Song 33

When Meloria broke the news to Aggie, she was accepting the part, and Aggie nearly screamed the coffee shop down. After the waitress had to warn Aggie to calm down, the tone quickly shifted from excitable to more serious. “Well, no, that it’s settled, you are my star,” Aggie hummed, kicking her legs freely underneath her. “The first show is in three weeks.”

“Three weeks unders-” Meoria’s smile dropped as she looked at Aggie, who sat with her prideful smile. “Three weeks?”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Aggie nodded. “We have rehearsals this afternoon, and don’t worry about your lodgings, I have everything covered for you.”

“I think you’re missing something,” Meloria laughed nervously. “Opening night is in three weeks. How can you expect we’ll be ready by then?”

“I do not doubt that you will,” Aggie snickered, pushing up her glasses before presenting Meloria with a timetable of scheduled dress fittings, several dress rehearsals, script readings, just about every single second of the next three weeks of her life had been pre-planned for her. “Starting this afternoon, we’ll have a script reading session, which I’m sure you will have no problem with.”

“You’ve thought about this a lot,” Meloria gulped, picking up the schedule to examine it further, hoping that sleep would at least be a part of it. I wish I hadn’t ended up regretting this decision. Her eyes continued to scan the schedule, but she couldn't find any slots for promotional activities. In her previous world, plays and movies always had substantial promotional budgets and elaborate schemes, but Aggie didn’t have anything. Is this why she was distributing the flyers all by herself? Surely getting the stars of the play would be the best way to promote the play? Her lips curled upwards, reaching her hand, extending her pinkie. “I promise you, Aggie, I will work with you to make this play a huge success.”

Aggie looked confused at the gesture, her head tilting as she stared intensely at Meloria’s pinkie. Meloria giggled, wiggling her pinkie, encouraging Aggie to link pinkies. Shrugging, Aggie reached her pinkie out, Meloria hooking them together. “And with this, my promise is official,” Meloria declared. “I never break a pinkie promise.

“You’re certainly an interesting person, Meloria,” Aggie smiled, taking her hand back. “But I’m glad to see you so committed.”

“Trust me,” Meloira placed her hand over her heart. “I won’t do anything half-heartedly. Although I think you should also make time for some promotional activities. How many tickets have you pre-sold so far?” Aggie’s smile immediately dropped, sinking into her chair, as if willing for it to open up and drag her away from the conversation. “Oh come on, Aggie, I’m sure it’s not that bad.” Aggie sheepishly raised a hand, holding up five digits. “50 tickets? I mean, that’s a good start if you’ve been doing it yourself.”

“Nope,” Aggie’s voice got higher the more she spoke. “Five.”

“Five?” Meloria repeated, earning a nod. “That changes things a little bit,” Meloria sighed heavily. As she flicked through the schedule, a flyer fell out from behind it. Separating it from the schedule, Meloria took time to examine it and the conclusion; it was bland. There was nothing that would draw anyone in to see the play, and the fact that five people bought tickets was probably a miracle. Or family taking pity. Lucky for Aggie, I took a marketing course in my previous life, so I should be able to help out a little bit on the promotional side. “Aggie, how are you funding all this?”

“It’s a self-funded project,” Aggie smiled shyly yet proudly. “I saved up every penny I could to get this script on the big stage, and when the theatre finally gave it the green light, I immediately got a head start on things I could save money on. Costumes, script printing, flyers, sets… anywhere I could save money, I’ve picked it up myself.”

“Oh, Aggie,” Meloria frowned. Unlike her, Aggie didn’t seem to have the backing of a family. No one to push her that little bit further or give her support when she was done. “Right, the first thing we’re going to do as a team is get you some new flyers made.” Meloria pushed herself out of her seat, holding her hand out. “And I know just the man who can help us.”

Not one to argue, Aggie gathered her belongings, quickly stuffing everything into her satchel before taking hold of Meloria’s hand, allowing her to lead the way.

Although it led to Aggie not being what was expected, Meloria had led her to the town centre, where the buskers were performing. All the time, Meloria never let go of Aggie’s hand, as she dragged her through the square, knowing the person they were after had to be around somewhere. “Ah, there he is,” Meloria pulled Aggie along as she saw the painter. Before approaching him, she turned to Aggie and said, “Back straight and smile.” Aggie nodded, wiggling her shoulders and standing up straight, not understanding why Meloria brought her here. “Excuse me, Mr. Painter?”

The painter put his brush down, tilting his glass as he looked at the girls. “Ah, it’s our singer,” he laughed, turning to give the girls his full attention. “And what can I do for you, little singer?”

“My name is Meloria, and this here,” Meloria gestured toward Aggie, “is my dear friend Aggie. You may have heard, but she’s putting on a play at the local theatre.”

“Ah, I had then something about that,” the painter nodded.

“Well, currently, these are my friends' flyers,” Meloria explained, presenting the flyer to the painter. The painter pulled a face, making it obvious he wasn’t impressed with the shabby work. “It’s not the best, but the person who put it together does show that whoever put it together has heart.”

“That was me,” Aggie pouted.

“Well, you definitely tried,” the painter commented, sounding like a disappointed teacher.

“That’s actually why we’re here,” Meloira spoke up, a pleading look in her eyes. “We were hoping that you could help us create a new flyer.”

“We were?” Aggie whispered into Meloria’s ear. “I don’t have that type of money.”

“Leave it to me,” Meloria whispered before focusing her attention back to the painter. “We would greatly appreciate it, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but something that would draw someone’s attention.”

“That’s something I would certainly love to help with,” the painter = smiled brightly. “But I have a condition.”

“I don’t have much money,” Aggie frowned.

“Oh no,” the painter shook his head, laughing. “I’m not asking for money.”

“Then what is it?” Aggie asked, her mind filled with all sorts of perversions the painter could ask for.

“If Meloria were my model for it,” the painter smiled innocently.

“That’s all.”

“That would be an honor,” Meloria quickly interrupted, trying not to let Aggie ruin the deal. “We are having a script reading tonight, would you like to join us, and I could model while reading?”

“That sounds like a perfect idea,” the painter nodded, grabbing out his mini sketchpad, handing it to a stunned Aggie to write down the address.

With all the details set for the painter to attend the script reading, Meloria and Aggie began walking to their next destination. Aggie was amazed by how easily Meloria was able to communicate with people, as well as engage in transactions with them. She managed to get free printing for the flyers by offering the company to advertise on the back of the flyers. She was truly something special, and she certainly needed it for her play.