"You like performing, right?" Robert asked.
"Yeah. It's like I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and it feels pretty good," I said smiling.
"Guess what?"
"I don't want to guess. I'm allergic to surprises." I whined.
Robert rolled his eyes. "I got us an audition for the movie Annie."
I jolted a hundred percent awake in my bed. After gulping down the scraps of food I shoved in my mouth, I used the back of my hand to wipe my lips. "Are you serious? They're making that Broadway musical into a movie? It's about time!"
Robert chuckled. "Yeah, well, you're playing Lily St. Regis and I'm playing Daniel Hannigan or Rooster as everyone calls it."
"Isn't it convenient that I'm your girlfriend in the play." I muttered to myself.
"What?" Robert asked.
"Uh," I stuttered and added a tone of sarcasm to my voice. "I get to be your petty-thieving girlfriend and you're a con-artist! Isn't that great?"
"Those were the best roles I could get. Be happy." Robert snickered and crammed a couple of papers in my arms. "Here is the script for the audition. Now memorize."
"Yes mother," I mocked and continued eating my brunch, not caring about the piece of bacon hanging out of my mouth. I hummed to the song, Billie Jean, while kicking my feet in the air.
It was Saint Patrick's Day and school was out. Robert is relaxing at my house, sitting in my bean bag chair and flipping through the script like I do to a magazine. My fork stabbed the pieces of scrambled eggs on my plate and thrusted them into my mouth, enjoying the salty taste melting into my taste buds.
Robert looked up from his script. "I like Michael Jackson and all, but seriously shut up and stop humming. And you eat like a pig."
"Why you gotta be so mean?" I wailed. "MJ is the bomb. And I am not eating like a pig, I am eating a pig."
Robert rolled his eyes and continued to read his script. He's been so grumpy lately but he won't tell me why. I sighed and scarfed the rest of my food and settled the plate on a table beside me. I rolled off my bed and staggered onto the floor, walking to Robert. I stood in front of him while he continued to read his script, pretending that I wasn't in front of him with my hands on my hips.
"Why are you so grumpy?"
"I'm not." Robert said, still not looking up.
"Yes you are. And you've gotten mean too. Ever since two days ago. You were fine that night but the next morning when we walked to school, you've gotten darker."
Robert rolled up his sleeves and checked his arms, identifying it intensely. He arched a brow and finally looked back into my eyes.
I scoffed. "I don't mean your skin color. I mean your attitude."
Robert let the script slip out of his hands then brought them to his face. He hid his face behind his hands and pulled on the edges of his hair, rocking back and forth all over my bean bag. After a few minutes, when he stopped, I looked at him and somehow, he looked worse. It was as if he wiped off a mask that covered the face that I was looking at now. His eyes were red and bloodshot, his hair was really messy as if a combed had never ran through it, his lips were chapped, his cheeks were paler without the dash of blushes that he usually has, and his expression was hollow.
My stern stance lost its way and I knelt down, looking straight at Robert. He was looking into my eyes but he wasn't looking at me. He was looking right through me. I folded my hands over his and brought it to my lips which grazed his knuckles softly.
"Robbie," I said softly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He said in a monotone. He blinked rapidly and squeezed his eyes shut but started shaking. His eyes opened again and his eyes were creeping me out; they were craving something.
"Robert," I said. "Do you want to eat?"
"I can't." He responded immediately. "I can't. Not here. Only at home with my Dad. It's how we bond."
"What? You bond through eating?" I questioned, confused.
"What?" Robert asked, shaking off the crazy look and finally going back to being sane. "Oh, eating? I thought you said something else. Uh, forget what I said. Let's just rehearse the script. We have an audition tomorrow. It isn't that hard to memorize anyway. Only two pages of lines."
I nodded and gripped onto the stapled sheet of papers and started rehearsing lines with Robert. He was really good at acting. The emotion and passion he put into it was unmistakable.
-
Robert and I just finished school and now he took his Dad' s car to drive us to the building where the auditions are taking place. We entered hand in hand with pride and confidence. At least Robert did. My pride and confidence died with my courage and went down the drain as soon as I entered the building and saw a lot of other talented, pretty, athletic people also auditioning. They were rehearing right in the middle of the waiting room and showing off all the talent they had. I started twisting the end of my shirt, something I did when I was nervous but Robert squeezed my hand to reassure me.
I nodded and signed my name on the clipboard outside of the room where the auditioning was going on. Some people ran out crying, some people stormed out mad, some people marched out happy. We waited a while and after I watched a green eyed blonde exit the room with a smile on her face, I noticed that there was nobody else in the room. Nobody but us. Another sophisticated looking woman exited the auditioning room, but stopped to view the clipboard hanging on the wall. She thumbed through all the names until she came to the last and read out loud, "Robert Downey Jr."
I kissed his hand and whispered him a good luck before he entered the room with the woman. I crossed my legs and let my fingers drum on the thy of my blue jeans. I bit my lip and was literally shaking with fear out of nervousness. I sighed when Robert came out of the room with that goofy grin on his face.
"Go on babe. It's not that bad." Robert said. Babe? He called me babe? His eyes widened in shock of what he said, but quickly covered up. "Sorry, just in character. Cause you know, in the movie you are my girlfriend."
I nodded and almost jumped when my name was called out from the woman standing by the clipboard. I mounted out of my seat hauled myself into the room with her. She sat down next to an expensive camera and I noticed the microphone hanging above me. A couple of other people were also in the room and the woman got sheets of papers in between her fingers.
