Chapter 4:

Auditioning

A week passed and the day of the audition had approached. Mickey and Minnie were going to be meeting Walt at the studio at noon to begin the audition for someone to play the role of Mickey's rival.

But instead of being at the studio, the two lovers were in Minnie's bed, under the covers, fast asleep in each other's arms as the sun rays poured into the room through the window.

All of a sudden the phone rang. The two of them groaned.

"Go away..." Mickey said sleepily. He snuggled into his girlfriend more and held her tighter.

The phone continued ringing and eventually Minnie couldn't take it anymore. It wouldn't stop until she answered so she reluctantly picked it up. "Hello?" she said quietly.

"Hey girl!" said Daisy. "Are you still asleep?"

"Yeah..."

All of a sudden Mickey snored and Daisy giggled. "Am I interrupting something?"

Minnie sighed but couldn't help but smile as she looked down at her sleeping Mickey who she wanted to be cuddled up with again. "Yeah you are, make it quick."

"I need someone to go shopping with me tomorrow. Chanel just came out with a new line of dresses and I need you to help me pick some out. And I saw one that has your name all over it."

"That sounds like fun," Minnie said.

"Yay! Oh by the way, when's that audition you're going to today? Can't wait to see who you guys come up with. I hope he's hot..."

While Daisy rambled on Minnie looked at the clock. It was 11:40! They'd never make it to the studio on time!

"Oh no! We've got to go Daisy! Bye!" She hung up the phone and shook Mickey. "Honey, wake up."

Mickey just burrowed into the pillow. "Let's go back to sleep baby..."

"Mickey the audition! We're going to be late!"

Mickey opened his eyes and looked at the clock. "Damn it!"

They hopped out of bed and threw on some clothes. After brushing their teeth and quickly combing their hair they grabbed a quick bite for breakfast then got in Mickey's car to go to the audition.

They got there ten minutes after 12. They ran inside hand in hand to the audition room past a long line of young men waiting for the audition. Walt was inside doodling on a notebook. He turned to them when he saw the door open.

"There you are. What took you so long?" He asked.

"We um, over slept," Minnie said figuring that was all the detail they needed to give.

Walt chuckled a bit. He knew the story, he'd been young and in love. This wasn't the first time Mickey and Minnie had been late because they "overslept."

The two of them sat in chairs at the table Walt was at.

Walt handed them a revised script of the episode they'd film next. "I'm having them read this scene. We're looking for someone who can play a cocky character, arrogant but also be full of charisma."

"This should be interesting," Mickey said as he and Minnie flipped through the pages.

They brought in guy after guy to audition for the role. Most were young men who were just getting their foot in the door in the actin world eager to get a chance to work with the great Walt Disney.

After each read, Mickey, Minnie, and Walt deliberated and decided if they wanted to call the guy back for a final audition at the end of the day.

One guy had just left. He was their age and he was pretty good but not quite what they needed.

"He doesn't stand out to me enough," Mickey said.

"I agree, bring in the next guy," Walt said to the person at the door.

"Daisy would have liked him," Minnie said thinking of how Daisy wanted them to hire a hot guy.

That made Mickey laugh. "We'll give her his number."

The next guy came in. He was tall, lean, had a thin mustache, and wore a plaid shirt and fedora.

"What's your name sir?" Walt said.

"Mortimer Jones," the man said.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Jones," Walt said. "Tell us a little about your acting background."

"Sure, I began acting at 12 when I starred in a school production of Peter Pan. I graduated with a B.A in theater from the University of California and I've also dabbled a bit in film production."

"Excellent, I love a man with experience," Walt said impressed. "Let's hear your part now."

Mortimer read the script and the three of them were certainly impressed, he was very good.

"That was very good," Walt said. "We'll talk it over and let you know if you'll be called back."

"Thank you very much," Mortimer said.

"He definitely nailed the part," Mickey said after Mortimer left the room.

"I like this guy," Walt said. "I think he could really be somebody in the industry. If it weren't for the rest of the people waiting I'd say we found our guy."

"I say we definitely call him back," Minnie said.

Hours later they were getting through the last of the call back auditions. They were tired and bored. Auditions got to be very mundane after a while. Mickey always hated going to them. He'd been to plenty, he'd been there when Donald was cast (although they'd been friends since childhood but Walt had him audition as a formality), Goofy, Pete, and the rest of the cast he worked closely with as well as the cast of Snow White. Auditions weren't his favorite thing to sit through but Walt insisted that he come so he'd know how to run auditions himself one day.

They finally decided to go with Mortimer. They had him called in and Walt stood up and shook his hand. "Congratulations Mortimer, we're excited to have you as part of our cast."

"Oh wow...I don't know what to say! Thank you!" Mortimer said shaking their hands vigorously.

"We're looking forward to working with you," Minnie said.

"And I with you. This is truly an honor."