I nailed it.

I nailed my audition and had been asked to come back at five o'clock for callbacks.

I practically skipped out of the audition room as I made my way out to the into to streets, the sun glowing brighter for me as I went to go grab a bite to eat before the callback, which was in less than two hours.

I found a quiet spot beneath a light, grey awning of a deserted looking coffee shop and sat myself down outside in an empty, black, wire-rimmed chair; the kind that would leave an imprint on your legs.

Setting my purse on the matching table with a 'thud', I took in a deep breath, relaxing myself back into the uncomfortable chair as my eyes flitted back and forth over the screen of my phone in my hand.

Callbacks sometimes went into the wee hours of the night and I had a set curfew. I knew that if I missed the curfew by even five minutes, it would result in far more than a stern talking to.

Hesitation held my thumb captive as it stuttered over the call button, knowing that the conversation could possibly end with consequences that were less than appealing to me.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I took in a deep, calming breath and without looking, pressed the call button.

"You know you're not supposed to call me while I'm at work," Zach's voice rang out on the other side of the phone seconds later, his voice deeply irritated.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about that," I answered back in an excited huff of air, the joy from my audition coming back and mixing oddly with my anxiety over this conversation.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Things are actually really good."

"Your thing go well?"

"Yeah, it went really well. They, um, asked me to stay for a callback."

Silence hung over the line. I waited, my stomach churning with unease as I held my breath for his response.

A sharp sigh hit my ears and my eyes shut instantly, my face scrunching in dread for what was to come.

"How late?"

"Well, I don't even know if I'll be late at all. The callback is at five so I should be home before seven but I just wanted to call and let you know just in case it went later." My voice was meek and rushed as I spoke, trying to calm the beast before he felt the need to lash out and cause any damage.

"Don't try me today, Leah. I've got a lot of shit to do at the office and all I want is be able to go home to my girlfriend who has made a nice dinner for me and has it waiting for me when I get there. Is that too much to ask?"

"No, it's not," I replied, my energy deflating at once.

"No it's not," Zach agreed. "So do your callback but be home when I get there. You know I only put up with these plays until it starts to interfere and then you're done."

"I'll try my best," I said, all fight gone from my voice within seconds of starting the conversation.

"No. Don't try, Leah. Do."

And with that, the line went dead.

I was used to Zach's rejection, being told what to do and I practically lived in the land of defeat. After being beaten down so many times emotionally and physically by Zach, I had little to no fight left in me.

And that's the way he liked it.

So, as I walked back to the theater after sipping on a cup of tea and munching on a blueberry muffin for over an hour, I was mentally prepared for them to tell me thank you but no thank you.

I mean, I wasn't anybody special. Why would they make an exception for me to leave early?

I knew they wouldn't. From grueling, personal experience, I knew that wasn't how life worked. You didn't get what you wanted simply by asking for it nicely. You had to offer something in return.

And I had nothing to offer.

It didn't take but 20 minutes to walk back to the theater and as I pushed my way inside, my breath caught in the wind breezing past my face as I opened the doors and my nerves started to rake over in my stomach. Even though I wasn't going through with the callback anymore, the scene before me still left me feeling small and frazzled.

There were seven girls in the room, all of them beautiful. They were all dispersed through the lobby with scripts in their perfectly manicured hands as they rehearsed for their callback. There were a few men in the room as well but I didn't pay much mind to them.

As I overheard them all as I walked towards the back table where the woman from earlier was perched, typing away at her computer, I knew that they were all here for the same reason that I was.

Alice.

I felt foolish and insolent as I walked past them, hearing their readings and wondering if mine could even compare to theirs, and if my acting did prevail over theirs, would my looks hold out?

I was pretty but I was nothing compared to these girls.

I didn't stand a chance.

I walked all the way past the ten or so people in the room practicing their lines and made my way up to the table.

"Um. Hi."

The woman's head snapped up and her eyes registered with familiarity as she set them on mine.

"Oh hi! Congrats on your callback!"

I let out a humorless, pathetic excuse for a laugh as I looked to the floor, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"Thanks, but... I actually can't do the callback,." I kept my eyes trained on the floor, not willing to look into this woman's eyes as I told her my disappointing news.

"Oh," she replied dolefully. "Is there a reason why not?"

"I just couldn't stay for the whole time and I know that's a huge inconvenience to you guys and terrible of me to even ask to leave early when-"

"Hey!" The woman's voice cut through my rambling and forced my eyes to lock onto hers, which were surprisingly light and smiling for me.

"That's not a problem at all. We already have someone who has to leave early for work and he's in there right now. You can just do your callback with him."

I stared at her with blank eyes. I opened my mouth to speak but couldn't seem to find my voice.

Was she serious?

"But..." I trailed off, unsure of what to say to this woman who had shown me nothing but unfathomable kindness since the moment I met her.

"But...?" The woman asked, mocking me in a playful manner.

"I really can?"

Her eyes flickered in confusion and her mouth tilted down into a slight frown.

"Of course you can. It's not a big issue. We understand that people have lives outside of the theater. I'll take you in right now if you want. The gentleman who needs to leave early is probably finishing up his monologues now."

I felt my eyes widen and my heart began to pound faster in my chest. I couldn't seem to stop the small uplift of my lips as I stared at the woman, who probably thought I had a strange infatuation with her by this point from all of the silent staring.

"Thank you," I said, my voice laced with genuine gratefulness.

"Of course." Her eyes softened on mine as she gazed at me for a second, something curious circling through her eyes before she snapped out of it and rose up out of her chair.

"Follow me!"

I did as she said, trailing after her mindlessly as I prepared myself for the callback, pushing all of my previous, negative thoughts out of my mind and only focusing on the character itself.

Alice was confident and seductive with a mind that never quit and a past that needed to be hidden. As I walked into the room, following after the woman, I straightened my back and pushed my chest out, raising my head high and planted a large, fake smile on my lips.

I was a bundle of excited nerves as I stepped into the room and spotted the two gentlemen from before. Their eyes snapped off of the man in the center of the room and over to us.

"Sorry to interrupt but it seems as though we've got another who needs to leave early. You think she can do her callback now?"

"Don't see why not," the director, who I found out's name was Dave, called out as he sat back in his chair, his eyes taking all of me in.

I always hated when directors did that. I knew it was for strictly professional reasons as they had to type cast to a certain extent body wise but it always made me feel so dirty.

"Great!" The woman exclaimed and turned to me, giving me a thumbs up and an enthusiastic smile before exiting the room.

"Alright. Looks like you two will be doing your callbacks together." The directors tone was bored as he shuffled through papers on the table in front of him.

The tall man standing center stage swiveled around on his feet to greet me.

My eyebrows shot up and my breath hitched in my throat as our eyes met.

"Hey, Peaches."