My prompts were:
Genre: Ghost Story
A thing: An Audition
A character: A Divorcée
Audition
of a Lifetime
by
Chris
Todd Miller
Samantha Morrison stepped over the homeless man
sleeping at the bottom of the steps that led from the subway to the sidewalk,
but not before depositing the last of her change in the cup still held in his
hand. Her last table that night, an eighteen topper, tipped her $100 on a bill
of $265, forty percent, not bad at all. The restaurant had been busy lately,
which meant she could almost get caught up on rent. Now, she’d only be one
month past due.
The
subway stop was just a few blocks from her apartment. Headlights shown on
passing cars, and neon signs were just coming on. The sun cast long shadows, a
final bow to the day’s audience. The streets still hummed with traffic and enough
pedestrians that she didn’t feel the need to keep her pepper spray at the
ready. Jack would already be asleep, or he better be. Mrs. Clawson, who lived a
few doors down, was kind enough to watch him while she worked her night shifts.
Her
little man. Already so independent, tying his own shoes and everything.
She
felt her hand bag buzz and pulled out her phone. The caller ID said, Favorite
Agent. She touched the green dot. “Hey Neil, what’s up?”
“Hey,
Sam. I got a question for you. Who’s your emergency contact?”
“My
emergency contact? Why? Am I dying?”
“Not
yet, but play your cards right, and you will.”
“It’s
been a long day, Neil, what the fuck are you talking about?”
“I
got you an audition with . . .”
Sam’s
stomach tightened and she inhaled just a bit.
“HBO.
Game of Thrones.”
She
shrieked. Pedestrians turned to look. “Are you kidding me?”
“I
like a good joke, but I wouldn’t kid you about this. You need to be there by
nine a.m. I’ll text you the address.”
“Tomorrow
morning? Shit, I’ve got to get my shift covered.”
“Quit
if you have to,” Neil said. “You’re a shoo-in. And I haven’t even told you the
best part yet. It’s not a leading role but it is a recurring role, so there’s a
signing bonus. A big one. This almost never happens but it’s Game of Thrones.
They do things their own way. And it doesn’t hurt that you have the world’s
greatest agent.”
“Oh,
Neil, you have no idea how much I need this.”
“I
have some idea. You and Jack won’t have to worry about rent for a long while.”
Sam
saw her apartment building in at the end of the block. “Why did you ask about
emergency contact?”
“I
said I like a good joke. This may not be one of them. You’re going to be on
Game of Thrones. Eventually, you’ll be killed off, so I figure you’ll want your
affairs in order.”
“Hilarious,”
Sam said, with a dead-pan tone. “Don’t quit your day job. And, for the record,
it’s my sister, Lexy.”
She
hung up and started climbing the three flights to her apartment. She nearly
flew up the stairs she was so excited.
The
first door at the end of the third floor was Mrs. Clawson’s. Sam knocked
quietly, hoping that her son was asleep.
Mrs.
Clawson opened the door. “Come in, Sugar.”
Sam
slipped through and followed Mrs. Clawson down the hallway. “Was he good for
you tonight?”
“Honey,
he’s always good. That boy’s an angel.”
“We
are talking about my son, Jack, right?”
“Go
on, you know he’s a good kid.”
“I
know,” Sam said. She eyed the framed pictures that covered the walls. Mrs.
Clawson’s family, and family’s family. Some of the photos were in black and
white.
Mrs.
Clawson saw Sam looking over the photos. “There’s three generations on those
walls. You’re off to a good start.”
Jack
lay on the couch, asleep, wrapped in his favorite blanket. Sam gathered him up.
“Thank you so much for watching him.”
Sam
repositioned Jack on her shoulder so she could rip off the eviction notice on
her door. She stuffed it in her back pocket and dug out her keys. Thirty days. “At
least they didn’t change the locks,” she muttered.
