A Room With A View

Chapter Five - Madeline

September 3rd, Sunday

Madeline's foot jiggled. She shuffled and reshuffled the sides in her lap. She had the words memorized backwards and forwards, but she still felt the need to check the cues, reexamine the characters, stress about the syllables.

"Nicole Devlin?" The casting director asked. Madeline's head snapped up. Nicole had been the one to beat her out for the bit part in the Rent revival. She was tall and blonde, with lanky limbs and a waist too small for a belt. Nicole swept her hair from her neck and followed the casting director into the room.

The door closed, breaking the silence. The sounds of nervous titters and smacking lips filled the air. Madeline looked at the mirror across from her. She had heavy-lidded eyes and bronze skin, with dark hair she'd curled into submission. She wasn't stocky, per se, she was just square. her shoulders were the same width as her hips, and her waist had no curve.

You don't have...an actor's body, her freshman acting coach had said. She had spoken the truth that Madeline have never admitted to herself. But rather than let it stick, Madeline had thrown herself into acting, learning everything she could about the craft. She could cry on demand, throw on a brilliant smile, and adopt any accent the role called for. She had learned to dance, learned to limp, and learned to shuffle with a walker. There wasn't a role she could not play...if only she looked like Nicole.

As if hearing her thoughts, Nicole Devlin stepped out of the rented classroom. She was looking back over her shoulder, laughing at something the casting director had said. Madeline could feel the tension grow in the crowded hallway. Laughter was a sure sign of doom. It meant that the casting director liked whoever had auditioned. Perhaps even enough to cast them.

Madeline watched Nicole clack down the hallway on her spindly stilettos. She never looked back.

The remainder of the struggling artists waited on bated breath for the casting director. They were all aware that at any second, she could walk out and say, "Thank you all for showing up. Unfortunately, we have made our decision. We look forward to seeing you all at the start of our next project." Though they each outwardly despised the next name called that wasn't theirs, they secretly thrilled at the prospect of another auditioner. It meant that not all hope was yet lost.

The casting director strode out into the hallway. Madeline peeked at her page of notes. Melissa Faraday. She was with Casts Away, a startup casting company that had racketed its way up the Broadway ladder. Madeline stared ahead of her, mentally shuffling through all she knew about Melissa Faraday. She wanted to walk in with a compliment ready.

"Madeline Mills," Ms. Faraday said. She carried out the "a" in Madeline's name.

Madeline's heart skipped a beat. She looked up and made eye contact with Ms. Faraday. The woman smiled, almost reluctantly, as if some other source was dragging up the corners of her lips. Madeline swallowed and grabbed her bag. She clutched it to her chest like armor as she followed Ms. Faraday into the classroom.

It was unlit. A stray streetlamp positioned just outside filtered through the dusty window, providing the only source of light. In the dim, Madeline could see the classroom chairs pushed up against the walls, creating an open space in the center of the room. The tile was white and eerie. The shadowed figures of the production team sat around the teacher's desk. One of them had glasses that winked in the light, completely blocking any view of his eyes.

"H-hello," Madeline said, her dry tongue catching on the roof of her mouth. "I'm Madeline Mills. It's a pleasure to meet you." She spread out copies of her resume and head shot before them. The man with the glasses picked up her resume. Madeline couldn't tell what he saw in it.