At the waiting area, Francesca was greeted by a familiar group of girls. This time, they chose to ignore her as their manager and her manager were also in the same room. It did not, however, stop them from gossiping among themselves.
"Isn't her manager Alvin Lazaro? I heard he retired after his last talent decided to quit the industry." One girl whispered loud enough for her to hear.
"Yeah, he was once one of the top managers, Lights Entertainment even tried to poach him a long time ago." Another gossiped.
"Wanna bet she spread her legs to get him to manage her." One girl said with a giggle.
"Maybe she's some rich bosses' mistress." Another girl whispered.
"Well whatever it is, we are sure she isn't talented. I bet she took some time to come here because she was crying about how bad her performance was." It was Elaine who spoke this time.
"Hey Leah, if she gets the role over you I swear she slept with a producer or something to get the role." Another girl gossiped, as she told Leah.
"I'm not afraid of her." Leah said.
"Lights Entertainment." An assistant called out.
"Come on girls time for your auditions." Their manager said as she led them through the doors and into the audition hall.
"Ignore them." Alvin said as he sat next to Francesca.
"Huh?" Francesca asked as she looked up at her manager.
"Those girls are spreading rumors because they are jealous of you." Alvin said with a shrug. "What matters is you know yourself and the people that truly matter know your abilities."
Francesca smiled and thanked him.
"Is it true what they said? That you were being scouted by Lights Entertainment to work for them?" Francesca asked.
"Yeah. But at the time, Lights wasn't as big as it is now." Alvin said as he recounted his experience. "Back then it was the father, James Abad, that ran Lights. They were big and they were stable, but even small companies like ours could compete head to head with them in terms of the quality of our talents and our resources."
"What happened? Why did they suddenly boom?" Francesca asked, as far as she had known Lights had always been the top agency.
"Ramon Abad took over." Alvin said with a shrug. "The young man is a genius and he is well connected, possibly even better connected than his own father. One day, out of nowhere they debuted this handsome young actor who could sing and dance. Of course back then he was a nobody, so everyone ignored him. All of a sudden he acted in this art piece that won an award in Europe, all eyes were on him from then on."
"Was this Eric Chan?" Fancesca asked.
"Yes, the one and only, Eric Chan. He is extremely private and very little is known about his personal life. It's as if he just suddenly showed up out of the blue." Alvin explained. "No one knows anything about his family, or his life before acting. We tried to find out but everyone just came back empty handed."
"So are the people at Lights really as bad as them?" Francesca asked.
"No, not all." Alvin said, shaking his head. "Eric Chan himself is very nice. He is nice to his fellow actors and even the staff. I heard a rumor that Ramon Abad is quite nice too, cold but nice."
"He must be really good to have propelled a nobody into the biggest star in the country." Francesca said as she thought about Eric Chan's rise to power.
"It's not just Ramon Abad and Lights Entertainment, It's Eric Chan himself. He is the complete package. He would be the easiest actor to manage." Alvin said with a laugh.
"I'll try to be like him. I promise." Francesca said as she looked up at Alvin who was a head taller than her.
"I can already see your future Francesca. I'm sure you'll reach the top." Alvin said with a wink.
Francesca and Alvin were soon called inside for the audition.
Unlike the one for the show, this commercial audition allowed the managers to be inside the room while their talents acted.
The director was a young man who had created a lot of famous films and commercials.
"Do you know what brand you're auditioning for?" The director asked, he was clearly annoyed that some actresses had no clue.
"Yes sir. It's for a shampoo brand, Silk Shampoo." Francesca answered confidently.
"At least one actress knows." A member of the staff told his companion with a laugh.
"Alright. I'll be asking you to act out some scenarios. You are not allowed to talk, I just want to see your facial expression." The director said, giving instructions.
"Yes sir." Francesca answered politely.
"Alright, give me, happy." The director said.
Francesca smiled.
"Pretend you smelled something good." The director instructed.
Francesca did as he asked and acted as if she had smelled something good from the kitchen.
"You had a bad hair day." The director said this time.
Francesca followed and pretended to have her hair all tangled up as if she was trying to get it down and to untangle it. She also added a look of panic as if she was going to be late for something because of her hair.
"Give me surprised." The director said as he asked her to change her expression.
This was easy for Francesca as she recalled her expression earlier when she was given a much more important role than that which she auditioned for.
"Ok good. You can rest now." The director said as he scribbled something on a piece of paper.
Francesca thanked him and moved to leave.
"Who is your manager?" The director asked as she began to leave.
"I am." Alvin said as he came up from the side.
"She's got the part. Talk to the casting director for the specifics." The director casually said.
"Wow. Thanks sir." Francesca said as she left with Alvin.
"That's amazing! Two parts in a day!" Alvin said as they walked towards the casting director's office.
"I couldn't have gotten the opportunity without you and Mr. Vernon. Thank you!" Francesca said happily.
On their way to the casting director's office they bumped into the Lights Entertainment group again.
"Alvin, is her audition done?" The manager asked as she looked at Francesca.
"Yes. How did yours go?" Alvin asked.
"It went great. All of the girls got a part, even if it's just as an extra, at least it's a stepping stone for them." The manager said proudly. "Oh, but Leah here got one of the two lead roles for the commercial. She's actually the best in this batch." The manager boasted.
"Well congratulations. I guess we'll see each other around. Francesca also got a part." Alvin said without specifying the role that Francesca was given.
"Congratulations Francesca." The manager said with a wink as she led the group away.
"A little advice Francesca, never let your competitors know how you are truly doing." Alvin said with a laugh as they continued to walk down the hall. "Their manager has less experience than me and has handled less popular artists that's why she's so excited to boast about this role. It's just a commercial. It's not like you'll be staring across Eric Chan."