Finding June

  “I think it’s perfect,” he reassured me.

  The LDS Church building where we held seminary wasn’t far away from where I lived, sitting right behind the high school. It only took us about ten minutes to get there, but Joseph and I liked to get hot chocolate at the gas station on the way, so he always showed up to my house early.

  We drove in silence for a few minutes, blowing on the too hot and much too rich hot chocolate. It wasn’t really all that great and it kind of hurt my stomach most mornings, but it was warm and it was tradition, so we got it every morning without fail.

  “So, you might actually meet Will Trofeos,” Joseph said suddenly. “I mean . . . meet him meet him. Not just say, ‘Oh I saw Will Trofeos one day on Rodeo Drive,’ but actually hang out with him.” He sounded very surprised by this sudden revelation, which made me laugh.

  “Forget Will Trofeos, I might meet Lukas Leighton if I get on the show,” I replied, my voice sounding much higher and giddier than I had intended. Joseph just rolled his eyes.

  It was a well-known fact that Will Trofeos was a huge star. Everyone loved him on Forensic Faculty. But it was an even better known fact that Lukas Leighton was completely and utterly breath taking . . . and probably the only reason every girl at my high school watched the show. Will Trofeos was way too old for anyone at school. Lukas, on the other hand, was only twenty, making him a perfect candidate for the "teen heartthrob" status he had so gracefully obtained.

  “I don’t like that guy,” Joseph said simply, using his "I know more than you because I’m a month older" tone and annoying me to no end.

  “Everybody likes him, Joseph,” I replied matter-of-factly.

  “Like that’s a good reason for me to like him.”

  I just shook my head and smiled. Joseph said he didn’t like Lukas Leighton now, but if he ever met him he’d be just as big of a dork as anyone else who watched the show. Taking great satisfaction in this fact, I simply said, “Good point Joseph,” and continued to sip at my hot chocolate until we got to church. There were already a handful of cars parked outside of the building as we made our way inside through the dark chill.

  A lot of our friends at school weren’t members of our religion and couldn’t understand why on earth we’d get up every morning at four a.m. to talk about "church stuff" for an hour. When they asked, I'd ask them why they’d get up at five to go to school and do "theatre stuff" for an hour. Their answer was: because they loved it. That helped them understand a bit where we were coming from, but secretly I think they still thought we were crazy.

  I always loved going to seminary right before school. It was just so nice to get that uplift in your spirit before heading into the battleground that was Simi Valley High School. Walking out of the building after seminary, Joseph and I were much happier and had almost completely forgotten about our little disagreement from that morning. The sun was just starting to peek over the mountains, though pretty much everything was still shrouded in the darkness of the fading night. By the time we got out of our zero period theatre class it would be light out and the rest of the students would be getting to school. When we got to school in the mornings it was just the band kids, the unnaturally smart AP science kids, and us. It did, after all, take a special brand of student to take a zero period class. You either had to be really, really smart, or creative and a little crazy.

  Sitting on the stage next to Joseph and listening to Mr. Carroll, our theatre teacher, felt like the most natural thing in the world. Joseph and I were lucky enough to have almost all of our classes together . . . although luck didn’t really play a part in it, since we’d purposely arranged our schedules to match. History and math were the only two subjects we couldn’t take together because Joseph was in AP calculus while I was stuck back in Algebra 2. Math was definitely not my strong suit.

  While Mr. Carroll talked about the importance of stage presence, I daydreamed about my audition that day. I always hated having to do a cold read. Most of the time they’d send the script over the night before so you could get familiar with your lines, but it looked like I’d be going in blind today. My stomach turned at the thought, emitting a low, loud grumble. Joseph looked over at me with his eyebrows raised, a smile playing across his lips.

  “Hot chocolate and nerves do not mix,” I informed him under my breath. He just shrugged his shoulders and gave me a mock sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

  As nervous as I was and as much as I tried not to get my hopes up, I couldn’t help but wonder what my life would be like if I got the part. I’d get to be on a really popular TV show that pretty much everyone watched. People would actually see me and say "Hey aren’t you that girl from Forensic Faculty?" How cool would that be? Not to mention the fact that I’d be working with Lukas Leighton, who was probably the hottest guy on TV.

  “Do you think I’ll get to do any scenes with Lukas?” I asked Joseph quietly. I could see the same annoyance return to his eyes. He really didn’t like that guy.

  “Maybe,” he said simply, not bothering to elaborate. I shrugged off his odd behavior and continued to daydream about a scenario where Lukas fell madly in love with me and I became the famous girlfriend of Lukas Leighton . . . until the bell rang, bursting my perfect fantasy.

  After theatre, Joseph and I had some time before we actually had to be to our first class, so we headed to the northeast side of the school where a little grassy area and some planters served as our usual hangout spot with a few other people from theatre.

  “Joseph, I really enjoyed the scene you did on Friday,” said Xani Tucker, tossing her short blonde hair and emphasizing her cute southern accent. While I liked Xani well enough, she was always throwing herself at Joseph, which I think made him pretty uncomfortable. I could tell she wasn’t his type, but he was way too nice to ever say that to her, and so he just endured her endless praise and constant attempts to win his heart.

