Mid-afternoon. Day is bright; sky is clear. Kate is hanging out with Leisha, Erin, and Mia on the west side of the Coast Mountain Films Studios lot, by a row of trailers providing shade. The gang is sitting at an impromptu-slash borrowed patio set consisting of garden chairs and a low table. There are water bottles on the table, an ashtray, a couple of magazines, and two cell phones. Kate is smoking a cigarette, legs stretched out onto the table, slouched into a chair, sunglasses on. The conversation is flowing, but she's not paying much attention. Leisha is recounting the events of last night's shoot, which stretched out well after one in the morning, sitting next to Erin, who appears to be the only one listening. Mia is lounging, facing Kate, head down, fiddling with her Blackberry. The air is warm. The group is enjoying a rare afternoon break together, under the sun, in between takes. The surroundings are busy. People walking around in all directions, moving from set to set, gaffers and camera operators carrying equipment, racks and stands being wheeled back to the wardrobe department, extras in line at the craft services tent, executives being chauffeured around in golf carts... Another busy day on the studio lot.
Kate glances to the side at one of the production offices for The L Word. She sees Ilene emerge out of the door with a petite, curvy brunette in tow. Ilene is pointing different buildings to the brunette, seemingly giving her a tour, all the while walking towards the group. Ilene motions to Kate distantly.
Kate abruptly resumes an upright position on the chair, taking one last puff, and cramming her cigarette butt into the ashtray on the table. « Catch you guys later », she exclaims to no one in particular, getting up, and marching towards Ilene and the brunette without breaking eye contact on the fast approaching duo. Leisha stops in the middle of her sentence, realizing that Kate was not paying any attention to her story, and feigns a battered ego; Erin looks up in disbelief, with a smirk, thinking how typical of Kate to be in her own distant world, as Mia's eyes unabashedly follow Kate walk away, before returning to the small screen of her new gadget. The conversation resumes seconds later, with a pair of eyes rolling and a couple of dismissive shrugs.
Ilene and the brunette stop in their tracks, waiting for Kate to walk over. Ilene is wearing something bland and monotonous; she has her cell in one hand and a bunch of rolled-up scripts in the other. She greets Kate with a smile. Fashion is not her strong suit, Kate silently observes. The brunette, on the other hand, is wearing a tight v-shaped tee, trendy jeans, and cowboy boots. She has long, curly hair, is about 5'5'', and has the most beautiful light brown complexion. She's obviously not from around here. Her sunglasses are skillfully resting on top of her head. Kate removes her own pair of shades to better contemplate Sarah's delicate lines, deftly sticking her sunglasses in the hem of her shirt. Sarah's not carrying anything with her except her car keys, and must have left her things in Ilene's office. She seems nervous, her hands fidgeting with a silver keychain. Her brown eyes immediately catch Kate's attention, who is barely paying attention to Ilene at this point.
« Kate, hi, I want you to meet Sarah, » Ilene speaks up, motioning between the girls. « Sarah's been auditioning for us this morning. I thought I would show her around a bit. »
« Sarah, » Kate repeats, as she extends her hand to the brunette. « Hey. »
« Sarah, this is Katherine Moennig. She plays Shane on the show -- as you might know. »
« Call me Kate. » Kate quickly interjects with a smile.
« Hi, Kate. It's nice to meet you. »
« I was hoping you could spend a little time with Sarah before our sit-down with Rose. » Ilene explains, turning to Kate.
« Sure thing. » Kate smiles at Sarah, again, nodding at Ilene's words.
« You're still available, right? »
« Yes. Absolutely. » Kate happily confirms, finally addressing Ilene.
« Sarah did great this morning. She really impressed us. »
« Did she? » Kate throws in with a grin.
« I just need to see you guys together at this point, and get Rose on board as well. » Ilene explains.
« Right. » Kate nods, knowing the routine.
« OK then, Sarah, » Ilene starts, turning to the brunette, « you're in good hands with Kate. I'll see you guys in a little while. »
« Thanks, Ilene. » Sarah smiles politely.
« In ten? » Ilene turns to Kate.
« Works for me. » Kate replies with a slight shrug.
