Crushing Candies - Chapter 2

Chapter Two – Sweet potatoes are never what you would call ‘sweet’

Just stab a stake through my heart right now.
         This was officially the worst day of my life. Why, oh why do I have to offend a judge out of all the people? Why did I call him a ‘blue-eyed moron’?! And to think I was actually quite proud of that little comment of mine…
         Rich Boy was now looking at me with a smirk that reads ‘I will so screw with you’. I should be embarrassed or terrified of what he was about to ‘do’ to me, but I wasn’t. In fact, I have a half mind to take off my high heels right now and throw it at his face.
         “Ah, Miss Summers,” Beltran’s strong Spanish accent was hard to miss. He was finally looking at me, his fingers interlocked and his face relaxed. Wow, he looked exactly like my ideal Santa Claus! Except for, you know, the being bald part with one moustache and one-eyed glasses.
         “Congratulations, you are the last person to ever audition for the role of ‘Karie Islachey’ in the whole of America,” Beltran continued. I widened my eyes. Were there not twenty more schools they are auditioning after Princeton High School? Before I could open my mouth, Beltran put a hand up to stop me and continued, “There has been a change of plans. Due to time constraints, I think it is best for us to stop this audition as soon as possible and start on the project itself,
         “Now, it says here in your profile that you have been in a drama class since first grade…?” Beltran asked, raising an eyebrow. I caught Rich Boy stifling a laugh. What is his problem?! Is there anything funny about me being in a drama class for ten years?
         “Yes, that’s right,” I said a little pompously as I glared at that revolting judge.
         “Hmm, that’s very impressive,” Beltran nodded, actually looking genuinely impressed. I couldn’t hide my beaming face. Rich Boy suddenly took a long sip on his drink, his body visibly quivering with laughter now. Still with a wide smile plastered to my face, I clenched my fists and imagined myself strangling him with a rope and spilling ten cups of lattes on his thousand-dollar Armani shirt.
         “I also heard that you have been getting lead roles since you started in Princeton High School…? Roles like Bronte’s Catherine Earnshaw, Leroux’s Christine Daaé, Shakespeare’s Juliet Capulet…” At the word ‘Juliet’, Rich Boy folded his arms and leaned back on his chair, eyeing me up and down as if doubting my capability to play the part. Or maybe he just couldn’t see me pretty enough to play such an iconic role.
         “Yes, you heard correctly, Mr. Ermenegildo,” I said, smiling ever so sweetly at him, and then shooting a dirty look at that loathsome smut. No, he’s absolutely much worse than any smut, he’s a shameless, repugnant, hideous little sleazeball –
         “Well, Miss Summers, you can start whenever you please,” Beltran suddenly interrupted my silent cursing. “You can start with the more emotional scenes, perhaps? Maybe the one where Andy just left the Angel…?”
I smiled again and readied myself for the scene. In the book, when Andy Rexaldo just found out that he was a demon and he felt such a strong desire to kill the Angel, he decided to leave her in order to save her from himself. I imagined myself as the Angel, being abandoned by the only person that really matters her, thrown away by her true love… How heartbreaking it must be for her…
         It took me less than ten seconds before the tears came flowing out of my eyes, now puffy and red. My face quivered slightly and involuntarily as I let waves of sadness take over me.
         “It doesn’t have to be this way,” I said so softly that you have to listen intently to be able to hear me. I saw the Latino judge sitting up and paying closer attention to my acting while Beltran stared at me, looking visibly impressed. The bozo in the centre, on the other hand, had an expression I couldn’t quite decipher, but whatever he’s feeling, it cannot be good. It just can’t be.
         “Andy, please, don’t tear my fragile heart like this…” I continued, this time a little louder. “When you came into my life, you’re like a shooting star, lighting up the whole night sky – my whole night sky… You’ve stolen my heart at the very beginning, and…”
I shut my eyes tightly, facing my head down slightly as I let the tears stream down my face.
         “And I never want it back…” My voice broke at the end.
         I wanted to continue with a chunk of more mushy stuff, but a clapping sound interrupted me. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Somehow, a part of me, a very silly part of me, was actually thinking – or rather, hoping – that Rich Boy was the one impressed by my performance and was actually clapping for me. Somehow, for just that split second, I felt hope that he would commend me.
         It wasn’t him, of course.
         Latino boy was the one clapping, followed closely by bald-headed Beltran. The blue-eyed moron was still wearing the same unfathomable expression on his face and made no move to commend me in any way.
