The Threads of Fate || Walker Scobell x Leah Sava Jeffries

~3~

Leah walked out of the giant auditorium and towards her mother's car. It was the day after her and Nayeli's sleepover, and she had just completed an acting class that the local high school's drama department directed for younger students. When Leah had arrived home earlier that morning, her mother immediately let her in on everything she needed to know. Firstly, Leah was up against a lot less people this time. The directors had narrowed it down to about one hundred other girls her age. Like the first round, the second round of auditions would be over zoom call; but this time, they would get a little more personal. There would be a short interview before the actual reading of the script, and the call would last a lot longer due to that.

As soon as Leah found out all of this info, she decided that she would attend an acting class. Of course, Leah knew she was an amazing actress, but she also knew that dozens of other amazing actresses were going for this role as well. If she wanted the part, she would need to stand out amongst all the other candidates. In receiving a callback for her audition, Leah had also received a new sense of purpose. She had been in a mainstream TV show before. Empire was huge for her, but she wasn't the main character in Empire. She had the opportunity to be casted in a recurring role on a Disney Plus limited series. Booking this show would be life-changing for her. She wasn't just auditioning to audition anymore, this had become a personal mission. She would get this role, and she would make everyone around her, including herself, proud.

"Hi, Mom," Leah smiled as she sat in the passenger seat of the small vehicle.

"Hi, sweetheart! How did the class go?" Lee asked as she started up the car.

"It went really well! Mrs.Critelli is such a good teacher. She totally helped me fix my acting a lot. We worked on channeling our emotions into the performance more. You know how I am with emotional scenes and stuff like that. This really helped though," Leah explained, "Did you bring my iPad?"

"Mhm, it's in my purse," Leah reached down and grabbed her iPad from her mother's bag, "I'm so glad things went well for you today. Do you think you'll do well on your audition?"
"I think I'm gonna do great! I don't know if it'll be great enough to make it to the next round, but it'll be great nonetheless," Leah laughed. She scrolled through her emails until she came across the one she was looking for.

Upon opening the email, Leah was greeted with a long message from her agent, Angela. It read, "Good Morning, Love! Just wanted to give you a quick debrief of everything you have going on. They sent me some more information about the Percy Jackson auditions that I thought you'd want to know. They've officially cast someone to play Percy Jackson, but we don't know who it is yet. They'll be announcing it later tonight on Rick Riordan's blog. The audition you're preparing for is the last individual audition they're holding. They're going to pick ten to twenty girls out of the maybe one hundred that are left to move on to the next round. If you pass this round, you'll be expected to go to California and do a chemistry read with this mystery boy who's playing Percy. They should have officially cast their Annabeth Chase about three days after the chemistry read. I've attached the script for your audition below. I read over it earlier, and it's really easy. It's very similar to the type of stuff they have you do at school in theatre. This should be light work for you. Just try your best, and I know you'll succeed. I'm rooting for you, Leah! Lots of Love, Angela."

Leah opened the script. "There's no way I could mess this up," Leah almost laughed.
"What is it?" Lee asked.

"I've done this script before. I believe it was for an audition. They're reusing old scripts. I didn't get that role, but I did get feedback on what I did wrong. I could ace this audition if I keep practicing."

"That's wonderful, Leah! I'll have to call Floyd and tell him all the good news. I feel bad for leaving him in the dark all the time," Lee chuckled.

"That's what he gets for going off to college."

"Leah, your brother needs his education."

"He could've got his education here."

"UCLA is a much better school than anything we have here in Michigan and you know that. Look on the bright side! If you ace this audition the way you think you are, you'll have an excuse to go to California and see your brother. You won't even have to tell him that you miss him," Lee smiled.

"I guess you're right. Where are we going?" Leah had been so focused on her script, that she hadn't realized her mother was driving in the complete opposite direction of their house.

"I told Elise that we'd meet her and Nayeli at Beth's for lunch today. I hope you don't mind," Lee looked over.

"Of course not! I love Beth's! Plus, I'll get to see my bestie. It's been ages since I saw her."

"Baby, you were with her all day yesterday..."

"And it still wasn't enough time together."

About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at Beth's. Beth's was a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant that only a real, Detroit-native would know of. The restaurant was owned by a little, old, black woman; obviously, named Beth. Beth was mean, but she made the best soul food in all of Michigan. No one else could compare. Leah got out of the car and walked into the familiar looking restaurant with her mother. There was no sign outside, and the place looked a bit like a house that had been transformed into a restaurant. It was cozy and the food was good. That was all that really mattered. Lee and Leah found Nayeli and Elise sitting at a small table in the far back corner of the restaurant, near the kitchens. Leah took the seat across from Nayeli, and their moms sat across from each other.

Before long, all the women were talking, laughing, and having a good time. At the moment they were discussing the day's menu. "She doesn't have any pie today," Nayeli pouted.

"Peach Cobbler is superior anyway," Leah laughed.

"I wish you two would stop looking at desserts and find some actual food," Lee butted in, making both girls burst into laughter. The kitchen doors opened,

"I knew I heard them giggling. Just as loud as they wanna be. Get up and give me a hug."

"Hi, Mrs.Beth," Leah said as she got up to hug the old woman, Nayeli following close behind her.

Over the years, Beth had developed a soft spot for all the children who visited her restaurant, and with their families being regular diners, the children of the Manning and Jeffries households were very dear to her. "You girls are getting so big," Beth said as she stepped back to take a good look at them, "What grade are y'all in? Fourth?"

"We're sixth graders now, Mrs.Beth," Nayeli answered, giggling, "We'll be in seventh next August."

"Sixth Grade? Time is just flying by, isn't it? How's that boy doing, Mrs.Lee, is he alright in school?"

"Yes, ma'am, you know he went to California for college. UCLA," Lee answered.

"Jesus. All these kids. They're moving on up in the world," Beth sat down at the table with them, "I would've never guessed looking at the little boy all them years ago that he would be in California, studying to get his degree."

"Mrs.Beth, can you make us a pie, please?" Nayeli asked, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Is pie on the menu?"

"No, but I really want one! I don't like peach cobbler or pineapple cake."

"I would make you one, but we don't got any pie crust. Sorry, sweetheart."

"It's okay. I just won't have dessert today," Nayeli said looking at the dinner section of the menu.

A couple hours later, the mother-daughter duo walked out of the restaurant feeling full and ready to go home. "It was so nice seeing you," Lee wrapped Elise in a hug, "I want a hug from you too, Eli." The women said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. As much as Leah loved getting to spend time with her second family, she was ready to go home. She had a script to practice after all.
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(1458 words) Revised version of chapter 3! Lemme know if there's anything in particular y'all wanna see happen in the story in the comments pls! I'm working on the outline for the rest of the story, and I'm willing to add in almost anything as long as it coincides with what I wanna do 🙃🤭