“Well, rehearsals for
the group number will begin tomorrow morning. Today, you need to get settled
into your rooms. We have a few more people arriving, but almost everyone is
here,” Alistair said. He handed us envelopes. “Inside are your room assignments
along with the itinerary for the first week, first show. Tomorrow morning will
be the group rehearsal with Tyce and then tomorrow afternoon, you’ll meet your
partners. The day following, you’ll spend the morning at a photo shoot for the
website and being fitted for costumes. In the afternoon, you’ll have another
group rehearsal and time to practice with your partners.”
“This is going to be
a random, probably stupid question, but what about food?” Jacob asked, arching
a brow.
“Oh, there’s food in
the fridge now, but you will be responsible for buying and preparing your own
meals. Saturdays are usually shopping days for the cast,” Alistair chuckled.
“And it’s not a stupid question. Now, there are tax forms in there that you
need to fill out so we can pay you. You are working for us. Welcome to the
show.”
We took our
envelopes. It had our names and room assignments on them. As Edward said, I was
not with Rose. She was in the teal bedroom while I was assigned to the bohemian
bedroom. Lugging our bags up to our rooms, I was happy that Rose was across the
hall from me. She was rooming with Angela. My roommate hadn’t arrived yet.
The room was
different than the entire house. The house was sleek, contemporary and
colorful. Nigel, the director, explained that the mansion belonged to Alistair.
He had purchased it after his singing competition took off, making him a
gazillionaire. He never stayed there, using it for the competitors for So You Think You Can Dance and the
singing competition. It was redesigned for each show. Alistair lived in a
smaller home in Brentwood or in a manor in London.
My bedroom had an
exposed brick wall with two full-sized, four poster beds. The bedding was
simple and white with a colorful red scarf behind the bed. The huge window was
covered with various colored sheers and the room was filled with eclectic and
unique trinkets. Next to each bed were desks that were quite distressed, with
oiled bronzed lighting fixtures hanging over them. It was perfect, really. I
smiled and went to unpack my belongings in one of the dressers, hanging up my
dressier clothes in the closet. Once I finished unpacking, I went to the shared
bathroom. It was a Jack-and-Jill bathroom. It was purple with dark, eggplant
walls. There were four small cabinets along the wall nearest the shower and
bathtub. Jane walked in, along with Jessica, from the other bedroom.
“Bella!” Jane smiled,
hugging me. “When did you get here?”
“I just arrived,” I
replied, hugging her in return. “We’re sharing a bathroom?”
“Yep. We’re just
waiting for our last roommate,” Jessica nodded, giving me a hug. “We don’t know
who it is.”
“I hope it’s not
Alice,” Jane sneered. “I ran into her in Chicago before flying out here and she
was bad mouthing all of us. Especially, you, Bella. She says that you’re a
judge’s favorite. The words she used to describe you were not all that
pleasant.”
“Well, she can build
a bridge and get over it,” I snorted. “Can’t the judges see that she’s an epic
bitch?”
“I assume so,”
Jessica shrugged, hopping up on the counter. “But, we’re here to dance and not
make friends. Outwardly, she’s sweet and that’s probably what the audience will
see.”
“It is what it is,”
Jane sighed, leaning against the door jamb.
Top Twenty Mansion
Jane and Jessica's Room
Rose and Angela's Room
Bella's Room
Jacob and Ben's Room
Nahuel and Mike's Room
Jasper and Felix's Room
Demitri and Tyler's Room
Garrett and Alec's Room
Shared bathroom between Bella, Jane, Jessica and the mystery roommate
Family Room
Basement hangout
Kitchen
Common Area in the second floor
Dining Room
Inspiration for the back patio/pool deck
Just an FYI - updates will be suspended, temporarily, for the next two weeks. I'm the director of the musical and we're beginning hell week (tech rehearsals and very, very late nights). Updates will be resume on March 21st. Thank you for understanding! Hugs to all of you!