         “Wow, I have to say, I was very impressed that you added a few of your own lines,” Beltran complimented, writing some quick notes on his notepad. I wiped the tear off my eye and smiled, giving a small bow.
         “Just so you know, only three girls have passed the first ‘test’ from this school, and you are definitely the first on my Princeton list right now,” Beltran added with a proud smile. For a moment, I thought I was looking at the face of my father. But of course, it couldn’t be. If there was one thing that my father hates, it’s me choosing the acting course.
         “Well, we can do the fighting scenes now, can we?” Latino boy spoke for the first time, his voice full of youth. He then whistled and beckoned for a man in black suit to stand beside me. I presumed that the man was a stuntman whose ass I have to kick. He was quite lean for a stuntman, compared to the guy at the back of the stage who was wearing exactly the same outfit as him. I gave a small sigh of relief that I did not need to take on such a big guy.
         "Oh, come on, Leo, you have got to be kidding me,” Rich Boy said, looking at the Latino boy. He spoke. He actually speaks – and he’s going to stop me from doing any fighting stunts. His voice was quite husky, to my surprise. You know, if he hadn’t spilled his coffee on me, I may actually think he’s handsome. He has that messy hair thing going and that slight air of arrogance. I like my men dominating.
         “Let’s have Roger do the stunts with her. It’ll be far more entertaining,” Rich Boy continued and made a beckoning motion. Okay, so maybe I still have to do the fighting scene. As the first stuntman moved away from me, I looked to the side, trying to see who this ‘Roger’ was. Nobody was walking towards me.
         “Who’s Roger?” I asked innocently.
         “Me,” a deep, booming voice suddenly said behind me. I jumped at the sight of the man when I turned back. Roger was not the bigger stuntman from the backstage: he was much worse than that. In fact, he could have been seven foot tall! But it wasn’t his height that scared me the most – it was the size of his waist. I bet you ten dollars that two whole Golden Retrievers could fit quite snuggly inside his balloon-like stomach.
         I’m definitely taking back my words on Rich Boy being ‘handsome’.
         “Let the show begin,” Beltran gave the command. I gulped down my saliva and gave a nervous wave to Roger. He didn’t respond. Okay, so I have to re-imagine myself as Karie again. She had just lost her wand and she had to fight her way through a bunch of monsters and dark wizards to get to where Andy Rexaldo was and warn him about the antagonist’s evil plan against him. Even wandless, Karie was described as a badass angel who could do lots of moves to permanently end the life of these no-good fellows.
          I then analyzed Roger and thought of the many ways I could hurt him. With the moves planned in my head in the four seconds of assessment, I took three steps back and inhaled deeply. Let’s.kick.some.ASS!!
         I charged at Roger with a growl and punched his stomach. It vibrated like a giant jelly. Then I turned my body slightly and elbowed him hard on the ribs, before jabbing his back and knocking his spine. Then I kicked the back of his knees and made him lost his balance. To make it worse, I pulled the other feet to his back while I crushed his back with my elbow. With all the moves I had made, I also made a loud, ‘Hiyaa!’ sound, adding the dramatic effect just like in the martial art movies I’ve seen. Roger fell on his knees with an ‘Ow!’
         It was the time for the ultimate move next, my all time favorite combat technique – the head breaker. I took a long step back before I leaped up and land on Roger’s shoulders. It was easier to make him land on his knees first before I do this as I couldn’t possibly leap up a whole seven foot. Both my legs were hanging on his shoulders, his head in between my thighs. With that, I turned his head to the side, hard enough to look realistic, but not hard enough to actually break his neck.
         That was when everything starts to go wrong.
         Instead of being able to get off Roger after the move, Roger actually fell backwards. And I fell with him. Obviously, when your feet weren’t touching the ground, you would hold on to whatever you are holding onto for dear life. At least I was falling forward, so I can stop my fall when it happened and it can’t be a complete disaster, right?
         I was so dead wrong.
         When we both fell over, I landed right on top of Roger’s face, knees first. The worst part of it was that Roger’s whole head was under my skirt. Face red hot, I quickly got off the stuntman and kicked him on the side of his head.
         “Pervert!” I exclaimed and was interrupted by a loud guffawing laughter from the stage. I was expecting Rich Boy to be rolling on the floor, laughing like there was no tomorrow. Instead, he was just sitting there with his arms still folded, hiding a smile that was about to erupt from his face. It was good old Beltran who was laughing while Leo the Latino Boy looked at me and licked his lips.
