She is still waiting for the bus to come, though she is fed up with the wait and is about to go back home to try to persuade her mother to give her a lift. 'I can't believe you are going to do this, Calli. You are getting the true and only chance to show an award-winner author what you can do.' She hears a sort of interior voice saying this exact sentence, and now she feels much better. After all, 'Calli Earls never gives up,' she still hears that sort of voice. At last, she realizes that it's her thoughts to be voiced somehow.
Anyway, Calli is getting fed up with the wait. She only wants to catch the bus to go to the bookstore, where there is an important event involving books and authors. More particularly, her favorite author, Hannah Holleran, is also going to be there. She is the author of such amazing stories like Beautiful Bitch, The Daughter of Nobody and Nonsense. Hannah is going to promote her new novel, How to Meet First Love, there and is also going to answer the fans' questions, and, why not, maybe she could read some of their works. Calli is ready for this moment. She wants this chance so badly, but how can she even manages to get it if the bus is so late, and furthermore it is also raining. 'How am I supposed to be there in time if it starts in twenty minutes, and the bus is fucking late?' The girl's mood is being dampened, and now she thinks nothing could go worse.

***

Or maybe not.
On the bus, the presence of Annaleese and Charleigh visibly irritates her. She has argued with them quite a lot lately, and the way they behaved with her was deemed to be absolutely unacceptable.
The two girls turn to her, much to her annoyance, and Annaleese asks, "Where are you going, Calli?"
"Definitely not to the mall," comments Charleigh. "That place is not for you!"
"Charleigh!" admonishes Annaleese. "Don't be mean!"
"Just tell Calli. She is mean!"
"That's enough!" intervenes Calli. "If you have nothing to do other than insulting me, then get off this fucking bus! I am fed up with you! What's your problem?"
Annaleese puts a hand on her right shoulder and asks gently, "What's your problem, Calli?" Calli has just burst into tears, and Annaleese is giving her a worried glance. "You have been behaving strangely, lately. What's up?"
Charleigh is silent, her arms are crossed and she is giving Annaleese a cold killer glare. Then, fed up with not being paid attention, leaves.
Calli, still crying, answers, "You should know, Leese. I want it so bad! If Hannah doesn't approve of it, my eventual career as a writer will end before it starts!"
"Calli. There are other authors." states Annaleese. "Believe me, Hannah Holleran is too... I can't find the right word... too picky. You'd better ask someone else for approval."
But Calli is definitely going to ignore her friend's advice, and wants to meet her favorite author, her idol, her only reason for inspiration, before it is too late.

***

Later, at the bookstore...

At last, Calli arrives, but it seems as many people are already leaving. She is late.
'I knew it! Hadn't it been for that stupid bus, I would've got here in time!'
But it seems also as Hannah is also late. Many people are leaving in dissatisfaction, because maybe they have something better to do than waiting.
She sits at a chair and starts re-reading her novel. There might be some grammar mistakes, but it's nothing a good editor can't correct and after all it is still readable.
Suddenly, a guy handing his script sits next to her. He looks desperate and also very frantic, to be frank. He starts reading it, whereas Calli has just stopped checking hers. Then she asks, "Hi. Are you still checking your work?"
He nods and frantically turns back to his job. She asks again, "And may I ask you what is your name?"
He still doesn't answer.
"My name is Calli Earls. And yours?" They end up shaking hands.
"Ryan. Ryan Holleran." he replies in a very low tone. He adjusts his glasses and then avoids Calli's glance. She worriedly asks, "Are you Ok?"
He ignores her question and keeps re-re-reading his script. Then, "You should know, being Hannah Holleran's," he talks in an even lower tone, "son is not easy."
"What?" She whisper shouts. "Are you Hannah's son? Can you give me advice, please?" she begs.
He keeps not answering.
"Please?" she insists.
"Ok, ok. But let me be honest with you. My mother - pardon, I meant Hannah, is merciless and often rejects scripts. If I were you, I would pay attention to her. Sometimes her critiques might be..."
She cuts him off, "Harsh? Brutal? Sharp? Don't worry, I've already dealt with loads of blunt criticism."
"But she is..." In front of all this determination, Ryan gives up the idea of going on with his sentence and shuts up. Calli will be next showing Hannah her script, and she cannot afford any sort of distractions. She wants everything to work out perfectly.

***

So, when her turn comes, she displays her best smile. Hannah glares at her, then shakes her head. "Ok, darling, show me your piece."
Calli obeys and hands Hannah the papers. The woman reads, "So, when Allyce starts driving, I start worrying, as well, because she drives way too fast and makes me feel like I'm in a rollercoaster. I want to throw up. I definitely want to throw up." As she stops reading, she notices the girl is still smiling. "Why the heck are you still smiling? You should take this seriously!"
"I am taking it seriously, Mrs Holleran," she protests. "I am smiling because I am confident, and think I have pulled off a great story and-" but Hannah cuts her off, "I am sorry, but this is not what I am looking for. Too much deepness is so silly. If I were you, I would throw this piece in the trash and start going to the mall like every other teenager. Did you understand, sweetie?"
"No! I can't!" Calli ends up yelling. "And I still can't understand why the hell I am wasting my time with you!"
"Was it Ryan who told you those absurdities?"
Calli just nods. She is too angry to talk, and her growing anger could lead to her vehemently insulting Hannah. But she doesn't deserve that witch's insults, and leaves. Disappointed and disilluded, she is about to throw her papers into the trash, when Ryan approaches her and says, "I've told you."
"No, you haven't," she argues.
"I tried to tell you," he corrects himself. She blushes. "Listen, Calli, I do like your story. I took a glimpse at it, and it's nice. So, I don't understand why my mother ditched it."
"Hmm... maybe she is a true bitch. I think I will start idolizing another author..." she comments, and then laughs softly.
"Or maybe, you could idolize yourself." After saying this word, he takes her hand and the two of them go to the mall. There, they meet Annaleese, who announces, "Ok, guys, two things. First, the two of you make a perfect couple. Second, I talked to a publisher, and, Calli, I sent him a copy of your novel. He wants to publish it as soon as possible!"
"But how could you..." Calli doesn't even finish the sentence and is about to faint, when Ryan talks, "Calli, I think I got in love with your story, and with you."
These words make the two of them lean closer to each other.