Dying Tigers: A Strange Love Story

Meetings - Part 8

(Authors note: This is the last part of this story I will be posting here - about 20% of it has been posted. The story is complete and I've self-published it on Amazon. You can find it there. If you like it, please leave a review! Every one helps! Thank you!)

I hustled the boys out the door early in the morning for another audition and we arrived at the studio an hour and a half later. Other models were already sitting around the waiting room. They were the competition. A glance around told me Tareiji and Jareka were at least in the ballpark for this project. The other models were all of similar age and look to them. We at least had a chance.

We lingered against the wall, waiting for the director to arrive. He was the one who would ultimately decide who got the position. We only waited a few minutes before the doors to the back room flew open and a sharply dressed man stormed in, flanked by his two secretaries. Coldness radiated from every pore of his body. He took one glance around the room, his eyes not even stopping on Jareka or Tareiji.

"You." He pointed abruptly at one of the models across the room. "Come!" He snapped, turning around and striding back out of the room as forcefully as he had come in, with the alarmed model hurrying after him trying to figure out what had just happened.

Silence fell in their wake, mirroring my own surprise. I'd spoken only to the project coordinator over the phone, and was unprepared for such aggressive brutishness.

"Was that the director?" Someone asked into the silence.

The only answer was the models shifting position, angling to be in direct line of sight if he came back in. The desire to be chosen for the role was stronger than any hesitance they might have felt about his attitude. Even Jareka and Tareiji slid closer, leaving me leaning against the wall to watch the scene play out.

Directors like that existed, inflexible, self-centered and volatile. I believed it was an ill-conducive attitude for working productively, but they were ultimately the ones that held the power. They provided the work opportunities. A talent unwilling to tolerate them was out a job, end of story. So they were able to get away with it because there was no way to fight against them. And as much as I disliked their type, their uncompromising stance had one upside. They projects they made were usually extremely high quality. If Tareiji and Jareka could get the position, it would up their status in the industry. Yet at the same time, Tareiji and Jareka were just as inflexible in their own way. The chances that two so inflexible sides would just happen to line up in agreement with each other were slim to none, but all the same I watched both eager to see how Tareiji and Jareka would react to the director and at the same time worried they might be pushed too far.

Minutes later, the door opened again and the model hurried out, looking agitated. He left the room without a word. The director entered seconds later, looking furious.

"You!" A finger was jabbed at another model, who scrambled to catch up as the director whirled away and disappeared again.

Six models later, everyone was standing rigidly at the doors, wondering who was next. So far, all had come running back out, leaving as quickly as they'd re-entered.

When the doors flew open this time, it felt like everyone held their breath. Even Tareiji was quiet for the few seconds while the director stood glaring at the room. But no finger was jabbed to select the next victim.

His eyes flicked to each model briefly, only to dismiss them as if they weren't worth his time.

Jareka stood stiff and silent, while Tareiji had a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. He looked more agitated than I had expected him to be. Tareiji always seemed able to brush a harsh comment off like it was little more than dust in the air. To see him this affected was intriguing and alarming.