Golden Star Dreams

Chapter 1: Looks like You Made It to the Big Time

Buzz Buzz Buzz… Buzz Buzz Buzz… Buzz Buzz Bu- Smack!

'Waking up to another day in Hollywood I suppose… Well in the outskirts, anyways.'

I stretched my arms out in a feeble attempt to happily accept that another day has come and I should be lucky that I'm even alive. That's what my mom tells me to do, but what the hell does she know? Old people always say these ridiculous things; they know nothing of the kind of life I'm living. Maybe death would be the best option… HA, yeah right! I would never sacrifice my dream to sleeping six feet under! But, my life currently features scrounging around for cash just to get by.

I guess this is the time where I tell you about my background, huh?

Well, a couple years ago, I was accepted into a prestigious university by means of an academic scholarship, but I never went. Why, you ask? Because the university I was asked to attend did not have the courses that fit my true desires having a dream career being an actress. Well, upon telling Dear Mother the 'wonderful' news of my choice in life, she did what any caring mother would do: lecture me about my future, tell me to give up my dream, and go for something realistic; like being a lawyer… or a motivational speaker. Right… me, a two-job working loser living just outside Hollywood… a lawyer. It was hardly believable that I could be a motivational speaker!

Hopping on my red ASUS (product placement!) laptop, I logged into my E-Mail to check my work schedule. To my chagrin, I saw that I would be at Neon Heights the entire weekend… Great.

Neon Heights is my primary place of employment; it is also the job that rakes in the most moolah, sadly. My duties consist of bartending, bringing and cleaning up after rowdy customers – mostly men - a round of nachos every ten minutes then being rewarded by no, not a tip, but a degrading pick-up line accompanied with a firm smack on the bottom. It's nothing less of infuriating! In fact, just the night before, a guy already surrounded by women, had the audacity to give me his number and asked me to bring my 'hot tail' over to his high rise apartment. The man had good taste in women, but his voice was so… arrogant and he was so… so… confident that I would just go and show up at his door! I would have slapped him if I had a good and clear view of his face, but since I didn't, the incident just went down in the history books of nightclub justice never being served. I had only his voice to remember to remember the jackass by. But this story isn't about him, fortunately. It is about my pathetic life. Anyways, working at Neon Heights is just like a simple waitress job at your local Applebee's; the pay sucks, the patrons are difficult, and you feel overworked by the endless amount of hours spent on your feet. And just like a waitress, I always hope for that generous tip from a bunch of rich yuppies looking to do a good deed by finding and donating to a charity case - my charity case- and somehow, I seem to come home happy that I've worked up just enough money to still get by.

At least I can manage to keep my crappy apartment.

Today was a typical Saturday afternoon; I didn't have to go to work until ten o'clock in the evening so that meant I had all day to spend slaving away at my second job. Well it isn't a real job, but the work is just as taxing on the mind and body. This other job is simply hopping from casting agency to casting agency in hopes I'll get that magical phone call after I audition my talents to the agents. At first, I only narrowed my focus to major corporations, but seeing how my phone has yet to even threaten a ring, I'm… expanding my options. But even after trying the lesser-known businesses, I would still come up short. Too bad there's no pay on putting yourself out there, I'd be filthy rich by now.

I had one more major agency to hit in this entire city before I had to give up on my dream of being a Hollywood superstar and settle for being a no-name wannabe. Or… move my search elsewhere. I had actually saved this big name company for last even though it is home to some of the most famous and elite actors and actresses in the whole biz. The agency was Golden Star.

About a week ago, I managed to arrange an appointment to meet with an agent who worked there. It took an ample of begging and an absurd amount of tears, but I got my foot in the door and I really hoped I would shine come audition day. I spent countless hours of my free time practicing in front of the mirror and to my co-workers at the nightclub. They were always so supportive and had even told me that I had a real knack for making the smallest of problems a huge deal. Thank you… I guess? So now, here I stood on the sidewalk, looking at the slick, black windows on the tall building that gives birth (yes birth) to Hollywood's newest and biggest stars.

