New Scene: The Date (Part 1)

After the two had eaten their dinner at Applebee's, Nick brought Hope back out to his car, opening the passenger side door for her as he had done every time so far. Once he got into his own seat, he smiled at her. "Enjoying yourself so far?" he asked with a smile.

Hope nodded.

"Good," he said, "But it's only going to get better tonight."

Hope chuckled. "Good luck topping how much I enjoyed you picking up the tab for dinner," she teased.

Fifteen minutes later, he opinion changed completely as he pulled into a parking spot in a vast field full of cars. Looming above them was the brightly lit ferris wheel of a carnival. After a moment to let the sight of the carnival sink in, Nick opened his door and then circled his car to let Hope out. He helped her out of her seat, bringing her up to eye level with him. Her face was mere centimeters from his face. "This is kind of awesome," she breathed softly.

Nick smiled. "Glad you think so." He leaned in to kiss her, only to find himself face to face with her fiery hair as she turned her head to take in more of the carnival.

"We're going in, right?" she asked, "Or just looking at it?"

Two Short Scenes: Hope for Hope

Hope, Nick, and Nathanial left the theater together, showering each other with compliments for their auditions. Nathanial had resumed his usual confidence, something that the idea of singing in front of people had knocked him out of.
"I mean, I knew I'd be fine," he assured his two companions, "I probably didn't even need to use the mic, you know?"

"Neither of us did," Nick pointed out.

Nathanial glared at him, smiled curtly and shook his head. "On that note, my dorm is in the opposite direction of either of yours, so I'm gonna go. You two have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Which leaves what exactly?" Nick replied.

"See you tomorrow Hope. Good night and good riddance, Nick."

Hope rolled her eyes. "It'd be great if you two ego-trips could graduate kindergarten some time soon."

Nathanial shrugged and set off for his dormitory. The other two began walking in the other direction. They carried on a friendly, and less-than-subtly flirtatious conversation until they reached the door of Hope's dorm.
"This is my stop, see ya around stud," the redheaded said with a wink.

"Bye," Nick nodded. Hope turned to go inside. He leapt into action before he missed his chance. "You want to get something to eat with me tomorrow night? Like, off-campus?"

Holding the door ajar, Hope smiled and turned her head back to face the boy. "That sounds great. What time?"
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Hope pushed open the door to her room, to find her roommate passed out at her desk, a book in one hand. She tried to contain her ear-to-ear smile, as if she thought it might be too loud. Gently she pushed the door shut again, but the quiet click still made the roommate stir.

"Shit! The butter!" Alexis exclaimed.

"Butter?" Hope asked.

"Nevermind," the tired girl shook her head, "I was making cookies. Where have you been all night?"

"Auditions," Hope reminded her roomie, "Nathanial was great, by the way."

Alexis breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm going to guess you were too, from the way you're glowing." She was clearly coming back to her senses from waking up.

"Glowing? Girl, this is not a glow." Hope made another failed attempt to contain her smile, and collapsed joyfully onto her bed. "I have a date."

"Oh good!" Alexis exclaimed, "My roommate last semester never had any dates, and she always bitched about it whenever Terry and I went out."

"Probably didn't help her get any dates," Hope observed, rolling into her favorite "girl-talk position", lying on her stomach. "We met at the auditions. He was amazing."

Alexis inquired, "So which sexy, straight theater boy is it?"

"Nick."

Alexis bit her bottom lip. "Oh, good. Great." There was a hesitation in her voice.

"What?" Hope demanded, propping herself up on her arms, like a cobra ready to strike.

Alexis shook her head. "I don't really know him, personally. It's nothing. I better finish this homework." She smiled and flashed her eyes and then returned to her reading.

Hope narrowed her eyes. Something was amiss.