Guillaume, Her French Husband

Ashley leaned forward and nodded.

“Tell me more.”

Lara smiled and shook her head as she grabbed her bag.

“Go home Ash. This is too long a story and I am already down to a two hour nap before Myka wakes up.”

Ashley smiled before Lara turned around and began walking towards the door.

But the closer she got to the door, her smile was fading. Maybe because she was not sure how she was supposed to talk to Ashley about her problem which was not half as big as her son spending time with his racist grandparents. Next to that, the fact that she had been in yet another audition where she had been highly objectified seemed almost negligible. She heard her phone vibrate in her bag and reached for it. She shook her head when she saw the text she had just received. It was from Felipe, a good producer friend of hers about an open audition that was supposed to be happening in a couple of days. But after the day she’d had, she was not sure she was ready to go back to another audition any time soon.

Earlier that day…

As usual, Lara King’s stomach was in knots as she walked into the casting room holding her head shots a little too tightly. She looked around the room and for a minute, felt a little insecure just being there. She could already recognize a number of faces in the room. Actors and actresses who had been in minor roles in certain films and popular television series. She knew that those particular artists would of course be given preference before she finally got any consideration. She could feel herself slowly giving up in her heart but she was not very sure if she could go through with the whole audition. Self-doubt had already kicked in. A little too early maybe but she could not really assume the fact that it was there.

“Hey,” one of the girls said to her. “Are you here for the audition too?”

Lara nodded and forced a smile.

“Yeah but it looks like I am a little late.”

“No…apparently it was an appointment kind of audition,” the girl said shrugging and Lara smiled. “Did you make an appointment already?”

She nodded again.

“Well, I guess you might just be in for just a little wait then,” the girl said as she moved over, making room for Lara.

“Thanks,” Lara said in a soft voice as she sat down.

She took a long deep breath as she sat there waiting. Hoping that this was going to be a different kind of audition than all the ones he had been to. She leaned on the back rest of the seat and waited for her turn. All the while wondering what she was going to be asked once she was in front of the casting panel. It was only a few minutes before they finally called her name but it seemed like a lifetime.

“Lara King,” she heard the receptionist call her name and she took a long deep breath.

“It’s going to be better than the last ones,” she thought as she slowly made her way into the casting room. “It has to be better…it definitely has to be better.”

“Hi, I’m Lara King,” she said when she got to the desk. She placed her head shots on the table and then slowly backed up to the assigned spot.

“Lara King,” one of the panelist said as he looked at her. “You are a sight for sore eyes.”

“Thank you,” Lara said softly.

“So you are here to audition for the part of Annie Simmons?” this was the same panelist asking and Lara nodded. She did not really understand why he had to ask that. After all, it was pretty obvious that she was there to audition for that very part. Every girl at the audition was there for the same thing.

“Yes, sir. I am.”

There was a long uncomfortable silence before she spoke again.

“Should I run my lines now?” she asked and the panelist leaned in and whispered something to one of the other panelists. Lara felt a chill run down her spine when she saw a smile play on the two people’s lips. She didn’t know what it was about that smile that made her feel so uneasy.

“Actually,” another panelist started as he looked at her. “We have another role that we think would be perfect for you.”

He picked up one of the files on the table and handed it to her. She raised an eyebrow as she slowly walked towards the table and picked up the file. She opened the file and looked at her lines. Her eyes grew wide with surprise as they ran down her very, very familiar lines.

“I thought I was auditioning for the female protagonist or…” her voice trailed off as she pulled up the email with the audition emails. “The main victim who will be seen throughout the short film on flashbacks,” she read out loud. “Is this some kind of Cold Case kind of production?” she asked and one of the panelists nodded.

“Actually, yes. That is the idea but the thing is that you have this…look,” he said. “One that we have been looking for in other applicants.”

Lara raised an eyebrow. It was all she could do not to roll her eyes at the man. He knew what those politically correct words really meant. She had heard them so many times before, it made her sick just to think about what they were really about.

“See, there is another character in this production. Really vivacious woman, strong willed too who is introduced as another protagonist,” the man went on explaining. “Just not the main one for now.”

“And depending on how the reception for this particular character is…you might have a very long future with us…”

As Lara stood there looking at him speaking, she could see his lips moving but the truth was that she was not really hearing the words that were coming out of his mouth. All she cared for was what he was going to say eventually. That she was perfect to play the role of a housekeeper or the black home wrecker who played into the main antagonist’s African American fetish.