All About Glee

RIB

Hola loyal readers. I just have one thing to say. I couldn't decide what point of view to write this from so I'm just going to jump around probably. From now, we'll be in Aria's POV. YAAAAAY. These will be super short, like a thousand words maybe (for reference, my Glee stories are on average 7500 words per chapter, I made up this statistic but I think it's pretty good).

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Aria's POV

Here's what you need to know about my visit with Glee.

It was a complete disaster.

It may not have been had I learned at a young age to keep my mouth shut and follow orders but unfortunately that's not the case.

Everything was fine at first. Ryan was polite, startling so, and I felt intimidated being in a room with Ryan Murphy (producer and writer), Robert Ulrich (casting director), Zach Woodlee (choreographer), Erik White (music video director) and Adam Anders (music producer).

I did not feel comfortable around so many men so I said, "Um, why are all these people here? No offense, you're all great and I'm so honored to meet you but... I expected to have Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuck here. You know, the writers. I guess Robert makes sense, too."

The men laughed. I wasn't sure why because I wasn't trying to make a joke or anything.

Robert was the one to explain. "We already like you," he told me. "We loved your audition and you have a splendid voice. We just want to make sure you're a good fit for Glee. Because it's not just about the voices and the acting. Fans have to be able to root for you the way they do for Lea, Chris, Naya, and everyone else."

"Right," I nodded. That made sense, I guess. I didn't know much about the cast personally but they were so great with their characters that the fans forgave even the cruelest of actions. That's what it took to make a character great and three-dimensional, being likeable.

"So here's what's next," Ryan took the reigns again. "Ian and Brad are still working on crafting some of the other characters that we'll be introducing this season but I've taken a special interest in yours so you're stuck with me."

I laughed politely, as did the rest of the team.

"I want you to tell me more about yourself," Ryan said, immediately putting a pen to a notepad that Aria hadn't been paying attention to. "You've got spunk but you're also polite. We don't have too much of that so I definitely want to put that into your character. You mentioned you suffered from EDNOS."

"What's that?" Zach asked.

I blushed as I said, "It stands for Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. But I don't have that. I just, I had a small case of bulimia but I recovered quickly and it really hasn't been a big issue since I was, like, sixteen."

"Great, let's use it," Ryan shrugged, writing it down. "We haven't explored eating disorders and I think we can try that out with you. You're very thin."

"Like that girl we had on our other show," Erik told Robert. "The redhead, what was her name?"

"Marissa," Zach and Robert said in unison.

"Right, I liked her story," Ryan nodded.

"But," I interrupted, all eyes on me now. "I just don't see how I'd be a good person to play that role. People with eating disorders are often not this thin and my thinness is due to anemia, not bulimia. I don't think it's a fair representation."

"It's Glee," Zach chuckled as Ryan continued to make notes.

I felt a bit terrified. Ryan looked pretty serious and I just didn't know if I had screwed this up or not.

"I think we should go with the bulimia," Ryan told me. "You need something to make your character an underdog."

"But why should it interfere with my personal life?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable with putting my own past struggles out there. "I wouldn't mind sharing with the world what I've been through but the truth is that it really hasn't been that much of a struggle for me and I don't think it should be another stereotype with the really skinny girl being the one who has the self-esteem and is so thin because she makes herself throw up. That's not the case for thousands of thin girls who are just thin because of genetics."

The men looked around at each other. I could tell Robert and Erik agreed but Adam was harder to read. Zach didn't seem to like me very much and who knows what goes on in Ryan Murphy's mind.

"She's going to be bulimic," Ryan said finally.

I sighed and stood up. "Then I guess Glee really isn't a fit for me," I told him, surprising everyone including myself. I had to stand my ground from the very beginning, or else I'd be just like every other Hollywood actor who goes down the rails when they can't say no.

I expected someone to stop me or say they changed their minds as I walked towards the door but nobody did. When I was outside and closing the door shut, I heard Ryan say, "Call Brad and see if he's okay with giving the bulimia to Melissa's character."

"Should we look for a different girl to play this character then?" Robert asked.

"No," Ryan said. "We'll just scrap this one out."

And that's when I was first branded 'the girl who said no to Glee'.