“Well, she’s not exactly being nice to me, and Bryce and Sophie aren’t the ‘will they, won’t they’ kind of couple. There’s not that kind of tension that just boils over until they admit that they like each other and go to town for hours and hours before they come up for air.”
Lainey had laughed and said, “I guess you’re right. But what does that have to do with you playing this part?”
“I don’t know. I can’t stand her, and she can’t stand me. I think it would take some pretty brilliant acting on my part and hers to pull this off, and I’m not sure either of us isthatgood.”
“What? You think you’re going to end up going to town on one another one day?”
Dana had laughed loudly and said, “Uh… No. I think she’s about as straight as they come. I’m actually wondering why she even wants to do this movie. Hey, I just got home, and I need to start practicing.”
“Want to hang out tomorrow night?” Lainey had asked.
“Sure. Your place?”
“Let’s go to the bar and get some dinner.”
“I’ll text you,” Dana had said before hanging up.
???
She woke up the following morning having gotten very little sleep, despite trying to get a full eight hours and wake upwell-rested. She went to her kettle, which had just boiled, to make herself some tea with honey because it helped her voice on stage, and while she didn’t exactly need to project, itwaswhat Dana knew, and this was her routine on audition days. Taking her first sip way too soon, though, she burned her tongue slightly and hoped this was the end of her bad luck for today. She still had to get Samara’s breakfast over to her, which she really wasn’t looking forward to, but then, she’d be able to walk into that room and audition for a role in a movie. A real movie. Her dream.
Thinking about that on the drive to set had her tapping her hands on the steering wheel and trying to gather herself because she couldn’t let her nerves and fear get in the way of today. It was too big a chance to mess up, and she guessed Bryce had gone out on a limb to get her this shot. She didn’t want to let her down. Dana pulled into a spot near catering and headed that direction, finding her boss outside, setting chafing dishes on the mobile food warmers.
“Hey, I’m here. Just going to clock in, and I’ll get her food taken care of.”
“I’ve got it,” he said. “Made and delivered five minutes ago. She got in earlier than we planned for today.”
“Oh. Really?” Dana asked.
“Yes. She wasn’t scheduled to get here until nine, but she just showed up, had her assistant call, and requested her breakfast early, so I took care of it. Dry rye toast, vegan eggs scrambled, and green juice.”
“Sounds flavorless,” she replied.
“I’d imagine so. She instructed light salt, so I only added a pinch. I’m sure I’ll either be hearing about how that was still too much or not enough.”
“Well, I was going to deal with her and then go do that thing I texted you about last night.”
“You can go now, if you want,” Josh replied, closing the warmer door. “Will you be back to serve lunch?”
“I should be. It’s just a quick thing, so probably thirty minutes or so.”
“Great. I’ll see you later, then,” he said.
As much as she didn’t want to have to deal with Samara just yet today, Dana had been looking forward to having at least another fifteen minutes before she went into that room to read for a role she felt wholly unprepared for.
“You’ve got this. This is what you’ve wanted your whole life,” she whispered, trying to psych herself up as she walked toward the building.
Looking around, she caught sight of Samara leaving her trailer and heading in the same direction. She slowed her pace so as not to catch up to her and watched her open the door and disappear inside. Dana assumed that she was going into a different room. Maybe they were using more than just one and were doing wardrobe fittings or something. She pulled open the door herself and took a deep breath, holding her script in her hands and rolling it up and flattening it out like she’d been doing all night. Then, she walked into the open door and saw Reed, Bryce, the casting director, Faye, and none other than Samara Barber sitting behind the table that had been there yesterday. Dana swallowed hard.
“Hey, Dana,” Bryce greeted. “Come on in. We’re just getting set up.”
“Yeah, okay,” she replied and walked farther into the room, not knowing where to stand.
“You have your sides?” Faye asked.
“Uh… Yeah.”
She held up the script she’d been given.
