I remove my earphones as the loud speaker in the cabin goes on. 'We will be landing shortly; please make sure all electronic devices are turned off and put away, and all other personal items are stowed securely in either the overhead bins or under the seat in front of you.' The captain announces. Sighing I regretfully turn my Ipod off and shove it in my purse, not wanting to think about what a tangled mess my earphones will be later.
I stretch as much as I can, being forced to sit in economy for the past nine hours has done me no favors. 'at least they were kind enough to get me a window seat.' I think sarcastically to myself, almost regretting having won the acting competition that landed me here. Having nothing better to do I look out the window and let my mind wander over the past few weeks, the whirl wind of events that has me landing in a small airport just north of London in a mere fifteen minutes.
Two months prior:
I sit in my basement, flipping through the channels on our family's tv; and of course, there is nothing on. I pause as a commercial catches my eye, Jensen, Jared, and Misha, three of the main characters of Supernatural are on.
"We are doing another TV series this winter. Instead of hosting it in the States however, we are acting in Europe; and one lucky person is going to join us in helping create this new series." I crank the volume up on the TV set and grab my laptop, already Googling the event. "Auditions will begin June 23rd and will be held in the sets where Supernatural was filmed. We hope to see you there!"
My mouth hangs open in disbelief; I cannot believe this; immediately I run upstairs to tell my mom. I remember packing my car, deciding to drive down and rent a cheap hotel, rescheduling all of my classes so I can take them online and the long drive to California. I shudder at the memory of sleeping in rest stops on my way down so I could save money, then arriving in Hollywood! The sights, the beaches, and the auditions are all a blur, no longer separate memories, but one lump sum of events stored in my mind as a colorful, stressful, tired, and excited tornado.
I am jostled out of my musings as the plane touches down; looking out of the window I can no longer see the sun. 'I knew it was cloudy in London, but really...'I think to myself, gazing up at the blanket of clouds. Glancing back at the isle I can see that most of the other fliers have recovered their carry-ons and exited the plane. Grabbing my purse I stand and follow the last of the stragglers to the front of the jet, thankful that at least all of my luggage was forwarded to the hotel I'll be staying at.
As I reach the front of the airport, having finally made it through customs after what seemed like forever of people asking: why are you here? Why did you decide to visit the UK? Where will you be staying during your time here, and so on and so on. I sigh; knowing that the people are only doing their jobs and trying to make sure nutters don't start bombing their country helps with the frustration- a little. A sign with KORMICK scrawled across it catches my eye and I head toward the suited man holding it.
"Willa?" He asks, a look of disapproval flashing across his face. I nod, knowing how I must look in my hoodie and yoga pants; my hair is in disarray from sleeping on the flight, I run my hand through it having momentarily forgotten that I recently chopped it all off and bleached it blond.
He turns and leads me to a sporty looking black car and opens the door for me. I study him briefly, he isn't very memorable, medium build with short brown hair and green eyes; at least I can say I know what he looks like if I get kidnapped I muse to myself, letting a small smirk ghost my lips before sliding into the back seat.
The drive to the hotel is uneventful, country side surrounding us as we crawl through agonizingly slow traffic. When we do arrive at the hotel, almost two hours after leaving the airport, the driver doesn't even exit the car; as soon as I am clear of the road he speeds off, re-entering traffic as fast as he can. 'Friendly bunch here in the Mother Land.' I muse to myself before entering the doors of the grand hotel in front of me.
I head over to the front desk, where an unpleasant looking woman is complaining very loudly to the desk clerk about the quality of the towels. I shake my head as I step up behind her, muttering not quite under my breath, "Be grateful you even have towels you hag, I know kids who'd kill for just one to use as a blanket."
I smirk to myself as the lady stiffens, seeming to have heard my comment. Giving one last rude remark to the clerk she storms off to the elevators, her large behind jiggling after her. The relieved looking clerk offers me a small smile as I turn back to the desk.
"I'm just checking into my room." I say, leaning slightly on the desk.
"Ah, I see, may I have your name please?" He asks, typing something into his computer.
"Willa Kormick, I'm with the crew for the new television series." I say quietly, half formed nightmares of being flooded by hoards of people coming to the forefront of my mind.
"Oh, um, just a minute please miss." The desk boy says becoming nervous and picking up the phone located near the computer. He seems to wait as it rings then hastily pulls it away from his ear as a very loud greeting is given.
