"You want me to do what?!"
"Trust me."
Karen finished completing the puzzle, instructing me on my actions for the audition.
"You will not be given the chance unless you master the first part of your mission," Karen said, throwing the script against the wall dramatically.
Before I could even think about pulling off the stunt Karen planned, I needed to memorize the entire script.
"Every word. Each direction. Page number. Know it. Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yes."
The first day of 2007, and in many aspects I felt as clueless as I did exactly a year ago driving my beat-up car through the streets of Los Angeles for the first time. I shook off the memory of the stranger from my past. Waving goodbye to Karen I walked out of the classroom studio and into the office waiting area. Perched on one of the benches, face covered by the same script in my hand, sat my partner in crime, Leah.
"I need your help," I said, climbing onto the bench.
"I need your help," Leah begged, peaking out from behind the script.
"What is she making you do?" I asked.
"I am auditioning for both the girl parts and one of the guys."
"Jealous."
"What about you?"
"I need to memorize all the roles, each action, and scene numbers...everything!"
"A bit extreme. Why?"
"To stand out, I guess? After I read a few scenes the casting directors are going to realize I'm not referencing the script for the random sections they've asked me to perform. When they ask me about it I'm supposed to say "I know it all." My audition will turn into them flipping through the script and yelling out different cues, and I will have to prove I know the exact words and actions that belong after their queries."
"Oh, I get it. Showboating."
"Yes, but I need to act like it's no big deal...like' doesn't everybody know that on page sixteen after the word no there is a period, then the words I need to check my schedule first period-"
"-Followed by John leans back in his chair glaring at..."Leah said, cutting in.
"Exactly."
"I guess we have a long night ahead of us," Leah said, standing up and grabbing my hand.
"To the Shire!"
*
The house Andrew and I moved into a few months prior hid behind a cluster of old oak and eucalyptus trees. Reminding us of the Lord of the Rings books we nicknamed our home the Shire. I followed behind Leah's green Jeep Wrangler in my red Honda Civic parking next to Andrew's black Range Rover.
"I have a plan," Leah said, jumping out of the Jeep and walking next to me up towards the front door.
"You always do."
"And you always benefit from my plans."
"True," I said, opening the door I never locked anymore.
Music blasted from the downstairs master bedroom suite, Andrew's domain that took up more than half of the entire first floor. We continued down the hall away from the music and into the first door on the left. Up the stairs to the second floor and my bedroom. The second level of the Shire, my oasis. One enormous room, walk-in closets, full state of the art bathroom, and a balcony overlooking the acres of grassy backyard.
Leah and I sat on my futon mat from my old apartment in North Hollywood. My magic carpet, one of the few things I moved into the new house besides clothes and books. Leah pulled out the Breakfast Club DVD and her black leather Prada make-up bag, the drug bag.
"It's four pm and we need to be back at the YA Studio to coach with Karen in about twenty-two hours. I calculate at least eleven viewings of the movie while following along in our scripts."
"Seriously?" I asked
"You have a better idea?"
*
The next day we drove to the studio for our individual coaching sessions, after six bags of cocaine, twelve repeat viewings of the film, and no sleep.
"You're 65% there," Karen informed me, after thirty minutes of quizzing me on the material.
"I tried," I said, feeling defeated.
"Try harder," Karen said, pointing to the door.
*
Three days later, no rest, piles of coke, thirty-one more observations of the film, and I finally earned a smile from Karen.
"90%." she said, "Please get some sleep...you look like shit."
"No sleep until my mission is complete," I said, wanting nothing more than my bed.
"Your homework is to get some rest...I am not asking." Karen insisted, sounding serious, but I noticed a twinkle in her eye.
Leah and I drove back to the Shire and watched the movie twice before falling asleep in my king-sized bed.
