Chapter 2
The Audition
It was the following afternoon by the time Emma had finally managed to catch Ruby on her own and awake for long enough to tell her all about her upcoming audition,
"You're going to be a star Ems" Ruby shrieked jumping up in excitement
"Hey, hold your horses, I've got to get through the audition yet" Emma laughed finding her friends enthusiasm to be extremely contagious,
"You're going to smash it Em, and they already want you don't they so don't worry you'll be fine, you've got this, now tell me what's it called, what's it about, what's your character's name?" Ruby rattled the questions off in quick succession,
"I don't know yet, two women who meet on a train and fall in love and Leah" Emma laughed as she answered each question in order,
"Ooo, I love it already" Ruby grinned broadly, "let me know if you need any help running lines or anything"
"Well, there is one thing" Emma hedged
"Well go on spit out" Ruby pressed impatiently
"I was wondering if you might come to the audition with me"
"Uh hell yes" Ruby yelled excitedly pulling Emma up into a tight hug "This is going to be amazing" Ruby squealed into Emma's hair as she squeezed her tighter "I wonder if we'll bump into any stars" she pulled back away from Emma grinning from ear to ear and Emma couldn't help but return it with an equally large smile of her own.
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For Emma the days leading up to the audition seemed to go by way to fast, she knew her character, she knew her lines yet still she didn't feel prepared, for Ruby the opposite held true she felt that the days had dragged by way too slowly and it didn't help that Emma had forbidden her to share the news with anybody outside of Granny and she had only told her so that someone outside of herself and Ruby would know where they had gone and when to expect them back.
It was with great trepidation that Emma set off for her audition the following week, Ruby whose offer to drive had been quickly shot down by Emma sat in the passenger seat navigating with the help of the sat nav on her phone, Emma would have much preferred that it be put in its cradle on the dashboard but she knew how much Ruby loved to give the directions when she wasn't driving herself so she humoured her friend and besides it gave her a good excuse not to talk too much herself.
The address when they arrived turned out much to Ruby's disappointment to be a very large but ordinary looking multistorey building, the car park was already full of so many cars that a few were parked in ways and places that they shouldn't be and Emma could see a line of people filing in through the main entrance of the building, the whole scene filled her with an ominous feeling of dread.
"Maybe we should just forget it and go home" she said as she watched the latest group of people disappearing into the building,
"Emma Swan If you even think about turning this car around, I swear down that I will get out and remove something from your engine that it needs to move and I will not put it back until you've had your audition and you know I can" Ruby retorted eyes narrowed at Emma,
"Fine" Emma held her hands up in mock defeat, she knew as well as anybody that Ruby had spent some time in the garage tinkering around with cars when she had taken a fancy to being a mechanic or rather to Dorothy who worked there, Ruby hadn't hung around long once she had scored her girl but she had learned more than enough while there to make good on her promise, "I guess we should go find a parking space elsewhere" Emma sighed returning her hands to the wheel and shifting the bug into gear before moving off further down the road.
After a twenty-minute walk from their parking space and however long it had taken to find the space before that they were finally standing in front of their destination waiting for the small queue ahead of them to clear, when it was finally their turn Emma stepped forward and pressed the bell on the intercom next to the main entrance just as she had seen the people before her do and waited for the familiar voice to waft through the speaker,
"How can I help you?" the voice asked a few seconds later
"It's Emma Swan, I'm here for an audition"
"Of course, Miss Swan" the jolly voice replied "please come through" a short buzz followed indicating that the door had been unlocked granting Emma and Ruby entry to the building.
