The Greatest Showman - Chapter 13: Roommate

Chapter 13: Roommate

The distance from the Pioneer Village by skateboard to Renly’s home is only fifteen minutes, far from the bustling restaurants, bars and movie theaters, and the noise around the residential neighborhood gradually calmed down, the roadside cafes or grocery stores have closed, leaving only the convenience stores that operate twenty-four hours a day still lit up.

The street lights on both sides of the street are very weak, barely holding on, seemingly ready to be swallowed up by the swarming darkness. Occasionally you can see a group of hoodlums in groups on the side of the road howling, the rampant laughter breaks the quiet of the neighborhood, adding a touch of dangerous coolness to the night.

When he came to New York, he had a choice to live in Manhattan, or in the cheap but far-away Brooklyn, and he hesitated for a while what to chose – mainly because he was penniless, but then a job offer from the Pioneer Village allowed him to settle down in Manhattan.

Although it was already 2:30 a.m., there were still many rooms in the building with lights on, and the walls, which were as weak as wallpaper, could not stop the spread of noise, not to mention the roar of engines in the street, and even the private conversations of the next-door neighbors were audible. Walking in the hallway, the occasional murmur of noise lurking in the thick of the night.

Putting the skateboard under his feet, he listened sideways to the sound of the house, a dead silence, and only then he pulled the key out of his pocket, trying to avoid making more noise, and gently opening the door lock. Originally he thought his roommate had gone to bed, but after opening the door he saw a sturdy figure standing in the middle of the hall in a big way, which startled Renly.

The figure is wearing only a white underpants, facing the wall of floor-to-ceiling dressing mirror to examine his own body, a well-proportioned body of white flesh in the light of the brightly visible, hands clenched fist upward with strength, full and strong biceps exposed, he is turning his body left and right to examine in detail the different parts of his muscle line, a long blond hair is formed into a doughnut bun, the kind of strong and soft beauty feeling that comes out of the clash of contradictions is somewhat inconsistent.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the other party did not turn around, lowering his head to examine his abs, muttering and inquiring to, “Do you think, my abdominal line is a little bit crooked from the training?” The rich local accent even appeared to be a little muddled, making it hard to understand.

Renly couldn’t help but laugh lightly and close the room door behind him, “Just came home and saw such a picture …… remind me why I chose you as a roommate?”

“Because you can’t find a job as an actor and at the same time need someone to share the rent.” The other party finally put down his hands, turned around, confidently and arrogantly cast a glance toward Renly, turquoise blue eyes like the Hawaiian ocean, clear to the point of being mesmerizing.

Renly frowned slightly, deliberated for a moment, and said seriously, “Then why are you, who got the job, here in the middle of the night examining your muscles?”

With such a counter-attack, the other party was at a loss, sticking his hands in his waist and roaring with a grim expression, “Renly Hall!”

Renly rubbed his ear holes with his index finger, “Keep it down, Johnson on the third floor is going to hear it.” That flirtatious tone made the other party instantly break, dropping his shoulders and laughing helplessly. However, when he saw the corner of Renly’s mouth that relaxed with a hint of smug smile, he began to grind his teeth, jumping in place across the sofa, two big steps to the front of Renly, directly hitting Renly’s chest with his chest.

Renly shrugged, “I know.” The candid look made both of them smile and laugh out loud.

The person standing in front of Renly is Chris Hemsworth, Renly’s current roommate, the later becoming a worldwide sensation because of the “Thor” and the sexy Australian actor at this time is still a young boy who just came to the United States to work, raw and awkward, his Australian accent is very obvious. As a result, he has an aura of countryside.

Although it was said that Renly lives in lower Manhattan, and also the rent is much cheaper than in Greenwich Village, but the rent of up to sixteen hundred dollars a month still makes it difficult to shoulder, not to mention that this number still does not include utilities.

When Renly moved in, there was another roommate, but the other soon moved to Los Angeles, apparently, compared to New York, Los Angeles, which is a shortcut to quick fame was more enticing. In order to share the rent, Renly had to continue to recruit tenants, just, unexpectedly, he found a “Hammer”.

Before Chris came to the United States to work, in Australia he was already a famous TV actor, so his development path was very smooth. First, he won the opportunity to act in “Star Trek”, and then in “A Perfect Getaway” starring alongside Milla Jovovich. It was a smooth ride.

