Holthum Manor

Henry Moore

Henry finished putting on the eyeliner of award winning actress Elina Hurts. "You always know how to make a girl look beautiful Henry." Elina said, eyeing herself through the mirror in front of them. "Thanks but, you were beautiful before I started." He responded with a smile. "You flatter me." She stood up and walked out of her dressing room leaving Henry by himself. He picked up his makeup pallet and placed it in his aluminum rolling makeup case before leaving the room dragging it behind him. He looked out from the edge of the stage admiring the actors and actresses while they performed. Jealousy and desire ran through him as he imagined himself on the stage reading lines, meeting new people and making new friends. "Alright, go change for the next scene." The producer said watching everyone scurry offstage to their dressing rooms. "Has anyone seen Henry?" Elina's voice came from behind him.

"Over here Ms. Hurts, what's going on?" Henry asked, offering her a smile to which she returned. "Henry, I am in huge cosmetic distress. Look, my eyeliner got messed up and my lipstick is smeared! Can you help me?" She said while pointing to her face. Henry nodded and snatched the handle of his rolling makeup case pulling it behind him with Elina following not far behind. She sat down at her blue vanity as he turned her chair around. "You did amazing out there Ms. Hurts." Henry said while wiping her smeared lipstick.

"Henry please, call me Elina. I am not my mother. I wish you were in the show with me, I feel more comfortable around you then half the people on that stage." She said while passionately grabbing his wrist causing him to chuckle. "I can't act to save my life." Henry said while redoing her eye shadow. "Why don't you try to? You know what I want better then anyone here and you understand me. I think you would do swimmingly." She said looking into Henry's chocolate brown ones. He let out a sigh "I wish I could but I get too nervous, at least I get to hang out with you back here." He said. "Come by my house after today's rehearsal, we're gonna go over some lines together so I can see what you've got." She said while smiling at him through the mirror. "Sure, anything for you." Henry said as he finished with her makeup fix. She got up and walked out of her dressing room and down the hallway. "Great." He said to himself as he put his makeup back into the case before walking out of the room and making his way to the back of the stage to the snack table. "Yum." He said, grabbing a maple donut and turning to watch from the side of the stage as the scene unraveled in front of him.

"Alright everyone, amazing job today. We will continue again tomorrow at 7:00 am, sharp." The producer stood up and grabbed his clip board walking out the set door with his assistant following after him. Elina caught Henry's eye and walked over to him with a big smile. "Are you ready Henry?" She asked to which he nodded with his mouth full. She grabbed his hand pulling him with her as she dragged him outside to a limo that was waiting for her. "I will follow you Ms. Hurts, I have my case with me." Henry said opening the back door for her. "Toss it in the trunk and join me back here. I won't take no for an answer." She said with seriousness laced in her tone. "Fine." Henry said as he set the case in the trunk then walked around and crawled in the back seat with Elina who now had a glass of wine in her hands. "What did you want to be when you grew up Henry?" She asked as he shut the door.

He thought for a moment as he looked into her hazel eyes. "I wanted to be a police officer when I was in elementary school but as I grew older I wanted to be an actor." Elina smiled at him. "See, more of the reason to go over lines with me." She said handing him a glass of wine. "No thank you Ms. Hurts, I don't drink." He said making her shrug "More for me." She said finishing one glass and setting it down. "Henry, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Elina?" She asked. "I'm sorry, it's just going to take some getting used to." He replied with a chuckle. They stopped in front of gold gates that slowly opened to a beautiful white mansion. A fountain in the center of the driveway flowed as rays of sun glistened through the stream. The front doors were tall with gold door handles. "Your house is beautiful Elina." Henry said looking at it in awe through his window. "Thank you Henry, it is beautiful but it also gets quite lonely too." She said as the driver went around to open her door.

She got out and Henry followed her lead to the front doors. The black doors opened reveling a big living room off to the right with a big chandelier hanging from the ceiling above, a dining room to the left with a glass table in the center surrounded by chrome chairs. "We can practice in the living room." Elina said as she took her heels off and sat onto the cow hide L shaped couch. Henry sat on the opposite end of her. "Here." She said taking a folder off of the coffee table and extending her arm with a white stack of papers. "Okay, I'll be Brooke and you be Zane." Henry looked over the lines as his confidence was thrown out the window from his nerves. Hours went by as they practiced the lines until the sun was down. "We can stop here if your not comfortable with the next scene." Elina said as she took a sip of wine from the coffee table. Henry gave her a look of confusion then looked at the script. His heart sank as his eyes read 'Brooke and Zane kiss'.

"I'm fine if your fine." He said trying to keep his cool. They both slowly leaned in, their lips slowly connecting. Their lips slowly moved together once, then again, and again. They both pulled apart, their cheeks both rosy. "That was amazing." She said breaking the short silence. "Yeah it was." Henry agreed. They looked at one another before she leaned back in, their lips connecting again. She slowly climbed over him as they continued kissing.

-The next morning-

Henry woke up from a gleam of light shooting through the curtains directly on his face. He looked over at Elina who was laying on her stomach revealing her topless back. He quietly grabbed his phone off the nightstand, raising it to his face. "What's this?" He said swiping open a new email from his agent. 'Once in a lifetime opportunity! Apply for a all expenses paid trip to Holthum Manor for a 10 day experience with the one and only Trever Holthum! You'll learn to hone your craft and better your acting abilities. Good luck and goodnight.' He looked over at Elina for a moment thinking about the night they had shared. "Fuck it." He said opening the site and filling out the info.

-2 Weeks Later-

*DING*

'Congratulations! You (Henry Moore) have been selected as one of only 7 participants to be accepted for the all expenses paid getaway to Holthum Manor. We will be in touch over the coming days to give you all of the information such as dates and flight information. We look forward to having you and once again, Congratulations!'