"Troy!" A female reporter offered me a mic. "You are one of the you persons to be nominated for a Tony. If you win tonight, you'll be the you winner in the leading category. Also, the you person to plete the Triple of Ag. How do you feel about that?"

  "I feel honored," I bowed my head a little. "We don't make a film, show, or a py for the awards. It's always for the audience. And the audience has already given us the biggest award by watg our show so enthusiastically. We have already recovered all our costs from both London and New York. For me, as the producer, that is more than enough."

  The reporter looked at me in surprise before asking, "I didn't know that you produced it personally."

  I ughed, "I don't advertise it. I'll give credit to Elton John for that. I ran into him at es and he said that he wao make a musical out of [Billy Elliot]. I loved the idea, but my father wasn't very enthused about it. So I offered him to make the musical out of my sary from the [Harry Potter] movies. He agreed, but there were a lot of unnecessary rules aions for minor producers, so on paper, my father is co-produg it, but all the iment is mine."

  "You learn something iing every day," she remarked before asking the question. "Are you excited to perform tonight?"

  "Very much so," I grinned. "'t wait."

  "Wish you all the best for your performand the award," she greeted before moving on to the celebrity who walked the red carpet. I reized that man instantly. He was Sam Robards, the man who pyed my adoptive father in [Artificial Intelligence]. I didn't know what category he was nominated in, but at least I khat we weren't peting for the same award.

  I waved to him from a distance, and he waved back. I would have waited for him to e over when I came across another one of my co-stars. An Ri.

  "An!" I greeted him enthusiastically by hugging him. He patted my back before we separated.

  "Didn't think you would make it here," he remarked in his deep, measured tone. "You caused quite a sdal ba London for avoiding The Olivier Awards. Just like you abahe BAFTAs st year. People are saying that you don't like British award shows."

  I rolled my eyes at that news. "Why don't people get a real job rather thaing the reason for my absence from some award show? I am attendionight because it was ve for me as I was already here."

  An snickered openly at my sour mood, "You know the fuhings to say sometimes."

  I shook my head in amusement before ging the topic, "How are you feeling about your ces tonight?"

  "I'm not winning," he said with absolute certainty. "But you are. You definitely will win tonight, there's no ce you won't. I saw you both at West End and here at Broadway. Any actor worth their money could see how much effort and nuance you have put into your performahere was a reason that they gave you the Olivier Award despite you not going there in person."

  I had read a lot of reviews about my performance, speaking along the same lines as An was at the moment. Reading it was ohing, and hearing it from a colleague of yours and an actor as great as An was ahiirely.

  "That's very kind of you, An," I said gratefully. "But you were great yourself in [Private Lives]. You have a great ce to win yourself."

  Since I knew he was doing this py, I had taken a day off from my busy schedule and had goo see him perform. He was remarkable in it.

  "Let's agree to disagree," he said seriously as we made our way ihe hall.

  We kept talking idly about our lives and work, like old friends as some of the top actors in the industry passed us by. Liam Neeson, Jeffrey Wright, John Lithgow, Laura Linney, Helen Mirren, Patrick Wilson, and more were nomionight and were attending the ceremony.

  Soon we had to separate when we were escorted to our respective seats which were in different rows, and I reunited with Mum and Evan. Then the award show began with a musical performance, as it usually does. Uher major award shows, like the Oscars or the Emmys, which were mostly focused on giving out awards, the Tonys had a sedary agenda: marketing. They were the best marketing that any Broadway show could get. People from other cities did not care about some theater pys in New York uhey were marketed to them. The Tonys did that job wonderfully and thus started a big tourism industry in NYtered around Broadway. It was affected a lot by the attacks st year, but sihen, it has recovered a lot.

  As the show tinued, musical performances were done by different actors on stage iween the awards to keep the audieertained. And finally, it was time.

  "Troy," a smartly dressed man in a tuxedo walked up to me and whispered, "It's time for your performance."

  I nodded and got up from my seat, following the man backstage to the dressing room where everything was set for me. I had a set of Billy Elliot es that I quickly ged into before a makeup artist walked in and helped me prepare for the performahen I was fitted with a mic by the soument, and I was ready to roll.

  I took a deep breath as I waited backstage for my o be announced and then I stepped forward.

  (Break)

  An Ri rarely gave out praise to someone. As an actor, he thought that you shouldn't yearn for praise. At least he didn't. But there was just something about young Troy Armitage that he couldn't stop himself. When he was offered the role of Severus Snape, he had half a mind to reject the offer. But a versation with Steve Kloves ged his mind. Steve told him how he was making the film for his son. A son who had a grand dream to bee a superstar.

  He thought that this Troy must be a low-key megalomaniac. But he was curious, so he saw his performan [The Sixth Sense]. And he was stuo see the talent of the young boy. To bee an undeniable superstar, you hree things: talent, likability, and drive to succeed. Usually, actors e of the three things to bee a big star. But Troy, if Steve was to be believed and as much as An could see, had all three. That's why he just khat Troy would bee a superstar sooner or ter. That was a big reason for him accepting the role of Snape.

  And thearted loving the films. It didn't mean he wouldn't do other projects iween, like stage pys or even TV shows now and then. Something that Troy had talked to him about when they were shooting for the sed film. He didn't take that seriously but answered the kid heless.

  And now here we were. Troy erf on live TV a song called "Electricity" that just shocked everyone (pun intended) with the plex chraphy aiful vocals. An was surprised that of all his performahis was the best version of 'Electricity' he had seen from Troy.

  Just as he had predicted, An didn't win the award he was nominated for tonight. He didn't mind that much, because he khat he wasn't the best actor, nor did he have ambitions of grandeur like Troy.

  Finally, the time for the award for Best Actor in a Musical came and resented by Anne Heche and Bill Pullman, who began the annou by making some light jokes before announg the nominees.

  "The nominees are:

  John Lithgow; [Sweet Smell of Success]

  John Cullum; [Uriown]

  Troy Armitage; [Billy Elliot the Musical]

  Patrick Wilson; [Okhoma]

  Gavin Creel; [Thhly Modern Millie]"

  Anne Heche slowly opehe envelope before looking up at the audieh a huge grin, "And the Tony goes to Troy Armitage for [Billy Elliot the Musical]."

  An scoffed internally as he cpped. As if anyone else could have won that.