Philautia || Amour Éternel Series BOOK ONE ||

Eight - CALLIE

November 2014

Callie looked at herself in the mirror, taking her hair out of its bun and starting to put it up again. She sighed in frustration, silently cursing her curls for their unruly nature. Her agent had told her several times that she'd be more marketable if she chemically straightened them, but she wasn't willing to change that much of her appearance permanently. Occasionally she'd get them straightened for an event, but usually they were left alone. On Sanctum, the hair and makeup team embraced her curls and they were a defining aspect of her character. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like many other casting directors saw things the same way.

More than once she had been turned down for a role because casting directors couldn't see past her hair, which she felt was a shitty excuse, but what can you do? After Avril's party, her agent had called her and told her she had an audition for a new film. Apparently one of the casting directors she had met at the Halloween party in the Hills remembered her and specifically asked her to audition. After a minor panic attack at the prospect of a legitimate film audition, Callie had agreed and they set the date.

The only problem was that Callie was more nervous for the audition than she had ever been on the set of Sanctum - and she was basically naked 60% of the time. She hadn't told anyone else because she didn't want to get too invested; she didn't know how many other people she was up against and in all likelihood she wouldn't get the part anyways. From what she knew about it, she didn't necessarily see why they had picked her to begin with.

The role was a young woman who loses her daughter to SIDS and falls into a deep depression. She had no idea who she was auditioning opposite and in all honesty, she wasn't even sure she wanted to take the part. She had no children and it was a role that was really close to the heart for her. She wasn't sure she wanted to explore mental illness, given her history with it. Her mother's mental illness was a topic she never discussed - with anyone. For most of her life, she had gotten along just fine ignoring it, and she planned on continuing like that for as long as she could.

"Oh fuck it," she growled, giving up on her third attempt to fix her hair. "If they can't see past the hair, they clearly aren't interested enough."

She grabbed her bag and phone, checking to see where her UBER driver was. There was no point in her having a car in the city because she already had her motorcycle. Her apartment only came with one parking space, so even if she wanted a car, she couldn't have gotten one anyway. Not without selling her bike. She could see the driver's icon inching closer to her building so she decided to wait outside.

Callie slid on a pair of sunglasses and walked down to stand in the lobby. She had chosen her outfit carefully, settling on a solid knee-length navy blue dress and a pair of gladiator sandals. Even though it was November, Los Angeles was still in the 70s weather-wise. The sun was shining as usual and a few fluffy clouds were inching across the bright blue sky. She hoped the weather was a sign of how her audition would go.

An hour later, she was sitting inside an empty conference room alone. Upon her arrival to the casting office, an assistant led her through a labyrinth of hallways to a small, windowless conference room with plain white walls and fluorescent lights. The plastic chair she sat in was uncomfortable and let out a little farting noise anytime she shifted her weight. A small camera stood on a tripod in the corner and she noticed three sets of script pages sitting on the table. She was tempted to look at them but the door opened suddenly.

"Callie, good to see you again," Sarah Reuben said, shaking Callie's hand. "And thank you so much for getting back to us so quickly. We really want to have the cast finalized soon so we can get everything else put into motion for production. Please, take a seat."