Hopefully I would be the next one.

~~~~~~ (^^) Kirby helps you dance onto the next scene (^^) ~~~~~~

In his lavish penthouse, located in the downtown area, Sesshoumaru Kenji woke up rather peacefully though he was far from being pleased; today, his agent had scheduled him to make an appearance on his day off; again. Hearing light breathing, he looked down to see a woman, from the night before, in his bed and wrapped comfortably under the silk, white sheets. Rubbing his temples, Sesshoumaru tried to recall the events leading up to the sleeping female and faintly remembered being in a nightclub he had never been in before. The flashing lights, the dark room… tons of women at his side but there was one in particular that he had recalled and he growled at the thought of her. As handsome as he was, she rejected his advances with a loud 'no' and then proceeded to call him a seedy loser. Him, A loser? The great and famous Sesshoumaru Kenji!? He thought not. He left his bed in one languid movement, writing and leaving a note for the woman in his bed to be gone by the time he came home later that evening or there would be hell to pay.

His cell phone suddenly began ringing in the kitchen while he was in the shower and a dissatisfied groan escaped him. Why was his agent bothering him at such an early time? Picking up the phone, Sesshoumaru answered with gruff, displeased voice. "What is it?"

"I quit! I mean it this time you underpaying bastard!"

"Sigh… Why are you quitting this week?" Sesshoumaru asked, recognizing the angry voice as his assistant and not his agent.

"I'm your assistant, not your nanny and bimbo organizer! On top of that, you don't even pay me that well!"

"I know Rin can be a handful-"

"Handful!? Today she threw a balloon full of paint at me and ruined my best suit. It was about 200 dollars!"

"It's just a bit of paint…"

"She then told me to go to hell!"

"Try not to look like Satan more often…"

"Rrrgh… Good luck trying to find a new assistant, ass!"

The angry man hung up with a scream, but Sesshoumaru could have cared less. He was just glad that it was not who he thought it was. However, he now had the problem of finding a new assistant. His agent, Kendra, could only do so much seeing as she was always busy looking for new roles and special gigs for him to take on. With an irritated sigh, he picked up the phone and dialed Kendra's number in hopes she could find someone to replace his last assistant.

"Leave?! What do you mean leave?! You said you loved me last night!" He suddenly heard a woman shriek from his room.

'And here comes problem number two…' Sesshoumaru thought.

~~~~~~ (^^) Kirby helps you dance onto the next scene (^^) ~~~~~~

"Miss Soshi Ariko… your audition is up next! Break a leg!"

My heart was beating fast as I stepped closer to the stage where I was to be making a life-changing performance. I needed to put all my skills and knowledge of the theatre arts to the test. I looked around the massive auditorium; it was dark except for the stage lights of course and hidden in the shadows off stage were three bodies, though I could not see their faces clearly, two of them obviously being male with the female sitting directly in the center. There I stood at the edge of the wooden floor, awaiting my directions when a male's voice suddenly began speaking.

"State your name."

I nearly forgotten my own name I was so nervous! "S-soshi Ariko."

Next a strong female's voice echoed through the room. "State your 'talent.'"

"Acting."

She snickered upon hearing my answer but a different man's voice began speaking, "Everyone wants to be an actor or actress nowadays. I was hoping to hear a song or two or maybe some circus performances…"

At this point, I zoned out. I hadn't taken into consideration that Golden Star could possibly be looking for something other than another actress. Could it be that my chance at the big time is finally shot? A soft ringing from the judges' desk caught my once lost attention and I stared at the woman figure picking up her ringing cell phone, clearing her throat before she answered.

"Kendra O'Conner speaking… Oh! Mr. Kenji it's you! How are ya darling?... uh-huh… yes I already know… he sent in his resignation letter to me this morning… Don't worry your pretty little head sir, I'll have someone for you shortly! …. Right, goodbye!" She finally hung up her phone and stood up. She walked toward the stage and raised an eyebrow with a smile on her face. Now that she was in the light, I could finally see her clearly; Kendra had long, light brown hair that was full of flawless curls and she had beautiful, emerald green eyes to boot. Her makeup was nothing special, but she still had that natural beauty which made it ok for her not to have any kind of real facial enhancement… unlike me. She looked to be a bit taller than me and her business stance was rather intimidating, though you need to be in order to survive in this industry. She was dressed in a gray two piece; her skirt fell just below the knees and she wore matching gray shoes.

Continuing to stare at me with intent eyes, the woman named Kendra smiled and pointed at me. "You."

"Me?"

"You got the job."

I was speechless. Could this woman really see raw talent by just staring at the potential employees? Looking back off-stage, I saw the other two shadow men nod their heads in agreement and I nearly fainted and fell off the stage. Without further thought, I squealed with sheer glee and jumped off and into the seating area to hug Kendra tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I shouted. "You won't be disappointed I swear!"

Kendra placed a hand on my head and stroked my hair like a mother would. "Oh I know we won't be. Here." She handed me a card with an address and a time. "This is for tonight. Be there by that time or you're fired, k?" She said with a cheery tone in her voice. "Now shoo, we have more auditions to go through."

With a giant smile, I barreled through the doorways holding that little piece of paper as if I had just won the lottery. I cared not for the onlookers giving me looks of confusion for I had finally done it! I had made it to the big time! BUT! There was one teensy tiny problem… my shift started at 10… the same time I was supposed to be at my first acting gig. Wait… why is there an acting gig at 10 at night… Oh crap, what did I sign up for?

~~ (*.*) Kirby is wracked with suspense! What will happen next? Kirby must know! ~~

(^.^)^ Kirby says, "See ya next time!"

Well this is me trying my hand at a bit of some humor. How'd I do? I'd love to know. I had this idea pop in my head one late night and so I've decided to share it with the world! Hopefully some of you will give it chance even though it's another OC pairing. (What can I say? Fanfic is about creativity and originality, can't get more original than your own made up character right? Even if the plot is a tad bit cliche... -.-)