Casting Call

[ Lyrics ]

Fluorescent lights, we both arrived on time.

Same black jeans, same middle-part shine,
same way of chewing gum like you’ve got something to hide.
I watched you check your phone in that slow, slick scroll,
deep breath before the door, like you were taking control.
Not nervous—just aware. Not loud—but you were there.
And in that line of fifty, you were the only one who saw me.
We didn’t speak, but your eyes said, ‘I know
this script by heart—we both play the quiet hero.’

Same tote bag stain from yesterday’s matcha,
same list in the Notes app—half in emoji, half in data.
You leaned on the wall, arms crossed just right,
like you weren’t here to win, but you *were* here to fight.

Fluorescent lights, we both arrived on time.
No handshake, no name—just a glance and a sign.
You saw me see you, and you didn’t look away.
Now I know I’m not the only one who plays it this way.

They called your number, you walked with a sway
like the floor was a stage and the walls judged your face.
I studied your posture—chin up, chest in,
not trying to blend, but not trying to win.
Then you turned—just once—before you disappeared,
and for half a breath, everything changed here.
Not love, not rage—just the hum of recognition.
Finally, someone who speaks the same contradiction.

Same rhythm in the silence, same weight in the fake smile,
same way of surviving by staying just one mile
ahead of the doubt, behind the façade.
You didn’t say a word—but you spoke everything I thought.

And I don’t know your name,
but I know your game.
Not a threat, not a flame—
just a mirror with no frame.

We’re not here to be chosen.
We’re here to choose.

Fluorescent lights, we both arrived on time.
No handshake, no name—just a glance and a sign.
You saw me see you, and you didn’t look away.
Now I know I’m not the only one who plays it this way.

Fluorescent lights…