She
dropped the eviction notice on the kitchen table next to a stack of unpaid
bills. She put Jack to bed and left him with a kiss on his forehead, then
pulled out her phone. First, a text to her coworker Cami:
Hey Cami
Hey
Sorry
to drop this on you so late,
but
can you cover my morning shift?
I
just landed a huge audition.
Hang on
I totally would if I could but . . .
It took three more tries until she found Luis,
who agreed to cover her shift. People at work were always talking about their
big auditions, yet there they were, night after night, still waiting tables.
This time would be different, Sam told herself.
Next
she called her sister, Lexy, who agreed to watch Jack in the morning. Sam set
the alarm on her phone to six so she’d have plenty of time to make a big
breakfast for Lexy and Jack, and still get to her audition on time. “This time
will be different,” she said, before turning out the light.
Sam
placed two eggs, sunny side up, on top of a large pancake to form the eyes of
the smiley face—a pad of butter made the nose, and a strip of curled bacon the
mouth—when the doorbell rang. She opened the door and gave her sister a big
hug. “Come in, come in.”
Lexy
put her purse on the couch and went straight for the plate of bacon, her curls
bouncing with each step. “Fancy breakfast.”
“I
wanted to put some happy vibes into the universe, and this is Jack’s favorite.”
With
a strip of bacon hanging out of her mouth, Lexy picked up the crumpled eviction
notice. “They’re kicking you out?”
Sam
dished up a plate for her and Lexy. “That’s what happens when you’re
perpetually behind on the rent.”
“Again?”
“Still.”
“Is
Jared late with child support, again?”
“Again?
Still. Shit, Lexy, I haven’t seen a dime in over six months.”
“Have
the state garnish his wages.”
“They’ve
got to find him to garnish him.”
“Why
didn’t you tell me?”
Sam
shrugged. “What good would it do? You already work two jobs and have a
roommate, and you’re barely getting by.”
“Not
true. I no longer have a roommate. She moved out. Still owes me for rent this
month, though.” She picked up the eviction notice. “Call it karma, or kismet,
or just the divine, but this is perfect. You and Jack should move in with me.”
“I
don’t know. I’m no charity case.”
“This
isn’t charity. I need a roommate, and who better than my big sis? Plus, Jack
needs more Lexy in his life.”
“Oh,
really?”
“Most
people do. Today, you’ll kick ass at the audition, then this weekend we’ll pack
up all your shit and move you into my place—our place. Don’t pay that landlord
another fuckin’ dime.”
Sam
teared up a little and smiled at her sister. “Okay. Let’s do it.” Sam hugged
her sister. “Go give Jack some more Lexy and get him out here before his
breakfast gets cold.”
Lexy
came back with Jack on her hip. He still wore his Avengers pajamas, and rubbed
sleep out of his eyes. Sam took him and set him at the table.
Jack
gave a delighted gasp. “Smiley face pancakes? These are my most favorite.”
“I
know.” She kissed him on his head.
“Is
aunt Lexy watching me today?”
“I
sure am. Your mom’s got a big audition today for a famous TV show.” She splayed
her hands for emphasis.
“Cool.
Can I play Candy Crush on your phone?”
Lexy
smiled. “I’m sure there will be time for that. Now eat up.”
Sam
finished her bacon, eggs, and avocado. “You two finish up. I need to get
dressed.”
Fifteen
minutes later Sam emerged from the bedroom ready to go. She bent down in front
of Jack. “Give me a hug.” He hugged her tightly around the neck and kissed her
cheek.
“Break
your legs today,” he said.
“I
will, buddy, thanks.” She looked at Lexy, who gave a nod that said, you got
this.
Outside,
Sam pulled up the text Neil sent her with the address and her lines. She’d
stayed up late practicing her part. This morning, she only put on minimal
makeup to hid her tired eyes. The studio would take care of that. She thought
about hailing a cab, but one of her mother’s axioms about chickens, and eggs,
and math came to mind. She decided she could make it to the subway. With only
one changeover she would make it with ten minutes to spare.
