by Megan Linski
Ferio gives each of us a nod before he hurries out the door.
“I want to have lobster tomorrow. He always spoils us,” Monica says eagerly.
“We’d better get going, Raz,” Puppy says. “It was nice meeting you all.”
“And you too! Come back and visit sometime!” Maddie says as we walk out.
“Well, that was nice, wasn’t it? Ferio seems like a very nice man,” Puppy says cheerfully.
“Yeah, to you!” I say, insulted. “I might as well have been part of the wall.”
“Oh, stop it. He said you could come, too.”
Without warning, Puppy stands on her tiptoes and plants a small kiss on my cheek. “Thanks for coming in with me,” she whispers. “Zoar and Soldier wouldn’t have done that.”
My cheeks glow, and my anger melts away instantly. “Well, you know I’d do anything for you.”
Her face is shining brighter than the sun. “I know.”
Chapter 7 - My First Audition
After lunch, I feel like I’m going to hurl.
“Raz, relax,” Puppy says. She reaches over and takes my hand as we sit together, waiting at the bus stop outside The Glamour. “It’s just one open audition. You know, to see if you like it.”
I look at our clasped hands and say, “What if I mess up?”
“The casting directors are looking for specific people. You’ve gotta look the part anyway. It’s only your first audition. You’ll probably have to do a lot more auditions before you called back for a commercial, let alone a movie,” Puppy consoles.
I squeeze her hand in mine. “Yeah… I guess it’s good for the experience.”
“That’s all it is.”
“Are you saying that I won’t get a part, ever?” I say. My mind jumps to the worst possible outcome.
“No, I’m just saying to land a major part on your first time auditioning is unheard of. We’re only here for a week.”
“I guess you’re right.” With my other hand, I pull out the audition sheet that I’d printed off online— it was for a major action movie. A bit ambitious for my first ever audition, but hey, go big or go home.
If I don’t land anything while I’m out here, I’m going home. “I’m going to audition for the part of Patrick. What about you?”
“I want to try out as Layne,” she informs me. “If this reads right, whoever they cast gets to go film in Japan.”
“Fancy,” I say, and I raise my eyebrows. I fold the paper back up, put it in my pocket, and say, “Are you ready for this?”
“As ready as you are.” She’s nervous, I can tell, but not as nervous as I am. She’s not planning on this for a career; she just wants to see where this leads.
Unlike me. I’m relying on this as part of my future.
I’m thrilled that we’re holding hands— not even my nervousness can quench that. She drops my hand, though, when she sees the bus coming by to pick us up.
It bothers me a little, but I don’t say anything.
“Holy crap,” I say as we drive by the small studio where we’re supposed to audition. Hundreds of guys are wrapped around the outside of the building in a line, starting at the doorway where we’re supposed to audition.
“Looks like a lot of guys want to play Patrick,” Puppy says, stunned. “You’d better be able to stand out.”
“Since when has that ever been a problem for me?” I ask as we get off the bus.
Puppy looks at her sheet and says, “My audition is over there. I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Same here. See ya.” I wave a goodbye and head in the other direction.
“Wait!” Puppy cries. She spins me around before I go and, to my great surprise, gives me a quick kiss on the lips.
“Break a leg!” she encourages before she hurries off.
My head is swimming. What just happened? Was that a... friendly good luck kiss?
Or something more?
Feeling like I’m on drugs, I float to the check-in table. I’m assigned a number that they stick to my shirt, and then sent to the back of the line to wait with all the other yahoos out here in the heat.
I’m hardly paying attention as the line slowly proceeds forward. My head’s still swimming with the memory of Puppy’s kiss.
“The sun is wilting me,” I complain to the kid behind me, slapping my sunglasses down over my face. “Is it like this for every audition?”
“It depends,” he says. “I was at one yesterday that had a couple thousand dudes. I left before I auditioned. These open calls can be brutal. Hope you put on sunscreen.”
I didn’t. “Do you have any?” I ask, terrified that I’m going to look like a lobster by the time I go on.
“There’s always somebody,” he says, laughing. He takes a tube out of his pocket and tosses it to me. “Did you bring water, too? You’ll get dehydrated in this heat.”
“No.”
Luke shakes his head sadly. “The noobs are always the first victims.”
The line moves a tiny bit. “How long do you think we’ll be standing here?” I ask.
“About three hours. You must be visiting from out of town,” he observes.
“Why do you say that?” I ask casually.
“I’ve never seen such a snowbird. Your skin’s completely pale! Where’d you come from, Alaska?” He laughs again.
“I just got out of snow season back home,” I mumble. “I don’t look like that much of a noob, do I?”
“Nah, you’re fine,” he says. He casually holds out a hand. “I’m Luke.”
“Raz,” I say, shaking it. “So they’re going to have us read lines from the script, right?
“You’re supposed to have memorized a dialogue already,” Luke says.
My throat ceases up. “Oh shit, I haven’t…”
“Hey, take it easy. I’ve got it right here,” he says, holding the paper out. “No worries.”
“Thanks,” I say. I breathe a sigh of relief scan the dialogue over and over again quickly.
