Selma plopped down on her couch and twirled her signature black hair. She had just finished her biggest North American tour and finally had time for some rest and relaxation. Her social media was full of the usual videos and posts: cats doing funny things, wanna-be stars doing make-up tutorials, men injuring themselves for laughs. Advertisements were predominately layered in between every second post, but Selma paid no attention to them. She knew they were designed for the consumer mindset. As she scrolled, a mesmerizing video caught her attention. Become a back-up dancer for the hot new Pop Star Roland Hills.
Roland Hills managed to shroud himself in secrecy while building a lucrative brand that was in-demand everywhere. His concerts sold out. His merchandise was selling like crazy and other artists were clamoring to work with him. She tried to reach out to him, but to no avail. To her, he was a total mystery.
The advertisement went full screen. The moving pictures and flashy imagery captured her attention. She stared and stared, taking in the rare opportunity before her. Slightly amused at the thought of being someone else's back-up dancer, she checked the time. The auditions were at 5pm and she had a celebration party for her tour at 9pm. So much for resting, she thought.
Selma wore jean shorts that barely covered her ass and a tight white t-shirt that propped up plenty of cleavage. She arrived and found a line-up of girls trailing out the building and around the corner. As she made her way to the registration table, she noticed everyone was wearing the same outfit and a sticker on their forehead.
"Hi I'm Selma, I wanted to audition for Roland Hill's back-up dancer position." Selma said confidently.
The lady wrote her name down and gave her a number. Selma put the sticker labeled 250 on her shirt.
"It goes up here." The lady said pointing to her forehead.
Selma didn't argue and put the sticker on her forehead. She knew there were rules for a reason and arguing only left a bad impression.
"Listen, I have a party to go to tonight, so do you think I could audition right away? Tell Roland, Selma is here." Selma said with a smile.
"You wait in line like everyone else. Next." The lady said ignoring her question.
Selma's smile faded and she reluctantly walked to the back of the line. To pass the time, Selma took selfies of herself and posted them on her social media saying she was excited to potentially be a back-up dancer for Roland Hills. It was a humbling experience to be waiting in line with a flock of fans, as usually she was at the end of it. It started to plant the idea that Roland was better than her and it would be an honor and a privilege to be his back-up dancer. Once the line made it inside the building, everyone was told to hand over their phone for privacy reasons. Despite many concerning texts and ignored calls by her people, friends and fans, Selma gladly turned her phone off and handed it over. For the rest of the wait the participants stood single file, in their white shirts and jean shorts with stickers on their head with only one thought in mind, I need to become a back-up dancer for Roland Hills.
Finally it was Selma's turn and she was brought into the small audition room which had various women posed in a sexual manner around the outside of the wall. She recognized a few as other contestants. She moved gracefully to the center of the room where all eyes were on her.
"Hi, I'm Selma as you probably know. I thought it would be fun to try out as a back-up dancer." Selma said smiling.
One of the producer put his hands up to signal her to stop talking.
"First off, you are number 250. If we decide to pick you, we will give you a name. Second, do not speak unless we ask you a question. We are here to look at you, not hear you." The producer said in a stern voice.
Selma understood the importance of following audition rules, so she did as she was told.
