[Frankly, none of the other auditions caught my eye. Maybe if we were at ground zero there would be a couple in there that would seem attractive, but at this stage, we’ve got four members who cover the same area of expertise and style already; and arguably to a much better standard as well]

Director Wallace spoke in a levelled tone as she spoke out her thoughts, garnering the complete attention of everyone in the room.

[Miss Weiss meanwhile presents a nice duality between her cutesy looks and her low range singing voice, which plays quite nicely into the concept of our new girl group quite nicely I may add.]

[That’s true... Our concept will include themes of duality and the acceptance of what makes us all unique, which is why we have held such importance on finding trainees that are especially talented in their own unique way.]

Mrs James said, swayed a little by the Director’s reasoning.

[*sigh* While I think we can all agree on that, there is still a worry about the girl's lack of training and I can't help but question her dedication to succeed; I mean, she stumbled onto this audition by pure happenstance. Like Mrs James said, who is to say this Miss Weiss will work to a respectable level even if she is to sign the contract. We can’t have one member dragging the rest down, that could spell the end for the whole group.]

Some of the others were still unconvinced, however, and Director Wallace had to admit she definitely understood their reasoning as she heard them out; she had already thought of these problems already, however, and she had already thought of a certain method to counteract this problem.

[That’s why I have come up with a test for this Miss Weiss if she were to accept our offer. If she doesn't, I can only shrug and move on, but if she accepts, she'll have to pass the test before being properly recruited by the company.]

Director Wallace smirked, a look of confidence in her grey eyes.

[A test?]

One of the men asked, finding himself intrigued.

[We’ll give her one month of training that I’ll personally oversee. I’ll get her to learn one song and have her perform it all at the end of the month, both choreography and singing alike.]

Director Wallace stopped her explanation here—mostly for the drama—before continuing with a great smile:

[With this method, we’ll not only evaluate her talents by the end, but I’ll also pay special attention to evaluate her dedication to training.]

Silence hung in the air for several seconds until one of the men finally spoke up.

[And what if we all deem her a failure.]

While not hostile sounding, the man did not sound optimistic either as he asked.

[Then we’ll call it quits and proceed with the initial plan of debuting the group with only four members.]

Director Wallace wasn’t put off by the man’s blunt question and answered in a steady manner, her finger interlocking as she finally leaned back in her chair, feeling relaxed as she watched everyone else in the room begin a back-and-forth of heat discussion.

After what could be described as a long and arduous debate, with several details and issues being cleared up, soon enough everyone in the room had finally come to an agreement. They would follow Director Wallace’s plan of action...

As Director Wallace walked out of the room, biting her nails, the sharply dressed woman now had only one worry.

‘Now how am I going to convince this girl to become an idol?’

Director Wallace knew that as grand-sounding as being an idol can be, many people understood that there were also many negatives to being one as well.

Mostly, it was a difficult, life-consuming job that can many times, have very little to offer in means of reward for the idol, especially if they don't find much success or are screwed over by their company. Which is sadly commonplace; though it had grown exponentially better in recent years and Director Wallace had some trust in the Petal Entertainment CEO, otherwise she wouldn’t work with them, being in the place she is now where a good place of work around every corner.

…………

[I’m home!]

Sara called out as she gently closed the door behind her.

Immediately, the scent of baked goods lit up her senses and the heat of the oven warmed her body that had grown a little cold from being outside so long.

Sara, as could be expected for her age, still lived with her parents, whose house was actually attached to a bakery, where both of her parents worked fulltime. Sara helped out whenever she could as well. There were only two entrances to the house, one which was used mostly by customers at the front and one at the back which leads straight into the kitchen.

Sara preferred to use the back door to avoid any unnecessary hassle.

[Oh, hey Honey, did Briana drag you along someplace again.]

Sara’s mum, Selma Weiss giggled. She was quite fond of Briana and the two got along well. She wholeheartedly approved of Briana dragging Sara out of the house, where Sara would be lazing around otherwise.

[Yeah.]

Sara sighed as she placed her jacket into the cupboard and slipped off her shoes, leaving them haphazardly lying at the door.

[It was her audition today.]

[Ah!]

Selma Weiss immediately took interest then as she turned around and asked eagerly:

[Did she do well? She's been wanting to become an actress since forever, I didn't know her parents had finally given her the go-ahead.]

[Yeah, she had to meet certain conditions before she could. But that's not important. To answer your first question, she doesn't know yet. I believe she gets the results in a few days... We both will, in fact.]

Sara tucked her hands in her trouser pockets as she allowed this shocking statement to process in her mum’s brain, the suddenness of the information necessitating several seconds for her to fully process it.

[B-both?]

Selma Weiss dropped down the tray of freshly baked cupcakes on the counter before shifting to Sara with a “you better tell me what the hell you are talking about this second, or else”, expression.