The Music of the Night

Chapter 8

Emmy decided that she wanted to show off Ellie's work to everyone, so she led her and Joel to the sound stage. 

When they entered, her stomach dropped to her feet in an instant.

Standing inside the room were hundreds of staff and cast, all looking in their direction. 

The thousands of pairs of eyes that landed on Ellie made her heart stop beating altogether, and she wanted to run from the overwhelming anxiety that was consuming her. 

But she had to stand strong and look professional towards them, so she stayed put.

"Everyone!" Emmy called, grabbing their attention (though Ellie thought it was already there when she walked in). "I would like you to meet Ms. Ellie Parker, our newest edition to the family."

A chorus of "Hello's" echoed through the room in unison, and Ellie's hands began to shake at her sides. 

All she could manage was a stupid wave, and she was about ready to run when Joel came up next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

"It's alright," he whispered to Ellie. "Don't be afraid."

She nodded and darted her eyes around the room, not looking at one person in order to stay calm. 

Then, Joel said, "You see the dress that Emmy is wearing?" 

Everyone nodded, and he continued. 

"This was made in a day by this fabulous young woman right here. Ellie has a talent unlike anything I've ever seen, and I wish for her to be treated like a queen around here. Will you guys do that for me?"

Ellie flinched at Joel's words. 

She did not want to be treated like a queen. 

All she wanted was to do her job and succeed at it, nothing more, so she shrugged his hand off and said quietly, "Don't tell them that. I'm not royalty."

He raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

Annoyed, Ellie stepped forward and said, "You do not  have to treat me like a queen. I'm as human as any of you, and I would like to be treated as such. All I would like is to do my job around here, and that's it."

She may have sounded crude, but she was going to be truthful, whether they liked it or not. 

Ellie then turned around and walked out, not listening to Joel as he called her name.

A few minutes later, Ellie walked into a room that was across from the sound stage. 

Thankfully, it was empty, so she sat down in a shadowy corner and hid herself. 

The humiliation that coursed through her was unpleasant, and she couldn't believe that her best day had gone to her worst day in the blink of an eye.

The staff were going to think that Ellie was some sort of snob that looked down upon them because she was, "supposedly", better, which was not true. 

The actors and staff on the project had years of experience and talent under their belts, where as she was a yearning clothing designer that had to work really hard in order to reach her goal. 

This sucks, Ellie thought to herself with a frown, and she rested her head on her arms.

Not even a minute had passed before she heard a slight shuffle from across the room, and her head perked up in response, but she did not make any sounds, for she wanted to be left alone.