Time stretches on, and even though I’ve been out here studying for hours, the lines won’t stay imprinted on my brain.
“I’m totally gonna screw this up,” I say to Luke. “How do you do it?”
“Just make sure you portray the character accurately,” he says. “And keep it cool.”
I turn to Luke. “Dude, I’m so nervous…”
“Don’t be. Just act.”
“How?”
“Number 886!” a voice calls from inside the audition room.
“That’s you! Go!” Luke gives me a shove. I stumble into a small room with white walls and gray carpet. Next thing I know I’ve got five people ogling me and a camera right in my face.
A camera. Right. This is just like last year, nothing more.
“Raz Sweet,” the lady reads off my audition sheet. “That’s your name, correct?”
“Yes.” My mouth has gone dry. I need water.
“Any previous acting experience?” a man asks, looking over his glasses.
“Uh… I made a movie once. I mean, I acted in it, but all of us put it together, us being my friends and I... I mean...”
I’m already screwing this up. The man raises an eyebrow.
The lady clears her throat. “I see. Come, Sweet. Let’s see what you can do. Take a seat.”
She gestures to the folding chair behind me. I near trip over it before I sit down.
I botch up the first two lines.
“Perfectly all right,” the woman adds. “Try again.”
I manage to read off the rest of the dialogue from memory without making another mistake.
“Well done,” the man says, and he writes something down. “Are you nervous?”
“A bit,” I admit. My knees are shaking.
“It takes practice,” the lady consoles. She stops the recording. “Number 887!”
I take that as my cue to leave. God, that was horrible. I made a complete fool out of myself.
Puppy is waiting outside the door
for me when I come out. “What are you doing back so early?” I ask.
“I was wrong, it was actually a closed audition,” Puppy says. “I didn’t have a letter, but they let me in anyway. I was the only person they interviewed today.”
“I messed up,” I tell her, unable to hold it in any longer.
“So? I messed up too.” she says. “I forgot the sentence after the first line. Besides, it’s all about appearances anyway with these people. Our chances are one in a million.”
“Yeah, sure.” I give her a quick smile, though my insides just sink. “It’s only the first audition. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Totally.” Puppy checks her cell. “We should get going. You stood way too long in that line. You look like a lobster.”
I sigh, defeated. “Tell me about it.”
I follow her out of the crowded parking lot, angry at myself. I could have done so much better. But it was only my first audition. Next time, I’ll make sure to get it right.
I have to. My dream, my life, depends on it. Failure isn’t an option.
Chapter 8 - This Isn’t Transformers
The audition that night isn’t as crowded as the first one I went to, because this time I’m auditioning for a much smaller part. But the studio is bigger than the first. It’s a giant enclosure fixed with spotlights, giant cameras, backdrops, and props.
They’ve already got one of the scenes from the TV show I’m auditioning for, Colorado Snow, set up. There’s a rusty old Western shack, hay bales, and a covered wagon set against a green screen. This show is a low budget production from one of the smaller networks, but I figure I’ll take what I can get just to get myself noticed.
My aunt and uncle figure that I’m on this trip to gain experience, but if I actually land a part, I’m not going back to Limesville.
Screw graduating high school. This is more important.
I have to try.
“Listen up!” the casting director calls to the fifty of us gathered round. “This movie takes place in the Old West, which means we need people who are willing to get dirty! We’ll be filming in really hot and really cold conditions all around the United States! If one of you doesn’t want to ruin a manicure, leave now!”
Several people take off, but not too many. As if to scare away even more people, he adds, “And by the way, any extra skills, such as horse riding, should be added to your application. If you’re afraid of animals or getting thrown off, this isn’t the place for you.”
Thanks to Buddy, I can ride horses. I’ve got a leg up on all the other guys here. I’ve already memorized the dialogue needed for this. I know I’m going to pull this off. Westerns aren’t really my thing, but I figure I can’t rule out anything that might give me my big break.
“Let’s start! Come on people, I haven’t got all day!” the bossy manager insists.
Surprisingly, I see that Luke is there, too.
“You’re actually serious about this,” he says when he notices me, and shakes his head. “You’re in the wrong business, pal.”
“What did you think, that I was going to give up after one audition?” I ask.
“No. It’ll take longer than that for you to give up.” He grins.
I roll my eyes. “You go to every audition in town?”
“That, and then some. I have at least three more today, and one late tonight, if I find somebody to take my place at this stupid party I’m supposed to go to. He grimaces.
“You’re skipping out on a Hollywood party?” I ask.
“It’s boring. I’ve been to a million of them, all at the same place.”
“Who’s?”
“You wouldn’t know him, he’s not a big-shot on screen yet. But if I don’t show up he’ll make sure my reputation is trashed.” Luke shrugs glumly.
“Why do you care if he’s not famous?”
“Because his parents are. They’re producers who haven’t managed to get their no-talent kid a part yet, but if I piss them off word will get around.”
“You better go, then.”
“He won’t know I’m not there unless I don’t turn the invite in and have someone check off my name. He ignores me most of the time.”