Once inside they found that they had stepped into a large foyer with a wide desk directly in front of them, the people who had entered the building ahead of them were already waiting at the elevators to the right of the desk so Ruby and Emma's approach to the front desk was unhindered,
"Hi there Miss Swan" the pretty blonde behind the desk smiled brightly "I'm Ashley, welcome, I'm glad to see that you found us okay, can I see your I.D please?" she asked getting straight to business
"Sure" Emma returned the smile with a small nervous one of her own and handed over her driver's license, Ashley nodded satisfied and handed it back to Emma before turning to Ruby,
"I'm sorry but I don't believe that I caught your name" she said pleasantly
"I'm Ruby" Ruby smiled back "but I'm not here to audition, I'm just here to keep her company" Ruby replied pointing a thumb at Emma, Ashley simply nodded in response,
"In that case if you two could just take one of the lifts on my right to the third floor, make a left turn when you get out and walk through the double doors at the end of the hall and wait in that room until you name is called Emma" she instructed "oh and best of luck at your audition" she added as they turned to walk away,
"thanks" Emma called back shyly.
The waiting room did nothing to quell Emma's nerves,
"How can I compete with this lot" she gulped as the two of them found a quietish corner to sit in, they sat on the floor because all the chairs were already occupied by some of the many other people in the room,
"you'll do fine" Ruby whispered back "We knew there might be quite a few here, you said yourself that they were holding open auditions for the show today, but not all of these will be here by personal invitation like you are, you're ahead of the game Ems they've already seen something they like in you and besides they might not all be here for the roll of Leah or even for your show, so just stop worrying and relax" she instructed
"Yeah, I guess so" Emma replied not sounding all together convinced "will you nudge me when you hear my name?' she asked holding her earbuds up for Ruby to see,
"Course" Ruby smiled turning her attention to a magazine that she had brought with her while Emma popped her earphones into place, sat back against the wall, closed her eyes and hit play, soon her own voice drowned all other thoughts out of her head as the lines that she already knew by heart which she had recorded and added to her iPod the week before repeated themselves in her ears.
A rough hand shaking her arm brought her back to reality a little while later,
"It's your turn Em" Ruby told her once she had pulled her headphones out,
Emma blinked blearily around the room which was considerably emptier than when they had arrived, as she pulled herself back onto her feet and walked towards the woman standing impatiently by the doorway clip board in hand looking expectantly in Emma's direction, more than half the seats were free of bodies now Emma noted as she passed through the room, but Ruby being Ruby had known better than to disturb Emma before it was time to go once she had managed to so thoroughly zone herself out which was why they had remained seated on the floor together long after vacant chairs had begun to appear, Not for the first time that day Emma felt eternally grateful to have a friend, well more of sister really like Ruby with her.
"Just Emma" the woman at the door snapped waspishly when she saw Ruby following behind Emma,
"Please" Emma implored "She's here for moral support"
"Fine" the woman sniffed clearly unimpressed, "but you'll have to wait outside the audition room while she goes in, you can't hold her hand through the whole process I'm afraid" she directed at Ruby before haughtily turning her back to them and adding "do keep up won't you" as she walked off up the hallway leaving a somewhat flustered Emma and very irritated Ruby who was biting back her retort not wanting to do anything to jeopardise Emma's chances at landing the role hurrying along in her wake.
They hadn't gone far when the woman with the clip board stopped at a closed door and knocked three times, without bothering to wait for an invitation she immediately pushed the door open and popped her head in,
"I have Emma Swan for you" she announced
"Thank-you Victoria" a pleasant male voice from within that caused Emma to release the tiniest sigh of relief replied, at least whoever was inside the room sounded kinder than the clipboard holding Victoria standing outside of it, "send her in"
Victoria stepped into the room holding the door open for Emma to pass, glaring at Ruby behind her as though daring her to follow, instead Ruby stepped back from the door and made herself comfortable in one of the three chairs lined against the wall on the opposite side of the hall and Victoria, her job completed, exited the room and headed back in the direction of the waiting room leaving the door behind her to swing closed of its own accord as she went.
