Before the Fame

November 1, 1995

Samantha- Age 5

“Mom, where’s Daddy?”

“Daddy’s in New York, sweetheart.”

“Will he ever come back?”

“I don’t know, Samantha.”

…

November 1, 2000

Samantha- Age 10

“Hey, Dad!”

“Hey, Sam!”

“You know what I want for my birthday?”

“Nope. What do you want?”

“I want to be an actress!”

…

November 1, 2005

Sam- Age 15

“Samantha Parker?” the interviewer asked in a business suit.

“Don’t worry about it. Just do it,” my mother said in a stern tone as though it were an order.

I nodded, my fingers nervously touching my dress hoping mentally I wouldn’t fall from the ridiculous height these shoes had given me.

It was my first audition. My father, Vin Diesel (crazy, right?!) had been giving me acting lessons himself since I was 10, but they were very rare due to the work he had to do filming movies himself. My mom, Janet Parker, however, had sent me to actual acting agencies for 5 years now, but I’d usually shied away from them.

I wanted to act, but was it really necessary for the spotlight it caused? I could only imagine the paparazzi that’ll follow. Currently, however, I was in the UTA in Los Angeles, California being a nervous wreck.

My attention was focused back on the man as he spoke, smiling behind the camera. There were other official people there as well, but he turned and spoke to a man closest to the door saying, “Send him in”, causing me to get confused temporarily.

All of sudden, one of my many celebrity crushes walked in causing my animated eyes to widen a little. Noel Callahan from the hit show, Romeo walked through the door causing me to breathe a little harder than usual.

His blue eyes landed on me as he approached me, saying the lines of the male main character while I was still star-struck.

“I’m sorry, Angel, but.. I have feelings for someone else,” he said in sad tone, his acting really well.

He turned from me, his actions automatically clicking the scene I had memorized over and over again in my mind, my actions and the lines coming from me as though it were natural.

“W-what do you mean someone else?” I asked in a shaky tone, placing my hand on his arm as I felt the sparks erupt from them.

“I mean, I’m going back to Myra. What you and I had was great, but you’re not Myra,” he said in a cold tone.

“Y-you can’t be serious. You know you loved us! You know you prefer me over her so why, Louis? Why have you used me this way knowing how you felt-how I felt?” I asked, feeling myself actually shed real tears.

I could only imagine how this situation felt if it were real, but it felt really real to me.

“That’s not true. You know I l-l-l-,” he began, stuttering on purpose.

I held my composure as I felt the giggles coming on, but I surprisingly suppressed them.

“I l-l-love you-I mean, Myra,” he stammered.

“If that’s how you feel,” I began, backing up a step, “then I’m gone. Don’t ask me to come back because I won’t.”

I turned from him before speaking my final line.

“Goodbye, Louis,” I said in a serious tone, wiping the tear the fell from my eyes before I walked away to the side of the room I was facing.

Silence fell over everyone before clapping erupted from the officials, surprising me. I turned facing Noel again before rushing back to him as I spoke.

“Your acting is always fantastic,” I gushed in a shy tone.

“So is yours!” he replied in an impressed tone.

“This is the first time I’ve acted with someone and the whole scene felt so real. Are you sure you’ve barely done this?” he asked with a brow raised, but I knew he was partially joking.

A light laugh came out of my lips before I answered.

“Oh, I’m sure alright. I just kind of wished it was better, you know? I feel like I could have put a little bit more emotion into the scene just at the end before I walked away,” I admitted.

“Oh, please! If there was more emotion in the scene, I would have cried and that wouldn’t have been good, would it?” he joked, winking at me causing my heart to beat rapidly.

We laughed at his joke, my attention setting on the man who called me in.

“Wow, Samantha. You were AMAZING!” he gushed, causing me to blush.

“Really? I was just telling Noel I thought more emotion could have been added on my part at the end with the final line,” I rambled, criticizing myself.

“No, no, no! You were perfect! So perfect, in fact, that we’ve agreed to tell you this now. Welcome to the cast of Romeo! You passed the audition!” he said.

I gasped, my hands going to my face as I held my squeal in before speaking as the news hit me repeatedly.

“Are you serious?!” I asked in an excited tone.

“Yes, I’m Ben Gates, your soon-to-be manager, hopefully. If you don’t mind, please get your mother and tell her the news,” he said with a smile and warm tone.

I nodded feverishly as Ben walked away. I expected Noel to do the same, but he didn’t so he regained my attention. His blue eyes stared at my brown ones before he spoke.

“I have to get going, but I wanted to say congratulations, Samantha,” he said with a small smile before walking out of the door I had to go through.

I stood in shock for a few moments before I followed in his footsteps, but he was already gone. My mom stood in the hallway along with the other managers of other people who’ve auditioned or were preparing to audition, breaking me on the inside.

I continued my path to her as I pulled her away from the others before speaking to her.

“Mom, I got the part,” I said in a timid tone.

“You did what I told you, didn’t you?” she asked before a rare smile covered her lips before it disappeared instantly.

“Mr. Gates wants you to look at some papers about me becoming a part of the Romeo cast and possibly the UTA,” I explained.

She stared at me, then at the door before pulling out her sunglasses, and then said, “Come on, then,” before leading the way with full confidence.

I played with the ends of my dress again as we entered the room, one pair eyes falling on us instantly. Only Ben stood there leaving us alone with him. He approached us as he began talking to my mother about business stuff, so I tuned them out, quietly exiting the room.

I guess everyone got the hint since the hall was empty. A sigh escaped my lips as I walked down the halls trying to navigate my way to find something interesting to do. I eventually came to the elevator sighing in boredom as it approached, a small ding sounding from it.

I backed up, allowing whoever it was to exit the elevator. It was a middle-aged man with red hair and wore glasses exited in a business suit. He spoke in a soft tone to me as he passed.

“Good morning,” he said catching me off guard.

“Good morning, s-sir,” I stammered.

He had given me a feeling that he was very wise and should be respected like my dad. He began walking in the direction I came from catching my interest, but I decided to not follow him. My mom turned the same corner as did the man, her eyes hidden still behind her sunglasses as she held an envelope.

“Come on,” she said pressing the elevator button before it opened again.

“So, what did he say?” I asked eagerly.

“We have to sign the forms in this envelope and get back to him in a few days,” she said nonchalantly.

“OK. No big deal,” I answered in a carefree tone.

She pulled out her cell phone talking to someone I didn’t care about before I tuned her out entirely.

Whatever happened, I hoped this experience would be one that would be life-changing.