NOVEL NEXT Chapter 420: Standing Ovation
Deborah froze by the door, her eyes widening in horror.
"Am I hallucinating? Isn't she supposed to be taking care of?"
As if on cue, Sarah's eyes flickered towards the entrance to the hall and locked on Deborah's horrid gaze.
An unreadable smile stretched across her lips before she finally looked away, focusing her attention on another newbie.
Deborah immediately broke into a cold sweat as she turned around and hurried off to the convenience, her trembling hands dialling Gary's number.
"Oh...Gary... What have you done?" She muttered under her breath, tears pulling at the corner of her eyes.
As she moved with quick successive steps, she failed to look where she was going.
Suddenly, she bumped into a rigid wall, causing the phone in her hand to fall on the ground and the screen to shatter.
"What the..." Deborah was about to curse as she looked up, wondering where the wall had appeared from, only to end up meeting the coldest set of deep blue eyes she had ever seen in her entire life, glowering at her.
"M....me...me...Mr Gordon..." She stuttered breathlessly taking two trembling steps backwards.
"You should watch where you're going young lady." Henry's calm but frosty voice sent a dangerously chilling wave down her spine.
"I'm sorry." Deborah's voice trembled, her eyes twitching as she squatted to pick up her phone. "Oh god..." Her eyes moistened at her cracked phone screen.
"Let me have the phone." Henry extended his hands to her.
"What!" Deborah hesitated staring at his open palm.
"I'll help you fix it."
"You will." She echoed, meeting his gaze.
"Yes. I was the reason why it fell and I should repair it."
"B...but you don't have to sir. I...I...I... I can have it fixed myself."
"Nonsense!" Henry collected the phone from her hands, "I'll have someone take care of it and bring it over to you. You're one of the newbies auditioning for the female lead role right?"
"Yes, Sir." Deborah's face brightened. "You have seen me perform?"
"Of course." Henry forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You're very talented. Aren't you supposed to be in the audition room with the rest, or are you going somewhere?"
"N...no. I just wanted to use the convenience."
"Very well, run along and join the other in the auditioning hall. I'll be looking out for your star performance today."
"Okay, sir," Deborah nodded euphorically, suddenly forgetting about Gary and her broken phone. "I promise I won't let you down, sir."
Instead of heading to the auditioning hall, Henry made his way straight to his office with Deborah's phone, to retrieve all her call logs and text messages. This information was then forwarded to the investigating police who had already arrived at the studio and were waiting to pick Deborah up.
Twenty minutes later, the stage was set.
All the performing newbies, already dressed in their respective costumes took the stage, each one ready to pour out their heart into their respective roles.
The tension in the room shifted when an elite guest in dark sunglasses was ushered into the auditioning hall and given a front row seat. And seated beside them was the executive producer and owner of Mega studio himself...Henry Gordon.
Sarah pretended not to recognise Amelia, closely seated beside her husband, as she focused on her breath, expelling every negative energy in her.
As Magdalene, immaculately dressed in a blush pink suit, took her seat in front of the panel of judges, a hush fell in the hall.
"We will start with the supporting role character." She said, her eyes glittering with expectation, as she called out the names of those who had crossed to the final stage.
The finalists took the stage and gave a show-stopping performance that left everyone clapping and cheering.
After almost an hour of outstanding performances, it was finally time for the female lead role finalist.
"Competing for the female lead role in our blockbuster romance thriller; let's welcome our first female finalist, Miss Deborah."
Deborah majestically made her way to the stage, beaming sweetly as she stole a glance at Henry, staring ...or was he glaring at her? Her dress shimmered under the stage harsh lights as she prepared to dazzle her audience.
As flawless as always, she brought her character to life, delivering her lines like a professional.
Her posture was impeccable, her breath controlled, her grammar polished and even her tears glistened like it had been rehearsed a hundred times. It was almost too perfect and almost rigid tilting towards the edge of a robot.
By the time she finished her performance, more than half of the room erupted in polite applause.
"Exquisite technique, Miss Deborah. You brought life to the character." One judge complimented approvingly.
"Impressive flow of your grammar. But I would like you to tone down on perfectionism. After all, we humans are flawed." The second judge noted.
"Overall, I will say, brilliant performance." The third just, stated.
"Thank you." Deborah bowed before exiting the stage. As she took her seat, her eyes flickered to Henry Gordon and this time around, she caught him smiling as Sarah was called onto the stage. That sickening feeling of losing to Sarah returned and this time around, with a heavier weight.
"Oh, Gary...where could you be and why did you let the witch off the hook?"
"Miss Hunt, the stage is yours."
Magdalene announced and another deafening hush fell in the room.
Unlike Deborah's quest for perfection, Sarah tapped into her raw and fragile true nature, taking strength from all the negative experiences she had encountered in life.
Even her costume seemed to sway in harmony with her choreographic movement as she delivered her first line, wearing her fake bruises with pride
"You want me to walk away from everything?" She whispered softly, her voice trembling, and her hand, holding her side as if nursing a hidden pain.
"You want me to choose safety over love? Or power, over the man who sees me for who I truly am?" She looked to her audience, her gaze distant but near. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears as her voice grew stronger and fiercer.
"Then you don't know me at all, mother. I'd rather burn in hell with him for one day than live a thousand years in a palace of gold without him."
She slowly went down on her knees, her body trembling with every ounce of pain and defiance as she looked up to the imaginary image of the mother figure, tears streaming down her face.
"And if my love for him destroys me, then let it be the most beautiful destruction of all." She whispered, before collapsing on the floor, like a weightless autumn dry leaf.
The hall fell into a deafening silence, as every pair of eyes in the room stared at the fragile body lying lifelessly on the floor, thinking she was really dead.
When Sarah stood up again and gave a bow, the hall erupted in a thunderous applause with all the judges, including Magdalene, giving her a standing ovation.
"Bravo!"
"Magnificent!"
"Ten out of ten!"
"Awesome performance!"
The loud cheering in the room, thundered through the wall. Some people clapped with tears in their eyes while others simply stared at her in astonishment.
The only person who didn't move as she remained frozen in her seat like a statue was Deborah.