"Am I speaking to Miss Elizabeth Bennet?"
"Yes, yes you are."
"I am calling on behalf of the HR Department of DreamCast Pictures to confirm your appointment with the head writer of the project at 11AM on December 24th. We would appreciate if you would show up at least 30 minutes prior with all the necessary documentation"
"Ooo-kay", I replied trying to hide my sarcasm.
"The interview will be held at the pix studios office building and will be conducted by Mr. Castor Troy, so ask for him at the reception", the nasally voice continued mechanically.
Castor Troy? Is Nicholas Cage going to interview me?
"Do you have any questions?". "No, I get it. Thanks for the call", I replied as my attention was now on a bright pink suitcase on the luggage belt that looked a lot like mine.
"You're welcome " she voiced and hung up. It wasn't mine.
The airport was absolutely decked from top to bottom with Christmas decoration in a rather minimal way. That or the crowd made it impossible to notice it. I used to think that the people who escape winters during Christmas are idiots. But then I grew up, and I started to realise that there is an appeal to running away from things from time to time.
The airport might have been crowded but my flight wasn't. I overheard two air hostesses during flight who were sharing a mundane moment of small talk saying how the other way round has more passengers on it this time of the year. Despite this, my luggage was taking an excruciatingly long time to arrive. I didn't sleep well on the flight and was worried about keeping Emily waiting for me outside.
By the time I got all my luggage it was almost 11:30 in the morning. I didn't think about it much as I was approaching the exit, but I was hit by the most brightest flash of sun I had ever faced in my entire life. That was when I realised that the last time I saw the sun it was probably sometime after halloween. I moved away from the crowd of honking cars to a part of the pavement where people were waiting for their ubers and taxi to spot them. I didn't make any effort to seek Emily but I stood there with my eyes closed and my face turned up towards the sky. There was a very strong wind blowing which had some coolness but the sky was bright and the sun was truly beautiful.
"That's LA for you", I heard a deep but kind voice coming from my side. I slowly opened my eyes and saw an old man looking at me with a kind smile. I instinctively smiled back. I thought that nobody was noticing me doing that.
Soon after he recognised a car and waded through the people standing before us to reach it. I stood there for another 5 minutes till I felt someone gently tap my shoulder. I turned sideways and found a woman with bright red hair and tanned skin smiling at me from under her oversized shades.
"You've lost weight Lizzie", Emily said as she stood there coyly. We both laughed and hugged each other.
She had parked her car a bit away so we had to walk but I didn't mind despite how tired I was.
"So, how's your father?" She asked in a not so casual way that surprised me a bit. But then I remembered that the last time we saw each other I got the news from Beardsley about dad's heart attack and how I had to rush home barely after the farewell party. I felt kind of guilty for not being in touch with her after that.
"He's fine now, quite good actually ", I replied. She gave me a quick smile, "thank god".
I met Emily as a freshman at University of Pennsylvania as a classmate. Her father is a doctor in Pasadena and her mother was a school teacher who died when she was 14. She is kind hearted and good willed. She had auburn hair which is now dyed a very bright red. She was rather broad limbed and tall. She is working here at a casting agency, which is why I contacted her hoping she would suggest some places for me to rent. She offered me to stay with her till I find some accommodations.
"It was very out of the blue, you calling and all", she said as we stopped at a traffic light. "It is a pretty odd time to apply for jobs, with the holiday season and all. People usually go home to their families, " she continued. She looked at me for a reply but I looked at my lap. I was visibly quite uncomfortable with the question which she sensed and felt a bit embarrassed. "It's clever I guess," she added hesitantly, "I mean you eliminate the competition quite a bit by applying this time" she added with a nervous chuckle. I smiled sweetly at him and started looking for my shades in my handbag.
"I asked around at work about pix studios and other stuff. I know you might not wanna hear this but there has been a lot of drama there lately" Emily said. "What do you mean", I asked. "The long and short of it is that the studio head and production company's ceo Just don't get along. In fact, the ceo has been losing favour from a lot of people lately. The situation is very uncertain. The movie for which you got a call back for, "The last letter ", was supposed to be released this summer. But they keep pushing the deadline. I know I saw multiple casting notes for that one asking a completely different set of voice actors. It's kind of a mess, I'm sorry ", she added rather apologetically.
"Don't worry about it Em", I sighed, "I applied to other places too. Newspapers and magazines. I am not counting too much on this one. The pay is pretty fucking shitty to be honest. And I am supposed to be interviewed by a guy named Castor Troy!" I exclaimed, chuckling a bit. This caught Emily off guard and she started laughing as she took a slight right towards olympic boulevard.
We arrived at her condo which was on strand street in Santa Monica. It seemed pretty expensive, her father had a habit of making up for his lack of affection with money.
"Steve, my boyfriend is on tour right now till February but I do hope you guys meet soon " she said as she put the keys in a glass bowl by the door. "This place is beautiful " I said as a standard gesture of curtsy. The drawing room was an explosion of colours and textures. I noticed the spacious balcony outside the room which had the view of looking down at the ocean avenue running parallel to the coast line. She gestured towards a room at the end of a short narrow gallery and said, "you should rest and freshen up a bit, we'll go out for dinner tonight".
We went out for dinner at a simple diner. Emily always knew how to make it comfortable for people, she knew that anything fancy would have made it formal.
"Do you mind if I smoke?" I asked as the waitress left with our orders. "No, not at all" she replied, still looking at the menu. "I honestly lost count of the number of times you said you'll quit when we were in college" she said with a sly smile. I let out a puff of smoke and chucked with a heavy breath. "I still do try to quit," I started, "wish it was easy. Hell, life isn't easy" I said. The air was cold but not bitter.
And over some cheap hot dogs and beer, I told her everything about mum and dad, careful excluding my "affair" with the gentleman causing all the trouble. She sat staring at the half empty beer in front of her for a couple of minutes. "So this is why you rushed out here" she concluded as she looked at me.
"You guys need anything else?" The waitress asked as we sat in silence. "No, we'll have the check" Emily said. "Do you want to split it with your girlfriend?" The waitress asked kindly gesturing towards me. We looked at each other for a moment and let out a laugh.
We walked along the coast for a bit. "What will you do if you don't get a job anywhere? Will you go back?" Emily asked. "Never", I said resolutely " I'll literally do anything here, I'll work for a newspaper, work as a waitress. I'll become a fucking stripper if it comes to that but I am never going back there again" I said with a certain rage building up in me. "It won't come to that Lizzie " she said as she put an arm around my shoulder. "You'll get something, don't worry "
It was around 11:30 by the time we came back. "If you need anyone just ask" Emily said, holding a yawn back. "Okay, good night" I said. "Good night" she smiled back with sleep heavy eyes.
I went out to the balcony and removed my shoes. I sat on the lounge chair and fished for another cigarette. I looked at the ocean with it's rolling waves, the wind with it's chillness. I leaned back and took some big deep breaths. A few days back I felt the slaps of cold icy winds, among other things, on my face. But as of this moment, I was a free woman, smoking my cigarette while gazing into the unbounded Pacific. I probably wasn't happy, but for the first time in my life I felt in control. And happiness is just another drug compared to this feeling.
