6th May, 1912
Chippewa Falls
Rose was sat at the diner in town, at the table in the corner, of course. She still hadn't spoken to anyone in town aside from Hetty and thanking anyone who did small gestures, but aside from that she kept herself to herself. People made small talk with one another, wondering where Rose had come from or what her story was, but no one ever asked. Until…
"Hi" a young girl smiled at Rose as she stood by her table. "Oh, hello" Rose gave a small smile back, looking up from the newspaper she was reading. "Mind if I join you?" the girl asked. Rose's eye scanned the room quickly, she was confused as to why the girl wanted to join her, seen as there were so many free tables available, but not wanting to be rude she nodded in response "of course" she smiled. "Thanks… I'm Marie" the girl smiled. "Nice to meet you, I'm Rose" Rose replied.
"So, you've been in town a while now?" Marie asked, very to the point "I've seen you around quite a lot" she continued. "Oh… erm… yes… I've been here about a month now" she gave a small smile. "What's brought you here, if you don't mind me asking?" Marie smiled a little "not at all… an old friend said it was a nice little town, so I decided to visit. I've been looking for somewhere new to settle, and I think this might be it" Rose smiled. "I see… you don't have any family? I haven't seen you with anyone" Marie asked awkwardly. "No, my family aren't around unfortunately. Anyway… how old are you?" Rose smiled, hoping to change the subject from herself. "18" Marie replied "you?" She asked "17" Rose smiled, getting a nod in response. "Were you reading anything interesting?" Marie asked, nodding to the newspaper in front of Rose. "Oh, just the job section… but there's nothing. I don't have experience in much and jobs that I would be able to do aren't being advertised at the moment" Rose sighed a little. "what is it that you do you want to do?" Marie raised an eyebrow "well, I want to be an actress, or work in the theatre, but like I said, I have no experience" she sighed again. "Are you a hard worker?" Marie asked. "Absolutely!" Rose nodded eagerly "OK… no promises, but my Dad runs the theatre at the top of town. I can see if he has anything available, but like I said, I can't promise anything" she repeated. "Why would you do that for me?" Rose asked confused "I know what it's like to be new and not know what to do with yourself, so if I can help someone in that position then I want to" Marie nodded "thank you so much" Rose swallowed, having to stop herself from crying. "Come on, I think he's down at the theatre now, let's go see" Marie smiled as she stood up, followed by Rose.
—
Rose and Marie walked in to the theatre quietly, where Tom - Marie's Dad, was directing an ensemble on stage so they sat quietly at the back, waiting for him to finish.
"Cut!" Tom called "right, take a 40 minute break then back here!" he said to the ensemble and watched as they left the stage before turning his attention to Marie when he noticed her at the back. "Hello darling" he smiled. "Hi Dad.. this is Rose, my friend" she replied. "Hi Rose, I'm Tom Smith" the man replied with a smile. Strangely, the man reminded Rose of 'Santa' for some reason, she thought it might be the white beard and hair. "Hello, it's nice to meet you" she smiled back.
"Rose is new in town, she's looking for a job. She wants to work in film and theatre. Do you have anything she could do?" Marie asked her Dad hopefully. "Acting or production?" Tom asked Rose. "Oh, I'd be grateful for anything!" she replied quickly. "Well, we're in the middle of a production right now, shows start next week. So how about we start you backstage, then if things go well, you can audition for a part in the next play if you'd like?" Tom offered "I'd love that, thank you so much!" Rose tried to remain calm, despite being thrilled inside. It was the first time she had genuinely smiled since the Titanic.