“Wasn’t that Yoda?”
“He stole it from my grandmother,” Aisha muttered and waited for me to finish before taking both our cards and handing them in.
“Okay, now what?” I wondered, nervously chewing my nail.
It was noisy, with people practicing their monologues and doing vocal warm-up exercises. I felt like the most inexperienced person out of everyone.
“Now, we wait.” Aisha found a space on the floor, sank down, and tugged me with her.
“Okay, we wait,” I agreed, resigned to seeing this through, for the sake of Aisha’s persistent Indian mother if no one else.
An hour later, we were called up.
“I’m so glad they’re calling us in groups.” Aisha looped her arm through mine.
We followed others down a long hall and into a much smaller room. There, we lined up to wait to be called into another small room.
Nerves had made my palms slick. I felt overheated, and my face was definitely burning. Why had I agreed to this?
We waited at the back of the line. I could vaguely hear the auditions happening inside, since the door was open. After a while, it was Aisha’s turn. She gripped my hand hard.
“Oh God, this was a mistake.”
“You’ll be fine. Go for it. No regrets, remember?”
She nodded, took a deep breath, and then walked in. I was left alone, gripping my copy of the play and listening to bits and pieces of Aisha’s audition.
After ten minutes, she walked out, her face elated.
“How did it go?” I whispered.
“Terrible, but I did it!” She grinned at me.
“Is there anyone left out there?” a voice called from inside the room.
I looked at Aisha, trying to warn her with my eyes. It was only me left, and I’d already decided not to do it in the time I’d been waiting for her.
“Yes! One more,” Aisha said and then danced away from me before my swat could reach her.
“You’re dead,” I hissed at her.
She just laughed. “No regrets, remember!”
I turned to the open doorway, my whole body hot and cold all at once.
“Come in,” the voice inside the room urged.
I couldn’t just run away now, when people were waiting.
So, I stepped into the room.
A long trestle table had been set up, with four people behind it. A video camera sat at one end, trained on a chair set up in the middle of the room.
“Come in. You are…?”
“Selena, Selena Carmichael,” I said slowly. I hadn’t changed my name to Sinclair, and I had no plans to.
“Come on in, Selena, and sit down. Let’s have a quick chat to get to know each other. Do you have any acting experience?”
