Ignoring her murmuring classmates, Zoey looked up at Eugenia Hartwell stoically.
If that woman said not to return to the countryside until a year's time, then she really had no choice.
The last time she escaped from summer camp, she landed into the waiting hands of her mother's security.
That escapade earned her another summer in camp. If she tried to pull something like that off this time, she might actually have to stay here for two years.
No, it was better to be obedient at times like this.
Since she couldn't do anything about her situation and didn't know how long she'd have to wait before coming into the Leith family's money, she had to find a way to earn money somehow.
"Don't be ridiculous and waste our time."
"Audition or no audition, you're not getting the role. Do us a favor and get lost."
"Since when do you talk in my class?" Eugenia suddenly chuckled, glancing toward the class.
The students shrank their necks and went mum.
Eugenia was easy to get along with but strict and serious. When she joked with the students, they often forgot how good of a disciplinarian she was.
And when she punished them, they never dared to pull rank on her, as she was from a well-off family as well.
In addition to that, becoming a professor elevated her Hartwell family and made them untouchable.
Numerous award-winning actors had come out with evidence to show who their acting coach was. The school even had to jump through hoops to get her to teach in their school.
Getting her approval was paramount to already being on the way to becoming a future award-winning actor.
Zoey didn't know any of this and thinned her lips when Eugenia didn't respond to her request.
She was adept at reading people's energy and knew without a doubt this woman wasn't someone easy to sway.
Sighing, she turned around to leave.
Forget it. If it were her, she'd turn herself away too. The professor had given her the opportunity to audition, but she turned it away so rudely.
Resigned, she headed toward the door again.
Kate's eyes lit up, the corners of her lips curling into a small smile.
Of course. She had played the female leads for the novels Professor Hartwell had chosen in the past.
It was understandable she got used to her being the female lead in her dramas and wasn't ready to change her.
Raising her head to meet Zoey's retreating back, she knew better than to gloat and kept her face neutral as she consoled, "Where are you going, sister? You can't just give up even before you…"
"Yeah, where are you going? This time you say you want to, the next you turn and leave." Eugenia took the words right out of her mouth as she threw a cold glance Zoey's way.
Given her personality, usually, the next thing she said to a student flunking her class was never nice.
Hence, when she heard her speak, Kate parted her lips, ready to 'defend' Zoey, "Yes, sister is from the countryside and may just be bluffing to fit in with the our—wait, what?"
Her face cracked. "Si-sister… you want her to audition for the role of Brielle?"
Eugenia turned to the chalkboard without another word while Zoey exhaled and returned to stand beside Kate.
Kate's face flushed, and she laughed inwardly.
Whatever has to happen should happen. Whether you audition or not, the role was mine from the start.
Nevertheless, she still had to play the good sister even when she knew the only thing following this would be disaster.
Hence, she bent her mouth to the side, reminding through gritted teeth, "You'll only end up embarrassing yourself in front of everyone today."
"It's your first day at school, so spend it getting acquainted with our classmates instead of this humiliation you're about to endure."
The words had just rolled off her tongue when Zoey picked up her script and moved away.
Kate's face almost heated up, but she consoled herself with the thought of how in a few minutes she'd be the one laughing last.
First of all, Zoey clearly wouldn't know about the story of Day of Reckoning. The scene on the script was a few chapters into the story and no quick background was provided as the professor asked them to go back home and read it.
But even if she read it, she still wouldn't be able to beat her, who had read it over thirty times, immersing herself in every scene each time she read it.
Eugenia finally turned away from the board after writing in bold, 'Auditions', 'Roles', and 'Characters To Play', with a slash in the middle to divide all three of them.
It was simple. The 'Auditions' was for everyone who auditioned, the 'Roles' for the one person who got to play the character, and the 'Character To Play' was self-explanatory.
Setting a timer, she spoke to them without raising her eyes.
"Day of Reckoning sold out everywhere in the country and internationally, so I don't care if you're a new student, you ought to have come across it in the past."
"Actually, my sister lived in the countryside until yesterday. I doubt she has ever come across Day of Reckoning," Kate immediately said in a raised voice, wincing a little as she concluded.
Eugenia pursed her lips.
"I'm not saying to act the entire scenes of Brielle. All I need is the particular scene highlighted there. The author also depicts the emotion Brielle feels in that moment."
"If you can't even channel out the emotions, you might as well quit your career before you waste any more of my time. That said, which one of you sisters will be going first?"
Kate grimaced, throwing a brief glance Zoey's way before she returned her attention to Eugenia.
"Naturally, Professor Hartwell, I'd go first. But if I go first, a lot will be expected of Zoey and I don't want that to be the case, so I'll let her go first."
Eugenia didn't argue and glanced at Zoey, who immediately stepped forward.
In this scene, fifteen-year-old Brielle's brother was murdered by her useless father's debtors after he tried to fight them off from taking her.
Heartbroken and shattered, she clutched her brother's limp body, crying and screaming so loudly her eyes turned red and her voice cracked.
In truth, Kate knew she couldn't pull it off.
In the past, about three award-winning actors had tried to act out this scene, but they always croaked out or missed the emotions—the raw pain expected to come from a young girl who had just lost her beloved and only sibling.
But she planned to give it her all, which made her relax back, waiting to see the disappointment in Eugenia's eyes and the curses her classmates would throw at Zoey.
Zoey simply walked to the front of the chalkboard and held her arms down, positioning them in a way to imply she was holding up a twenty-year-old man heavier than she was.
She inhaled sharply, her fingers trembling slightly, her wide eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Then, in a broken, breathless voice, she whispered, "B-big brother… what is this?"