It was late in the evening when Bette Porter found herself standing outside the threshold of an old apartment complex. It was dark out and according to her watch she had been standing there for approximately a good five minutes, quietly gathering up the courage to knock, and when she finally did, she ended up pounding her fist hard against the smooth surface of the door. She looked down at what she was wearing and wondered if she had dressed right, everything from the delicate ruffled shirt she had on right down to the sleek tailored pants” all of it had to be perfect… after all she was only going to do this once, or at least that’s what she intended to do.

As soon as the door opened Bette took it as her cue… Gently she rested a hand across the door’s frame, no words had to be said, just a short exchange of weary looks until she was finally invited in. Peeking inside Bette saw that it was a fairly modest place to live, the hard wood floors were brightly polished, the furniture seemed in perfectly tact, but Bette couldn’t help but feel that something was out of place… maybe it was the tacky throw rug on the floor, or better yet perhaps it was her… at the time she really couldn’t bring herself to decide…

Opening the door for her was a man, probably in his late twenties blessed with a great build, and dashing good looks… yet to Bette all of these qualities seemed irrelevant… To her this was purely business, a job she had been enjoying since the tender age of 18. Bette heard him take a collective breath before he ushered her forward, giving a slight nod as he permitted her entrance to his home… To this Bette swaggered in like clock work, her confidence showing with every single step she took… she was magnificent, beautiful, even luminous under the shade of lighting that illuminated the space. Quietly he reached for her hand but she evaded him… she knew that was what the situation called for, but somehow he managed to take hold of her anyway.

Silently Bette fell into a trance, just like she did countless times before… slowly she inched a little closer towards him, letting a slight hint of a smile show through her otherwise blank expression. At the back of her mind she was conscious that she was only doing this to create some kind of challenge, building up a sort of quality that made her irresistible.

From the way things were going, Bette could easily see that her plan worked, as the man gently took her face in his hands, conveying to her his desire while he slowly leaned forward inching their mouths closer and closer together… Bette grinned; she knew it wasn’t time, at least not yet… She motioned for him to follow her and soon he did. His eyes were locked onto her every move, nothing else… Wrapped up in what in their own little world the two failed to notice that in the background another woman was lurking…stealthily following them, watching over their every step. If they only took a moment to look around they would see that much like Bette, the woman had a tall frame… her eyes colored in the same shade of soulful brown, and had golden hair that flowed its way easily down to the blades of her shoulders. Hiding behind an alcove the woman was careful not to alert anyone of her presence, although for some reason while traveling in her current state of mind, she still managed to stumble and knock over a huge slab of glass…



What followed next was nothing short of deafening silence…



For a moment Bette stood there shocked… The mood was gone, and the moment she was trying to build up had long since passed… At the back of her mind the dark-haired beauty wondered whether this whole ordeal would ever be over… for in the end all she wanted to do was get paid and move on with her life… But the willful brunette knew from the looks of things that this wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, in fact she understood that her work would probably get in the way again. For her this was an addiction, something she aspired and yearned for more than anything else in life… There was a sense of fulfillment she got out of it, a form of pride that came with every single time she had to perform… to become a completely different person, but nowadays she found that her job was slowly driving her over the edge: Physically, mentally, emotionally… The sleepless nights, the endless hours, and the competition, each of these factors were gradually taking its toll on her…

‘Quit!!!’ she thought, ‘Just leave it all behind’… But she never could, partly because she knew this wasn’t the kind of thing you could just pack up and walk away from… God only knows how many times she’s tried, so much so in fact that by now she had already lost count… In her mind a thousand thoughts swirled, visions of what might have been and what will be clouded her head, yet before she had a chance to properly ponder on the idea quitting some more, she realized that lying just a few feet across from her someone was in desperate need of help.

Not quite understanding fully what was happening around her, Bette quickly rushed over to the woman’s side leaning over to see what was wrong, while giving the statuesque beauty her full and utmost attention… Bette looked at her with such compassion, not even noticing the shards of glass that were left scattered freely across the floor. Swiftly Bette bent down next to her, just low enough to meet her at the eye… The woman stared at her for a while, attempting to smile before she gritted her teeth and winced in pain. It was at this point when Bette noticed just how serious the blonde’s condition truly was. Looking at her more carefully, Bette noted that the woman’s fingers were grazed, and that more than just a few gashes trailed along the surface of her arms, finally Bette shifted her gaze lower and saw that the woman’s leg was badly bruised and bleeding.

“Cut!!!!” an urgent voice screamed over all the commotion. Bette turned around just in time to see Eric the director, walking towards them with a mixture of concern and frustration written all over his face. “Anna what happened?” he asked the blonde.

“I fell…” she answered, holding back the tears. In her mind she didn’t just fall, she failed… The pain she was feeling from her wounds were nothing compared to the sting of knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to complete the film. Valiantly Anna tried to stand, with a shot of desperation coursing through her veins… but sadly it was no use… her body was far to frail even to speak, so instead she just gave Bette a hopeful glance and shifted the same look over to Eric.

