Page 6 of My Best Friend Prince Charming

3

Ryker

I walked into the auditorium at Sweet Mountain High that Saturday afternoon. I smoothed down my white button-down shirt. I’d never been so nervous for an audition. I kept telling myself that it didn’t matter if I got the part because I wasn’t sure I was going to accept it anyway, but I still wanted to make a good impression. This was Stephen Christopher, after all.

His name hadn’t meant anything to me when I first heard it from Camille after the musical. But I went and did some digging around on the internet when I picked my audition piece. To say he was intimidating was a massive understatement. This guy was uber-famous. I’d seen almost every single one of his movies and loved them. I just hadn’t paid attention to who the director was.

He sat behind a folding table set up on the first row of the auditorium seating. A camera was set up on a tripod and pointed at the stage. I had a feeling I was the only one auditioning for him in Sweet Mountain. Which meant he went through the trouble of setting this all up just for me. Maybe it really was just a formality. For some reason, that didn’t make me feel any better.

I was still terrified.

Stephen Christopher turned around and smiled at me when I came close enough for him to hear me coming into the room.

“Ryker! Glad to see you made it.”

“Do you want me up on the stage?” I asked.

“No. Why don’t you just stand right here in front of the stage for me?” He pointed to a spot a few feet in front of him.

“Do you have a headshot and resume for me?” he asked.

“No, sir,” I said. “I didn’t realize I was supposed to have one.” I felt my cheeks growing hot. Was that going to ruin my chance of landing the role? I should have researched this stuff better. I didn’t even know a photographer who did headshots.

“Don’t worry about it. I should have put it in the email for you. We’re just glad you were able to make it today.”

I set my backpack down on one of the seats in the row behind him. Mr. Christopher made it sound like I was doing him a favor by just showing up. I headed to the spot in front of the camera and launched into the audition.

When I’d gone through my lines, he scribbled on his notepad. Then he looked up, smiled at me, and said, “Very good. Well, it looks like we’re done here, Ryker. I’ll have someone reach out to you within the next few days.”

“Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Christopher.”

“It’s been my honor, Ryker.”

I left the school and drove home. I parked on the street and walked into the house. My little brother, Parker, and my sister, Ava, were sitting on the couch watching Netflix and eating a bag of potato chips. Ava was thirteen, and Parker was ten. They were both pretty young when Mom left. Parker couldn’t even remember when she lived with us. It seemed like a lifetime ago when I thought about it now. Now that they were older, they could look after themselves, but I spent a lot of time taking care of them.

“Where’s Dad?” I asked.

“He went to the grocery store,” Ava said, shoving a chip into her mouth.

“I’m surprised we have any chips left with you two smashing through all the food around here,” I said, swiping the bag away from them. “Make sure you’re not just filling up on snacks and eat actual meals. I have to get some homework done before I have to go in to work tonight.” I shoved a handful of chips into my mouth and dusted off my greasy hands before handing the bag of chips back to Ava. I turned to go down the hall to my room.

“Wait,” Ava said. “You forgot to tell us how your audition went.”

“It went all right, I guess.” I shrugged. “Mr. Christopher said I should be hearing back from them in a few days, so we’ll see. It’s hard to know what people are thinking during auditions.”

I went back into my room and studied for my economics test. About an hour into my studying, my phone rang.

“Ryker? This is Allie with Big Films Casting Company.”

“Hey,” I said.

“I’m calling to congratulate you. Mr. Christopher has decided to cast you as the prince in his upcoming Cinderella film.”

I almost dropped my phone in shock. “I’m sorry. What?” Was I hallucinating?

“You got the role! You’ll get an official email within the next hour, but I wanted to call and let you know personally. All you need to do is respond to the email and let us know if you’ve decided to accept the role. Once you accept, you’ll need to sign some paperwork, including a contract. Do you have a talent agent?”

“No.” It had never crossed my mind that I would ever need an agent. I’d always wanted to get into film acting, but I hadn’t taken it that seriously.

---