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  The room was filled with guys, everywhere from their mid-twenties to mid-thirties, and most of them were fit and attractive; pretty boys. I kept Monica’s mockery in my mind with each step I took, lighting the passion inside of me to impress everyone I could at this audition. I checked in and leaned against the wall on the side of the room, waiting for my name to be called. It felt like an eternity before it happened.

  “Hudson Andrews.”

  I glanced to the front of the room as a short young woman stood front and center. I raised my hand and began walking towards the front of the room as she looked down at her paper, making a few notes on the sheet with her pen.

  “A pleasure to meet you, Ms…” I offered my hand to her with as charming as smile as I could muster despite my nerves.

  “Miss Anderson,” she said as she placed her hand in mine. “But you can call me Sadie.” Her thin prescription glasses had a red frame, and freckles clustered together on her cheeks like cherries on a tree. She blushed as I kissed her hand.

  “Sadie.”

  “Right this way,” she said as she turned around and led me down the hallway. Her high heels clicked against the ground as we walked side-by-side down the corridor. “So,” she said, “is this your first time auditioning for a major role?”

  “No, I’ve gone to a few,” I answered, making eye contact with her, “but when I get this role, it will be my first time starring in a major movie.”

  “When you get it?”

  “Yes. I am going to get this part. And yeah, I know how many other men were out there waiting to come in, but the part has to go to someone, right? And that someone will be me.”

  She smiled as we approached a white door near the end of the hallway. “Well, I must say… I do like your confidence.” I grabbed the doorknob before she could. “Thank you.”

  I bowed my head as she walked into the room. As soon as I walked in, I noticed the setup of the small audition room. A camera was pointed at a black curtain, and behind the camera’s monitor, were four people: three distracted women, all busy flipping through headshots, and one man, glaring intently at the monitor. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why.

  I walked to the front of the room as Sadie crossed over to where the where everyone else was sitting. She leaned down and whispered into the man’s ear, who then fixed his eyes on me and nodded scowled at me intently. Once Sadie had finished whatever it was she was saying, she disappeared behind the curtain that I was standing in front of.

  “Hudson Andrews… Sadie, my assistant, says you think you’re going to get this part. What exactly makes you believe that?” the man asked me. I summoned up every ounce of self-confidence I had before I answered.

  “Well,” I said, increasing the bass in my voice as I stood front and center. “I’ve read the script and it’s brilliant. It’s been ages since we’ve seen an excellent, cross-generation romantic comedy, and I know this film has that appeal. And without a shadow of a doubt, I am your Maddox. I hope you will give me the opportunity to prove that to you.”

  “Really?” said the woman to his left, a big smile on her face

  “Absolutely.” I glanced at the others, then I ran my hand through my hair, and tilted my head ever-so-slightly to the side. Playing up the ‘leading man good looks’ never hurt.

  The man cleared his throat, and definitely rolled his eyes. “Hudson, my name is Simon Dominik, and I am directing this movie. That is Gabby, and she is the writer and producer of Love Struck.” He pointed to his right, “and those are Andie and Leslie, respectively,” he said, motioning to his left. “They are the casting directors, and will be making most of the casting decisions.”

  Andie looked up from my head shot. “Whenever you are ready Hudson, state you full name into the camera and then proceed with the lines” she said as she gave me a half-curious stare. I could tell they had already seen a lot of actors, so I had to do something to blow them away.

  I took a deep breath, and did everything I could not to make eye contact with Simon. I may not have been the most experienced actor in the world, but I knew who Simon Dominik was. There were few more notorious writer-director-producers working in the industry. In fact, I was more than a little surprised that he was taking the time to do a romantic comedy. Simon was known for big-budget action films, super hero movies, and disaster flicks. I couldn’t think of one good reason he was working on Love Struck, but I guess everyone needed a break.

  “My name is Hudson Andrews and I am auditioning for the role of Maddox.” I took a deep breath, and gave the performance everything I had, while making purposeful eye contact solely with the women who would be responsible for my casting. It went by in a flash, and when I finished, I could see Andie was swooning, and Leslie was jotting down notes on her notepad. At first, no one said anything. Then finally, Simon put on his reading glasses and looked back down at a stack of headshots.

  “That will be all, Mr. Andrews.”

  I gulped. “Thank you for your time. I look forward to shooting this movie.”

  I walked out of the room trying to look as confident as I had when I came in. As I closed the door behind me, I heard one of the women say, “I think that is our guy.”

  I cheered to myself as I made my way out of the building. This part was mine.

  * * *

  The next day, my manager Keith woke me up by calling my phone several times in a row. It was barely 8am when the phone rang, shaking me out of my sleep like a nightmare. I blindly reached for my cell, knocking my wallet and a handful of change to the floor before I could finally grab it.

  “Hello?” I said in a raspy morning voice.

  “Wake up, Hudson! Shit, the day is half gone!”

  “Fuck you, Keith. I had a late night.”

