Page 6 of Redondo (Mates of the Mylos #7)

CHAPTER 6

THOMAS

There were so many people going for auditions and interviews that as soon as I got off the bus half a block away, I could see a line of people snaking their way into the adjacent parking garage. I sauntered over, with the required clothing and whatnot for a three day stay as Cheryl’s text message had instructed. I’d crammed it all into one of those zippered top shopping bags on wheels that I used to bring home groceries in, not wanting it to look like I was running off, seeing as I was in enough trouble as it was and I was pretty sure that my neighbors were spying on me for the landlord, and Lord knows who might be reporting back to Anton.

Just thinking about Anton gave me the fucking shivers. I glanced around, and no one stood out but what did I know? The guy who got off the bus behind me and was now going into the nearby coffee shop could be one of his goons, I supposed. The last ones he sent were ordinary looking middle class guys, the same as him. Though he had already been on the bus when I got on, so there was that. Deciding that I was letting paranoia get the better of me, I walked up to read the signs on the door of the Scholarship Center.

“Auditions and interviewees please report to the top level of the parking garage,” I read aloud.

A woman with two young kids who was moving to join the line that had formed spoke up. “You here for an interview for one of the adult roles?”

“Yeah,” I replied.

She sighed. “You just missed a guy who said for those who were to take the stairs and go straight on up. Those of us here for the child auditions are going separately to another ship as there are so many. A thousand! Can you believe it? They’re flying up people from all over, mostly kids!”

“It’s a kid’s show, so aren’t most of the roles for children?”

“And puppets, yeah.”

I hoped that there were only a very select few trying out for one of the adult roles. I’d looked over the list Cheryl had sent me. There were a handful of adult neighbors, human and Mylos, a human assistant shopkeeper, a librarian, and various unnamed characters who would feature in small skits revolving around literacy, nature, and so on. As I bypassed the line which turned out to be waiting for one of the two elevators, I felt my previous confidence wavering. It still hadn’t returned by the time I’d walked up the eight flights of stairs and exited onto the roof.

“Name?” a frazzled looking Mylos holding a datapad asked me.

“Thomas Casey Ross,” I replied, giving my full name.

“Do you have your pass?”

I remembered the QR code looking thing Cheryl had sent as an attachment and brought it up on my phone.

“Excellent. If you’ll go over there to the far side,” he said, holding up his datapad to scan it before pointing to where another Mylos was checking everyone’s bags out, “and let us finish making sure you’re good to go, we’ll have you boarded very soon.”

“Okay, thanks.” I pulled my little shopping bag over to the table and waited my turn.

“Where are the people with all the kids?” I asked the grandfatherly looking man in front of me.

“There’s a Mylos in each of the elevators,” the man explained. “They’re having them get off on the next two levels below us so they can check their bags, then come up in groups to get on a shuttle.”

As he spoke, a large saucer landed, one much bigger than I’d ever seen before. It took up all of the space reserved for it to land, it was that big. As if on cue, a stream of parents and children poured out of the stairwell I’d just come from, with a Mylos at the head of them. A ramp lowered and they all filed in. There had to have been over a hundred people, I reckoned, and by the time they were all aboard, it was my turn to have my bag checked.

“Apologies for this,” the warrior said. “But after recent events, we are taking no chances.”

I waved a hand dismissively. “Makes sense. Luggage gets scanned at the airports or you don’t get to go through either.”

He smiled as he waved a device over my bag. “Thank you for your understanding. You’re free to move on to the other half of the line.”

A vibration that was even more intense than the one that had heralded the arrival of the shuttle shook the concrete beneath my feet. The sensation only lasted a few seconds and was gone as soon as the ship lifted off.

“They said ours is next,” The man I’d been speaking with earlier said. “I’m Jeff, by the way. I’m a puppeteer.”

He gestured towards a case at his feet, next to a small suitcase. “My puppet is in there. Seeing you’ve only got the one bag, I’m guessing you’re auditioning?”

“Tom, and yup, I’m hoping for one of the adult roles,” I replied.

“Well, break a leg, kid,” he replied with a smile.

“Thanks. You too.”

Then a second shuttle descended. Our ride was here. As it touched down, I felt a flutter of momentary panic. Was I really doing this? Going into space? Applying for a husband as well as a steady job? A career long role, potentially, at that. What was I thinking? Cheryl was right! It was nuts! Then I thought about what awaited me if I didn’t. Ugh. Lonely nights, poverty, a possible hospital bill after I got the crapola beat out of me, and a move back to my folks. I took a deep breath and let it out, my nerves now made of steel. I was doing the most sensible thing! Even if I was solvent, this was the chance of a lifetime. One only had to look around and see how many people had shown up to do what I was about to do in order to see how not wacky an idea it was. The chance of meeting Mr. Right without any more missteps and the chance of landing a role in a series that was bound to become not only popular, but award winning. Not to mention, galaxy wide distribution. I’d be interstellar famous!

So why was I panicking? It was the shuttle, I realized. I’d felt this exact same way when I got on the plane to fly to New York. It had been fine then and the Mylos were even more advanced with their craft than we were, I reminded myself. Plus, there had been absolutely zero Mylos crashes. ZERO! I took that bit of mental freak out, mentally rolled it into a ball, and shoved it in a box in the corner of my mind, right next to my childhood fear of balloons.

Now I was standing before the ramp. It was only a few steps, but they felt momentous in themselves.

“Just take any empty seat,” a smiling Mylos told me. “There’s a storage compartment overhead where you can place your bag. If it won’t fit, just let me know and I’ll put it in one of the larger compartments.”

“Thank you,” I replied, placing one foot in front of the other, and going inside. I looked around, gawking. I’d expected a lot of blinking lights and stuff, not what looked like first class airline seating on steroids. Well, if the airline seats had full body harnesses, that is, and staggered seating set far enough apart that even the gargantuan Mylos had plenty of leg room.

Jeff waved at me. “There’s a seat here, Tom!” he called out.

I grinned back, making my way to him as I was more than happy to sit next to my new friend. I hoped we both got the jobs we were after. It would be awesome to have a friend there from the start.