On
the train, she practiced her lines again and again. Nobody interrupted her. In
fact, barely a head turned her way. “I guess people talking to themselves on
the subway is not unusual.”
At
her stop, she gathered her purse, and with phone in hand, stepped off the
train, making sure to mind the gap. The sun felt warm and pleasant on her face
as she merged into the throng of people on the sidewalk. Every so often she had
a moment like this, where she observed the strangers before, behind, and to
either side of her and paused, just for a second, to consider how each person was
living his or her own life in the world. Hustling and bustling to get to some
place, entirely oblivious to everyone else, caught up in their own joys and
sorrows, yet somehow the universe managed to weave them altogether to make the
world go round. After today she would owe the universe a big thank you.
She
was only a couple of blocks from the studio. Sam pulled up her lines again. She
knew she knew them, but couldn’t stop reading them. She managed to read and
project without running into anyone and before she realized it, she was across
the street from the studio. She waited with the crowd for the light to change
and moved in unison with everyone else when the signal chirped. The next sound
she heard was the squeal of tires on asphalt and people screaming. A yellow
taxi cab barreled into the crosswalk. Sam dropped her phone and put both hands
out as if to stop the car by using “the Force.”
Sam
opened her eyes to see a man leaning over her saying something. His mouth was
moving but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. A crowd had assembled
around her.
Fear
grasped her chest. She started to get up. “What time is?”
The
man didn’t respond but kept shouting at the people around them.
She
picked up her phone, and to her relief, found the screen wasn’t even cracked. “It’s
five to nine. I can still make it.” To her surprise, she felt okay. Although
she knew that people in car accidents often didn’t feel the effects until days
or weeks later, but she didn’t have time for that.
* *
* * *
“Ms.
Morrison, I appreciate you having come in today to read for us,” said Mr. Benioff.
“Yes,
we know it was sort of short notice,” echoed Mr. Weiss.
“It
was no trouble, really. Thank you for the opportunity,” Sam said, barely able
to control her nerves.
“You’ve
probably never done an audition quite like this one,” Mr. Benioff continued,
“but it was really more of a formality than anything else. I’ve known Neil for
years and he suggested you. We looked up your past work and we think you’re
perfect for the role. Your performance today only reinforced that decision.”
“So,
I got it? Sam asked.
Mr.
Weiss opened his arms wide. “Welcome to Game of Thrones.”
Sam
squeed and gave them each a hug.
“To
continue the unorthodox nature of this audition, we have a contract ready for
your signature. Neil has already read it and signed off on it. All we’re
missing is your name right here.” He pointed to the bottom of the last page
where a yellow sticky note shaped like an arrow indicated where to sign.
Her
hand only shook a little as she signed her name. With a steady income, and
forever royalties, not to mention a hefty signing bonus, she knew she and Jack
and Lexy would be okay. She pulled out
her phone and sent Lexy a quick text: Grab
a jacket because winter is coming! I
got it!
_______________________________
“Hello?”
Lexy said, as she answered her phone to a number she didn’t recognize.
“Is
this Alexis Simmons?” asked a somber voice.
“Lexy,
yes, this is she. Who is this?”
“Ms.
Simmons, this is Officer Clarke. I’m afraid there’s been an accident involving
your sister.”
Lexy
looked at Jack drawing a picture of him with Sam and Lexy on either side of
him. They were holding hands. She kept a calm demeanor as she listened to the
officer describe the accident. “Ms. Morrison died en route to the hospital. I’m
sorry for your loss.”
Lexy
looked at Sam’s last message: Grab a
jacket because winter is coming! I got it!
“Was
that mommy?” Jack asked. “When is she coming home. I want to show her my
picture.”
Lexy
wiped a tear from her cheek and put her arms around her nephew. “Mommy’s not
coming home, sweetie.”