  “I’ve got good news. You got the part.” I lifted my head off the pillow and rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. After they readjusted to the sunlight beaming through my window, I asked him to repeat himself. “You got the fucking part, man. Listen, I don’t know what you did, but they called me this morning and said they wanted you on the set by the end of this month so they could start filming.”

  “You’re not messing with me, are you?!”

  “Of course not, man! You are now Maddox Winston, the main character of Love Struck!”

  “Hell yeah! This is fucking amazing! I can’t believe it…”

  “Yeah, yeah. But hey, we need to celebrate, man! This is just the beginning. I told you that I would set you up and all you had to do is walk through the doors and tell them that you were the guy. Bada bing, bada boom, here we are! So, get ready because tonight we are partying the hell up!”

  “Yeah, sure thing!”

  I hung up the phone and lay in silence for a few moments, in disbelief that I had finally gotten a role in a major movie. It was surreal and for a minute, I didn’t think it was actually happening. Just then, my phone rang again. Keith’s name flashed across the screen, and for some reason, I thought he was calling me back to tell me that it really had all been a joke.

  “You better not be calling to tell me they changed their minds,” I said with a stern, monotone voice.

  “What? No. I just forgot to mention that Mona Laiken will be your co-star. The um,” he snapped his fingers, “the actress that did What Love Means and Alice.”

  “Oh, yeah. I know her. Well, I mean, I know of her.”

  “Yeah, she is your co-star. They hired her in because of her name and they knew it would draw a crowd. But, on the flipside, I’ve heard that she is incredibly difficult to work with. Like, she is a major pain in the ass, you know?”

  “Really? Wow. I didn’t know that,” I said as I rolled back over and pulled the blankets over my head.

  “That is the word around Hollywood, but the thing is that her talent and name recognition make it worth the hassle. So, be careful with her because if you don’t walk a straight line, she has enough pull to get your ass replaced.”

  “Ok, thanks for the
heads up.”

  “Sure thing. We can talk a little more about that later, but again, congratulations for knocking that damn audition out of the park!”

  “Thanks, man. See you tonight.”

  He hung up the phone, and as I lay back on my bed, I couldn’t help but smile from ear-to-ear. This was my first real break. And for the first time in years, I thought for sure that I was going to make it.

  I was really, and truly, going to be a star.

  Chapter 3

  Chloe

  I sat in the front room with my luggage by the door. My dad kept a straight face because he wasn’t known to show much emotion. In fact, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’d seen him display any form of it. I was the exact opposite though. Tears rolled carelessly down my cheeks at the thought of leaving my parents and my home behind.

  He took a deep breath, then wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed me on the forehead. Today was the day that I was set to move to California. Jade had mentioned the idea to me almost two weeks ago, and then it took me a week to decide, and another week to prepare. I didn’t have any money in my account until my dad covertly slid five thousand in there overnight to hold me over until I got a job.

  “In case of emergencies,” he said with a straight face.

  I wiped another stream of tears from my eyes. “I know, dad. Emergencies.”

  My mother sped out of the kitchen, a nervous wreck. She had been moving at the speed of light all day, making sure I had what I needed, double and triple checking my luggage to ensure the essentials were packed. “Ok, now, if anything goes wrong, you make sure you give us a call and we will get you back out here immediately, ok?”

  “Baby, nothing will go wrong,” my father said calmly. “We raised her to be a smart cookie, and she has the intelligence to go out there and stay out of trouble. Besides, Jade will be looking after her.”

  “Jade,” my mother said, laughing. “Lord, that does not make me feel any better about any of this. When you and Jade get together, you two don’t always make the best decisions.”

  “We will be fine, mom, I promise.”

  She stood in front of me, a mirror image of who I would be when I got older. Suddenly, tears formed at the bottom of her sapphire eyes, and with one blink, she sent them tumbling down her cheeks.

  “Mom, don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

  “Oh, hush,” she said as she reached out and wrapped her arms around me. My dad stood to the side as we embraced. She held onto me like she was releasing a part of herself, and I felt similarly. This was the first time I was going to be further than a car drive away from my parents. They had always been within reach for me in times of trouble, but now, I would be on the other side of the country.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. I released her and pulled it out. “It’s the car. He’s here to take me to the airport.”

  My mother took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with a tissue. My father left our side, then walked to the door to grab my luggage.

  “Ok,” my mom said with reddened eyes, “I guess it is time to let go so you can start the next chapter in your life.”

  She looped her arm in mine, and with that, we walked to the front door and down the steps of their brownstone while dad loaded my luggage into the trunk of the car.

  “Like I said, Chloe, if you get in ANY trouble, you hear me? ANY trouble, you make sure you give us a call and we will help you.”

  “Ok, mom.” I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as I tried to hide how nervous I actually was.

  “Well, you are all set, Chloe,” my dad said as he slammed the trunk closed. “You need to get going. Traffic is pretty bad around this time of day.”

  My mother, with a smile, embraced me one more time. “Knock them dead in California,” she whispered into my ear. “You are going to be amazing, baby. I just know it. I love you.”

  “Thank you, mom, and I love you, too.”