Inside the room Emma found herself facing two men and a woman who were all sitting at a table facing her, a lone unoccupied chair sat waiting across from them,
None of them looked to be much older than her which for some unknown reason surprised her, the woman smiled warmly at Emma as she entered her smile easily meeting her pretty brown eyes which were enhanced by perfectly applied black eyeliner, a touch of colour on her lips was the only other trace of make-up to be seen on her otherwise clear face, she wore a simple off the shoulder shirt the bright aqua colour a perfect contrast to her light brown skin, long dark hair was pulled back into a loose braid which hung over her left shoulder, and an oval pendant hung from gold chain around her neck, the large stone that matched the colour of her shirt embedded within it rested in the centre of her chest.
To her right and occupying the centre seat sat a fresh-faced man with dark hair that hung loose at his shoulders, the top three buttons of his white linen shirt were open revealing the top of his smooth brown chest, and a slightly crooked smile that exuded as much warmth as the woman's graced his lips,
The second man seemed a little more reserved, he looked like he was either a little older than the other two or had not aged as well, Emma supposed that he was handsome in a rugged kind of way, he wore his brown hair much shorter than his colleague but his had a much more ruffled look to it, in contrast to middle mans' fresh face this man had stubble that came from not having shaved for a number of days, he seemed a little less open than the other two and was looking at Emma as though he was still trying to figure her out, and Emma thought he probably was, but there was Emma noted a kindness in his eyes.
"Please take a seat Emma" the smiling man sitting in the centre seat invited indicating towards the empty seat opposite him, Emma silently complied lowering herself into the chair, where hands in her lap hidden by the table between them, she nervously picked at the skin on her fingers as the man continued to speak,
"I understand that you're here to audition for the role of Leah, is that correct?" he asked
Emma nodded,
"That's a pretty big role" the woman spoke up, "what made you want that part and what makes you think that you'd be right for it?" she asked, her tone even and mostly neutral but with the merest hint of a warm edge that made Emma feel a little more at ease, a little, but not much,
"well" Emma replied clearing her throat as she began "It was Mr Pearce, umm Guy" she said remembering his preferred title at the last minute "that approached me initially" she answered honestly "but I read all of the information I've been sent and I'm really excited about the role, I've always enjoyed acting it was a bit of an escape for me when I was younger, this won't be quite the same but I really believe that I can do this role justice"
"Oh, and why's that?" the woman asked tone still just as neutral and even as before,
"Because Leah, is a lot like me" Emma answered simply
"how so" the rugged man spoke for the first time, his voice was gruffer than the first mans but he didn't sound unkind and nor was he intimidating in any way and to Emma's intense relief she found herself able to relax a tiny fraction more once he had finally broken his silence, none of them at least had added to her anxiety the way that Victoria had, the woman noticing Emma's slight change in posture even offered her a small smile of encouragement,
"Because I grew up like she did" Emma continued "an orphan in the care system and I know what it's to feel so totally alone in the world that you just want to run away, I was never adopted like Leah was, I mean someone showed interest when I was a baby but gave me back when they had a baby of their own when I was two" Emma shrugged nonchalantly as she continued "so I didn't have a crazy adoptive parent for years like her, but I did live with more than my fair share of abusive arseholes, sorry" she amended a little sheepishly
"No, it's fine" the woman replied "please continue"
"there's nothing much else to say really, other than I know Leah better than any of you can possibly imagine because I basically am her, this won't be an escape from my life like the roles I played on stage as child used to be because this will be me playing me in many ways, reliving the life I've already lived, because of that I know that I can bring the authenticity to Leah's character that she deserves" Emma finished
"And are you sure that's something that you really want to do, that you can handle?" the woman asked a hint of concern edging her tone now,
"Definitely" Emma answered more confident now, "In fact I think it might even prove to be somewhat therapeutic and my therapist agrees so you really have nothing to worry about on that front" Emma assured the people sitting in front her, and It was true, when she had decided that she wanted to audition for the role of Leah she had arranged a meeting with Doctor Hopper, she hadn't been to see him for years in a doctor/client capacity, she hadn't needed to, but having thought that she might benefit from some therapy Granny had introduced teen Emma to Archie not long after she had arrived in Storybrooke and he had become intimately familiar with her past, more so than anybody else was, even Ruby, so he had been the natural choice to turn to for advice about this latest turn of events in her life, they had talked at great length about the role and Archie had been incredibly supportive at the idea of her taking it if it was offered to her, assuring her that if she did end up doing it he would be there for her anytime day or night if she needed a chat.
