Superimposed

24

Sunday.
Taron's day off and he was determined to spend it doing something productive after his conversation with Joe yesterday.

The first place he headed was to the assembly hall where he knew there was an audition happening today for a show he couldn't audition for because he was working.

After a quick cigarette on the way in, he opened the back doors of the hall and saw the small group on the stage doing a dress rehearsal.
No one had noticed him yet and so he snuck into the back row and watched the rehearsal, these people were good and all looked Taron's age, maybe slightly older. But all in the same bracket, three ladies and four guys all in costume for what looked like a murder mystery play.

The screenplay was most probably written by the actors or the coaches that volunteered their time to help the young talent of Bloomsbury.
From what Taron could gather, the people that volunteered knew the students and in fact most probably taught them either currently or at some stage.

"Great work guys! It's really coming along!" One of the volunteers stood up and clapped them as the group headed backstage.

Taron's queue to speak to the guy who just clapped, maybe he knew of other opportunities he could take advantage of in this gap year he had taken.

"Excuse me?" Taron spoke as he approached the guy. He was tall and lean with a bald head and an old face.
"Oh, hello" The guy looked over in his seat and immediately stood up to shake Taron's hand, "You are?"
"Taron, Taron Egerton - I was just watching that rehearsal, it was really good" Taron smiled as he took the guys hand to shake.
"Yes, very good young talent we have here in Bloomsbury. I'm assuming you want to be a part of it?" The guy raised his eyebrows as he looked down at Taron making him feel small. A feeling Taron hadn't felt in a while, but he pushed that down with a physical gulp to try to get rid of the lump in his throat.
"Yeah, I um- I'm going to apply for drama school next year and was looking for any open call auditions I could do in the meantime to gain all the experience I can" Taron explained, stuffing his hands in his jeans pocket as he spoke to hide the fact that he was actually shaking a little.
"Ah, smart kid" He praised, sitting back down in his seat, "There's always things going on here, can you sing?"
"Yeah - a bit"
The guy nodded, thinking for a second, "Well we are looking to do a musical around Christmas time, auditions for that will be opening soon. It's going to be quite the production" He boasts, telling Taron that he must be quite involved in it - maybe even writing it.

"Sounds like fun" Taron smiles
"Yes, we need serious actors - maybe even current students though," He trails off, thinking out loud, "Well what I can do is take your number down and maybe call you when we audition?"
"Perfect um-" Taron panics for a second, he doesn't have a mobile phone. Shit, "I don't have a mobile, I was actually going to get one today" He improvises, "When are you going to be here till?"
"Whenever we get this dress rehearsal right - we break at lunchtime, come back then" He instructs and Taron nods in approval.
"I'll come back at 1"

Once back on the street Taron had a spring in his step, he couldn't actually believe that he might have a shot at being in a musical.

In the high street, Taron managed to find a phone shop and purchased the cheapest phone he could with the cheapest plan the sales guy could do - pay as you go.
"I just need a phone that I can call people on and people can call me" He'd said to the man who sorted him out with something that did just that.
"You can top it up by calling up, at the cashier at some shops and soon we're looking at possibly having cash machines you can top up at" The sales guy boasts and Taron just smiles along, keeping an eye on the time because he didn't want to miss possibly the best opportunity he'd had since arriving here.

But he was finished in the phone shop by midday and was walking around the high street when he came across a homeless guy sat on the floor next to the Tesco Express.
"Hey, can I get you anything?" Taron asked, crouching down next to the guy who had his head fixed on the ground.
He was sitting on a blanket with only one backpack with him and a set of dirty old clothes on.
"Excuse me?" Taron repeated when the guy continued to look at the floor.
But after the second time, he did look up, revealing a very tired face and sad eyes. Taron's heart ached when he saw his face, he could see himself in this person.
"Can I get you anything" He repeated, "I was about to get some stuff for myself in here, why don't you come in with me and pick some stuff out for yourself?"

The guy looked in utter shock as Taron got up and extended his arm out to help the guy get up too.

As the two went into Tesco Taron grabbed a basket and they made their way around the shop, Taron getting a few essentials; including lunch for now.

The guy didn't say much and as they got nearer the checkouts he still hadn't picked anything out.
"Please choose some stuff mate, anything you need I'll buy for you. I want to help in any way I can" Taron almost begged the guy.
"Are you sure?" The guy finally spoke in a raspy voice, a voice that seemed to match exactly how he looked - old and frail.
"Yes, please - anything" Taron reiterated, gesturing around the shop
"God bless you, young man"

After about 15 minutes, the guy had collected a few things like two bottles of water, biscuits, pastries and a few other miscellaneous items like wet wipes. Clearly, he was smart with his choices.
"Is this okay, I can put some back I ju-"
"No! That's fine" Taron assured him and they walked to the checkout. Taron greeted the cashier and smiled as she scanned everything through. She paused as she got to the other guy's stuff but Taron just nodded her on and she smiled.

"Thank you very much" Taron handed the young cashier the necessary money and the two guys left the shop with their bags of stuff.
"Thank you so much, h-how can I repay you?" The guy stuttered, clutching his bag of items
"Tell me your name"
They walked back to the man's spot and they both sat down, something the other guy wasn't expecting - a youth sitting down on the dirty floor of a high street.

Taron got his lunch out and began eating as Ray told him his story about how he ended up on the street. Once Taron was done eating he told Ray his own story, explaining that he too was homeless and even though it was for a short while he still thinks back to it every day and reminds himself about how fortunate he is to be in the position he is in now.

"It just makes me mad y'know, how people treat you like nothing," Ray said, the pain so evident in his voice as his throat strained to get the words out.
"There was a time when I was just like all of them" Ray looks up as the people walk past them both, a few giving Taron a dirty look as if he was committing a crime. A crime to accompany another human being?

"And just because they've never been like me they act like I'm scum"
Taron nodded slightly as he sat with Ray, his heart was heavy. There was nothing more he could do for him and he wished he could do more.
Soon the time came that he had to leave Ray alone again to go back to the assembly hall.
"Good luck my friend, do everything you can to make it son," Ray said and it was those words that made Taron hug Ray goodbye before he left.
"Hopefully I'll see you again?" He asks Ray as he stands to leave
"I'd like that" He smiled and Taron turns his back to walk away, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another."