"Hi there," She said politely. "I'm Holly. I understand that you are auditioning for the role of Lily St. Regis. Am I correct?"
"So far." I said. Maybe if I humored her, I wouldn't do such a bad job.
"Can you sing?" Holly asked. "You may or may not know that this is a musical."
"A Broadway musical, to be exact. And yes, I can. I do it in the shower all the time."
She chuckled. "All right, we'll rehearse the scene where you and Rooster are going to get arrested for pretending that Annie is your daughter so that you can get the fifty thousand dollars. I'm going to play Warbucks and somebody else will play Rooster."
"Okay." I replied and watched as she held up three fingers, then two, and then one and then Holly mouthed action.
"Hello dear." I said suspiciously.
Another guy stepped in the room to play Rooster's part. "Well, we don't want to bother you. On Christmas and all. We just come to pick up Annie. Her suitcase?"
"Allow me," Warbucks said.
"... and, oh, the check." Rooster said.
"Ah, yes, of course, the check. I'd almost forgotten. Here it is Mr. Mudge. Fifty thousand dollars. Certified."
"Certified."
"Certified." Warbucks confirmed.
"Pay to the order of Ralph Mudge." Rooster said.
"Read it again." Warbucks said, letting a smirk grow on her face.
"Pay to the order of the jig is up?"
Warbucks took the check out of his hands and said, "Yes, the jig is up Daniel Francis Hannigan. Also known as ..."
"Rooster Hannigan. Also known as Ralph Mudge. Also known as Danny the Dip." Another girl in the room said, filling in another role - Grace.
I whacked Rooster with my purse in annoyance. Maybe suiting up into character won't be that hard. I'd be mad too if I lost fifty thousand dollars.
"I believe that fraud is arrest is a federal offense and that the secret service men have the power to arrest." Warbucks said, stroking an imaginary beard that was growing on her chin. "Solo for Warbucks. Arrest her too please."
"Me?" I said innocently. "I never seen these people 'til yesterday. Mr. Warbucks, I ain't done nothing to you. I've always been..."
"The jig is up." Warbucks interrupted. "Scene."
I smiled and sighed, glad to have this thing over with and the boulder of burdens off my shoulders. Holly flashed a smile at me and shook my hand before saying good bye as I walked out of the room. I hugged Robert and we walked back to his car and he drove us back home. He parked in the driveway of his house and we just sat there, excited for what's coming next. He held my hand and smiled, giving me a kiss on my cheek. I'm glad that it was dark so that he couldn't see my cheeks burning up in the black darkness.
"All we have to do is wait."
-
I heard a loud thumping on my window, but I ignored it. As it grew louder, I groaned loudly which made it stop for a couple of seconds before it continued again but faster and more rapidly. I poked my head into my pillow case trying to drown out the sounds but it was too annoying. I sat up and glared at the window, storming towards it and ripping the curtains over it. I glared at Robert who was tapping the glass pane with a quarter. I opened the window to let him in and then shut it again, going back to bed and ignoring him.
"Sleeping beauty, you got mail." Robert whispered into my ear.
"Too bad." I said. "Sleeping beauty is currently offline and has not set up a voice-mail inbox yet. Please try calling again later."
"C'mon, Nat, get up. It's from the auditions."
I shrugged. "I already know I failed. Whta's the point?"
Robert started breathing on me which meant that he was closer to me than he should've been. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and I grabbed the white envelope with my name in script on the front. I tore it open and read it to myself, the smile of hope on my face slowly dissolving into a frown. I didn't make it. I didn't get the part.
"Did you get the part?" I asked.
"Yeah." Robert said, clearly excited.
"Good luck with your movie." I tossed the paper on the floor and let my blankets swallow me again. I watched as Robert's happy expression lost the happy in it.
"Wait, what?" He said. "You didn't get the part?"
"No, it doesn't matter anyway. I've got my whole life ahead of me to do at least one movie, right?" I said hopefully.
Yet, I didn't even believe my own words. What if I was never chosen for any movie. No matter who I audition for, somebody else will get the part. Then there will be articles on gossip websites with the headlines saying Girl Who Never Got Chosen For A Movie. That's so embarrassing. At least Robert has a chance. His Dad was an actor after all, so he has in his blood.
"I'm not doing the movie." Robert said.
"What?" I said, propping myself up on my left elbow. "You have to! This is your chance to get it big. Don't push it away. And they won't be able to make the movie without you either."
"They had a list of other people wanting the part and I'm not doing the movie without you." Robert said, shrugging and looking at his feet. I know that he wants to do the movie but he's just too stubborn to admit it.
"Well, I can see there's no changing your mind." I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"Nope."
"Well then, I'm going back to sleep."
"And I'm coming with you." Robert said, taking off his leather jacket and climbing into my bed. He wrapped his arms around my abdomen and pressed his body against my back. The feeling of his whole body against me kept me awake and this tingly feeling stirring in my stomach. I pushed his arms away and rolled away from his chest.
"Robert, come on, stop. I want sleep." I said, looking at him with puppy eyes.
"I thought you liked my cuddles." He pouted, sticking out his lower lip.
"Yes, but I think sleep seems like a better option now."
"It's not like anything will happen."
"Fine." I say and smile at the feeling of being engulfed in his arms and I fwas trying to sleep with my head resting on his warm chest. My cheeks burned red at the feeling of his pink lips pressing onto my forehead and whispering something that I couldn't hear completely since I was drifting off into the land of dreams.