It was 1994 and Emma had never felt more alive. She was traveling with a small theatre company in a green rusty Volkswagen van that refused to die. Her parents had no idea where she was, Mr. and Mrs. Silverstone were probably the most oblivious parents humankind had ever known.
They thought their precious daughter was sitting in class in New York City on her way to become a doctor and not in a car full of aspiring actors to Hollywood, California.
“They’ll never know. You just need to follow the plan, six months and if it doesn’t work out, you’ll be back taking dirty subway rides and eating $1 pizza slices,” said Karen, one of the recruiters.
Emma groaned and fell deeper into her sit, she really could not believe she was defying even gravity with this decision. She had made a plan though, she’d give acting a chance for a couple of months, try to land a small part in a T.V show and secure an agent. How hard could it be right?
She had packed all of her expensive clothes, including those Miu Miu shoes her mom had purchased on her birthday and all of her med school books, she was ready.
“You know, we could have fit more of my clothes if it wasn’t for little Ms. PhD and all of her “nerdy” books” said Steve.
Steve was the type of guy every girl fell head over heels for, he was tall, muscular and was not stupid. His eyes were his biggest quality, they were deep blue, a blue you could easily immerse yourself in and drown without the slightest desire of being saved. The only problem with Steve was that he was smart, and he knew it.
“Okay Mr. Abercrombie, I am realistic, if this doesn’t work out I’ll still have med school. We weren’t all born with the body of a Greek god you know,” Emma was tired. He had been given her shit for the last three days, a guy who could have easily had it all.
Steve had landed a major role a couple of months ago which he turned down; “too childish” he called it. All he had to do was play the voice of an astronaut for a toy movie. He did regret it the moment he saw the amount of money he could have made but he’ll probably never own up to that.
“Guys! We’re here!” said Karen. Emma’s eye instantly darted to the giant oxidized Hollywood sign that sat on the mountains. She couldn’t believe it. After all this time, five days of being stuck in a van with smelly wanna-be actors and actresses plus 10 years of having a repressed dream, she was finally doing it.
“Okay so where’s our cave?” said Steve
“It’s not a cave Bill Gates, we’ll manage. We have two bedrooms and there are 6 of us. You can sleep with Adam, I’ll sleep with Emma and Tony and Stacey can keep loving each other in the living room.” Tony and Stacey had been hooking up since last year, and Adam, no one knew where he was from. He barely talked and when he did, it was just to tell the crew he was hungry or wanted to smoke.
As soon as they all got to the apartment, which was really two floors of decaying brick and walls built in the 1800’s, Karen laid out the plan for the following month. She had taken the role of an agent, trying to find auditions for everyone, whether they were for a musical or being an extra at a low budget movie. Emma was in charge of keeping all the money they earned, splitting it and paying bills.
Each one of them had to find a job in the next three weeks to pay rent; and if someone landed a major role, they’d be in charge of 40% of the bills until everyone parted their own way.
“Alright everyone, this is the plan. Emma you have a job interview at Maxine, it’s a bar a couple of blocks down, you would be a waiter so… take those puppies out for a stroll will you?” She said pointing at Emma’s chest.
Emma had been raised Catholic, meaning she had never known what it was like to wear a two-piece bikini, never the less she did not know how to dress “sexy.” As for the rest, Tony was going for the bar tender position, Steve an Abercrombie salesman, and Stacey was going for Maxine as well.
As the night grew heavy, all Emma could think about was her parents. What if she did land a big role? What would she tell her parents? They watched T.V, if it happened they were bound to see their “perfect” daughter pretending to be someone else in a four inch screen. But what if no one wanted her? Should she give up? So many thoughts drained Emma and she fell asleep.
The next morning she got up and dressed up for her interview. She wore a white button down with a black lacy bra, a jean skirt with flower print and her old Dr. Marten boots.
This was sexy enough, Emma thought. She unbuttoned her shirt a little so her bra could show. That’s good, I don’t care what Karen says, and showing off the bra is sexy.
Emma walked into that bar with a confidence she never knew she possessed. She had let her hair down, which was unusual for her, but it hung so beautifully, her virgin blonde hair seemed as if it was made from silk that day. It was also 10am and she had never felt more energized, the idea of working in a place she had always avoided triggered something in her.
“Are you Emma?” said a strange voice. Emma turned around and saw an old man wearing a Beatles shirt.
“Uh… yeah, who are you?” Her voice shakened.