  “Thanks. It really wasn’t that great . . . I actually forgot my lines about halfway through and had to make the rest of the monologue up,” he said modestly. Xani wasn’t having it.

  “No, you were fantastic! I think that just shows what a great actor you really are,” she cooed, leaning closer to him with a lovesick smile plastered to her face. Joseph simply stared straight ahead, his mouth pursed into a line, and looking more uncomfortable than I’d ever seen him.

  “So, June has an audition today,” he finally managed, his voice sounding a bit squeaky. I tried to hide my smile at his obvious discomfort, knowing it would only embarrass him more.

  At the mention of my name Xani seemed to remember that she was, in fact, in public and not in one of her fantasies where she and Joseph were married with fifteen children.

  “Oh,” she said with a polite smile in my direction. Xani didn’t really like me much. I’m pretty sure she thought I was trying to steal Joseph away from her, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. But for whatever reason, she’d cemented this idea firmly in place and always made it known to me that she was after him.

  “Tell her what it’s for, June,” he said in a pained voice, still staring straight ahead and trying not to look like his personal space bubble was being infiltrated.

  “It’s an audition for Forensic Faculty,” I said, trying to sound like it was no big deal even though I was bursting with excitement. This actually pulled Xani’s attention away from Joseph for a second.

  “Seriously?” she said, staring at me suspiciously, as if I were trying to distract her so that I could lunge at Joseph and shower him with kisses.

  “Yeah, she’s got an audition at noon,” Joseph answered for me, sounding much more like himself now that he didn’t have Xani practically chewing on his ear.

  “Do you think Lukas Leighton will be at the audition?” she asked, her voice suddenly rising a few decibels.

  “I don’t think he’ll be at the audition, but I’m sure if I got the part I’d meet him,” I said, now matching her tone and making Joseph look like he wanted to throw up. I think
he would actually prefer fending off a thousand Xani clones rather than talking about Lukas Leighton anymore today.

  “Oh. My. Gosh. June, if you meet him, I’m going to be so jealous. What if you guys date or something?” she asked, sounding as serious as she was about her Joseph obsession.

  “I’m pretty sure June has enough common sense not to date someone whose greatest accomplishment is being seen at a different bar every night with his latest bimbo,” Joseph said defensively.

  “Maybe he’s not drinking in the bars,” I said dreamily, getting a faraway look in my eyes. “He just likes the atmosphere.”

  “And those girls could be related to him,” Xani added, matching my dreamy tone.

  “I give up,” Joseph sighed. “You guys are hopeless and blinded by his ‘good looks’,” he said, putting air quotes around the last two words.

  “Well, if I get the part we’ll just see who’s right,” I said challengingly to Joseph as the bell rang for us to go to English.

  *****

  English seemed to creep by the whole time we were in class. We were talking about persuasive essays and I knew I should be paying attention, but all I could think about was my audition. After English we’d have a fifteen minute break and then I’d only have to sit through half of math before Gran picked me up from school to drive to LA. Today was kind of a bad day to be picked up early since it was a "testing day" and I would only have half a math class before meeting in the cafeteria to take an AP English prep test. But like Gran said, I had to make sacrifices for my art, right?

  All through English my foot kept bouncing up and down frantically, shaking my desk and making a rattling noise I was sure annoyed everyone. Joseph kept shooting me glances to remind me to calm down and breathe, but it was proving to be a very difficult task. After about two hours of foot bobbing and irritated looks from everyone in the room, the bell finally rang for break.

  “You’re lucky the class didn’t stage a coup,” Joseph said with a smirk as we walked back to our little grassy area. Xani was already there, waiting for us anxiously . . . well, waiting for Joseph, anyway.

  “I can’t help it,” I exclaimed, “I’m so nervous about the audition . . . and excited . . . but mostly nervous.”

  “June, you’re a really good actress and they handpicked you to audition. I’m pretty sure they already know they want to cast you; they just have to go through the process. Don’t worry, you’re definitely going to get it,” he replied warmly, his chocolate brown eyes crinkling at the edges as he smiled at me.

  “Thanks Joseph,” I said seriously. I loved him for always knowing exactly how to clam me down. That’s what best friends were for.

  For the rest of break I went over audition tactics in my head while Joseph stared at the ground uncomfortably and Xani leaned over him. She was talking about the homecoming dance that was coming up in just two weeks and dropping hints like her life depended on it. Joseph nodded every once in a while, trying to look interested without encouraging any more physical closeness. This only made Xani scoot closer to him and rest her hand on his knee, turning Joseph’s face a bright red for the remainder of our break.

  When the bell rang Xani scuttled off to class, leaving Joseph and me alone. He turned to me seriously and put his hands on my shoulders so that our brown eyes were locked on each other.

  “June, you’re going to kill this audition, all right? Don’t worry about anything. Just be yourself and they’ll love you,” he said evenly. “And remember not to agree to anything sleazy just so you can meet Lukas Leighton,” he added as a humorous afterthought, though I wasn’t sure how much of his warning was a joke and how much of it he really meant.

  “Joseph, I wouldn’t,” I said, slightly offended. He just smiled and pulled me into a tight hug.

