She arrives at the theater

Thursday night, Abbie came home after work, took a quick shower, and dressed in what she hoped would be appropriate clothes for the audition. Since the character was lot like her, she figured that she could really just dress like herself, and it would work. She chose a yellow button-up cotton sleeveless shirt with a round neckline and a maroon leather skirt that was about mid-thigh. She also wore heels with wraparound ankle straps, and chose a darker yellow shawl. She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail in the back -- she thought it might make her seem a little younger, perhaps.

She was nervous! As she drove to the theater, she kept thinking, what kind of story can I tell?, but arrived without having settled on anything.

She walked into the theater lobby. Her appointment was at 7:30, and she arrived a few minutes early. There was an older woman near the door. "Abbie Andrews?" she said.

"Yes, that's me!"

"Great. Your appointment is next." She handed Abbie a sheet of paper. "This is the scene you'll read." Abbie looked over the paper, and nodded. "Do you have any questions?"

"Oh, no, I guess I'm ready. What do I do?"

The woman laughed. "You'll just head inside." She gestured to the doors.

Abbie smiled, and thanked her. She pushed the door open, and walked into the auditorium.

She was at the back of the auditorium, at one end of an aisle that led all the way to the stage. She walked slowly down the aisle, and saw that there was a man sitting in about the tenth row. He heard her footsteps, and turned around.

"Hi, you must be Abbie?" he said. He was about 50, short gray hair and a tight beard, with horn-rimmed glasses. He wore a blue shirt, gray sweater vest, and jeans.

Abbie took a breath, thinking he was quite handsome. "Yes, I am." She moved a little quicker toward him, and he stood up to greet her. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm Greg Jones, the director. It's nice to meet you." They shook hands. His grip was firm, warm, and welcoming.

Abbie paused. "This is my first time auditioning for anything, so I don't really know what to do."

Greg chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll guide you through everything. I'm glad you're here. Can you go up on the stage, please?"