"…You know that I'm planning to pursue writing fully from now on, right?" Samantha asked Katy with a furrow. She had already braced herself to face the ire of her parents for not becoming an actor and do whatever it takes to realise her dream.
"I know, and that's why you must listen to me," Katy answered earnestly. She knew that it would be difficult to convince Samantha straightaway, so she chose a roundabout way of doing so.
"What do you mean? How is becoming an actor beneficial to my goal of becoming a writer?" Samantha questioned with a doubtful look on her face.
She knew that becoming a writer was an arduous task, and every ounce of her being would be required if she wanted to become good at it.
As a result, Katy's words didn't make any sense to her.
"Samantha, the fact that you ranked 26th in our year, even without trying, is a testament to your skills in acting. So why not leverage it to become popular in the industry and then start publishing your novels?
I know you want to focus fully on becoming a writer, but with little monetary means, just how long could you continue it?
You need to gain as much experience about life and people to be able to write intricate stories, don't you? Being an actor would give you those and much more.
If you see this path through this lens, then being an actor first before starting your journey as a writer is the correct one for you,"
Katy attempted to convince Samantha through her words.
"But…then won't my book's success be only because of my fame and not because of what I write at that time?" Samantha asked with a frown.
"Samantha, let me ask you a question. A writer's first book means a lot to them, doesn't it?" Katy asked in an attempt to direct Samantha's thoughts in the direction she wanted.
"Of course, the first books are the ones in which we writers usually pour our everything into, and they always hold a special place in our hearts," Samantha instantly answered.
"Now, from all those first books published by authors, just how many become famous?" Katy asked the very next moment.
"This…" Samantha paused as she realised the point which Katy was trying to make and continued with a sigh, "…it's not a lot,"
"So, won't becoming a popular actor first make sure that your first work is not buried the moment it is released?" Katy asked with a smile as she could see a trace of hesitancy forming on Samantha's face.
Samantha became silent for the next few seconds and was subconsciously biting her lower lip.
Seeing this, Katy didn't disturb her thought process and silently took a few sips from her coffee cup.
During this time, Katy saw a lot of conflicting emotions in Samantha's eyes, and it seemed like she was really struggling to make a decision. Seeing this, a trace of worry started appearing in Katy's heart.
'What if she still rejects my suggestion?' Katy thought and decided to give a final push.
"I'll also feel more relieved if you were to join that agency with me, as I won't know anyone there," Katy muttered while earnestly looking towards Samantha.
Hearing this, the little hesitancy that had been troubling Samantha disappeared the very next moment as she said with a chuckle, "You should have just said that from the start. Fine! let's do it then, let's become actors together!"
A happy and grateful smile formed on Katy's face as she replied, "Yes, let's dominate the entertainment industry together."
The two clicked their coffee cups as a pledge and giggled at their antics before taking another sip of their coffee.
"So, what's the name of the entertainment agency you've got in mind? Is it as famous as Terence?" Samantha asked curiously.
"It's this," Katy opened the browser on her mobile phone which was resting on the table and slid it towards Samantha.
Samantha picked Katy's phone up and looked at an agency's website, "Gior?"
"Yes," Katy nodded and continued, knowing that Samantha won't be aware of it, "It's an agency which has started its recruitment last month only and created a little buzz in the online forums because of its difficult entrance test and interview for actors.
It had therefore caught my interest earlier, and I had applied for it online just to experience it by myself. This month's application window is open until the end of this week, so you should also apply now.'
"This…are you sure, Katy? A recently established agency? With how saturated this industry is, I don't think this is the path we should travel on.
With our acting school's reputation, we would be able to get into some much better agencies than this one," Samantha suggested with doubts clear on her face.
"I know I'm being unreasonable here, but I'll still be applying here. My gut tells me that there is more to Gior than what meets the eye. Why would it be conducting such stringent interviews for fresh actors otherwise?" Katy told her.
"Isn't that just a publicity stunt? If they had not done that, then I doubt you would have ever heard about this agency," Samantha logically tried to persuade Katy so that she wouldn't make a wrong decision, but it was of no help.
Knowing the future, Katy knew that her decision was the right one, but she also knew that she couldn't just say that to Samantha, otherwise she would think that she has gone crazy.
"It's hard to explain, Samantha, but please believe me this time. There's this feeling welling up inside me that if we don't join Gior then we'll forever regret it," Katy said pleadingly.
Seeing her friend like this, Samantha could only sigh in defeat. She knew that Katy had made up her mind to join this agency.
"Alright…I'll go and fill out the online application once I'm at home. However, if it ends up being a sham, then you'll owe me a barbecue dinner at 'JuicyMeat', you understand?" Samantha glared at Katy in an attempt to feign her anger.
"Then what if it isn't one?" Katy asked with a grateful smile on her face.
"Isn't that obvious? In that case, you'll still owe me a barbecue dinner at 'JuicyMeat'," Samantha stated without any sense of shame and got up from her seat.
Katy shook her head in amusement at this and followed her out of the café. They stood on the sidewalk while talking about a few random things before their taxi finally arrived, and they got in.
"See you later then, I'll have to go over all those boring scripts once again now for that entrance test. I'm exhausted just from thinking about it," Samantha whined childishly as she got out of the taxi to bid Katy goodbye.
Katy smirked at her behaviour and replied while waving her hand, "I'll be doing the same, so cheer up."
The taxi started moving once again, and Katy glanced at her phone, which had just stopped vibrating.
'Missed call from Victor (5)'
Katy locked her screen the next moment with a feeling of glee and glanced outside the window to enjoy the passing scenery.