Ilene turns, smiling at the pair, heading back to her office. She turns around once more and addresses Kate from a short distance. « Oh, we'll be in the main conference room, Kate. »
« Got it, thanks! »
The girls both look at Ilene walk away and disappear through the door. Kate turns to Sarah.
« So, you think you aced that thing, uh? » They start walking in no particular direction, side by side.
« Yeah, I mean... I hope so. » Sarah looks up hesitantly, catching Kate's green eyes.
« I think Ilene likes you. »
« Good. I really need this job. »
« Yeah… and it's a good one, » Kate says with a smirk. « You been in Vancouver for a while then? »
« No, actually, only a couple of weeks, but I haven't seen a lot of the city yet. »
Kate nods quietly, observing her every move. Sarah seems more relaxed now. She has stuffed her keys in her back pocket and is now walking more freely.
« I've just been going from audition to audition, really. »
« Early morning. Late nights. Ordering in? »
« Pretty much. »
« Well, there's definitely a couple of places you need to check out. Leisha and I just discovered the best Tai place in town; last week, in fact. »
« Oh my God, I love Tai! » Sarah exclaims, suddenly blushing at the confession. « And sushi, » she adds more quietly. Might as well get it all out there.
« Yeah? » Kate raises an eyebrow. Finding similarities with this girl is not going to be difficult.
« Yeah… » Sarah's eyes return to the pavement as both girls keep strolling around the studio lot.
« Well, we might need to take you there then; might have reason to celebrate soon enough, » Kate adds with a wink.
« I really hope so. I've heard so much about you guys, about Ilene and the show. I'd love to be a part of it. »
« Yeah, we have a pretty great bunch of people. Tight group. »
« You mentioned Leisha; she's the musician, right? In that band, the Murmurs? »
« Yeah, that's her. I can't believe you know the name of her band. They're pretty obscure still. »
« Are you kidding? I love her music. »
« Oh man, don't say anything to her. We're never gonna hear the end of it. »
Sarah smiles. Conversation with Kate is easy. She almost forgets the pressure and anxiety of the audition process. It's been a long day, and being with Kate is as easy and relaxing as can be.
« Well, I guess I should be showing you around and stuff… » Kate concedes, as they reach the end of the parking lot.
« Right... » Sarah nods with a smile. This is supposed to be a business meeting after all.
« So, basically, » Kate begins, turning around as they backtrack to the trailers, « we're the main production shooting on the lot right now. We're kinda doing the show off-season, being on cable and all; we don't have the same schedule as other shows do on regular TV. »
« So, you guys basically rule this place right now, then. » Sarah questions matter-of-factly, looking up.
« Pretty much! » Kate chuckles. « Seriously, though, it's a great place to work. Everyone's super friendly and relaxed and productive. It's a great working environment for sure. »
« Right, well, this is Canada after all. »
« Yeah. I certainly can see the difference, and I've only just been back for a month or so. »
They continue walking around the lot, conversing, exchanging furtive looks, passing a couple of different sound stages to the right, slowly getting back to where Erin and Leisha are now both sitting by themselves at the tables. Kate spots them right away, and start walking in their direction.
« OK, time to meet the girls. »
« OK. » Sarah responds with a big smile.
They reach the tables.
« Guys? »
Leisha looks up, immediately addressing Kate. « Hey, where have you been? »
« Around. »
« Hey Kate, » Erin interjects, « Rose was looking for you a little while ago. She said to meet her at the office in five or something. »
« Right, thanks. Hey guys, » Kate motions to Sarah on her right, « I want you to meet Sarah... hmmm, I'm sorry, Sarah…? »
« Shahi, but Sarah's just fine. » She responds, extending her hand to both Erin and Leisha. The girls stand up with a warm smile.
« Hi. »
« Hey there. »
« Sarah's been auditioning for Ilene today, I was just showing her around. »
« Cool. » Erin says, dropping her magazine to the table.
Leisha addresses Sarah. « Yeah, you auditioning for Carmen? »
« Yes, I am. » Sarah replies, suddenly gaining confidence.
« Awesome. Yeah, I can already tell you that it's a nice fit. » Leisha teases, pointing her finger at both Kate and Sarah.
« Haha… » Kate throws back with sarcasm. Sarah looks up at Kate and feigns a smile, not exactly sure what to make of this last comment.