“Is he really that insecure to keep track of who shows up and who doesn’t?”
Luke makes a harsh noise. “You have no idea.”
“Why’d you get invited?”
He smiles. “Kid’s not stupid. He knows that eventually, I’ll land a part.”
An idea pops into my head. “Mind if I…”
“Take my place? Go ahead. You’ll have more fun than I will.” He takes an invitation out of his pocket and hands it to me. “Just don’t stay too long, unless you feel like getting arrested.”
“No problem,” I say, and I slip the envelope into my jacket. Puppy will be at her dinner with Ferio tonight. She won’t even notice I’m gone.
“Number 30!” the casting director calls.
I wave goodbye to Luke and go to the designated spot by a wheelbarrow.
There’s that stupid camera again. I stare into the lens, unable to escape its impenetrable gaze. How could something that was my best friend back home be my mortal enemy here?
The entire studio is silent. “Come on kid, don’t keep us waiting,” the camera man adds.
I jump, swallow my anxiety, and pick up both handles of the wheelbarrow.
Here goes nothing.
“For crying out loud,” I say in a perfect Western drawl, honed from years of practice. “When are you gonna grow up and realize the world’s not a fairy tale? Life isn’t about having fun.”
I get excited as I realize I’m doing okay, and pick up the pace. “It’s about hard work, and the sooner you realize that, the soon—”
I don’t watch where I’m going, and as ridiculous as it sounds, I lose control of the wheelbarrow. I end up tripping over my own feet—
— and into the set, including the green screen. I go crashing down… and like it’s something straight out of a Micheal Bay film, it goes down with me.
“At least you didn’t make a big deal out of it when you face planted,” Puppy says.
I’m back in my room, sitting on my bed. She tries to comfort me even though I feel like a complete failure.
“Yeah, I just ruined one of the major sets of Colorado Snow,” I say angrily. Puppy’s lounging around on the couch. I’m drying off from the shower, wearing khaki shorts and feeling embarrassed as heck. For some reason, I got out unharmed, but I’m not allowed back on that studio’s property as long as I live.
“You showed character!” she encourages. She gets up and starts rubbing my head with the towel.
“Agh,” I say as she dries my hair roughly. “Pup, you don’t understand… this is important. Things don’t work like that here, like they do back home. I’ve studied this.”
“I know how important it is.” She throws the towel to the floor and collapses back onto the couch, and I follow suit. “Just quit worrying.”
“How can I quit worrying? This is driving me crazy! Puppy, I’m never going to get a part! I want to be an actor, but my first two auditions went horribly!” I burst.
Puppy leaps forward and covers up my lips with hers before I have a chance to finish.
Then she puts her tongue inside my mouth.
Wow… that feels… wow. I’ve never been French kissed before. When her tongue touches mine, sparks fly, and it’s like a lightning storm explodes inside my mouth. I respond by what seems like instinct and return the favor. When my tongue goes inside her mouth, the sensors around my lips go crazy.
Puppy finally pulls away. I’m left with stars swimming around my head.
“There. Now are you going to stop whining like some drama queen? It gets annoying.” Puppy goes to the mini fridge, opens it, and takes out a soda.
“Ten bucks,” she reads in disbelief, then shrugs. “Ah, I’ll pay you back for it later.” She pops the cap to drink the entire thing in less than a few gulps before she gra
bs another.
“Wait… what was…” I shake my head, still wandering ar clouds. “Puppy what was that?”
“Making out,” she says as she tosses the can into the trash. “What did you think we were doing, exchanging saliva for experimentation? Only Pepper would do that.”
The crack towards Pepper flies off my mind as I ask, “So are we dating, then?”
Puppy looks at me and shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t really want to put a label on it.”
“Isn’t that what boyfriends and girlfriends too? Make out?”
“You don’t have to be dating to make out, Raz.” Puppy rolls her eyes.
My heart receives a pang. The last thing I want to be is a friend with benefits. “So you were just kissing me to see what it felt like, right? Because you never have?” I accuse.
She takes my hand. “Raz, I would never take advantage of you like that. I like you, okay? Don’t look too much into it. It’s only kissing. It’s not like we’re having sex.”
I don’t know. I always thought kissing, especially like that, was a big deal.
But Puppy and I care about each other, don’t we? It’s fine. People who like each other kiss.
“I’ll come back later,” Puppy says, and she goes toward the door. “I have to get ready for my dinner with Ferio.”
“Okay,” I say slowly. “See you later.”
As she leaves, I get dressed, contemplating everything that just happened. What we just did felt amazing, there’s no denying that. It’s all I can think about, and now, I want to do it again. To me, it’s a huge step, but for Puppy, maybe it’s not.
Do I have a girlfriend?
She said that she liked me. A girl who kisses you and says she likes you is your girlfriend, right?
I want Puppy to be my girlfriend really, really badly.
But she doesn’t want to put a label on it. So after all of that, I suppose we’re still just friends.
Or… something.
I shake my head. I don’t have time to think about this right now. I’m going to my first Hollywood party, tonight. I have to be on top of my game so I can make some connections, and find a way to land a part.