Alice in La La Land by Sophie Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

and suddenly laughed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed and it felt good, like a big release.
    Having stopped by the In-N-Out Burger on Sunset on the way home, Alice got home around 6.30 pm. She rated their burgers very highly. They left McDonald's dead in the water with their real-tasting ingredients and old-fashioned styling. According to a documentary she'd watched about many fast food chains, In-N-Out were one of the only ones to use real meat from happy animals as opposed to ground-up beaks and hoofs and God knows what. They also paid their staff decent wages. She sipped the remainder of her cola as she climbed the back steps.
    'Oh fucking hell, not again!' she exclaimed as she unlocked the back door. There was a puddle that looked suspiciously like cat pee in the corner of the laundry. It was quite close to the cats' food and water dishes, and Alice
wondered whether the animals had finally taken permanent leave of their senses as apparently domestic pets never ever soil their own food area. The smell of urine confirmed her suspicions and Alice braced herself for the journey to the kitchen. She would need paper towels and antiseptic to clean up the mess.
    Alice walked down the dark hallway to the kitchen and switched on the light. The room looked clean but she did notice a few strands of grey fur on the hotplate and made a mental note not to cook anything until she'd scrubbed the stovetop with bleach. Reaching into the cupboard under the sink, she retrieved an enormous pump spray pack of Clean 'n' Go. Then she opened a bulk pack of cleaning cloths and plucked out a couple for good measure. Finally, she returned to the laundry to complete the task.
    Alice felt she'd had enough of her Saturday night. Before retiring to her room, she headed for the bathroom to brush her teeth and regarded her face in the mirror. If only she could lose two kilos she knew it would not have the same degree of roundness to it. She too could have cheekbones if she starved herself like Shauna did, but she did not like the idea of forgoing life's simple pleasures for narcissistic reasons. Who'd want an egg white omelette when you could have one with yolks and gruyère cheese?
    Alice brushed her teeth and returned to her bedroom. She shut the door and retrieved the Lithium script from the top of her towering pile. 'What a rockin' Saturday night,' she sighed, and turned to the first page.

4
    'I don't believe there is an atom of meaning in it.'
    Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
    From: [email protected]
    To: [email protected]
    Re: Beyond Sunset
    Betty-Sue is the female lead in this epic WW2 Drama. We're thrilled they are seeing you at ALL. Every actress in town wants this job. I have filled Valerie in on Cornucopia . Do your best Grace Kelly and be gorgeous. Audition at 4.45 pm, Valerie Roth. Danny Goldenberg Productions, Santa Monica.
    (Address and Yahoo map attached.)
    Love Rebekah
    Alice thrust the onion segment further into her pocket. She wondered if any of the other actresses in the waiting room could smell it. Too bad; she needed it. Alice focused straight ahead and hoped no one was looking at her. In approximately twelve minutes she would be putting something down on tape for one of the biggest movie producers in the world.
    Rebekah had called her first thing Monday morning. 'Omigod, hon, we got you in to test for Beyond Sunset . This is huge. Danny Goldenberg is producing. We are so
excited right now! They are going to love you!' Rough Beast Slouching was officially a thing of the past.
    The Goldenberg film was a love story with a twist set against a backdrop of war. Alice had been asked to test for the female lead. The two male leads were brothers and both of them were in love with the same woman.
    Alice sat in one of the fold-out chairs in the casting department. The atmosphere was abuzz. Actresses whispered to each other and went over the pages of their auditions. According to Rebekah,