Chapter 31 - Summer's End

"It was incredible!" Miranda cheered, after she finished explaining her small but pivotal role in the upcoming Curse of the Pirate Queen.

"That's terrific," Gwen laughed, caught up in her daughter's enthusiasm. "What an opportunity!"


"I guess we'll need to stock up on sunglasses and baseball caps, now that we have two famous actresses in the house," she continued.

"I'll try to remember you when I accept my Starlight," Miranda laughed.

"It really was an incredible opportunity for her," Cassie said later that night, "but I can't help but think Judith was up to something. It's like she hoped Miranda would fail. I know she's mean as a rule, but it seems like more than that. God, she's such great actress that sometimes I'm not sure what's real and what's not when I talk to her."

"It's like she has something personal against me," she continued, " and I don't know why. I've only ever tried to get along with her."

"Well, you broke into acting from music, and quickly rose to a stardom she's worked a lifetime for," Gwen pointed out. "You're beautiful, talented, respected... the studio's new golden girl... and I'm sure it doesn't help that you look literally half your age, while she's been hiding her wrinkles and grey hair for a decade."


"OK, if you're going to be all logical about it," Cassie grumbled, "and since when were you logical?"

"Since we were eighteen and I needed to impress a certain raven-haired girl by beating her at chess," Gwen replied.


"Well, at least with Judith I don't have to worry about us all being murder by vampires," Cassie laughed.

"You just had to say that, didn't you?" Gwen sighed.

Calls to Tartosa were sometimes difficult (the spells that shielded Glimmerbrook from the rest of the world made cell coverage spotty at times), but Miranda thought it was worth it to keep in touch with Mariah. She shared not only the big news about the movie but all the little news of everyday life...

Mariah said that Miranda had clearly been bitten by the acting bug. She admitted she was maybe considering joining the local community theater troupe in the fall.


She was also practicing her mediation...

... even discovering Gwen's levitation trick...


... which was not as easy as it looked.

Meanwhile, she told Mariah, when mom wasn't doing something for the studio, she practiced her often neglected arcane skills.


Gwen insisted there was always something new to learn.

Catching up with Beth and Jake was, at least, something that could be done in person.

They were suitably impressed by Miranda's upcoming film debut...


... though Jake was a little more interested in Jenny Poole's nude sunbathing and why Miranda hadn't thought to grab any pictures.

Beth assured Miranda she would bite him at the earliest opportunity.

The last days of summer were fading...

Miranda wondered what her last year of high school would bring.