Unwanted - Danielle and Stefania ON HOLD

1

Danielle's POV

"Are you excited?!" Barrett asks as we head to the table read

"of course, I am" I laugh

Today was the first table read for season 6 of station 19 and we had a new actor today. She was 15 and she was going to be playing Maya and carina's adopted daughter. None of us had met her yet but the word had spread that she was amazing, she was cast instantly when she came in and auditioned so everyone was coming in for the table read, even if they didn't have a scene, just so they could come and see her.

"Do you know her name?" Barrett asks

"No, apparently it's her first big role so it's not like she's famous or anything"

Barrett and I were early so when we went in to find our seats, it was just us and a few crew members there. We went to look for our names and eventually ended up next to a girl who was also early, sitting reading a book. I looked next to her, and my name was written on the script with Stefania beside me, Barrett sitting next to her on the other side.

"Hey" I say to her, sitting down

"hi," she replies confidently, only looking up from her book for a few seconds. I look at Barrett who shrugs her shoulders, just as clueless as I was

"I'm Danielle," I tell her

"I know," she says simply

"you're playing Samantha right?"

"correct"

She was oddly confident for the situation she was in, usually when we get new actors, no matter the age, they're shy and nervous but she was extremely confident, especially for her age

"Are you nervous?" I ask

"no. But you are" she says, looking me in the eye for the first time

"Hm?"

"I can tell, it's the way you're sitting, you're back is stiff, it's like someone is forcing you to sit that way. You're fidgeting as well, if you keep going the way you are, your fingers are going to start bleeding by the way you're picking at them. When you talk, it's simple, whatever I give you for an answer, you just leave it, you don't ask follow up questions or agree or disagree, you just nod. Your eyes are darting around too, I only just noticed but I'm guessing you know I'm right because you're making an effort to look everywhere but me" she said strongly as Barrett watched in awe

"Danielle?" a voice said from behind me as I turned around to see Stefania standing there

"Stef!" I smile, standing up and hugging her, "how was Italy?" I ask

"Amazing! I missed you though" she says as we sit back down and she realises the girl next to me, writing something down

Stefania, Barrett, and I continue talking until the girl slides a piece of paper over to me, face down. I look back at her but she's reading again so I just turn the paper over and read it

'You like her. As soon as you saw her you relaxed, you weren't stiff anymore, you looked her in the eye, you're not picking at your fingers, you look intrigued by whatever she says, you're like a different person

Her attention doesn't move from the book as everyone files in, the room quickly becoming full of people who are looking around to find her

"You know everyone is looking at you right?" I say, confused about how she doesn't care about the eyes on her

"I know"

"Ok, everyone!" Shonda says from the front of the room, getting everyone's attention, even the girl's