by Dayo Benson
I read through the paper again in bed. Before I drift to sleep, I text Quin to send Saints and Sinners my portfolio.
I'll audition. If they reject me, then great. But if I get through, maybe I'll go ahead and it'll become clear to me whether this is what God wants me to do or not.
After all, I asked for a sign. That was a neon sign in my dream.
My cell phone is ringing as I leave the set of College Life the next evening. It's Quin. The Saints and Sinners show bosses want to see me. There's only one spot left for the show, and they've turned away seventy girls who wanted to audition.
"It sounds like they want you, Chloe," Quin says. "Why wouldn't they? They probably can't believe that someone so classy, and with your type of acting experience, is interested. I don't know why you're interested either."
"You're adorable, Quin. Thanks for thinking so highly of me."
Quin gives me the address for the audition. Thankfully, there are scouts in D.C. this week so I don't have to find a way to get to L.A. at such short notice.
I wonder whether Colby has anything to do with the show bosses' interest in me. I doubt it. He's just a lowly contestant. He'll have absolutely no clout with any TV bosses.
Once I finish talking to Quin, I drive over to the Saints and Sinners audition and am interviewed by two men and a woman. They ask me about myself and my values.
I tell them I'm a born again Christian.
"What's that?" the woman asks.
"It means I believe that faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for my sins has given me new life. I was a sinner, but I've been reborn as a saint. It doesn't mean I'm good. But Jesus is good and He lives in me. I'm still a work in progress."
There's a moment of silence.
I refuse to feel embarrassed.
I wouldn't dream of making any of them feel weird about their life choices. I refuse to let them make me feel weird about mine.
But is Jesus really my choice? Or is He a life choice forced on me by Mom and Nana?
I was born into a missionary family after all.
I think of Colby, born into a pastor's family. He's made the choice to walk away.
I made the choice to stay.
Yes, Jesus is my choice.
That resolved, I smile at the interview panel. "I'm not your typical 'saint'," I tell them. "I'm still forming my beliefs and working things out. I'm still learning. But I want to please God and walk the path He has ordained for me. That's the most important thing to me."
One of the male panelists smiles. "Let's talk about sex."
I think he expects me to squirm or something.
"What about it?" I ask.
"Have you done it? Do you love it? Is it evil?"
"God made it," I reply. "For a reason."
"So it's only for making babies?" the other man asks. "Never for pleasure?"
"It's for both. Between a married couple."
They all exchange looks.
"She's perfect for the show," the woman says. "I would love to see her fall for one of the bad boys. Or bad girls, even."
She can hope. I'm firmly heterosexual so there will be no falling for a 'bad girl'. And with cameras around me, I'm pretty certain I'll hold my ground against the guys, too. Even Colby.
They ask me a few more questions about my beliefs and personal rules and I'm totally honest about my Christian beliefs. I get the impression that they're inwardly rolling their eyes, but I figure I'm exactly what they want for the show: someone who is prim and proper and will be scandalized by the badness of the 'sinners'.
After the interview, I'm led to another room to wait with the other contestants from the east coast.
The first guy I see is so brain-meltingly hot that I almost turn around and run out of the building. The second guy I see is Colby. I promptly drag my eyes away from his direction. There's a third guy, and then three other girls.
They get talking as we wait, but I say nothing. Neither does Colby. And we're both avoiding each other's gaze.
One of the girls asks the handsome stranger—the one I saw first when I walked in—what he does.
"I'm a stripper," he replies in a voice that sounds like liquid chocolate. He grins like it's something to be proud of.
"Show us some of your moves," one of the girls—obviously a 'bad' girl—says, her eyes lighting up.
The dude gets up and starts gyrating his hips. Soon, his shirt and jeans are on the floor.
Okay, Magic Mike.
I walk over to the window and look out. God, I can't believe You would want me to do this show.
Magic Mike comes over to me. "Hey. You don't like my moves?"
All he's wearing are these teeny briefs. I can't look at him in such a state of undress.
"Let me guess, you're one of the saints," he says. "Do you think you're better than everyone else?"
I glance up at him. I'm relieved to see that he's smiling. He's just teasing me.
I wish I had something witty to say right now. But I'm tired. And my brain can't be expected to generate witty comebacks when I'm tired.
"What's your name?" he asks.
"Chloe. What's yours?"
"The Enigma."
I roll my eyes. "What's your real name?"
"Aloysius."
I let out a giggle. "No wonder you need a stage name."
He gives me a mock glare. Then he begins to gyrate his hips again. I walk away to another window.
Aloysius dances for the other girls. Soon, he and one of the girls are dancing on the table.
Another one of the girls moves to talk to Colby. Colby doesn't respond to a single word she says. She sits on his knee anyway and plants a kiss on his lips.
Colby does and says nothing.
"Oh, my goodness! Your eyes," the girl coos. "They're gorgeous. Girls, come and see his eyes."
The other girls in the room go to look into Colby's eyes and they each gush over how nice they are.
Still no reaction from Colby.
I hate that his disinterest in the other girls pleases me. I shouldn't care.
The third guy in the room announces that he's a masseuse and one of the girls removes her shirt and lies down on the floor.
He goes to give her a massage.
After about thirty minutes of waiting, the woman from the interview panel enters the room and beams that us.
"Okay, audition over. Watching you guys for the past thirty minutes has been interesting."
They've been watching us?
Our interaction with each other was the audition?
She looks practically giddy with glee. "There's a good mix of different personalities here, which will make for interesting dynamics once you all get into the house. We're taking all of you."
She begins to hand out information packs. There's a lot of paperwork to complete and it must all be submitted within a week.
We'll be flying out to LA the weekend after next to begin advertising the show. We'll be required to participate in TV interviews and film a commercial. Apparently, commercials have already been running, but since I'm too busy to watch TV these days, I haven't seen them. Now that they have their cast, they want to put us in the commercials too.
Filming will start within two weeks of our arrival in LA, and the show will be aired live.
I'll be locked in the same house as Colby for a whole month.
How will I cope?
I accept my pack and then leave, wondering whether I'm really walking God's path.
If I am, why do I feel like I'm walking headlong into a lion's open mouth?
From the Author
I hope you enjoyed this introduction to the Saints and Sinners series. I love writing stories about people on the fringes of society who think they're irredeemable. Chloe and Colby are in for a wild ride. I hope you'll jump on board and see what God has in store for them.
I like to address the heavy topics that I don't see many Christian authors tackling. And I like to write about chara
cters who, seemingly, have no hope of ever turning their lives around. Where sin abounds, God's grace abounds much more (Romans 5:20). I seek to give hope.
But this series is also a coming of age story. Chloe is used to hearing about her Shepherd from other sheep. Will she ever get to know her Shepherd in the personal, intimate way in which He longs to know all of His followers?
Colby's elder brother, Hudson, has his own series. I tried not to give away too many spoilers about him in this book. His epic love story and journey to faith is told in my Paradise Lost series. It sets the stage for this series nicely. I hope you'll check it out.
Thanks for picking up this book.
Blessings,
Dayo.
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About Dayo Benson
Dayo Benson is passionate about using fiction to convey powerful messages about redemption and God's love. She is the author of over forty Christian novels. From sweet contemporary fiction to gritty romantic thrillers, Dayo writes in a wide variety of genres. A message of hope is common to all her books regardless of genre.
When she is not writing, Dayo enjoys music, reading and going for long walks. She lives in North West England with her husband and their children.
Learn more about Dayo and her upcoming books at www.dayobenson.com.