         “God, that was sexy!” perverted Leo smacked his lips, his lusty eyes glistening. Beltran, on the other hand, was laughing to the point of tears. I wasn’t sure if they were laughing with me or mocking at me, but whatever it was, everyone in the whole hall started bursting with laughter. That includes the crews, the workers; even the stuntman Roger was literally slapping the floor with laughter.
         That is, everyone except Rich Boy.
         “Bravo! Bravo!” Beltran commended, still laughing while clapping his hands for me. “That was simply sensational and absolutely refreshingly hilarious!” Beltran, the son of a God, finds me hilarious…? Beltran, the no-nonsense director, actually thinks I am funny? This is turning to be the best day of my life.
         It must have taken a whole minute before everyone gained their composure and stopped with the embarrassing laughter. All I could do was shift my foot from left to right, wondering if I still have a shot in this.
         “Well, Miss Summers, I must say I am very impressed with your outstanding performances!” Beltran gave me a glowing smile. “This is one audition I will never forget, I can assure you that. Now, I guess we can finally go for the third test…
         “Mind you, only eight people had gone through the third test in the whole of America, and that is, of course, the chemistry test with our golden boy here, Blake Schwartz,” Beltran hugged Rich Boy and gave him a light punch on his arm. So his name is Blake Schwartz. I’m going to write down that name in my ‘Most Hated Person’ List right now.
         “Now, please, don’t go all ‘fan girl moment’ at him!” Beltran warned me teasingly, laughing uncomfortably. “We all know why only eight girls had gone through the third test,” Oh please, like I would ever be attracted to a smug like him. But fan girl moment? Really? Is he some famous teen heartthrob or something? Ugh, I honestly don’t see how I could hate this Blake person any more than I do now.
         “Don’t worry, that’s the last thing on my mind right now, Mr. Ermenegildo,” I gave him my angelic smile. The first thing on my mind was to throw the whole eight foot tall spotlight at his direction. I could imagine Blake walking blindly around with the whole equipment stuck to that fat head of his.
         “Well, since you are auditioning to be my co-star and love interest of the movie…” Blake said conversationally. My heart just stopped at the word ‘love interest’. He was going to be Andy Rexaldo? Him? I have a half mind to turn around and walk out of the door right then.
         But I know I couldn’t. I needed the money. I really needed that sum of money. Even if I have to kiss that distasteful, fish-mouth of his (fine, so he doesn’t have a fish mouth, but the thought of having to kiss those puckers still disgusts me as much as a fish mouth) a hundred times.
         “Why not we try the dance scene instead?” Blake suggested. Oh goody, he must be disgusted of kissing me as much as I do with him. How more obvious can he be? It took me a full second before the full realization of what was happening dawned on me. I had to dance. I had to dance with him.
         “Dancing? That wasn’t part of the job description…” I mumbled weakly. Blake was now getting out of his chair, tugging at his sleeves while he walked briskly down the stage.
         “You’re right, it’s not,” Blake answered, rather looking at his hands folding his sleeves than at my face. “But if you have read the books, you should know that there are many dancing scenes. It’ll be more efficient to have an actress who already knows how to dance rather than have one that is a complete klutz,”
         Complete klutz. That was what he wanted to prove to everyone about me: that I was a complete klutz. How did he found out that I had zero skills in dancing?! This cannot be happening to me…
         It didn’t take him long to reach by my side. It was only when we stood facing each other that I realize once again how much taller he was from me, even in my high heels. He then closed the gap between us until I was so close to him that I could smell the men’s cologne on his shirt. It smelled like one of those unknown designer’s brands that are ridiculously expensive.
         “Shall we Waltz or shall we do the Samba?” he asked, sounding falsely polite. Samba? I don’t recall any samba dances in the books. The Waltz would be a much slower and easier dance, and at least it was in the books.
         “Well, I –”
         “Samba, it is,” Blake completely ignored my reply and took my hands into his. I was surprised by how warm and rough his palms were. Before I could think about how his touch felt to me, he started moving me.
         I wasn’t sure of any Samba moves at all. In fact, I never once danced the Samba dance. I only watched it on ‘So you think you can dance’ twice and recognized what it was supposed to look like, but to actually do it was much harder, especially when you are on a five-inch heels.
