from sammy's fifth year of life on he had been what social media nowadays titled a 'theatre kid'; a child that grew up watching or acting in plays, went to the school acting club and had small performances in the school halls at the school year's end celebrations. some people grew out of it, and some didn't; for sammy he couldn't even imagine not being able to act

he loved acting as much as he loved animals and his job at the petshop; every other day when his new coworker ellie would cover his shifts, he got onto the subway after school, a stack of papers - his scripts, some he wrote himself and some that had been written for him - in his hands and the music to the play in his earphones. it was an eleven minute ride from his school to the town's theatre where rehearsals took place

usually the boy skipped lunch, sometimes snacking a salad backstage or in the dressing rooms before hurrying down to meet his club; it wasn't a school club anymore, he was in an actual acting club that regularly hosted plays in the main theatre of his rather small city. 1000 people fit into the large room, so many eyes watching him when he performed, but he couldn't even wish for anything else

tonight, after a particularly successful premiere of little women, his makeup still on and hair all dry from all the gel and hairspray he was walking out the back and around the theatre onto the busy street to wait for his older brother to pick him up. sitting down on the broad stairs before the theatre bustling with the leaving audience, his lips were tugged into a bright smile at the success of the show

after pulling out his phone and texting his brother, he thought back to the loud applause and the whistles the audience had rewarded him with; the stress backstage and all the work beforehand had paid off, and he couldn't wait for the other three shows yet to come

the boy ran a hand through his caramel hair, accidentally nudging your leg with his elbow, making him apologize immediately;

"I am so sorry," he offered an apologetic smile