"Um yes, hello? This is the front desk I was told to call to inform you- yes, yes, ah, um well I am not sure, well I suppose, ah, yes-" The clerk gives the phone an irrediculous look as the person he is having a conversation with promptly hangs up on him.
"I'm sorry; if you would just have a seat in our waiting area I can help you again shortly." He says with an apologetic look and a gesture to some chairs and couches.
"Oh, well, ok then..." I mutter, too tired at this point to argue with the man. I slump into one of the plush chairs, giving a small sigh of relief at the comfortable cushioning. I allow myself to relax as the nine hour time difference catches up with me. I've just began to drift off when I hear something that sounds like a tray of glasses being dropped, my eyes snap open and I jump out of my chair. Looking around I locate the source of the shattering, it turns out that a tray of glasses has in fact been dropped, and a very flustered hotel employee is arguing with a large man, his joules red and jiggling comically in his anger. The words clumsy and stupid reach my ears as I slump back into the chair trying not to be noticed by the angry red jello man.
Pulling my ear-buds out of my purse I begin to untangle them, the familiar mindless task comforting me as it begins to sink in that it will probably be months before I see any of my friends or family. I look up upon hearing a loud voice coming from the elevators and the ceasing of the angry shouting that had filled the lobby, a flamboyant man has interrupted the argument, and appears to be resolving it. Assuming the drama is over I set back to my task at hand, one particular knot had managed to pull itself exceptionally tight, and I was having trouble loosening it. So absorbed was I in my task that I jumped at least a foot in the air when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
Springing to my feet a whirling around I find myself faced with an amused smile on the face of the flamboyant man from the elevator. Warily I look him over, he has cropped, spiky hazel colored hair, sparkling green eyes and a five o'clock shadow ghosting his jaw line.
"Can I help you?" I manage to grind out, remembering my manners, really though I'm thinking 'What the F***ing HELL do you want you Mother F***er?' He just laughs and gives me a twice over, which only makes me more uncomfortable, like I'm the lobster he's going to have for supper.
"Sorry about scaring you like that, I didn't know actors were so jumpy." He says, grin never leaving his face. My apparent confusion prompts him to continue. "I'm the producer and co-director of the new tv series, you're my armature actor aren't you?"
When I don't respond he begins to look confused and flustered, his cheeks flushing pink. He begins to pick at the hem of his shirt as he stammers out, "O-oh, I'm sorry…. I thought you were-"
He stops upon looking up, seeing a small smile on my face. "I'm Willa, if that's what you mean."
Immediately he looks relieved, and motions for me to follow him. He leads me back over to the front desk, and I find myself suppressing a giggle at his springy, bouncing walk. Not even trying to be polite at this point I lean fully on the desk, ignoring the conversation beside me.
"Are you listening to a word I'm saying?" A voice says to me, I turn realizing the flamboyant man must have been talking to me 'Good God I need some sleep' I think to myself.
"Of course I have." I lie, looking flippantly over my shoulder at him.
"Hm" He grunts and drags me to the elevators, yelling over his shoulder "Thanks Jimmy!"
Seeing the desk boy blushing I assume my new boss is referring to him. The elevators are plated with some yellow metallic paint or metal that is supposed to resemble gold but just gives me a headache 'I wonder how far up we are' I muse planning on making the stairs my new buddy during our stay here. I close my eyes and rest against the wall, waiting for our floor. After what seems like forever I finally hear, "Ok! This is us!"
I open my eyes only to see not a hallway in front of me, but a huge living area. "I think we went up too far…"
"No, no of course not, silly!" The flamboyant man, I wish someone would walk in and say his name so I don't have to ask him! says, stepping into the room. Warily I follow him, letting my eyes trail over the elegantly decorated room. The elevator doors close behind me with a ding, I turn to see that the doors are not that hideous fake gold, but painted the same ivory as the walls, and nearly disappear.
"Willa?" I turn back to face the producer, "Yeah?"
"This way to your room," he says and walks off. I follow him to the end of a long hallway, past several closed doors, stopping in front of the final door. He throws the doors open with a flourish, and gestures dramatically at the room, "This is where you'll be staying."
"Great, thanks." I reply stepping into the room, without hesitation I close the doors in his face and make my way over to the bed. I flop down on top of the covers and pull out my Ipod to drown out any noise, hearing my door open I toss a quick and unarguable 'good night' over my shoulder before closing my eyes and turning up the volume.