Lights, Camera, Action

Pictures

TWENTY-FIVE - PICTURES

Alyssa's POV

Indy Pop Con was a ton of fun. I almost wished we could stay in Indianapolis for a few more days, but by the time Mark and I got back to Los Angeles, I realized that I had spent enough time in Indiana. It felt good to be back in my own place, making videos with Aubrey, playing with Webster, and sleeping in my own bed. Not only that, but I was looking for more movie and TV show roles. I loved Youtube, but I had always seen myself as an actress, not just a Youtuber. It wouldn't hurt to go to a few more auditions while I had a bit of free time on my hands.

Once again, attempting to boost my acting career stopped me from going to a convention - Comic Con to be exact. I didn't mind, though. I had just gotten back from Pop Con, after all. Instead of hurriedly recording a bunch of videos with Aubrey to prepare for another convention, I was able to continue the regular schedule and get a couple auditions in. One of the auditions was actually a really big one - I was going to try to get the role of the main character for a movie called Violets. It was based off of a book by the same name that I had read somewhat recently and thoroughly enjoyed. Going out for a main role when I hadn't had any big roles in anything before was quite a risk, but I figured it was worth a shot.

"Today's the big audition, right?" Aubrey wondered on the morning of the Violets audition.

"Yeah," I answered as I filled Webster's food bowl, still really tired. I had just woken up.

"Good luck, even though you probably won't need it."

"Thanks, but I probably could use some luck, actually," I decided.

"Hey, this might be a big break for you if you get the role, but you have nothing to lose if you don't. If you don't get it, there will still be a million more chances for you to star in other things. And in the meantime, you get to be a Youtube star with me!" Aubrey smiled. Even though I was never in a great mood so early in the day, I managed to grin a little.

"I guess you're right. Well, I better get ready."

A shower and some coffee helped wake me up, and once I had eaten something and made myself look decent, I headed to the audition. I had nervous butterflies the whole drive there and it didn't get any better once I had arrived and I had to sit and wait for others to audition before me. Luckily, Alex and Mark both sent me good luck texts which helped calm me down a little. I ran through lines in my head and thought about the way my character was in the book until I had channeled my inner Xaria. By then, it was my turn.

The girls ran lines with guys who were auditioning for the main male role of the film. The guy that was up when I got into the room amazed me. He looked almost exactly the way I had imagined his character (Zaden) looking in my head as I read the book. Not only that, but his acting was good, too. I felt optimistic about running lines with him. Somehow, auditioning with someone else made me feel more at ease, and I was able to focus on getting into character instead of the jarring feeling of nerves in my stomach. When I left the building, I felt a lot better than I had going in. If I didn't get the role, oh well. I still felt like I did well, and I might even get a smaller role in the film if they liked me enough.

When I got home, I was surprised to see Alex sitting in the living room with Aubrey. We had planned on doing a couple challenge videos with him for our channel, but we never actually set a date for filming...

"So, tell me how it went!" Alex said, pulling me into a hug without even saying hello.

"Hi, it's nice to see you too!" I sassed him. "It actually went surprisingly well. I got to run lines with a guy going out for the Zaden role, and for some reason running lines with a fellow actor is a lot less intimidating than running lines with the random person deciding whether or not I get the role," I explained.