A New Start
written by Justin
:RRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG! :
As the alarm went off, I slowly pulled my self out of bed, still
half asleep. 9 a.m. It had been a rough day at work last night,
and now in about another hour, I'd be there again, working hard
just to make ends meet. Living in Hollywood isn't all it's
cracked up to be, at least for me. I keep saying I'll leave my
job at the factory and get a 9 to 5 job I can deal with, but I
keep getting shot down by rejections from job applications.
After a hot shower to wake me up, I got dressed and headed down
stairs to get breakfast. And then after a somewhat hearty meal, I
headed out for work. Although I graduated high school some five
years ago, I still wear my high school basketball team jacket
whenever I go out. It just brings back memories just wearing and
seeing my name "Justin Cattz" embroidered on it. I had
been the only cat on the team, but my teammates and I got along
well, something rarely seen at that time. It just made me feel
good to know that at some point in my life, I had a commitment
and a cause in this world.
As I headed towards work, I continued in my daydreams and
flashbacks, not really paying attention to what I was doing. But
I was quickly brought back into reality. As I was crossing a
street in a small crowd, I bumped into someone and we both
tripped over each other and fell. Before I could even regain my
senses, the person was already on my case.
"Why don't you watch where you are going?" said the
person, who by the voice I could tell was a woman before I even
laid eyes on her. That made me feel a little better knowing it
wasn't some big brute who wasn't going to brutalize me.
When I first glanced at her, I was a little surprised to see a
lovely female, white, persian cat. I didn't say anything for a
second, until I finally realized what I had done.
I said, "I am so very sorry for this, please let me help you
up."
The female cat calmed down a little and said, "Don't worry
about it. These kinds of things always seem to happen whenever I
head to work."
"Really? And where do you work?" I asked, trying to be
polite.
"At Mammoth Studios," she said with a smile.
We both headed off the street still in conversation as we started
walking. We both seemed to lose track of time as we continued to
talk.
"My name is Sawyer," she said.
"Mine's Justin," I said now feeling more comfortable.
"So what do you do at Mammoth Studios?"
For a moment she had a puzzled look on her face. "Haven't
you been to the movies at all lately?"
She kind of caught me off guard with that one, but she then said,
"I'm sorry, that was a little out of line."
"Quite alright," I said, "and to answer your
question, no I haven't really been to the movies lately due to my
working throughout most of the day."
"Well, anyway, animals have just recently been allowed
chances at being stars in the movies," she explained,
"and not to brag, but I was one who helped it happen."
"Wow! And have you appeared in any movies yet?" I
asked.
"Yes, quite a few," she answered. "As a matter of
fact, we're in the process of auditions for one right now."
I didn't say anything, mostly because I felt a little
overshadowed talking to a star of her caliber and me being a
lowly factory worker. She must have noticed the look on my face,
and she kindly tried to cheer me up in a way I wasn't expecting.
"Say, would you be interested in being in the movies?"
she said, catching me off guard.
"It never really crossed my mind. Besides, I don't think I'm
qualified for it," I said.
"Well, we are always looking for new talent," she
replied. "And by the looks of your jacket, it seems you are
fairly talented. High School Basketball First Team, huh? That
must mean you are good on your feet. Maybe you could use that to
your advantage in dancing."
"I don't know...," I nervously said.
"Oh come on!" she said. "Come on down to Mammoth
Studios with me and you can see what it's like."
"Oh no!" I said. The mentioning of her workplace made
me remember my work. "I'm late for work. Listen, it was nice
meeting you, but I have to go!"
As I ran off, I could hear her say, "Well, it was nice
meeting you, too."
: The next morning:
Sawyer's words echoed through my mind all through work last
night.
"Come to Mammoth Studios...." her voice kept saying.
It's Saturday now, my one day off of the week. And all that kept
racing through my mind now was, should I or shouldn't I? I think
the answer was quite simple. I hated my job and was looking for
any doorway out of it. So once again, after another somewhat
hearty meal, I put on my jacket and headed out; but this time I
wasn't going to work.
When I arrived at Mammoth Studios, I was in awe of the majesty of
the place. From the sets that movies were being filmed on to the
Mammoth water fountain high above, everything just seem to have
it's own little spark of movie magic to it.
I knew the first thing I had to do was find Sawyer. I searched
and searched, but could never find her. Even when I asked some of
the actors and actresses, they didn't even know. Then as I was
going around a building corner, I collided into someone and fell
to the ground. I, for some reason, thought I had collided into
Sawyer again.
"We really have to stop meeting like this," I said with
a small chuckle.
"Do I know you?" a male voice asked.
I looked and saw an orange cat a little shorter in height than
me.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else," I
said.
"That's ok. You're new around here, aren't you?" he
said.
"Sort of..." I said a little nervously.
"That's fine. Name's Danny." he said.
"Justin," I replied as we shook hands.
I explained to him about my encounter with Sawyer and asked if he
could help me. To my surprise, Danny said he was close friends
with Sawyer and he could take me to her.
"Ya know, Sawyer did mention something about meeting a cat
yesterday," Danny said.
"She did?" I said, a little overexcited.
"Yep," he replied. "Said you looked like you had a
lot of potential, too."
I had no reply for that, but Danny didn't seem to mind.
We kept walking until we came to a medium sized building. We
entered and walked down the hall until we came to a set of
double-doors. I listened closely and could hear voices from the
other side.
"What's this room?" I asked.
"Auditioning room," Danny replied.
I almost turned around right there from nervousness, but as I was
about to, one of the doors opened and out stepped Sawyer.
"Hiya Sawyer!" Danny said.
"Hi Danny," Sawyer said.
"How did you do?" Danny asked Sawyer.
"I think it went really well," she said. She then
caught sight of me. "Justin, I'm so glad you decided to come
to the auditions."
"Well actually I was just...." I said, but never got to
finish my sentence.
"Oh, don't you be getting cold feet now," Sawyer said.
"You're so close, so why don't you go over there and get in
line for the auditions. I'm sure there's a part in the movie for
you somewhere."
"Just hope that it isn't just saying "Meow"!"
Danny said with a laugh.
Sawyer joined in the laugh, and that made me feel a little more
comfortable.
"O.k. I'll do it, I'll do it," I said surrendering.
I headed over to the line and signed up for the audition. I
received my script, went over it and waited and waited until it
was my turn, shaking more and more as my turn drew closer.
When it was finally my turn, I took my script and went out on the
stage. I saw a small group of people, no doubt the director and
producers, in the small auditorium's seats.
"O.k. kid, let's see what you got," one of them said.
I took one gulp in nervousness, stood up straight and read my
lines.
: Two days later:
I was sitting at home just relaxing when my phone rang. I picked
up the phone and it was the people from Mammoth Studios. As they
talked, a grin came upon my face, which eventually grew into a
smile. After they finished, we both said goodbye and hung up.
I then picked up the phone again to call the factory to tell them
I was quitting my job there.
THE END (for now)
~~Justin Cattz