The Crew | On Hold

Chapter 2

I arrive right on time, with the help of running and concentrating on the goal. At first I struggle to find the right building, but, when I notice a big booth with the words 'SECURITY' across it, completely obvious, right in front of me, I almost laugh out loud at my oblivion. A buff man, dressed in security clothing, hands me a limited-accessibility pass, when I step inside the booth and points to where I'm supposed to be going. 

 When I reach the auditioning building, I am greeted by a woman around my age, who is dressed in a casual attire, almost identical to me. She is really pretty, a latina, I would say, who's name tag tells me that her name is Karmen.

"Are you here for the audition for "Skyforger"?" She asks me, flipping through the pages she is holding. Karmen seems a bit stressed, so I reply immediately, trying to make her life easier, assuming that she's searching for my resume. "Yes. My name is Emma Giovanni."

After a second she finally finds the page she's looking for, gives me a warm smile, wishes me good luck and ushers me inside a spacious room with a small stage build in the middle of the room. Around the stage are placed three desks, at which three people are already seated and look bored, as if their job is just a waste of time and they could be having screwdrivers right now. 

I try to compose myself and give them a polite smile. "Hello. My name is Emma Giovanni and I'm auditioning for the lead role of Linda in "Sky-forger"." The three pairs of eyes finally focus on me, and finally they start to act like they're really focused with their work. A middle aged man with a ponytail and a moustache takes my resume and reads it. Another plump man around my age looks me up and down, and frowns, swinging my self-esteem and confidence.

The only woman of the group looks me straight into eyes and only says: "Proceed,..." Her brows furrow slightly as she hesitates, and looks down at my resume to check what my name was. "...Emma."

With that cue, I close my eyes for a second and take a deep breath. Forget where you are. There is nobody here besides you. You're just in your bedroom, rehearsing the lines as you did the past few days.

"Oh, James. Why does anyone have to bring the stars down? I can't live without them, you know that." I look up the sky longingly, trying hard to imagine a nightly sky full with stars, while desperately trying to control my facial expression and remember the lines correctly. "How can anyone live without them? They are the jewels of the night and of the sky. They shine even when you can't see them, how can..."

"That's enough, Miss Giovanni. Thank you." The plump man stops me mid-sentence. Hope blooms in my chest, but, when I notice that none of the people are smiling or even looking satisfied with my monologue, it quickly dies down. Did I really do that bad? At least I didn't mess up my lines, so that's  amazing.

The three share a look and then the woman speaks up again. "I'm sorry, but you don't fit for the role of Linda." My eyes swell up with tears even before I realise what she means. 

"Isn't there... isn't there another role I could do?" I sob lightly, trying to suppress the emotions, that are coming up like hot lava from an erupting volcano. I can feel my whole face burning up as embarrassment takes over my thoughts and I become very self-concious about the clothing I'm wearing and the way I don't have my hair or make up done. Why did I wear so much black? Why couldn't I wake up earlier and style my hair? Or at least slap some make up on? It's all my fault. Shit.

The man with a ponytail sighs annoyedly and shakes his head. "No. We're really sorry, Miss Giovanni, but you aren't what we're looking for."

Before my emotions take the very best of me, I manage to quietly murmur a 'goodbye, thank you for your time', despite the fact that shame and rejection is choking me up, making it hard to even breathe, and exit the room. Outside, Karmen comes up to me and puts her arm around my shoulders. "What's the matter, Emma?"

Tears spring out of my eyes even more uncontrollably and I am full on sobbing, as I tell Karmen that I didn't get the part and why it was so important for me to get it.

"Oh, my. I am really sorry that this didn't work out." Karmen hugs me tightly. "You are amazing for trying to help your mother while still going for your dreams. I believe you will find a new, even better role." 

I don't answer. Instead, I sob into her shoulder as she keeps hugging me and hushing me. She even whispers "They aren't good people, anyway. You got lucky.", which makes me laugh. 

After sitting there for at least 15 minutes, another girl arrives for the audition, and Karmen leaps up to greet her and usher her inside. While she's at it, I decide it's time that I left. 

I sneak out of the room and with the corner of my eye I see Karmen give me one last glance, before she has to greet a boy, who's also here to audition for some role. 

Outside, I sit on the stairs and decide to dial my mom, before I go out of the territory. Maybe she will give me an advice how to turn this all good again. She always comes up with something. 

When she picks up after the third ring, she's gasping in pain, as she usually does when her hands are painfully cramping. Her voice is weak and I can even hear the sound of hope in her voice. I don't want to tell her that I let her down and I don't have a job. I don't want to disappoint and worry her. She deserves the very best, but she still supports me chasing my dreams in the movie industry, not trying to find a 'normal job', as her brother tells us. 

"Did you get the part, honey?" 

Regret fills me and hot tears run down my cheeks as I confess that I didn't. I am deeply ashamed and now horror fills me as my thoughts wander to the possibility of having to live in a shelter.

Mom tries her best to sound supporting and suppress her disappointment, but I still feel like I can feel it, reaching out of the phone to choke me. We talk for a few minutes and I finally tell her that I'm coming home and then finding a 'normal job', just like uncle Vernon would like me to. 

"NO! THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE. YOU ARE FIRED. GO!" I hear an angry voice call right across the corner, and for a second I am frightened that it's me, who's done something horrifying, but then I remember - I don't even have a job.

A blonde woman appears around the corner and stops dead in her tracks, when she see's me. Right after her strides a skinny girl, who looks extremely ignorant and almost makes me want to hide, so I wouldn't have to talk to her. That's how unapproachable she looks.

 "Hey, you!" The blonde woman approaches me, making me freeze. Did I do something wrong? "Do you work here?" 

Stunned, I look at the woman and even sneak a quick look at the girl standing right next to her, giving me a dirty look. "No." I respond, sadness washing over me once more, making me remember mom and making me realise that for a second I finally forgot about everything else.

A mischievous smile appears on her face. "Do you want to work here?" 

Hello, my dear reader! Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, that you'll vote for it, and, most importantly, that you'll continue reading the story. :)