  I kissed her on the cheek and she embraced me once more, then released me to my father. He stood tall like an oak tree, staring down at me. Immovable. Sturdy. Full of wisdom. “Make us proud, Chloe. Make us proud.”

  I wrapped my arms around his waist and he cupped the back of my head with his hand, then kissed me on the crown. “I love you, sweetheart.”

  “I love you too, dad.”

  He opened the car door for me and after I climbed inside, they made their way up the stairs. As the driver pulled away from the curb, my last image of them, holding onto each other, while waving goodbye, sent another wave of tears down my cheeks. My heart thumped inside of my chest like the footsteps of a giant, and for the first time, I felt like I was well and truly my own. I had no choice but to make my parents proud, and failure was not an option.

  A six-hour plane trip later, and Jade was waiting for me as I made my way out of the airport. It was so comforting to see her with her arms extended towards me as I lugged my carry-on suitcase down the moving walkway.

  “Chloe! Oh my God! I haven’t seen you in forever!”

  “Seriously, Jade? I just saw you five months ago, before you moved out here.”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever! Stop trying to ruin the moment with your technicalities!”

  She wrapped her arms around me and the anxiety I felt on the plane seemed to evaporate as soon as I fell into her arms. She grabbed one of my suitcases and wheeled it away from the luggage carousel. “Well, how was the trip?”

  “Long and bumpy.”

  “Ugh! I hate turbulence. I always think the plane is going to go down at any moment, and I have way too much to live for to die like that,” Jade says with a flourish.

  “It’s a good thing you’re an actress, Jade, because you’re way too dramatic to be an accountant.”

  Jade laughed, shaking her head as we walked through the sliding doors out of the airport. The soft California breeze blew against my skin as soon as we stepped outside. The sun shone bright above us, but it didn’t seem as hot as normal.

  “Well, welcome to Cali!” Jade said, smiling from ear to ear. “I know we are going to have so much fun together! This is going to be just like NYU again, except the campus is way bigger.”

  We walked to a car that was parked right at the edge of a huge parking structure. Jade drove a really nice little sedan; it was all black with tinted windows and a double exhaust in the back. We placed the suitcase in the trunk of her car, then she sped out of the airport.

  The city looked so different from New York and I could immediately tell that the atmosphere was far more laidback. The people moved slower and it didn’t seem like anyone was in a hurry to get where they were going. In New York, there was hardly a moment when drivers weren’t speeding past you or driving on your tail because you were moving too slow for them. Out here, people moved at their own pace.

  “Jeez, is the whole city this mellow?”

  “Yeah, that is just how Los Angeles is. You are going to love it here, Chloe. Absolutely LOVE it.”

  As we rode down the freeway, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket so that I could let my parents know that I made it here safely. I put them on speaker phone as soon as my mom picked up. “Chloe? Is everything alright? Did you make it?”

  “Yes, mom, I’m here in the car with Jade.”

  “Hey, mom,” Jade said with a wide smile. “You should’ve come out here with Chloe, at least to visit.”

  “No, I couldn’t come on such short notice. Besides, your father wouldn’t last a week without me here to help him out.”

  “I’d survive,” daddy yelled from the background.

  Jade laughed. “Oh, hey, dad! You could’ve come, too! We could have gone to a Kings game!”

  Mom spoke up. “Well, with Chloe out there, I am sure that we will have more than a few opportunities to come and hang out with you all. But I don’t want to take up too much more of your time because I know Chloe just got there. Thanks for calling, sweetheart. You all be careful out there, and Chloe, make sure y
ou call me after you get settled in.”

  “Ok, mom, I will.”

  “Love you, ladies.”

  “Love you, too,” we responded in unison before I hung up.

  “I love your parents so much! They are so sweet. I know it was hard for them to let you go.”

  I took a deep breath, then breathed a sigh of relief as I looked out the window at the beautiful scenery passing us by. “It was hard for all of us, but I know that this was the right decision. I could feel it, you know? As soon as you told me about the opportunities out here, I knew I had to give it a shot, just to see for myself.”

  “Acting, behind the scenes stuff, there is just so much for you to try out and get involved in out here. You can’t help but to be successful if you commit to working at it.”

  As we exited the freeway into the city, I couldn’t stop admiring the sights of downtown LA. I wasn’t opposed to doing things behind the scenes because, as much as I loved acting, I loved the intricacies of production well. The way the movies came together was just as important as acting, and it didn’t hurt to learn how everything worked behind the camera too. Plus, I was ready to do whatever I had to in order to get my foot in the door.

  “So,” Jade said as we rolled along, “I know that I brought up the acting thing and how there were so many opportunities to get involved in that, but well… would you ever consider becoming a director’s assistant?”

  I groaned, then slowly turned towards her. Working behind the scenes was one thing, but picking up coffee and drying cleaning was quite another. “Jade, I did not come out to California to be some pushy director’s assistant. I came out here to act!”

  “I know, I know, but I think this is a good opportunity for you to get your feet wet, you know? Get in the door and see how things work behind the scenes. You don’t have to take it, but if you did, it would pay the bills temporarily, and in the meantime, you could audition for other roles.”