Kate senses the brunette tense a bit by her side, and quickly adds, « OK, well, I think we're gonna start heading back. »
« Oh yeah, you need to get ready for this one. » Erin winks at them. Sarah smiles, but once again remains in the dark at what seems to be an inside joke. This is a tight-knit group of friends for sure.
« Well, it was nice to meet you both, » she replies, following in Kate's footsteps.
« Kate, I have an awesome new lipstick you can borrow if you want! » Sarah hears Leisha shout from the back.
« Yeah, yeah… » Kate grunts back, waving her hand. They can hear Leisha and Erin chuckle in the background.
« What was that all about? » Sarah questions.
« Ha, don't worry about it. They're just teasing me; they don't mean any harm. Hey, you know where craft services are, don't you? »
« Yeah, Ilene took me there this morning, actually. Thanks. »
« I bet you haven't eaten much today. Kinda stressful day, uh? »
« Go that right. I had soup for lunch, and I think I just had an apple for breakfast I was so nervous." Sarah giggles.
« Well, it's almost over. » Kate offers, staring from the corner of her eye, adding, « Then you can stuff yourself with pizza back at your hotel. » She winks.
« Uh-huh, no pizza for me. »
Kate rolls her eyes. « Oh, please, like you need to watch what you're eating. »
Sarah blushes a bit, and decides to counter the flirtatious comment.
« Maybe I'll be in the mood for Tai later… »
Kate smiles back as they continue to walk slowly, finally reaching a row of white trailers.
« So here we have the trailers, as you can see. We each have our own tiny casa. »
« Very cool. They don't look very roomy, but it must be nice to have a place of your own, just to hang out. »
« It is. Today was a good day, we actually hung out outside a lot, but we do spend a lot of time chillin' inside those big boxes. »
Sarah smiles as she wonders what it would be like to hang out with Kate and the girls.
« Most of these are ours. That's Jennifer's, Laurel's… I think they're both filming right now somewhere. Leisha has hers over there. This is basically our turf. »
This brings another smile to Sarah's face, as Kate continues gesturing at the row of trailers.
« They brought in a whole bunch of new trailers on the other side of Stage 5. I think they're starting a new cop show in a couple weeks. »
« Hmmm, I think you guys have the best spot here, though. » Sarah says with a shrug.
Kate clears her throat.
« By the way, you know what we're doing next, right? With Ilene and Rose. » She turns to the brunette, searching her eyes, then adds, « Why they're asking us to the office? »
« Yeah, she wants us to read together. Rose is the other executive producer, right? »
« She is, but no, that's not it. »
« It's not a read-through? »
« Well… you already auditioned for Ilene and the Showtime execs this morning, right? »
Sarah nods.
« The fact that you're still here, that means you can act, and that they liked you. »
« Well, good. » Sarah shots back.
« Now, » Kate starts, stopping in front of the brunette. « They want to make sure that we're look good together, you know, on screen. »
« Right. »
« You know that Carmen is supposed to be Shane's love interest this season. »
Sarah nods again, still unsure of where this is going.
« Ilene wants to make sure that we have chemistry together. »
« Makes sense. » Sarah agrees.
Kate pauses for a minute, not sure how to phrase the next thought.
« She basically wants us to make out in front of the camera, » she finally spills out.
« Oh. »
« You gonna be OK with that? »
Kate smiles. This is such a dumb question, she realizes, searching Sarah's eyes for any indication that she's not completely freaked out.
« Yeah, I mean, sure… » Sarah blushes a little, then looks down. « I mean, this is The L Word, right? » She forces a smile as she looks back up.
« Right. » Kate senses a bit of apprehension in her voice.
« It's just… » Sarah starts, her hand going through her hair, « I didn't expect that part to come up so soon. »
« Yeah. Auditions for this show are a pain; but it should be over after today. »
Sarah looks down at her watch nervously.
« But listen, if you don't feel too comfortable about it, we can... practice for a minute, if you want. » No response from Sarah. « Only if you think that'll help, » Kate adds quickly, with a reassuring tone, « I mean, I know we just met and this is a bit weird but… »
« No kidding. »
Kate laughs. At least, she's honest.
A minute passes.
« Sure, yeah, let's do that. I'd rather not look like a complete dork. »
« OK. My trailer's right there. » Kate offers, pointing to the trailer right behind them.