I Hope That Other Girl Isn’t Hurt Though…

Eleta bit her lips as the crowd in the room began to decrease. After what felt like an eternity, she finally heard her name being called.

"Eleta Alon"

Eleta's eyes glanced up at the male assistant that had just called her name. Standing up with confidence now, she followed behind the assistant running her lyrics through her mind. Her stomach suddenly felt compressed as she could feel herself getting nervous again. She concentrated on the objects in the hallway to distract her mind from that feeling.

Once they reached the studio, it was found to be an empty room with just the director, a thirty-year-old man with his business suit, sitting and talking on his phone while he furiously wrote on a notepad. Eleta took a deep breath as she composed herself before gracefully walking to the front of the room that was taped in black as a border for her to stand in.

She looked up and scanned the room. The director had his legs crossed as he sat in the middle of the room with a table in front of him and paper work scattered everywhere. There was a name tag sitting there with the letters Director Maxwell bolded. Her eyes flashed over the name as she placed it in her memory. Maxwell finally ended his call and looked at the next contestant with lazy eyes before looking down at his papers with a sigh.

"So, you're Eleta Alon?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

Maxwell shuffled through some papers and wrote some stuff down.

"You can start now."

His annoyed eyes constantly scanning everything on his table and not at Eleta. Noticing his impatience, Eleta began looking at her music sheets and started with the first line of her lyrics. As she began singing, a blonde-haired girl entered from the back of the room. Her blue eyes scanned the room and went cold.

__________________________________________________________

Mallory couldn't believe it. Standing in front of her was Eleta singing in Best Hits Entertainment. The one girl that she didn't want to see the most in this building is now auditioning as a singer for the entertainment industry! How could this happen, she thought as she looked down at her audition papers.

She was not the next contestant but she was able to get special privileges since she was the daughter of Mr. Beckham, the CEO of Providence Industries which was a successful and large investment company. She wanted to see how much better her other competitions were to get ahead but she was shocked to see Eleta auditioning on that stage.

"Ms. Beckham, is everything alright?"

Mallory turned to see a young female assistant, who was no more than 19, looking at her worried. She then realized her mouth was gaped open a little and her eyes were widened. Mallory quickly closed her mouth and grinned at the girl.

"Ahh, yes. I was just surprised to see a friend here is all…"

The girl nodded her head and was beginning to walk back to the door when Mallory quickly placed her hand on the assistant's shoulder.

"I am curious though. How many more spots does the director need to fill?"

Now it was the girl's turn for her eyes to widen in shock.

"Miss, I can't tell anyone that. It's ordered by the director that we not let anyone know."

Mallory smiled but not in a kind way.

"Should I remind you of whose daughter you're offending right now?"

The assistant trembled under Mallory's grip as she looked down in silence.

"Be a good assistant and tell me what I need to know."

Mallory released her hand from the girl as she nodded in submission. Pulling Mallory aside to the hallway, the assistant quickly whispered.

"The director…he only needed three people to fill on BHE's hiring list. He would have hired more but…the company hasn't been doing well financially."

Mallory's eyes gleamed when she heard the company was in a financial crisis. The girl continued not noticing Mallory's expression.

"He…already chose two people, though…"

Mallory's face fell. If the director had already chosen two people, she would have to hope Eleta wouldn't be the director's last pick. She cringed and looked back at the assistant who was looking at her heels in interest. She rolled her eyes and turned back without thanking the assistant and headed into the studio once more.

This was not good, she thought biting her bottom lip. There was only one more spot left and Eleta might just get her big break and steal Mallory's spotlight...again! Filled with hatred, Mallory controlled her rage and began scheming. Eleta hadn't looked up yet and was focused on her music sheet as she sang her heart out.

She had a beautiful voice and even Mallory couldn't deny it. Her lyrics were meaningful, one-of-a-kind and she had great control on her vocals as she hit her high notes. Mallory's eyes swept over to the director who had a blank expression on his face, but his eyes were now focused on Eleta and alerted. She looked at the scene playing in front of her in disgust but maintained her smile as Eleta finished her song and gazed up at the director. Eleta's eyes gleamed as she looked at him who seemed pretty impressed.

"You have potential kid." Maxwell began writing her name down on his papers.

"You might be able to fill in our company's spot. Look forward to the list of finalists tonight at seven."

Eleta nodded her head and was escorted by one of the assistants. She then noticed Mallory who was standing in the back seething inside. Mallory put up a pained smile across her face and mouthed "Good luck" to her. Eleta kindly smiled back and exited the studio. Mallory quickly looked back at the director and cat-walked her way over to him. Maxwell glanced up and was surprised as he saw this blonde-haired girl standing there. Aware of whose daughter this was, he quickly stood up greeting her.

"Mrs. Beckham, I didn't realize you came. Are you auditioning today?"

The director shuffled through his papers and hadn't noticed her name being on the audition's list. Otherwise, he would have had her audition first! He began scolding his secretary in his head.

"Yes, I came to audition and begin my new career as an actress." Folding her arms across her chest, she looked around the room as if she was seeing it for the first time.

Mallory's eyes gradually looked over at the director's papers and noticed Eleta's name on the last slot. She glanced back at the director who felt a bit uneasy.

"About that, I've already finished filling in all the slots. I'm planning to send this over to my secretary to announce."

Maxwell looked back down and was starting to pack up when Mallory quickly stated,

"You know my dad was planning to invest in BHE if I got on to that list."

Mallory began twirling her hair as she looked down with a sad look on her face.

"But it looks like he won't be able to now..."

The director froze as his face fell. He glanced back at Mallory with a troubled expression.

"...Umm...I mean...I..."

Mallory glanced up with hopeful eyes as the director was pushed into a difficult state. If he hired Mallory, they would be able to get back financially what they lost and more from her father's investment. At the same time, he would be losing his integrity as a director for choosing people for their money rather than their talent. But he couldn't offend the Beckhams!

The director finally looked back up nodding his head and allowed Mallory to run through her audition. She performed multiple characters from different known films and stories. She isn't bad…she still needs a bit improvement here and there but that could all be arranged with BHE's training program, he thought. She finished her audition and looked up at him as he smiled back.

"You're in, Mrs. Beckham."

Maxwell slipped the finalist paper back out and crossed off Eleta's name while scribbling down Mallory's. She smiled sweetly at the director.

"I hope that other girl isn't hurt though. I feel bad that I'm taking her place."

"Don't worry about it too much."

Maxwell stated as he swiftly shoved the papers back in his folder feeling a bit guilty but pushed that feeling aside. Mallory nodded and thanked the director as she was escorted back to her limo. She smiled smugly as she thought of Eleta's disappointed face at seven tonight.