Melody 5 - Rising Stars

2 (iii) - Amy

--- AMY ---

“Amy Anderson!” called Lena. 

Finally - it was her time. 

Amy smoothed down her outfit – a short, figure hugging red dress which clung to her curves and flicked out over her hips, over mid length black leggings, with see-through lace up the seams; a thin gold chain around her waist emphasised her slim figure, and black studded pixie boots stopped her looking too full-on sexy and gave her look a funky twist. 

With a flick of her glossy auburn locks, Amy sashayed across the reception feeling the admiring eyes of the other girls on her.  She knew she looked sensational.  And Amy desperately wanted to be sensational.  Silently she ran over one of her affirmations again. 

“This is my time to shine.  This is my time to shine.  This is my time to shine.”

Surely now she was due her lucky break.  Surely now had to be payback for all the years of hard slog she’d put in. 

As she passed by, the receptionist gave her a ‘good luck’ thumbs up and Amy winked back. 

Hell yeah!  Sherri Holt would be lucky to have her.  Amy wasn’t the best singer in the world, but she knew she was a great dancer, with a knock-out figure and tons of star quality and she was determined to rock those qualities for all she was worth.

As she entered the audition room, Amy felt she was finally stepping into her destiny. 

“This is my time to shine.  This is my time to shine.  This is my…”

Then Amy saw him sat behind the audition table, looking as sexy as hell and as nonchalant as ever – Derren McKenzie. 

Amy knew she should keep her eyes on Sherri Holt, after all she was the manager of this would-be new group, but why was Derren McKenzie here? 

As Amy stepped forward and tried to stay focused, she couldn’t help notice the cheeky grin he gave her.  As if on cue, her stomach flipped.  How the hell was she supposed to concentrate and give a killer audition with him in the room?

“Hi Amy,” said Sherri.  “I’m Sherri.  And this is…”

“Tony Ward, I know,” said Amy.

“Not often I get recognised,” smiled Tony.

“And this is Derren,” said Sherri.

Amy didn’t trust herself to interject with his name.

“Derren’s part of my creative team.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Derren, thankfully not giving Sherri or Tony the slightest hint they knew already knew each other.

She could just imagine how awkward it would be explaining that..  “Yes, Derren did the choreography for a show I was in, and at the opening night party we downed tequila shots and made out in the Royal Box!”

“So Amy,” said Sherri, “tell us about yourself.”

“I’ve been performing in musicals since I was a kid but pop music’s my passion.  I’ve been in a couple of bands and I almost got a solo deal, but…” 

“How old are you, Amy?” asked Sherri.

Amy shot a look over at Derren.  “There wasn’t an age limit on the ad.”

“I know.  How old are you?” repeated Sherri.

“18,” said Amy, giving the age she’d put down on her application.

“And what are you going to sing?” asked Sherri.

“The Pussycat Dolls – When I Grow Up…”

“…I Want To Be Famous,” finished Derren for her.

“Exactly,” said Amy.

“Ambitious.  I like it,” said Sherri, as Lena, loaded her CD into the player.

Amy got into the zone straight away.  This was her moment and nothing was going to stand in her way.  As the opening bars of the track rang out, Amy launched into her sexy and sassy routine.  Far from blocking out Derren’s presence, Amy used it to her advantage.  She channeled all the chemistry she knew they shared into her routine, without excluding Sherri or Tony.  By the end, she was spent.  She’d put her heart and soul into her performance, she just hoped it had been enough. 

As she looked up, Sherri said, “Thanks Amy.  We’ll let you know.”

Amy had been to enough auditions to know they rarely gave anything away, but considering the effort she’d just put in, she would have liked a bit more enthusiasm. 

She caught Derren giving her a sly wink and what seemed like a genuine smile, but even that wasn’t enough to raise her flagging spirit.  She’d wanted Sherri Holt to leap over the table and say Amy was the best performer she’d ever seen.  In fact, screw the rest of the group – she just wanted her.  But of course that wasn’t going to happen.

Smiling professionally, Amy said, “Well, nice to meet you all.”

“And you, Amy,” said Sherri, already looking down at her notes.

“Thanks darlin’,” said Tony.

“Maybe see you again,” said Derren.  If that had come from Sherri, Amy would have been excited.  As it was, it probably meant Derren wanted to hook up for a booty-call.  Well, despite the fact they’d enjoyed many of those in the past, he could forget it. 

As she left, Amy overheard Tony Ward say, “18?  No way.”

Amy was glad she was halfway out the door, so they couldn’t see her flush with embarrassment.

She knew all of this was ‘part of the business’.  Performers were constantly judged for being too old, too young, too fat, too thin, not talented enough, too talented.  It was crazy!  In the past Amy had accepted it.  After every audition, she told herself: if they called - great; if they didn’t – their loss.  But Amy was exhausted.  Exhausted with the endless hoping, waiting, wondering, guessing what people wanted or didn’t want. 

Well, she’d been herself in there (with a little white lie about her age) and if they didn’t want her, they could shove their hot new girl group. 

 Fighting back her tears Amy burst out onto the bustling streets of Covent Garden.  She knew it was finally time.  After countless years of struggling to achieve her dream, she’d now have to suck it up and get a proper job.  It might be soul-destroying, but it couldn’t be any worse than this.