Page 16 of Directing You
Chapter 7
Reid
Hazel was my nun.My Sister Mary Hartford. It was one of the best auditions I’d ever seen—and not just from a student. In my professional career, I’d never seen an actress pick up the choreography so fast, sing so beautifully, or nail a character’s intention in a reading without having read the entire script.
Her audition was flawless. When I showed the audition tapes to Clay, the writer of the show, he completely agreed. Why in the hell had she wasted so much time dancing burlesque? I didn’t believe it was a shameful thing…it wasn’t. She didn’t seem to have any delusions of grandeur about it either. But she also didn’t seem to be fulfilled by it… If anything, she seemeddefeated.
I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. It wouldn’t be fair to her or me. But frankly? If this went well and Clay and our eventual producers agreed, we might have found our lead for the show. Not just for the workshop but when we hit the stage.
My office chair creaked as I leaned back and stared at the cast list Clay and I had created from the student auditions. It had taken us almost a week, but I was really happy with it. And pretty damn proud of my students. Hazel wasn’t the only really talented person to audition. That little undergrad program had some pretty fantastic performers. Not all of them, no. But many of them. And the others? I had no doubt that they had amazing skills to be utilized elsewhere.
The stack of mail and papers in the inbox on my desk caught my eye, and I reached for them, flipping through a bundle of envelopes. Most were flyers for events the university was hosting. But a bright red flyer caught my eye. A new bar around the corner had just opened and was offering faculty discounts on drinks.
I sighed, my eyes drifting back to the cast list on my laptop. I could use a drink after the last two weeks. Auditions were always stressful…add onto that how badly I wanted Hazel? Twice…no, triple the stress. And it was Friday, after all. I didn’t need to be Professor Bradley again until Monday.
I pulled up the classroom chat board, my fingers hovering over where I was supposed to post the cast list. God, I wished I could see Hazel’s face as she read this. I wished I could be there to see her expression when she realized she got the lead.
I’d been warned by a couple of friends who taught, that as soon as the cast list went live, I should step away from my laptop and not answer any correspondence from students. They said I would receive all kinds of emails ranging from anger to bribes to gleeful thank-yous.
Secretly, I’d wanted Hazel’s audition to be bad. I’d wanted her to be terrible at this so that maybe, just maybe, these intense feelings I had for her would subside. It would have been so much easier if she were talentless.
But I should have known better. Of course she was going to be phenomenal.
I inhaled a deep breath and hit the post button. Then, standing, I grabbed my wallet and keys and slid them into my pocket. I needed a drink. I needed to get out of this classroom.
I closed the door behind me, glancing down at my phone and debating turning it off. I didn’twantto turn it off. If I was being honest, there was one person I was really hoping to hear from. The one person I shouldn’t want to hear from. The one person I couldn’t get out of my mind for the past two weeks. And the one person I should definitely stay far away from.