         His legs and feet were moving very fast and professionally, as if he had danced his whole life. I tried my very best to keep up with his movements, and although I never once accidentally stepped on his foot, I doubt I looked graceful in that dance. It was just much too fast for a first timer like me. For one, my head was looking at my feet the whole time.
         “Miss Summers, please stop staring at your feet and look at me,” Blake ordered in a low voice and my head shot up instantly as instructed. Immediately I stepped on his foot. I could see him cringing a little, and before I could apologize, he already had his feet off mine and did the next dance step.
         He stepped on my foot.
         It hurt really badly when he did as the rough ridge of the sole of his shoe was touching directly on my bare skin. Almost immediately after I got my hurting feet away from his, he stepped on me again. One time could be a coincidence. But twice? No bleeping way.
         The dance continued with me looking at my feet again, although this time I was trying more to step on his foot rather than looking graceful and following his steps. Disappointingly, his foot proved to be too swift for me to step on. I didn’t even realize the dance had ended until he suddenly held onto my right hand and made me lean to the side, towards the ground. My whole body was forty-five degrees to the ground.
         Then he let go of my hand.
         Obviously, gravity pulled me down and made me land on the side of my face. Ouch! The crew around the dance studio all grimaced at my fall and some took a step forward, wanting to help me up, but deciding not to in the end as I already got up by myself. When I got off the floor, I saw Blake was already five feet away from me, his back facing me, acting as if nothing happened.
         That son of a rat!
          “Well, clearly you have very ordinary dancing skills,” Blake commented as he walked up the stage, still not looking at me. “The way you cry looks completely unrealistic and over-exaggerated, and this movie is strictly rated ‘PG’, so we wouldn’t want any scenes showing any explicit sexual materials…”
         I could have sworn that gas was steaming out of my ears with every negative comment he made about my performance. If only there’s a fruit pie somewhere nearby to throw it at his face…
         “My vote will be a ‘no’,” Blake said as he sat down on his chair again, folded his arms, and then gave the fakest smile I’ve ever seen in my life. Where is a shotgun when you need one?
         Beltran the Greek God looked at him, looking a little shocked and disappointed at his comments.
         “Oh, come now! That’s a little harsh, don’t you think, my boy?” Beltran said, looking at Blake. When he didn’t get any reactions from him, Beltran faced me and gave a warm smile. “Don’t worry about Blake, Miss Summers, there really was no girl that he ever approved of so far, anyway. I, on the other hand, think you did brilliantly, and you definitely have my vote as ‘Karie’,”
         “Yeah, you’re a feisty one, cupcakes,” Leo agreed, giving a nonchalant shrug. “I’d say yes too, compared to the other boring ones who got through the third round,”
         “Well, since I’m the casting director, I think it’s safe to say that you have gotten the role of ‘The Angel’! Congratulations!” Beltran’s voice echoed in the dance studio, and then he offered his hand for me to shake. I still could not believe what I was hearing. Me? Getting the role of Karie the Angel?
         Do not freak out, Ashleigh. Keep calm. Stay cool. No fan girl moment, please.
         It was too late for all that. I was already running towards the old man and hugged him tightly, thanking him repeatedly like a crazy fan. When I finally let him go, I caught a glance of Blake looking not a teeny bit happy. Obviously a dominating jerk like him would have preferred someone who would carry his luggage around for him, laugh at his lame jokes and praise his every move. Whatever type his ideal girl/co-star is, it is definitely not someone who calls him a ‘blue-eyed moron’.
         Well, too bad Mr. Grumpy Old Schwartz, but I’m here to stay. Ha-di-ha-ha!
         Suddenly, the studio’s front door burst open. I quickly turned behind to see what was wrong. Melanie had just stepped in the dance studio. And clearly, she had heard of me being officially cast as ‘Karie’ because she was screaming and shrieking ecstatically as she ran towards me and gave me the biggest, tightest bear hug ever.
         “You did it, Ash! You made it!” Melanie cried, jumping up and down like a floppy bunny. Her energy was so contagious that I too found myself laughing and jumping rabidly like a demented rabbit.
         “Holy Jesus Mother of Christ…” a voice suddenly interrupted our moment together. Both me and Mel turned back and looked at who the voice belonged to. It was Latino boy, who had stood up from his chair and was staring at Melanie with appreciative eyes. The way he was looking at her was scary. It was as if he was a wolf, staring down at a piece of delicious red meat that was Melanie.
