"You're smiling." Marie pointed an accusatory finger at her cousin as she walked into the kitchen.
"What, I'm not allowed to smile?" Callie defended in mock offense.
"No, that's your mischief slash joy smile. Either you got good news or the kitchen sink is going to spray me when I turn it on."
"You're being ridiculous, but you're right. I got good news!"
"Oh, shit, for eel?" Marie set down the lone grocery bag on her arm and stepped over to Callie. "What'dya get?"
"An email!"
Marie gave her a flat look.
"Ok fine!" Callie gave her a big smile "I got the part!"
"You're kidding!"
"Nope! Secondary lead in The Mermaid's Tail can you believe it!?" Callie proudly thrust her phone forward for her to see.
Marie couldn't read it on account of it not being held still, but the sentiment carried through the same. "I totally can! I told you that you'd kill the auditions! There was never any doubt in my mind."
"What about the other--"
"That vampire show was awful from the start. You saw its ratings, the actress they chose did not have the chops. This is different!" Marie playfully threw her hands up. "YOU got the part!"
Callie froze. "I guess I did..."
Marie chucked as the reality hit her cousin.
"Oh my cod, I got the part."
"You got what now?" A third voice asked from the front door. Quinn walked into the apartment, closing the door behind him. "Patrols are done by the way, The Cap'n sends his hello's."
"I got the part I auditioned for!!" Callie practically flew to the front door to show him.
Marie couldn't help but smile at the antics. It was genuinely reassuring to see Callie so excited. The competitive nature of the film industry left more than a few days feeling more somber than they should have.
"Oh, shit, for eel?" Quinn remarked as he tried to keep his eyes on Callie's shaking phone.
"That's what Marie said! Yes for eel! I got the part oh my cod yes yes yes!!!!" Callie jumped up and down on the spot.
"That's awesome!" Quinn and her shared a fist bump. "Really, that's so cool! You gotta get me a backstage pass or something." He awkwardly stood next to Callie for a few moments, before stepping towards Marie. He handed over a small stack of paper; the days mail, and then continued on into the kitchen.
"Cal!" Marie called out. "Stop jumping, you're gonna fall through the floor!" Callie flashed her a big grin before bounding down the hallway towards her room.
Marie smiled and shook her head good naturedly. Now, let's see what we got here... bill, bill, bill, advertisement, bill, hmm... With the end of the news gig, the pair suddenly had a lot of uninterrupted free time on their hands. The lack of splatfest hosting meant they could take on much bigger projects.
Callie immediately turned to film. That was always her thing, being up on the stage in front of everybody, and it seemed like a perfect fit. It started with just a few commercials, and then a short film, but with the announcement today, Callie finally had a real, actual role in a production.
Marie wasn't as eager to get back out there. As... nice as performing was, it wasn't what Marie wanted to do if she could help it. She didn't just want to walk away though, she did enjoy putting herself out there like that, and you'd never get her to admit it, but there was something that felt good about people liking her. For that reason, she'd been the guest at a good handful of talk shows and even as a guest in a larger concert. In all of them, she'd hinted that she was working on something big in the background, and that everyone had to hang on just a little longer. Truthfully, she had no idea what the idea was, until now at least.
Quinn stepped up behind her with a cup of lemonade in his hand. "Whuzzat?
Marie half looked back at him over her shoulder and frowned. "You need to spend less time with Gramps. You're starting to slur your words together like he does."
"Am I? Hmm." He shrugged and took a drink from his cup. "Anyway, Whuz zat?" he asked again, gesturing at the letter Marie was still holding.
"A letter from Lighthouse Radio." Quinn blinked in response. "The second biggest member of the Squid Broadcasting System?" Quinn blinked again. Marie gave him a flat look. "The people who I pitched the radio show to."
"Ohhhhh, those people! Why didn't you say so?" He took another drink. "Did they take you up on it?"
"Doubt it, but let me look." Marie wasted no time decimating the envelope, revealing the contents within. "Let's see... 'Dear Ms. Kensak,' starting off with some immediate ulgh, love to see it. Hmm... 'lots of potential programs...' da duh da duh da... Ah, here. "Which is why we are excited to partner with you and the show you plan to host.' See?" Marie confidently held her head, but dropped it a few moments later when she actually processed the words. "Wait."
"YOU TOO?" Quinn shouted "Man, this is a great day to be in the cuttlefish household! Surely I'll get my call soon!"
Marie squinted at him. "You're waiting for a call?"
"Nope."
Before she could say anything else, Callie tripped her way back down the hallway. "Marie did what now? Who? What? What did she do, Marie?"
"Welcome back Cal." Marie couldn't help the smile on her face. "They accepted my show!"
Callie practically hug tackled her. "AWH MARIE I KNEW THEY WOULD!!!"
Marie caught her cousin with a grunt. "Yes. Well, good job us!" She awkwardly, yet proudly announced.
With little other fanfare, Marie turned to the sink to get a cup of water, and was promptly blasted in the face by a jet of water.