When he first saw Chris come to ask for a place, Renly was also a little surprised. After two works, Chris is fully capable of living in a better location, a better house, there is no need to come to Greenwich Village.

Later, during their time together, although Renly did not directly ask, but from Chris’s words one can guess it. So far Chris has starred in two works, but they were supporting roles, the pay was not too high; now most of the income has been reinvested, such as the purchase of clothing, or hiring a personal trainer, these are investments for the future, which can not be avoided.

In recent times, Chris’s agent is negotiating for his next work, and it is likely that he will be directly upgraded to the position of the leading actor.

In contrast, living in a modest place can not be harmful. So, Chris is temporarily idle at home, following the fitness trainer to build up his muscles, and is always on standby. However, the waiting time is somewhat beyond expectation, two months have passed, there is still no movement, which is why the two people just had that conversation.

After joking around, Chris asked Renly, who was ready to go back to his room to wash up, “How was the audition today?” Without waiting for Renly to answer, Chris jumped straight to the couch and sat down cross-legged, “Was it like I said? Only the audition director was there? And the staff on the scene are completely unfamiliar faces? It’s not at all like the movie plays, you can see big name directors and big name producers after you go to the scene.”

Chris has more experience in auditioning, so he shared a lot of his experience before audition.

“Tom and Steven both showed up today.” Standing in the doorway of the room, Renly had no intention of hiding and said honestly, “When I saw them on set, my first reaction was one of shock. Maybe it’s because they care about this set of episodes, so they were personally involved in the selection of the actors.” After all, the preparatory work for “The Pacific” is really under great pressure because of the “Band of Brothers”.

As he listened to Renly’s words, his jaw gradually dropped and a storm of astonishment gathered in his eyes, “That’s definitely the case!” Chris’s tone was certain, but he then realized he was a little too eager, laughed twice and explained, “I mean, they’re so busy, the whole preparation process needs to be monitored by them, things must be particularly numerous, the producer can’t do everything himself.”

After a pause, Chris also somewhat stifled, ” Had I known I would have gone to the audition to see them.” He asked his agent, but the agent thought there was no value in attending, for one thing, Tom and Steven would certainly not appear, for another, this is only a TV series, Chris’s goal now is to be in movies, and also to be the male lead. Participating in such an audition has almost no benefit for Chris to speak of. Unexpectedly, he actually missed an opportunity to meet face-to-face with a top big shots.

“What about the audition results? When will they come out?” Chris raised his head again and voiced his interest.

Renly revealed a bright smile, without hiding his joy, and such a simple expression is enough to say everything, which made Chris froze, but he did not initially understood, after several circles of thinking, and only then he asked in a tentative manner, “So …… you got the role?”

The words “no way” came out of his mouth, and Chris looked at Renly with incredulous eyes and an uncontrollable surge of jealousy – he had been at home for almost two months, nearly bored to death. Now, not only did he miss the opportunity to meet with Steven Spielberg, but it’s still unclear when the next opportunity for him to act will come up, and more importantly, he was unsuccessful in his first TV audition in Australia, and Renly’s audition went so well.

“Are you envious of me?” Renly sensed Chris’s misplaced emotions and directly poked him, instead of making Chris a little embarrassed, Renly laughed lightly, “You’re a movie actor and about to get a leading role; I just got my first acting gig, as a TV actor. You should understand this math, right?”

That teasing tone caused Chris to pick up a pillow and throw it at Renly, unable to stop himself from laughing dumbly, “I just thought that a big production like this would not usually announce the results that quickly. You actually found out the same day, are you sure you’re not lying?”

Renly shrugged, “If Tom Hanks personally tricked me, then I have nothing to say.”

That smug tone made Chris’s teeth itch again, looking at the back of Renly who turned to leave, Chris remembered another thing, sat up straight, strained his neck and shouted, “How about the pay? What role? Have these details been discussed?”

“That’s not for me to decide.” The frank answer, like a handful of people, made Chris fall to the sofa in dismay, and he was somewhat puzzled.

Now that Renly has gotten a job with his audition, what about him? When will his next job be? No, he had to speed up or else he was going to be overtaken.