         He wanted to eat her.
         I was very used to how boys looked at Melanie. Wolf howls, pet-name callings, claims of her being their girlfriend were some of the common and unavoidable things you would hear when you are best friends with Melanie. That explains why she can actually change her boyfriends in a matter of days, sometimes even hours, because she simply has ‘too big of a pool to try out’, as she put it.
         So who ever says Americans are racists can definitely eat their words back because Mel is an African-American/Mexican, and she’s one of the most popular girls in the school. And who ever says that popular girls are always mean can eat their words back too – Melanie is only high school evil towards the male population. She would never reject a request for help from any girls in school, but she would never accept any guy’s ‘request to be their love’ either unless he was one of her monthly crushes.
         But the way Leo was staring at Melanie was a little shocking, even to me. I had never seen such perverted, lusty eyes… It’s almost terrifying…
         “And who is this young lady…?” Leo asked, his voice all husky and sexy suddenly. Melanie gave him a sarcastic smile, clearly not interested in his advances.
         “I’m Melanie ‘Won’t-Kiss-You’ Ovelia,” Melanie smiled her fakest smile ever, which would have made me laughed except I didn’t want to laugh at anything in front of jerk Schwartz. Ugh, what kind of surname is that anyway? Schwartz? Sounds like a ‘watch seller’ to me. Mel quickly turned her attention back to me and was about to say something that she seemed very excited about, before Leo cut her off.
          “Mmm, Melanie ‘Gorgeous’ Ovelia,” Leo said in a deep low voice, licking his lips like he was licking away some strawberry jam from his face. “My name is Leonardo Panchobello, and I come from the city of Czech Republic –”
         “If I wanted to know about you, I’ll give you the necessary forms,” Melanie said, sounding a little pissed, but then she flashed him another wide smile. Everyone in the room gave a small ‘Oooh’ at the comment, looking at Leonardo to see how he would react. He seemed to be the only one who wasn’t affected by her comment at all.
         “Wow, you’re so sexy…” Leo praised as he admired her from head to toe with sparkly eyes. Oh God, he looked like he was undressing her with those eyes! Before Melanie could walk over to him and gave him a tight slap or whatever she had wanted to do to him, Leonardo had turned to the director and said, “Uncle, remember the girl we cast for Valerie Ricardo? The one with the cute ass? Cancel her and replace her with this lovely Miss Melanie Ovelia,”
         I did not know whether to be more surprised at the fact that Beltran was his uncle or the fact that he just spoke to the director in such an informal manner. Cute ass? I mean, really, if Leonardo had not been his nephew, I doubt Beltran would hear that and act as if nothing was amiss.
         Of course, I thought he was not serious and it was all a way for him to express how much he likes Mel. Anyway, even if he was serious, Beltran would never allow such a swift change, right? I mean, for God’s sake, Melanie did not even attend any of their auditions! Acting may be her hobby, but she wanted to concentrate on her A-levels and be a doctor, not an actress…!
         To my surprise, Beltran cancelled something out from his notepad and started to write something new. “All right, my boy, all’s done and changed,” Beltran grinned. Everyone in the hall froze at what they just heard. Melanie was so shocked at his words that even a giant meteor strike landing in front of her wouldn’t wake her from her daze.
          “Unless, of course, Miss Ovelia has any objections…?” Beltran asked politely, looking down at Melanie with warm eyes. “In which case, she will be allowed to get back to her own life while Miss Laura can have the role for ‘Valerie Ricardo’ as was planned –”
         “No!” Melanie finally got out of her trance, saying it a little too quickly and aggressively. “I mean, no, I would like to fill in the role for ‘Valerie’, Mr. Director, sir,” I stared at her, utterly dumfounded. She gave a shrug and whispered, “Hey, I’m in this for the money too! It’ll be the perfect way to provide my tuition fees for the doctor’s degree!”
         I wanted to hug her right then and there. Wow! Just wow!! This is better than in my dreams, where I got the role of Karie. This is me and my best friend acting on the same set for the next few months ahead, maybe even years since the books are a trilogy!
         “Well, Mr. Panchuballu, I guess I look forward to working with you,” Melanie gave Leonardo a more genuine smile this time before quickly grabbing me by the arm and dragging me out of the dance studio.
         “It’s Panchobello,” I heard Latino Boy’s voice from the back, but Melanie just gave him the finger without facing him. And then we’re out the door.