Billboard Lovers

Chapter 7: Audition Day

As Vikrant smoothly reversed into his parking lot, Aashna's heart sank. There had to be a way to get recruited other than auditioning in a lit room full of people.

Every inch of her body alerted her to her alarming pulse rate. In fact, her heartbeat was the only thing she could hear. Vikrant kept talking beside her, but her brain could not register anything.

They were already at DOE Entertainment's office and Aashna was having second thoughts.

The magnificent office was the final reassurance she needed to accept that this was not a scam. Vikrant guided her through the security check and elevators, unlocking each level of this game called office with his identity card. Almost everyone here was busy with their phones or folders, exchanging greetings only in glances. Being the only pimple-faced, minor around fidgeting with her sling bag made her regret not auditioning last weekend. She hid closer behind Vikrant but nobody was even paying attention to her.

Why do adults look so pretty?

"Don't do that. You have to appear confident," Vikrant pulls her from behind. 

"Besides being an actor's agency, we also have an in-house production team for movies and recently started a music label so our office strength might be bigger than what you would have thought."

He was right. She now noticed the labels on each door and wondered which one was she going to be behind any minute. She prayed that it should not be any of the glass doors for the entire staff to watch her nervous breakdown.

"What would you like?"

"An opaque door," Aashna replies dreamily before meeting a confused Vikrant's face and then the man with a tray in his hand.

She was doomed.

Aashna makes the best use of her waiting time, by panicking. Her knees were vibrating as she nervously flipped through her script, occasionally sipping her terribly hot and tasteless coffee to calm down. There would be at most four people in there, Vikrant had said. Three men, one woman. Let me go and talk to them while you wait here, he had said. 

At least the door to the room was opaque.

God, why did I say yes to this?

The door flutters open and she gets a peek. There were four people. Two ladies.

"Go on!" Vikrant commands.

Aashna's coffee was not done yet, but she obeys anyway, ironing her t-shirt with her palms.

Here we go.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whoever decided to keep the Judgement day on Monday was pure evil. And whoever made Mayank Lord Chitragupta had to be the God of death Yama himself.

Aashna could see Mayank waiting outside her class, most definitely to tell her the results of her audition. It was already lunchtime for the entire ninth grade except 9-A because they were apparently "behind all other classes in math".

Mayank dallies in the corridor, frequently stopping someone to chat. Boy had too many friends. He would intermittently eye the door to 9-A and Aashna would look away, trying to pay attention in class. 

Their last conversation had been bothering her all weekend. "Just as  bad as me," he had said. What did she ever do to be called so?Does he know that she lied to her parents?