5
I check my phone as I walk down the stairs and notice there’s a text waiting for me. It must have come while I was showering. I assume it's Spencer and a smile forms on my face as I slide my finger across the screen. It's instead a text from Brian.
Amy, thanks for getting the contract back to me so quickly. Sorry it took so long, but I have a script on the way over for you to take a look at. I know it's last minute, but they want you to read for the part today.
Today? Crap. It's only been three days since I met with Brian and already he's got something he thinks I should read for… that was quick. I expected it to be a few weeks… months… maybe never before anything happened.
The doorbell rings as I walk into the kitchen. Gina quickly dries her hands off and heads out of the room without seeing me. I walk over to the fridge and open the door. Dex has already left, I heard the rumble of his car while I was getting dressed, so I need to try and find something to eat on my own.
“Miss Amy… this just came for you.”
I close the door and turn to Gina. She's holding out a manila envelope. I frown as I take it from her and walk toward the table.
“Do you want some breakfast?” Gina says.
“No… I'm fine, thanks.”
I see Gina out of the corner of my eye as she opens the door. I know she's going to make me something. I know it's her job, but I still feel bad… like I take up more of her day than is appropriate.
I open the envelope and pull out a stack of papers. Paper clipped to the stack is a single sheet of paper bearing the letterhead of Stars Unlimited.
Amy,
Here's the part of the script they want you to read for. I know it's short notice, but one of the studio heads saw an early print of your film and he said they weren't going to move forward until they got you to read for them. It's already down to one other woman, so all you have to do is beat her out and you should get the part.
The studio is expecting you at 11. Good luck. I have complete faith that you'll get the part.
Brian West
I set the papers down on the table and take a deep breath. I've got two hours before I need to be at the studio… and I've gotta get there and familiarize myself with whatever Brian sent over that they want me to read.
“Is everything OK, Miss Amy?”
Gina is standing next to me with a plate of food in her hand when I look up.
“Yeah… it's all good… I just have to be at a studio, for an audition, in two hours.”
“Do you need a ride?”
I look down at the plate in front of me as she sets it down. There’s a slice of wheat toast with butter, some scrambled eggs and two breakfast sausages. I reach for my fork and turn my eyes to Gina.
“Would you mind?”
“No,” she says, smiling at me. “Of course not. Ricardo is engaged elsewhere today… so I wouldn’t mind driving you to your audition and bringing you home when you’re done.”
“Are you sure? I could always take a cab.”
She waves her hand and shakes her head. I smile in response and turn my attention back to my food.
“Thanks,” I say, “for breakfast… and driving me.”
I clear my throat and look down at the paper. It’s the same part of the script I was sent earlier. I did my best to memorize as much of it as possible.
“Whenever you’re ready… Avery will read the other part.”
I glance up and nod at Wendy Allen, one of the producers. Sitting next to her at the table is Avery Mills, the director… and I’m sitting on the only other piece of furniture in the room. I take a deep breath and glance back down at the paper. I didn't have enough time to memorize the whole thing. I hope they don't mind if I glance down to make sure I'm getting it right.
“I mean… that's the thing, Ricky… what if this is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don't know,” I say. “I guess… what if things never get better?”
“Why would you say that?”
I sigh heavily, as indicated by the script, before continuing.
“It's just this feeling I have… I'm not even really sure how to explain it.”
I look up at Avery for him to read the next line, but he's looking at Wendy. I frown and stand up from the chair. Did I do something wrong?
“Is everything OK?” I say.
Wendy nods and turns back toward me.
“Yes… just fine. That's all we needed to hear.”
“I… can I try again?” I say.
“No,” Avery says, “there will be no need for that.”
They both stand up and walk me to the door. I stop and open my mouth… I want to protest… I want them to give me another chance to prove I can do it, but I decide to say nothing and walk out of the room. I swallow as I walk out of the building and back toward the car.
I almost feel like crying. I'm not sure why… I wasn't feeling attached at all to acting, but something changed when I got in that room and started to read the lines. I wanted it more than I could even describe. Now… now I feel like there's a hole in my body that can't be filled unless I act. It's so strange.
Gina smiles at me as I get back in the car, but it quickly fades when she sees the look on my face. I glance out the window and swallow as I do my best to not let tears form.
“What happened?” she said.
“Nothing… they cut me off after just a few seconds.”
“Oh… I'm sorry.”
“It's… thanks… it's fine… whatever.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Can we just go home?”
“Of course.”
We sit in silence the entire way home and I still don't speak once we are back inside Dex's house. I climb the stairs near the front door and slowly walk down the hall to my room. I just want to curl up into a ball and sleep. I had no idea that not getting a part would do this to me. I take a deep breath as I sit down on my bed.
“Get ahold of yourself,” I say, talking to myself. “If you're going to be an actress there's going to be plenty of roles you don't get… that's a part of this life.”
I know the words I speak are the truth, but they somehow don't make it any easier. I think back to Brian telling me that I would be perfect for the role and that the studio had specifically wanted me to audition. Ugh. I hope this failure doesn't have an impact on auditioning for that studio in the future.
My phone chirps from inside my purse and I think about not even getting it. There's no one I want to talk to right now… not even Spencer. I know he would try to cheer me up, but I can't do it. I take my phone out just to check the text, but it's not from Spencer… it's from Brian.
Nice job! I heard the audition went great!
I frown and type out a reply as I shake my head.
