Hey Soul Sister! (A Darren Criss Fanfiction)

Show Them What You Can Do!

I take the subway back to the Broadway theatre. Again being violently thrust forward, I possess really bad balance anyhow. I stride a few blocks. The public entrance is open, I take up that advantage. I am already inside the building and I can hear Carmichael yelling within its heart. I go up staircases and motionless escalators. The auditorium doors are wide open. I then hear an ear-splitting rendition of "Stars" from Les Miserables. My ears begin to ring almost instantly. I know what word is about to be shouted through Carmichael's lips.
"Next!" he booms and I mouth along. I silently giggle to myself. I stride down two more sets of stairs
" I'm done with this! Why are all the untalented personas of the New York City coming to this very sacred hall of music, talent, humor, and passion?! My God! I'm turning into Simon Cowell! Everyone go home! None of you will be my perfect Jonathan!" Carmichael shouts.
The backstage stings with groans all around.
" Hello again, Carmichael," I say sweetly. He turns to face me head on.
"What are you doing here? You aren't getting a callback...Ummm...Something Q Estell, right?"
"Again my name is Quinn," I reply.
Before Carmichael can speak once more, Leah tells the three of us (Carmichael, Maxwell, and myself), " Quinn is here to I guess I'll say try-out for the job of doing make-up...To take up Valerie's place."
Carmichael only nods and then turns. There's a girl standing in the doorway.
" Oh...It's just you, Britt...Come on over here."
A girl that appears twenty, timidly walks over to the stage. Leah has walked over to me. Leading me up the stairs.
"Who's that?" I whisper.
Leah answers, "Carmichael's daughter."
I see this girl with the possession of the most luscious and long strands of charcoal hair, honey colored eyes, and a creamy sort sort of skin tone is embracing Carmichael.
Then I see a wave of thought pass through Carmichael's mind.
"Estell, as your job interview for doing Soul Sister's make-up, you will be doing my basis for Catia's usual everyday make-up routine on Britt, here...You up for it?"
I nod. He hands me a hand drawn sketch of Catia.
"Good!" he says without a smile. "I'll give you one hour."
Carmichael walks out with Bialystok behind him. I am left alone with a silent Brittney and tranquil Leah.
"Come with me you two," Leah goes backstage with Brittney and I a close second behind. She takes a key from her suit pocket and opens a dressing room. Brittney cautiously walks in.
I then ask, "Is there any sort of robe or cover she can put on so I don't get make-up anywhere but her face?"
Leah nods and tells Brittney, "You know where the robes are."
Brittney quietly goes over to a metal rack and takes a white robe off the hanger.
Leah then tells Brittney to leave on her white shirt with a meadow green bird design and take off her pants. Sounds weird but we don't want her to get hot. It is sweltering in here. Leah and I wait patiently outside the door.
"She's quiet," I whisper.
"Britt's going through a phase right now...Carmichael swears he'll send her to boarding school if she talks back or says anything poor about him...Britt just stays quiet around her two dads and their colleagues." Leah replies.
"Her dads?"
"I've said too much, Quinn," Leah says.
Then the dressing room door reopens. I see Brittney's in the white robe and her hair is already tied into a ponytail. I go in with Leah behind me. She sits on a couch behind Brittney and me.
There's a chair and vanity, " Please sit down, Brittney."
She obeys and I study the drawing. Catia seems to be like a stereotypical Spanish woman, in the respects of that she has the appearance, in wise of make-up, appears to be a Flamenco dancer. Two deep browns wing out at the edges of her eye lids, the eyes accented by the black eyeliner, a sort flush of rose within her cheeks, glossy red lips, and massive amounts of contour on her cheeks.
I say to myself, " Better get started...You only have an hour, Q."
I first start with the contour. I discover make-up and brushes within the drawers of the vanity. I put on foundation and concealer. I work quickly. Thankfully when I'm completed with that part of my task, it doesn't appear to have been down quickly. I do Brittney's shadow with detail and precision. Same with her eyeliner which seems to blend in with her winged eyeshadow. Blush didn't take so long as contour and shadow. I then apply the most glossy, lush rose red lipstick. I remove the ponytail holder from Brittney's hair with ease.
I also discover a red rose clip and place it gingerly into Brittney's hair. Leah stands and claps when I am finished with my painting.
"I'm impressed! You can sing and do make-up like a professional, Quinn!"
I only smile. I spot a miniscule beam begin to appear on Brittney's face.
" I look beautiful! You're a wonder!" Brittney hugs me. I return it.
Leah and I exit to let her put on her pants.
"I've never seen her that happy since her fifteenth birthday, Quinn," Leah grins.
I say, " All in a day's work, Leah."
Then Brittney opens the door with her pearly whites widely smiling. She gleefully walks into the open stage. We are right behind her lead.
Carmichael says, " I see my Catia!"
Brittney runs to her dad who hugs her. Carmichael smiles at Brittney, but when he spots me, it goes back to his normal slant.
"I'll call you, Estell!" Carmichael says.
Brittney then says, "Daddy! Please hire her! She's amazing!"
Carmichael inhales and says, " Estell, you got the job! I'll call you when you are going to start working!"
I walk out feeling gleeful. Then I see Leah following me.
"Quinn, I'm sorry...Would you like to take a cab with me?"
"Sure," I reply.
As a pair, we walk out of the theatre. Leah calls a cab in no time. I give the cab driver my apartment street location and begin conversing with Leah.
"Thank you for giving me a chance to do something for the show!" I exclaim.
Leah tells me, "Your welcome...Quinn I saw something in you! I really hoped you'd become our Catia, but Carmichael didn't take to you like I did! I really desired for you to be part of this project."
" If you don't mind my asking...What did you mean by Brittney's two dads?"
Leah exhales, " You see, (she whispers this next thing) Carmichael's gay. He pretends to have a relationship with his secretary, Linda."
"Oh," I then ask. " Then how's Brittney in the picture?"
Leah answers," Edgar and Carmichael wanted a child...Carmichael dreamed that their child would have to be a Broadway star...He looked through potential Broadway star surrogates...Then Carmichael found her."
"Who?"
Leah whispers, " Idina Menzel."
"My God! So Shelby Chocoran was an actual thing?"
Leah nods, " They met and talked it over...To keep the press at bay, he had Idina stay with Edgar and him...Claiming that Idina was practicing for this new play and that his secretary was pregnant...It worked. Brittney Fantine Hanley-Schimit was born in Spring of nineteen ninety eight... And with her talent, it took tutoring...Brittney is an okey singer...There you have it...The many scandels of Carmichael Schmidt."
I am in awe, " How long have you known him?,"
"Since his beginnings on Broadway... I aspired to be an actress on Broadway."
I am speechless.
Leah then tells me, "I guess that's why I am so drawn to you, Quinn...You remind me of who I used to be."
"What happened?"
Leah's face fell.
"Sorry, Leah...You don't have to answer."
"A really bad case of Laryngitis happened...My surgery went badly wrong," she replies.
I tell her, "I'm sorry, Leah."
Leah says nothing, fighting to hold back tears. Then we drive up to my apartment complex.
"Bye, Leah...Thanks again," I say.
"You're welcome, Quinn."
Then the cab drives away. I feel content get unhappy for Leah. I then head up to my apartment and get ready for bed. The sky is already calling, " Go to bed!"