloe just got there. Thanks for calling, sweetheart. You all be careful out there, and Chloe, make sure you call me after you get settled in.”
“Ok, mom, I will.”
“Love you, ladies.”
“Love you, too,” we responded in unison before I hung up.
“I love your parents so much! They are so sweet. I know it was hard for them to let you go.”
I took a deep breath, then breathed a sigh of relief as I looked out the window at the beautiful scenery passing us by. “It was hard for all of us, but I know that this was the right decision. I could feel it, you know? As soon as you told me about the opportunities out here, I knew I had to give it a shot, just to see for myself.”
“Acting, behind the scenes stuff, there is just so much for you to try out and get involved in out here. You can’t help but to be successful if you commit to working at it.”
As we exited the freeway into the city, I couldn’t stop admiring the sights of downtown LA. I wasn’t opposed to doing things behind the scenes because, as much as I loved acting, I loved the intricacies of production well. The way the movies came together was just as important as acting, and it didn’t hurt to learn how everything worked behind the camera too. Plus, I was ready to do whatever I had to in order to get my foot in the door.
“So,” Jade said as we rolled along, “I know that I brought up the acting thing and how there were so many opportunities to get involved in that, but well… would you ever consider becoming a director’s assistant?”
I groaned, then slowly turned towards her. Working behind the scenes was one thing, but picking up coffee and drying cleaning was quite another. “Jade, I did not come out to California to be some pushy director’s assistant. I came out here to act!”
“I know, I know, but I think this is a good opportunity for you to get your feet wet, you know? Get in the door and see how things work behind the scenes. You don’t have to take it, but if you did, it would pay the bills temporarily, and in the meantime, you could audition for other roles.”
I folded my arms over my chest. It wasn’t what I came out here for, but I figured that it wouldn’t hurt just to see what it was like. “It sounds like the position is mine if I want it.”
“Yeah, it is. You’d just be following the direcotr around and taking cues from him, but they pay is decent and you’ll get to meet a lot of new people. Plus, you’d make some connections that you probably wouldn’t have made otherwise. I mean, this acting thing? Trust me, Chloe. Spread your wings and see how far you can go on both sides of the business.”
We rode for a little while before she convinced me to take the opportunity. She was always a good salesperson. “Which movie?” I asked as she turned down a side road.
“It’s a movie called Love Struck. It’s supposed to start filming next month or so. I think they are just wrapping up the casting process.”
“Ok. Well, I guess I have my first job then.”
“Yes! I will introduce you to everyone tomorrow, but I am going to call Leslie when I get home. She is one of the producers of the movie and I told her that I had somebody in mind who could slide in as a director’s assistant. The one she had flaked out on her at the last minute and left her scrambling. Once I found out, I figured that you would be a good fit.”
“I guess we will find out.”
After what felt like forever in traffic, we finally arrived at Jade’s apartment in Santa Monica. The building was powder blue and the balconies were painted white. The complex was three stories high and it overlooked the beach across the street. I smiled as I got out of her car, admiring the sights. The wide-open view made it seem as though I was truly receiving a brand-new start.
Jade grinned as she looked towards the beach, “Just wait until the evening rolls around on a weekend. This place is jam-packed with so many hot guys that you will feel like you are a kid in a candy store.”
She pulled both of my suitcases out of the trunk and placed them on the ground. “Come on, let’s go upstairs so you can meet your other roommate.”
The building was a walk-up, and we make our way up the staircase to the third floor of the building. Jade unlocked the door to apartment 3-B, then handed me the key. “That one is yours,” she said as she pushed the door open with her foot. “Mariah? You in here?”
“I’m in the back!” she yelled.
“Chloe is here! Come out and meet her!”
The apartment was small, but comfortable, and everything was clean and shiny. The balcony that I saw from the parking lot had a view of the beach if you craned your neck just right. I almost had it in my sights when an unfamiliar voice startled me from behind.
When I spun around, a short, pretty blonde girl with a bright smile and hazel eyes was grinning at me. “Hi, Chloe!” she said as if she had known me for years. “It’s good to finally meet you! Jade talks about you so much that I feel like we are old friends.” She gave me a huge hug.
“Well, it’s good to meet you too, Mariah. Thanks for agreeing to let me live with you guys for a little while.”
“Oh, it is no problem at all. We have more than enough room for you. But there is one rule.” Jade shook her head, laughing, as she rolled her eyes. “What, Jade? This is serious. She has to know this rule if she is going to live here. This is a matter of life or death.”
“What’s the rule?” I asked quizzically. I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes while I was here, so if there were any rules, I wanted to be sure to follow them.
She led me to the kitchen and opened the cabinet door, then pulled out a box of fruity o’s and held them up. “Any time you see this box of cereal in here, do not touch. Ever. Period. I don’t care if you are dying of starvation and this is the key to your survival… do not touch this cereal under any circumstances.”
“Yeah,” Jade shouted from the living room, “the last time I did it, she literally tried to call the cops on me for stealing. I had to snatch her phone away from her to keep her from doing it.”
She laughed and placed the cereal back into the cabinet. “I am serious about my cereal! Jade was about to learn the hard way.”
“Anyway,” Jade said as she came into the kitchen. “Chloe, I am going to show you to your room, and then you can get dressed because we are going out to get something to eat tonight. I want to take you to Pierre’s. It’s a nice little chill spot that I think you will enjoy.”
“Pierre’s?” Mariah said with a smile on her face. “Well, then I am coming, too! I love that place! And the men? Lord have mercy!”
“Yeah, so take a shower and get ready because we are hanging out tonight. We can worry about work tomorrow.”
I smiled at her, then grabbed my luggage and followed her down the hallway and into my room. I could already tell I was going to love it here. I only wish I had moved with Jade when she first came out to Los Angeles, so I could have been living here the whole time.
My new life was really about to begin.