I'm not sure what you're saying… I think you must have sent this to the wrong person.
I toss my phone on the bed and put my head on my pillow. It's the middle of the day and I'm not tired, but all I want to do is close my eyes and sleep until this feeling starts to fade. My phone chirps again and I sigh as I pick it up.
What? No… I meant to text you, Amy. I just got off the phone with Avery and Wendy. They’re sending me the contract right now. I'll look it over and then send it to you.
I sit up in bed and reread the text. It doesn't make any sense. Why would they cut me off during the audition if they thought I did a good job? I quickly text Brian back and hit send.
They stopped me after I only read a few lines… and didn’t give me any indication that they liked what I did.
I sigh and set my phone down. This whole Hollywood thing makes no sense. I’m already starting to regret my decision to pursue acting while I attend college. I wonder if it’s too late to change my mind and just go to school… I haven’t signed anything other than my contract with Brian, so I don’t see why it would be a problem. I pick up my phone when I hear his response arrive.
No… that wasn’t it at all. They were down to one other woman, but they really weren’t that happy with her. When they heard you they knew you were born to play the part. They probably didn’t feel the need to drag it on.
I’m so confused right now. Is this how things in Hollywood work? I’m glad to be where I am in life, but there a certainly times when I miss living in a small town where life is simple and slow.
Before I get the chance to even formulate a reply to Brian he sends me another text.
Anyway, I have a meeting with another client. I’ll send over the contract as soon as I look at it. Just send it back to me once you’ve signed. They want to start filming in two weeks, so try to do it as soon as possible.
I swallow and set my phone down on the table next to my bed. Crazy. What did I get myself into? I guess I can look at the contract and go from there… and maybe talk to Spencer and Dex about it.
My phone rings and I swallow, expecting it to be a call from Brian… but it’s Spencer. My mood shifts instantly and I smile as I swipe my finger across the screen and lift the phone to my ear.
“Hey.”
“Hey, yourself,” he says.
My heart flutters slightly when I hear his voice. It’s funny when I think about how he makes me feel—it’s unlike anything I felt in my time dating Mitch or Logan. It makes me feel like I really did the right thing by coming back to L.A. to be with Spencer.
“What’s up?”
“I… I heard your audition went well.”
“What… how? I just left there like thirty minutes ago.”
Spencer laughs before answering me.
“News travels fast in this town… you know that.”
I’ve already noticed that it does, but there’s no way it travels that fast.
“Who told you?” I say.
“Eh… Monica.”
I frown. His ex-girlfriend. I feel a twinge of jealously. I wonder if she called him? There’s a part of me that wants to delve into why they were talking on the phone, but I decide I don’t really want to know.
“Oh.”
“It’s not like that,” he says.
“What do you mean?”
“The way you said ‘Oh’… I can tell what you’re thinking.”
I’m completely transparent… what else is new?
“What was I thinking?”
“You were wondering why I was talking to Monica,” he says, chuckling.
It’s exactly what I was thinking. I’m just glad he seems to have a sense of humor about the whole thing… I was worried it would upset him if I were the one to broach it.
“Maybe….”
“Well… I can tell you exactly why I was talking to her. She called me ten minutes ago to scream at me… about you.”
“What?”
I’m so confused. I get Monica is upset she lost Spencer and that we’re a couple… but I didn’t think she would care enough to continue to harass him. So strange.
“That film you just auditioned for, Found Hope… they had already cast her as the lead and she just got a call from her agent saying that she lost it to you.”
I’m not even sure what to say. It was clear that they had already given the role to someone else, but no one ever told me it was Monica. The last thing I need is her hating me even more than before. Now she’s got even more of a reason to go out of her way to harass me as well as Spencer. Just wonderful. I’m really starting to feel like signing with Brian and going to that audition was a bad idea.
“Are you still there?” he says.
“Yeah… sorry.”
“It’s fine… you just got really quiet.”
“I didn’t know what to say.”
I can hear Spencer sigh.
“Sorry… I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No,” I say, “it’s fine… whatever. I just didn’t think she would be the one who I took the job from. That’s the last thing I wanted.”
“Well… I get what you’re saying… but this is a rough business. You can’t worry about hurting someone’s feelings over something like this. The studio obviously wanted you… you can’t help that. It’s not like you could’ve refused to audition because it was Monica.”
The thought had crossed my mind, but I could tell by the tone of his voice that it wouldn’t be wise to even mention that. It's not quite the same as not telling the truth… but I still feel a little bad about it.
“Yeah… maybe you're right.”
“I know it's not always easy to hear. If the tables were turned… she would have jumped at the chance to take a role away from you, especially now… trust me.”
He's right. I don't know her, other than in passing, and I have a feeling that she's exactly that kind of person. That doesn't mean I have to be… does it?
“Anyway,” he says, “when does filming start?”
“Brian said two weeks.”
“Good… plenty of time.”
“Huh? Plenty of time for what?”
“Can I come over? I want to talk to you about something… and it would be more fun to do in person.”
“Sure… I'm just sitting here.”
“Cool… I'll be there in a little while… I just need to make a call.”
“Sounds good.”
We end the call and I take a deep breath. The whole Monica thing is crazy. I wonder if maybe I should try and contact her to apologize? I know Spencer would try to talk me out of it… I just feel really crappy about the whole thing. I just don't want her to think I would do something like that deliberately.