CHAPTER TWO
The heat of the sun caressedmy skin as I stepped out of my car. Although we were in the city, theair in this area was pretty fresh as trees were planted everywhere.The place was easy in the eyes despite it being crowded.
The producers of the filmworked hard right after receiving my permission for the change of thescripts. Without regard to the financial losses that they may incur,they immediately halted all of the previously scheduled filmings andorganized a high profile audition for the female lead of the movie,'One Monarch.' Exactly a week from the time the directorapproached me for the change of script, the audition was alreadyorganized in one of the luxurious function halls in the city.
Of course, as the male leadof the movie, I was invited to attend the audition. My manager, Knox,demanded that I show my face in the event. He nagged me for a fewhours and strongly insisted on it. I had nothing to do for the day asthey canceled my schedule. So, I decided to look at the audition fora couple of minutes before going back.
When I entered the lobby ofthe function hall, I immediately saw a crowd of people standing andwaiting. I observed them for a while and saw actresses, staffmembers, and even members of the media. A few steps from theentrance, the assistant director was standing as if he was waitingfor someone. He immediately noticed my arrival and walked over.
"Mr. Ellias!" His voicewas loud. Instantaneously, the crowd's attention was shifted on me.
I looked at the assistantdirector who excitedly ran his way towards me. I never confirmed myattendance to them so they were not sure whether I was coming or not.Nevertheless, it seemed that the film crew still sent their assistantdirector to wait for my arrival.
"Yes. I'm here toobserve." I nodded at the assistant director who looked like achild who was given candy.
Flashes of cameras came toour direction. I saw some of the reporters move a few steps towardsme. However, something must have deterred them from coming over asthey stopped approaching us and just took photos from afar. Theassistant director noticed this and laughed while scratching the backof his head.
"The organizers invitedsome reporters for promotional purposes, I hope you don't mind."He told me as he wiped some visible sweat on his forehead.
I already expected somethinglike this would happen. Thus, I simply nodded. Then, the assistantdirector led me to the function hall right away.
The function hall wasdivided into two sections. One section contained a small stage wherethe performances were to be conducted while the other sectioncontained rows of tables and chairs where the producers and thedirector were seated. On the side were two reporters who seemed to bedocumenting the event. The two of them started taking my photos themoment I entered the hall.
The assistant director ledme to the middle of these tables and asked me to sit. I nodded mygreetings to everyone before taking my seat. Everyone must have knownmy lack of social etiquette and didn't bother to strike aconversation with me. Still, their faces looked satisfied upon seeingme.
"This is such a good day!We received countless audition requests from both the local and theinternational actresses. The assistant directors and I had a hardtime filtering the requests. In the end, the total number ofauditionees is still fifty!" The director happily announced as hiseyes looked into my direction.
"So let us start, shallwe? Please call in the first auditionee!"
After around a minute, atall female who had a majestic aura came in. Her eyes looked aroundand found mine the moment she came in. Suddenly, the majestic aurathat she had immediately crumbled and her face went red all over.
"Good morning, Miss Candy!Please take the stage and introduce yourself." A staff memberguided her. After a few seconds, the female took the stage andblabbered about herself for a long time before she started acting. Imoved my eyes away from her and looked at the glass windows where twobirds were flying. Her acting was not bad. However, she didn't evenlook a tiny bit of an empress. The performance lasted for a fewminutes before they called another auditionee.
The second auditionee was afemale with very provocative clothing. Like the first one, she alsogazed in my direction the moment she went in before she blushed. Iimmediately retracted my eyes from her as I felt that her sight on mewas too sticky. Instead of watching her, I looked at my phone andchecked my email. As always, it was filled with requests and scriptsthat Knox sent me. I opened one of the scripts and started reading itto pass time.
After a few minutes, theaudition of the sticky woman finally ended and they called for thethird actress. The door of the hall once again opened. I looked at itand saw a woman with blonde hair entered.
She was a small woman butshe stood with dignity which made her look taller. She had animpassive expression on her face. Like the first two women, she alsoimmediately found my eyes. However, her gaze on me made me stop for asecond.
She did not blush at all.Her face was still expressionless as she looked back at me. In fact,her clear violet eyes felt... cold?
Our gazes met for just asecond before she immediately looked away.
