Another day,
another adventure! I had to get out of bed and head on to somewhere in Ogba,
where, according to a guy I just met the other day, another audition was being
held. Talking about the other day; I had returned to Soundcity for that
re-scheduled appointment with Deji and thank goodness his production crew was
around. He took
me straight to the studio where he asked the guys to record me
in front of the camera. In no time, I got to do my thing and by the time I was
done, almost everybody in there was complimenting me on how photogenic and
camera-friendly I am. Someone even noted that I was a natural. I could only
smile, say ‘thank you’ and not let
the hype get to my head, because, honey! We could really make do with the ‘actual’ money which the fine-face can
get. Just having the fine face and not experiencing its money-making
capacity…well…you know… Simply put: me and my fine face need to get a paid job
in front of the camera *winks* what can I say?...Anyways, I was heading back to
Deji’s office when I saw him just outside. He was with some guys. I guess
friends or part of the firm. He introduced me to them and one – Kenny took a
special interest. The said Kenny gave me his card and asked that I come for an
audition which would be held in a couple of days on the mainland. He took my
number and said he’ll text me the details. I thanked him, said ‘bye’ to the others, thanked Deji and
took my leave after he assured me he was going to listen to my recording later
and get back to me.
Well here I
was, for that said audition. It was supposed to commence 8am and I succeeded in
making it to the venue on time. But it seemed I was the only one who got that
memo because the place was practically empty. It even seemed like a residential
building and boy! Was I starting to get a creepy feeling…At this point, I could
feel my heart beating fast. What if I’ve been played? What if I’ve been lured
to a place where God knows what happens (or
is even happening right now)? I stayed quiet and listened for a while and
couldn’t hear any noise from within. I could hear a voice in my head, though,
saying; ‘Turn around and go home’. I
took a quick glance behind, contemplating turning back. But, for God’s sakes,
it’s an estate!! What’s the worst that can happen? I had actually walked from
the gate of the estate to this other gate! I wasn’t going to just leave like
that. Then, I decided to knock. I knocked. No response. I knocked harder. Still
no response. I looked around. Took out my phone from my bag and was about to put
a call through to this Kenny guy when I heard someone holler: Is that Spycy? I
turned, heaved a sigh of slight relief. Thank God someone is here at last! I
put down the phone and had a smile plastered on my face as quickly as possible.
Hell yeah! *rolls eyes*fast fast o…I couldn’t let him have an idea of how
scared I had been before he arrived. He was smiling too. I asked him if this
was the place for the audition and he confirmed. I pointed out how empty the
place was and he apologized and said the other guys are on their way. Now my
heart was about to explode but putting up a calm and casual outlook, I asked: ‘Which other guys?’ and he replied: ‘The guys who would be auditioning the
potentials. I’m just one among the panel and I too am surprised they are not
here yet’ He then attempted opening the gate and while he was at it,
another girl approached. I looked at her, sized her up and assumed she’s a Lagosian and not a new-comer like me. We said ‘Hi’
almost at the same time, to each other and she asked if this was the venue and
before I could respond, Kenny said: ‘Yes.
Are you here for the audition as well?’ and she nodded. ‘Who invited you?’ he asked further and
she said ‘Clement’. Now I was having
some really funny and not-to-be-said-out-loud
thoughts. Really? What the hell is going on? These thoughts were fueling the
creepy nature of this whole adventure, so far. All the same I kept calm. Kenny
struggled with the gate some more and then succeeded in opening it. We walked
in and as if he knew what was going on in my head, he left the gate opened. ‘The others are close by and would be here
any minute’ he said to both of us. The main door was locked so we made
ourselves comfortable outside but within the compound. Before long, more people
strolled in, in their twos, threes and ones and boy! You could always tell a
gathering of hustling entertainers.
Now, some
were standing, some were sitting and others sitting on the laps of others and
the chatting ensued. Some knew each other and others were just meeting for the
first time but that didn’t slow anyone down.
Finally, the
rest of the organizers arrived, opened the door and started setting up and when
they were done, one after the other, we were called in. The audition, we had
been told, was of more than one level, to be held today.
The whole
procedure stretched into real long hours and it wasn’t until 3 o’clock in the
afternoon, that the organizers came out to tell us we were done with level one.
Some people were pointed out and told they could go home since they didn’t make
the cut. The rest were asked to stay back for the second level which they let
us know would commence after their lunch break. Wow! Well the guys gotta eat.
You can’t deny them that.
I made the
cut, so I stayed back. I was hungry, too but I couldn’t risk not being
available when my name would be called so, I waited and only hoped these guys
could move it.
After
another set of auditioning which consisted of some really weird and
uncomfortable questions which we had to answer, we were asked to drop our details
and some of us would be reached in a couple of days.
Gosh!!! Finally! Now I can go eat. I had noticed
an eatery situated by the entrance of the estate on my way in earlier today, so
I strolled out to the gate, went into the said eatery and had something quite
filling to eat, before I started heading home. What a day!!! Diary of A
Hustling OAP returns here next week.
Interesting...
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