Within ten minutes the paramedics arrived and Anna found herself being hauled into the confines of white ambulance. “You’ll be fine.” she heard Bette say, right before the doors closed. Seeing the vehicle pull out of the parking lot that very moment, Bette’s heart sank… she knew she wasn’t losing a friend, but she was definitely losing a co-star, a very talented one at that.

Walking back into the studio Bette cursed under her breath she was devastated, everybody was… Production had just started and already it had come to an unexpected stop, somehow it struck her” how even at this early stage of filming, the movie was already encountering more than its fair share of unfortunate events. Around her the doe-eyed beauty sensed that a different form of chaos was taking place… Muffled words and muted sounds regarding the tragedy that passed were abound… It was ironic how people were whispering in a tone just loud enough so that everyone else could hear. After all this was Hollywood: Where one movie’s disaster meant that it got to spend more airtime on Entertainment Tonight… and Bette, being the smart woman that she was, did not want to have any part of it. Subtly she made for an exit, traveling her way past the bustling crowd, and walking towards her trailer. She was totally looking forward to some much-needed rest… until suddenly she felt a hand abruptly rest upon her shoulder quickly she turned around to see who it was.

“Eric…” she gasped, a little relieved, “you scared me.”

“Bette” he said in a hushed tone, “I need to talk to you…”

Bette merely nodded and asked for him to continue, with this Eric shot her a look that conveyed just how serious the next words were going to be.

“Well as you may very well know Anna is out of the picture…” he said, letting the disappointment seep through his voice. “And we need another actress…”

To this Bette merely shook her head, looked around, and took a seat. Eric sat down right beside her before he added, “Tomorrow I’m going to be re-casting the role… and I want you to be there.”

“But Eric… I…” Bette interrupted, she had other things to do, promises to keep… but when Eric cut her off with an unyielding stare, she knew this was far more important. “Fine I’ll be there.” she said as she stood up in a huff, quickly bidding him goodnight as she set off for her car, heading home instead.
___________________________________________________

It was early in the morning when Bette awoke to the sound of someone else’s voice.

“Rise and shine Porter.” said someone in an overly preppy tone. When Bette didn’t move she immediately felt the sheets being pulled away from her body.

“Alice…” Bette groaned into her pillow, whatever time it was, she knew it was way too early for a wake up call.

“Bette I know you’re tired but it’s 7 A.M., you have to get up for that casting call Eric set up.”

Upon hearing this the dark-haired beauty tentatively sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Although more than just annoyed, Bette quietly reminded herself that Alice was not the enemy… After all, Alice had managed to stick with her even after all these years, through thick and thin, rain or shine, Alice was there taking good care of her along the way… Bette trusted her with her life and in turn, Alice served as her eyes and ears towards matters she didn’t want to get sucked into. Indeed Alice was very loyal and trustworthy, just as any assistant should be.

Clearing her mind, Bette wordlessly jumped out of bed and got ready… Not being able to see the satisfied smile that Alice was wearing across her face. Bette didn’t want to be in a sour mood today, considering the fact that in just a few minutes she would be facing a huge crowd of actresses competing to play the same role opposite her. She always hated going to these things, they were far too long and tedious for her own taste, but since the director asked her personally, she could hardly see herself not being there.

Half an hour later Bette promptly entered the room where they were holding the auditions, taking note of the long line of beauties gathered up outside… All of them possessing the same blonde hair, and tall, yet curvy build that Anna had…. Yet soon after this Bette found that despite their appearances, each woman who came in failed to capture the true essence of the script. Exhausted and irritated by the half-baked performances, everyone was just about ready to give up, including Eric… until finally a breath of fresh air walked in.

Smiling slightly the girl introduced herself. Like the other girls she had blonde hair, and beautiful eyes… but there was a certain mix of confidence and shyness about her that drew most people in. After a few moments of small talk, Eric asked her to read a few lines from the script. Almost immediately the slim beauty began reading, except it felt more like she wasn’t reading at all. Listening to her made Bette feel as if the woman had thought of the lines herself.

Just when the act was about to end Eric added something he hadn’t had the chance to say all day:

“Good, good…. Now I want you to read with Bette.”

Bette was caught a little off guard by Eric’s statement, but still she jumped into the dialogue in stride. Now she knew why Eric wanted her there in the first place. Confidently she matched the girl line for line… and word for word. It was like a game of verbal tennis really, and watching them made Eric realize that the role was as good as cast. In fact one could tell from the smug look on his face that he was already counting the ticket sales the movie would be raking in after production.

When the reading was through Eric stood up and said: “Thank you, you’ll be hearing from us very soon.”, shaking the beautiful blonde’s hand before seeing her out the door personally.

Meanwhile at the far corner of the room Bette cursed at herself for not paying attention long enough to catch the woman’s name. How could she have missed such a thing? Discreetly she reached for Eric’s notes and scanned through all the of girls’ credentials and photos, until finally she found the one she was looking for Grasping a clear copy of the blonde’s headshot in her hand Bette silently read her name:




Tina Kennard






To be continued?????????????????????