  “Knock ‘em dead, June.”

  CHAPTER 3

  The car ride to the audition only seemed to take ten minutes, though in reality about forty minutes had passed since Gran picked me up from school. We both stood outside of the office building for a moment, staring up at the looming structure in silent awe.

  “This is it, Bliss,” she said with a slow nod. “Take it in, because this is the moment your life changes forever.”

  “Only if I get the part, Gran,” I reminded her.

  “Details,” she muttered as we walked into the office.

  After filling out some paperwork and reading old magazines for a good ten minutes, the receptionist came out from a back room and said, “Mr. Hill will see you now.” It made me feel like I was at the dentist office and brought my anxiety up a few notches. Gran gave me an encouraging nod as I made my way shakily back into a large office with a long desk in it. Four people and a fifth man with a small video camera on a tripod sat behind the desk, staring at me. The man in the center was slightly overweight, the buttons on his white shirt straining with the effort of staying closed. Nevertheless, he looked well put together. The other two men at the table were dressed in a similar fashion, button-up collared shirts and slacks. A woman sat to the left of the man in the center. She wore her blonde hair pulled back into a French twist, her deep purple silk top bringing out the green in her eyes. It was obvious she was trying to look professional and sexless so that she could compete in this industry. The man with the video camera looked like a film student. He had an artsy appearance that tried to look unintentional even though you knew every article of clothing he was wearing was carefully planned out to give him an indie air.

  I walked up to the desk and placed my headshot and resume in front of them before walking back to the neon pink tape mark that had been placed on the floor for me. The people behind the desk all silently scanned my resume while I stood there awkwardly. Normally I would slate for the camera, which means I would say my name and what agency I was with, but they weren’t looking at me, so I figured I’d wait until they gave me the go-ahead.

  I stood there for what seemed like hours, trying to look like I was calm and collected even though my legs felt like Jell-O and my palms were sweating like a fourteen-year-old boy at a stake dance during a slow song. Finally the group looked up from my resume and gave me a once-over.

  “All right June, can you please slate to the camera?” said the man sitting in the center of the table, clueing me in to the fact that he was the casting director I should be trying to impress.

  I turned to the camera, plastered a bright smile to my face and said with all the enthusiasm I could muster, “Hi! My name is June Laurie, I’m sixteen years old and I’m represented by the Annette Adams Agency.”

  Slating was always kind of an awkward thing to do because you look at the camera and talk to it like it’s your best friend while a group of people sit there and watch you. Then you have to turn back to face those people and act like you just did a completely normal thing by talking to a camera. The world of acting was a very strange place. At least it wasn’t as weird as modeling—I didn’t have to wear a paper bag over my head while people looked at my feet to see if I’d be a good shoe model.

  After slating I’d normally start reading for the casting director while they filmed me, but again, this audition was proving to be a bit different since I didn’t have a script yet.

  “So, June, have you seen the show before?” asked the man who had told me to slate. I assumed this was Mr. Hill.

  “Of course,” I replied, still smiling but trying to act more relaxed than I had for my very stiff slate. “I think most people have seen it.” They all smiled at each other, silently congratulating themselves, I guessed.

  “So you’re familiar with the characters and have a rough handle on their background stories and such?” he went on. This was by far the strangest audition I had ever been to. It felt more like sitting around and talking about the show rather than actually trying to be a part of it. When was I going to read lines for them?

  “Yeah, I watch the show every week so I know all about the characters,” I replied, this time a bit hesitantly. I wasn’t quite sure whe
re this was going.

  “Well, we aren’t really trying to bring a new main character onto the show, but it has been a bit stagnant lately and we felt that a fresh face could liven things up for a few episodes—throw a wrench into the normal operation of the team,” he said. I simply smiled and nodded, wondering if they wanted my opinion or if they were simply letting me know what was going on.

  “That’s always a good idea,” I answered neutrally.

  “Wonderful,” he said with a grin, though I was pretty sure he didn’t need me to tell him it was a good idea. That’s what the other people at the desk were paid to do. “What your character would add to the show is some conflict. You’ll be playing Imogen Gentry. She’s a vaudeville actress whose co-star Edward winds up dead. Of course you’ll be a suspect, but Cutter is going to let his feelings for you cloud his judgment on the case, causing some contention between him and Charles.”

  My head was spinning as Mr. Hill described the part to me. Not only was I going to play a pretty big part in the show, but I was also going to be a love interest for Lukas Leighton’s character Cutter. I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I just nodded my approval of the part.

  “Well, then, if you’ll just take this script here and look over it for a moment, we’ll bring someone in to read with you.”

  As they handed me the paper I began to feel more comfortable. This was more like a normal audition. Having scripted words in front of me was somehow easier than standing in front of this group of people and answering questions as myself.

  One of the men left the room as I scanned the page and tried to get comfortable with the lines in the few short seconds I had to look at them. I knew I could just read from the paper, but it was so much better to have it memorized. It looked more natural. I made sure I memorized the key words in my lines that I knew would trigger the response from the other character in the scenes. That way if I forgot the exact line and had to improvise a little bit, the other actor would still pick up their cue from me.