Hazed (Palm South University)

I laugh. “I like your spunk, Natalia. Here,” I say, patting the chair next to me again. “Have a seat. They’re finishing up something anyway.”

“Why, thank you,” she says, and when she’s seated next to me, she shakes her head as she looks around. “This is so cool.”

“Yeah?” I ask, looking around with her. “I mean, I think so, but I figured you’d be used to it by now. I’m sure you have been to many auditions.”

“Not in college, though.”

“Ah,” I say with a smile. “Freshman.”

“And eager as hell to make my mark.”

That earned her a laugh. “I know that feeling well. Where are you from?”

“South Dakota,” she answers with a grimace. “And yes, it’s as bland as it seems. Drama class was all that got me through to graduation.”

“Your parents still there?”

At that, her smile slips. “Yeah. Neither one of them has a college education. I’m the first in the family to even attempt a degree.” She shrugs, looking down at her fingers folded in her lap. “I want this part so bad. Not just for me, but for them. If I could be a part of a show like this, and it takes off? It opens so many doors. It could launch my career.” Her eyes flick to Kip then, and she smiles. “And if there’s anything I know about Kip Jackson, it’s that he’s talented enough to make it happen.”

I smile, surprised. “You know of his work already?”

“Oh, yeah. I always do a lot of research into the roles I’m auditioning for, and getting to know the director and producer is step number one. He’s done a lot of great things in just one short year out in California. And the fact that his professors sent him here to film his pilot?” She shakes her head. “They know something special when they see it. And I want to be a part of that magic.”

Natalia and I share a smile then, just as she’s called up to the stage. She gives me a nervous wave goodbye and I tell her to break a leg. Then, I sit back and settle in for her audition.

And I’m blown away.

I don’t know if Kip gave her clips of me or an in-depth character description in the casting call or if she has straight up been stalking me, but Natalia nails her impression of me so much so that I can barely keep my jaw off the floor.

Her mannerisms, her voice, her well-delivered jokes and deeply moving monologues when she talks about her family — er, my family — about poker, about PSU… it’s incredible. Kip has her run a few lines as if she’s hanging out with the girls in the sorority house, has her run a part of the scene he wrote for the night he came to watch me at the poker tournament downtown, has her speak a monologue like she’s sitting on her paddle board out in the water in the early morning light.

I’m so moved, so touched, so enraptured that I almost feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience.

When she finishes, Kip and the casting director share a knowing smile before excusing her and letting her know they’ll be in touch. The minute she’s out the door, before they can call in whoever’s next, I’m out of my chair and running to Kip.

“Cast her.”

His smile is dazzling as ever as he arches a brow at me. “You like her, huh?”

I shake my head. “I don’t just like her. I love her. She gets it. She gets me. And she comes from means that I know she can really understand what it’s like to be me.”

“I saw you two chatting over there.” Kip smiles, looking down at his clipboard. “We have seven other girls outside waiting to audition, though. I think—”

“You said you’d let me have a say in who played me,” I remind him.

“I know,” he replies with a chuckle. “But you’ve only seen one girl.”

“I don’t need to see anyone else to know she’s the right choice.”

Kip frowns a little, and I huff, throwing my hands toward Dina, his casting director.

“Come on, you had to see it, too,” I say to her. “The girl was magic.”

Dina bites her lip, looking at her notes before her eyes find Kip’s. “She really did have something, Kip. The look is spot on, and the monologue she gave about Skyler’s parents…”

“I know,” Kip says on a sigh, looking at his own notes. “I almost got teary-eyed.”

“See?” I grab his arm and plead, giving him my best puppy dog eyes. “Trust me on this. She’s the one.”

Kip smirks, then, shaking his head as he tucks me under his arm and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Alright, then. She’s the one.”

“Yay!”

He laughs when I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him all over.