Chapter 1: - Audition
Walking down a quiet, side street in his flip-flops, Arthur spotted a subtle sign propped above a door reading 'Auditions Wanted'.
On holiday in the south of England, he'd found the past few days incredibly boring. This was meant to be the best summer of his life, the last one before he headed off to university. All his exams had finished and he had nothing to worry about, yet he was starved of any entertainment - staying in a caravan only had a limited novelty factor after all.
Not normally the adventurous and unpredictable type, he surprised himself when his own legs began to guide the rest of his body toward the door. He must've been especially bored.
The building was only small with only a frosted glass front door, turning the handle casually he stepped into his new surroundings. A nice blast of air-conditioned breeze hit him in the face as he felt the familiar sensation of his eyes drying out under the AC unit.
Closing the door softly behind him as to avoid disturbing the quiet atmosphere, he began to make his way through the apparent waiting room to the front desk, only passing a couple other young men sat down on the ratty seats. One was wearing some type of indistinguishable uniform and reading a magazine likely borrowed from one of the tables dotted around the waiting room. The other was wearing civilian clothes too thick to be considered comfortable in this heat, he had neglected a magazine in favour of simply staring into space.
Walking up to the receptionist he mustered his most sincere "Afternoon" to the woman at the desk. "Hello there young man", she said, combating his sincerity with sarcasm, "Something I can help you with?" "Well yeah there is actually, i'm here about the audition" he motioned with his thumb over his shoulder in reference to the sign at the front of the building, to emphasise his point.
She eyed him top to bottom with a condescending look on her face, "Forgive me for saying this but you don't look particularly equipped for the job, and I doubt you've had a prior invitation".
Arthur didn't much appreciate how this woman was steering the conversation. "Forgive me for saying this but that wasn't specified outside", he kept an even tone as well as a passive expression, "how am I meant to know?"
The woman's fake smile faltered slightly as she reached for a sheet of paper underneath the desk, before sliding it towards Arthur. "Please fill out this form with your information and contact details". She waited patiently with a smile on her face as Arthur complied, which was something that surprised him as he was sure the receptionist was devoid of all basic social skills.
He handed the paper back as the receptionist told him to enter room 3 once she called out his assigned number.
The woman's smile dropped completely as Arthur turned his back to her in order to sit down. She secretly tapped something out on her phone before sliding it back into her bag.
Arthur sat patiently as numbers 16 and eventually 17 were called out, corresponding to the two others sitting in the waiting room. As they headed past the receptionist to the hallway deeper in the building, two more came out from the back. Both were dressed in differing military uniforms, however one was a girl this time.
He kept the same idle look on his face as the two leavers passed him and headed out the door, both ignoring him in the same way.
After around 20 minutes, the receptionist finally called "18!". He blanked the woman as he walked past her desk and into the narrow hallway behind her. The building was a bit dilapidated with patches of mould appearing on different surfaces, paired with the peeling wallpaper it gave Arthur a weird feeling. He was unsure as to why it kept attracting people dressed in uniforms.
He passed rooms 1 and 2, before stopping himself at 3. Just as he reached for the handle the door opened from the other side. Arthur now stood face to face, or rather face to chest, with a towering form that appeared before him. Arthur was no slouch himself but this guy was ridiculous. The man bent under the threshold of the door and moved himself to the side of Arthur, briefly making eye contact, the towering figure slowly turned away, as he began to walk towards the front door. He was the first of the other auditioners to even look at Arthur…
Arthur continued into the room and shut the door behind him. In a chair at the back of the small square office sat a girl, she looked around her mid-20s, her sharp suit jacket only served to confuse Arthur as to what these sort people were doing in such a poor building.
"Please have a seat", she said in a calm voice, "You're here for the audition, yes?". Arthur was surprised by her relaxed tone, as he was too busy admiring how good her slender legs looked in the way she had them crossed over. He presumed she'd be a stiff business type but that was not the case.
He shook her hand and sat down in the chair. Trying to emulate her serene manner he spoke with a slight smirk on his face "Yes of course, only there's one quick thing", before leaning in as if it was some big secret, she matched him and followed suit, "What am I even auditioning for?"...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone