The Disappearing Act(15)

It’s not Emily, though. The actress the casting director leads out is one I haven’t seen before. They exchange goodbyes as I gawk at them completely baffled. I lean forward to look around them hoping to see Emily emerge behind. Though why she’d be in with another actress is beyond me. The room behind them is empty. Emily must have gone into the other audition room. Perhaps she wasn’t here to read for Rose Atwood after all.

A strange dread starts to stir inside me. This is weird. I try to think who she might be auditioning for, maybe Melaya Tulli, the ship’s medical officer. I look around the waiting room but nobody else here could possibly be auditioning for that role. Melaya is clearly a Hispanic character, and Emily was most definitely not Hispanic.

The actress who isn’t Emily turns and gathers her things from one of the waiting room chairs. Emily’s car keys are still clenched in my hand.

“Is there a Mia?” The casting director turns and looks up from her list.

Bugger. I rise from my seat and plaster on a smile as I plunge the offending car keys into my pocket. “Yes, that’s me.” I smile, telling myself that it’s fine. She’ll be in the other audition room. They were running over time-wise and started using both rooms. That must be it.

I let my shoulders relax and head into the casting suite, leaving my jacket and bag behind, trying to clear my head of everything not pertaining to Mars as I go.

Twenty minutes later, I reemerge into the waiting room, my eyes readjusting to the daylight, my heart rate still elevated from screaming into the soul-less abyss of space.

The casting suites must be soundproofed as I didn’t hear any of the earlier Roses screaming at the end of their scenes. My eyes scan the waiting room for Emily.

She’s not there.

I head outside to the bench, but it stands empty in the warm sunlight. Maybe she went to the restroom. I go back inside and scan the waiting room again. One of the Roses stares at me curiously as another is called in.

I leave my things and follow the RESTROOM sign behind the reception desk down a very long corridor. The women’s restroom is the third door along the empty cream hallway. I push its heavy-hinged door and enter. A fresh scent of bleach and synthetic lemon hits me. It’s a large industrial bathroom, eight cubicles, the stall doors floating above freshly mopped polished-concrete floor. All of the work units in the building must connect and share these facilities. The end cubicle’s door is closed.

The clack of my heels echoes around the space as I enter. And suddenly I feel shy.

“Hello?” I hazard, my voice a reedy British apology. I grimace at the sound of it. “Emily?” I ask hopefully.

No reply.

I crouch low, squatting, in the middle of the restroom floor, my heeled boots and the taut knees of my skinny jeans making things unnecessarily difficult. I duck my head low until I can just about see under the closed door, my ponytail skimming the bleached floor.

Behind me the main restroom entrance bangs open and the Rose who was just staring at me in the waiting room is suddenly confronted with the vision of me squatting, legs akimbo, in the middle of an abandoned restroom. Excellent.

I rise with slightly more difficulty than a woman of my age should be experiencing. The Rose looks at me with a frown etched deep into her brow.

“Hey,” I offer, hoping that saying something normal like hey will convince her I’m not completely insane. She looks unconvinced.

“Um, hey. Are you all right? Should I get someone?” she asks carefully.

“No, just looking for someone. She’s probably outside,” I reply as breezily as I can.

“Oh, okay. Then can I just get past?” She gestures to the cubicles beyond me and I realize I’m entirely blocking her way. I give her a wide berth and she heads for the closed cubicle on the end, pushes it open easily, and slides the lock firmly behind her.

There was no one in here. I’ve been talking to myself.

I check my watch and head back outside hopefully. The sunlight makes me squint after the darkness inside. This is really weird. Could she still be in her audition?

I get a sudden burst of annoyance, partly due to the time this is taking and partly due to the look I just got in the restroom. This is all starting to get a bit silly now. I definitely do not need this today. I turn on my heels, head straight back into the casting office, and march up to the willowy receptionist with purpose.

“Hi,” I blurt. “Is there a girl called Emily in there?” I point unambiguously toward the Marcus audition room.

“Excuse me?” she bites back at me, incredulous.

“Are the casting directors seeing actresses in both rooms?” I clarify. The receptionist frowns, my meaning escaping her, so I continue. “Listen, I’m looking for a girl who was here before. Emily. I was sitting with her. You saw us. I have her car keys and her wallet. I need to give them back to her. Is she in there?” I gesture to the Marcus room again.

“No,” the receptionist answers, her eyebrows high. “They’re only seeing guys in there.”

Fuck.

“Oh right. Okay.” Faltering, I scan the waiting room faces again. Gazes scatter away like pigeons. I’m clearly making a scene.

It suddenly occurs to me that Emily might be waiting for me by her car, and I kick myself for being such an idiot. I give no one in particular a nod and stride back out into the sunshine.

Outside I let out an exasperated sigh. This situation is really starting to stress me out. I check my watch. It’s 1:32. My next meeting is at three in Burbank and I need to eat before I go or my lines might not come out.