Rachel glanced up at the clock in her New York City apartment. Six thirty. They had promised they would call by seven to tell her if she had gotten the role.
It was the lead role that Rachel had auditioned for, in a new Off-Broadway musical that looked very promising. It wouldn't be her first role-Rachel had been in a few ensemble roles-but it would be her biggest. It was sort of funny to Rachel, to think of herself in an ensemble. If someone had told her in high school that she would be working in an ensemble, she would have laughed at them. Nobody told her that getting on Broadway would be this hard.
Special. The word kept repeating over and over in her mind. Throughout the day, friends, family, had called Rachel to tell her that the role was in the bag, that she would get it, that she was special. She hadn't talked very long, though, she didn't want to tie up the line. Even her cousin Natalie had called with nice words to say, and Natalie hardly ever had nice words to say to anyone.
All her life, Rachel Berry had been called special. But no one ever told her that the hundreds of other girls who wanted what she wanted had been told that too.
The audition process had been hard and long. Her agent had told her about this, that she would be perfect for it. So she agreed and went in to audition. They liked her, so she got a callback. Now she was waiting to see if she got the role.
She hadn't left the chair all day. Sitting, waiting. Making sure she did not miss that phone call. She hadn't eaten hardly anything, either. Her stomach was in knots.
Rachel was confident, Rachel was talented, and yet Rachel was terrified.
Six forty-five now. "Rach?" It was Finn. Rachel and Finn shared an apartment, although they were not married yet, only engaged. They would get married, when the time was right. And Rachel felt that time was not now.
"Yes?" Her voice was quiet from not speaking for hours. She was too nervous too speak. Another thing Rachel found funny. Not in a ha-ha way, but a dry, ironic way.
"I made you some tea, if you want some," He held out her favorite tea cup, the pale pink one with gold star. She smiled for the first time that day. Finn remembered.
"Thank you," she said, taking the cup from him. Finn began to walk away.
When he reached the door, he suddenly turned around. "Oh, and Rach?"
"Yes, Finn?"
"I love you," he smiled at her in a way that made her insides melt. Finn always seemed to know the right thing to say whenever she felt down.
"I love you too," she replied, and he left. A bit of her confidence restored, she smiled as she sipped her tea.
When she had woken up that morning, she had felt confident. She was Rachel Barbra Berry, the best singer in all of Lima, Ohio! But that was just it. She may have been the most talented in Lima, but this wasn't Lima, this was New York, and there were countless other extremely talented people.
Six fifty-nine. It had been the callback that ruined it, hadn't it. All the other girls were taller than her and thinner and prettier and had smaller noses and-Rachel couldn't keep thinking like this. Maybe they had been busy, and that was why it was taking so long. Or maybe she had been awful, and she completely messed up, and-
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. Her stomach leapt, and she couldn't tell if it was from nervousness or excitement.
"Hello?" she answered in her smoothest, most professional voice.
"Yes, is there a Ms. Rachel Berry available?" A lady's voice replied.
"Speaking," Rachel said, trying to calm the butterflies currently attacking her insides.
"Congratulations..." Rachel could hardly hear what else was being said. She got the part!
Finn watched with a proud grin. He wrapped his arms around her. "I love you," he whispered.
Rachel just nodded, unable to speak, still trying to listen to what the lady was saying. Rachel Berry was on her way to becoming a star.