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Watching in anticipation, Emma waited while the now silent trio sitting across the table scribbled down a few notes before returning their undivided attention to her,
"Thank-you for your candid and honest answers Emma" the first man spoke again laying his pen down to rest on his pad as his warm brown eyes meeting hers, "We'd like to move forward now and ask to hear you recite the lines that you've learned" he continued,
"Oh, okay" Emma replied feeling a little disconcerted by the sudden change in direction that their conversation had taken,
"it's okay" the woman smiled encouragingly "take your time"
Emma nodded and took a deep steadying breath before looking up and picking a spot somewhere between the brown skinned mans and the woman's heads to focus on and began to recite the lines that she now knew so well, the people in the room seemed to fade away as the words continued to fall effortlessly from her mouth and she felt herself become Leah body and soul until the last sentence left her lips, then she blinked and she was Emma again looking across a table at three faces all of which remained unreadable, she wanted to ask if she'd done okay but she didn't dare, instead she sat quietly twiddling her thumbs in her lap while they scribbled down yet more notes that she couldn't see.
For the final part of the audition they asked her to step around to their side of the table and into the larger emptier space in the back of the room this area was set up like a photo studio, the rugged man made a brief phone call and another woman entered the room through a different door to the one that Emma had entered through, Emma hadn't missed the shine in rugged man's eyes as the woman had walked into the room or the cheeky wink that she had sent his way before she had turned her focus onto to Emma and gotten to work taking a few photos of her, both head and full body shots while asking her to face this way and that and then Emma had been presented with several short scenarios to play out in front of the video camera before she was thanked for her time and sent on her way with assurances that she would hear from them as soon as they had made their decision.
"Good news or bad, you'll get a text to inform you when we've made the decision and then within a few days of that a letter and an email should follow, containing the decision and any information that you need to know, if you are offered the role you'll have a cut-off date to let us know if you wish to accept it so don't delay opening your mail Miss Swan, any questions" the woman asked offering her a hand shake as Emma shook her head in response "in that case, thank-you for coming in, it's been a pleasure to have met you Emma" she said her face breaking into a huge genuine, warm smile,
"Thank-you for seeing me" Emma smiled back before releasing the woman's handshake and turning to exit the room through the door through which she had entered through almost an hour earlier, relief washing over her when the door clicked closed behind her and she finally found herself in the quiet hall way on the other side with Ruby who was still sitting patiently in the chair across the hall tapping away at her phone, texting Dorothy no doubt Emma smiled the last of the anxiety that the audition had evoked seeping from her shoulders leaving her feeling a whole lot lighter now that it was over and paving the way for the anxiety of waiting to hear what the outcome would be to creep in, in its place, which it undoubtably would at some point soon but for a now Emma basked in the overwhelming feeling of relief as Ruby looked up at her grinning from ear to ear.
"Well, it's about time" she laughed standing up and pocketing her phone "I was beginning to wonder if they had you filming the whole show it there you were in there so long, come on don't keep me in suspense how did it go? are you a star yet or what?"
"I think it went okay" Emma shrugged "they didn't really give me any feedback in there, they said they'll let me know via letter, can we just get out of here now, I have a shift and the B n B later"
"Your wish is my command Leah" Ruby laughed linking her arm with Emma's,
"Don't be an idiot, Rubes" Emma smiled as she berated her friend and playfully nudged into her with her shoulder as they walked towards the exit together the sounds of Ruby's teasing and laughter filtering through the hallway as they went.