Lights, Camera, Drama!

The Auditions

 "Hello, Total Drama! My name is Maya Hills and I think that if I get selected, I think I'll have a shot at winning this game!" Veronica Hamilton's best friend said, holding a recorder in her hand. She was sitting filming her sitting on her bed, in a pristine white bedroom in a mansion.

As her friend Maya continued to ramble on about her life and personality, Veronica recorded her actions with steady hands. She did her best to match her movements, but as usual, Maya completely forgot her advice of not moving out of the frame. They had to re-record the audition twice because of this problem.

"I'm pretty popular at my high school, even though I'm a sophomore. I've also been in a few small movies and loads of commercials for big companies. I've also modeled for a lot of brands, like..."

Veronica remembers Maya bragging about her many acting feats, which ticked her off a bit. Especially since some of the producers complimented her for the amazing camerawork in the audition tapes, but Maya never told them that Veronica was the one who filmed them.

"...and I'm really smart since I'm in a private academia! I hope I get picked! See you on the island."

"And cut!" Veronica said, finishing the short film. And I hope this thing turns out good, she thought. I don't want to record this crap for the third time. Maybe it's time to pick some new friends.

"Thanks, Vera! If it wasn't for you I would have had to hire someone to film this. But because my childhood BFF is a camera-woman, I don't have to! Friend hug!" Maya squealed as she pulled Veronica into a tight hug.

"Yeah, your welcome," she replied half-heartedly. "You have any plans for the summer?"

"Umm, hello I'm going to become famous in a few months," Maya said. Veronica couldn't tell whether this was confidence or arrogance. To be fair, confidence and arrogance are two sides of the same coin.

"Come on, Maya! This show might be rigged or something," Veronica snapped at her. "Plus, there are like thousands of auditions being sent to MacLean, how can you be so-"

"Yeesh, you are so boring. Even if there isn't a one hundred percent chance that'll I'll be picked, it isn't zero!"

"Okay genius, so what's the plan to win?" Veronica asked her. "Unless your competition is composed of nerds and stoners, there is a very good chance you'll be up against someone good. Hell, even the nerds have a winning shot, but I'm not sure if MacLean will allow drugs on the island."

Maya rolled her eyes and picked up Veronica's backpack and shoved it into her hands. "Okay genius, see you later. Also, thanks for filming this again, I'll recommend you when you apply for a job. You can put that on your resume once you apply for a job at some fast-food place in the future."

"Hey, aren't you going to come over to my place!?" Veronica said. "You told me you'll leave once my audition is finished." That's something Veronica clearly remembered her friend saying. "Also, why a fast-food place; I'm going to become a-"

"I am a very busy young lady, so chow!" Maya replied as she leads Veronica out of the door. "Can't wait to see your audition, and by the way, that hairstyle is so outdated. Also, if you're wondering why a fast-food place, it's because I'm certain your parents won't pay for college sweetie."

I cannot believe how that I got kicked out of Maya's house, again. That was how most of their hangouts ended, being kicked out of whoever's house they met up in. Veronica and Maya's relationship has been on some thin ice lately, or ever since high school started, and it certainly didn't improve after that visit to her place. It wasn't because Maya was becoming sort of a mini-celebrity in their community in Toronto, but because she always relied on the aspiring cameraman to help her with stuff, and then never give her the credit for the things that she did, which was bad since it was hard to find stuff to record; last time she tried to film something at the local park, she got chased out by the park ranger for being 'creepy'. If she gets picked to compete on Total Drama, I hope she says that I played a role in getting her a spot on there, if TD is real.

"Total Drama Island, I can't wait to see if that show can live up to the expectations," Veronica said to herself.

Total Drama Island, or as she liked to call it, TDI, is a reality tv show that will air this summer. Veronica has always been a big fan of reality tv, mostly since she likes to laugh at how bad things are, but also because of imagining being in the contestants' shoes; they're just people, like her, so why can't she have a chance to become recognized? Maybe it's just fate that she was born into such an uncaring family full of idiots who spend all their money gambling away in Vegas. In another world where she was born into a rich, successful family, where her folks will pay the college expenses, where her friends didn't use her as a tool to their success, she could skip auditioning. But as a girl who is not in that fantastic world, not auditioning wouldn't be a choice. She had to, not to be famous, but just to be recognized as someone. As Veronica.

"Umm, hi I guess?" Veronica said to the camera, trying to sound normal. She couldn't include her fancy film work for her own audition, unlike Maya's one, so if the hosts don't like her personality, she's done for.

She then introduced herself, "My name is Veronica, Veronica Hamilton, and as you can tell I'm auditioning for Total Drama Island. Woo hoo..." She did her best to be enthusiastic, but it was hard to smile and talk at the same time. Her nerves started to ease as soon as she began talking about what she's good at.

"So I'm an aspiring photographer and cameraman, so I'm pretty handy with cameras and stuff like that," she told the camera. "But because it's hard to record yourself do stuff, all of the fancy recording tricks that I can use are sadly not included in this audition. Trust me, I'm no amateur when it comes to these things."

Veronica listed the companies that have commissioned her to take photos and videos of their products for advertisements. She was almost never credited once the final product was done because unpaid interns don't get paid, especially if they're not an adult.

"I'm kinda' smart, and I'm also really curious. Plus, I have an extremely detailed photographic memory, so I can remember stuff that I've seen, even if I didn't look at it for a long time. I'm especially good at recalling abstract images." Less than a hundred people have a photographic memory, which makes Veronica special; it's a shame that no one believes her when she says she does have that kind of memory. Tch, what was the point of telling that host about this, he won't believe me anyway.

"Heh, I guess I've told you everything about me. I really hope I get picked," Veronica said with uncertainty. "So good luck to all and hello to the competition!" That was the last thing she said before hitting the stop button and watching the tape. She decided that it was good, not excellent but just fine. Now all she needed to was upload the audition onto the Total Drama website. She has never looked into it before, but there couldn't be that many auditions on there yet, especially since this is a Canadian-based program.

In a few minutes, the odds that Veronica once thought were extremely low were rendered impossible. Over a million teens from not only Canada but from across the world have auditioned. She could see Maya's spiffy audition alongside the handful of hopefuls that made the cut to the 'might get picked' section of the audition page. The rest were unlucky were placed on the 'no chance' page.

"Win the draw or face public humiliation," Veronica said solemnly. "I think the 'don't audition at all' choice is starting to sound like a better option, but then Maya might..."

Veronica knows she wouldn't be able to bear the teasing her 'friend' would give her if she didn't audition, and if Maya actually won...Veronica will never get a shot at making it big. If she could win the show, or if she almost won, there will be so much more opportunities for her, more than she has now. The risk she was taking was clear, and she decided that worrying about the future won't change a thing.

She confidently uploaded the video. Her nerves started to ease up, and she allowed herself to fall into blissful sleep. Veronica doesn't know what the future might be, but as soon as the day was over it would be more clear. This was her only shot at being famous. The only way of being noticed. The odds could always tip in her favor, but the odds of her family going gold won't ever change.