“It’s always an audition. When are you gonna get that they don’t want you?” She paused and sighed at the downtrodden look he was giving her through his messy bangs. “Be on the floor in 5 minutes or I’m docking your pay… again.” She added as she closed the door and disappeared into the warmth of the coffee shop.

It was true that, in the 2 years since Kurt Hummel had arrived in New York he hadn’t passed a single audition.

This coffee shop job was meant to be a short term thing to keep his Dad happy when he finally agreed to let his Son move to the big city. It wasn’t his talent that was stopping him, he had plenty of that, and he had enough drive for the population of his home town of Lima, Ohio.

No, it wasn’t that, it was the basics that stopped his dreams in their tracks. These big shows wanted experience, evidence of a performers stamina, and a versatility that Kurt hadn’t had the chance to develop. He had tried, he had pushed for a proper show choir at school, productions to be put on, but everything fell through due to lack of available funds.

There it had all just started falling apart, his father had a heart attack early into Kurt's Junior year and another during his Senior year, and his college funds were blown paying hospital bills and hiring care staff for when Kurt wasn’t around. With his mother long dead it was down to Kurt to take care of him and he decided early on that his dreams meant nothing compared to having his father in his life.

Scholarships fell through and his grades plummeted due to his overworked state which pretty much destroyed his chances of getting into a good college on his own merit.
It had been just after graduation when his old friend, well…acquaintance, Rachel Berry had sent him an email detailing her successful first few months in New York and how the show she was currently starring in had lost a few performers after an accident downtown and a subsequent bout of illness and how, if he could get down there soon she would make sure they kept an opening for him.

He was there within a week, life packed into boxes that would be shipped out within another 4 days, and was met with Rachel’s regretful face as she apologised for the time wasted.

“I’m sorry Kurt, I guess don’t have as much pull as I thought.”

Of course the roles had been filled within 2 days and Kurt’s name was definitely not on the list.

He had decided against telling his Dad, it had been hard enough getting him to agree to this move, he knew it would be pushing his heart too far by breaking the news that it had all been a waste.

So he sent tri-weekly updates via email, depicting the success of the show and his wonderful escapades in the Big Apple, from the coffee shops computer which he would then close down and tuck under a bunch of papers on the shelving unit before returning to the floor to serve another batch of busy New Yorkers much more successful than he.

He knew his life was currently amounting to nothing and the thought clenched his heart like a vice, but at least he wasn’t giving up. He would continue these auditions whenever he could, he may just have to stick to afternoons and days off to avoid the wrath of Santana, the shop owner. She had been kind enough so far, giving him a job even though he had a distinct lack of experience and laughing off his mistakes while he was learning, but he knew he was starting to push it.

When he jogged down the couple of steps from the backroom to shop floor Puck, one of the original employees and Santanas former flame, was standing waiting for him with an armful of wooden boards and a hammer tucked under his armpit. He had sweat dripping down his face and he blinked a couple of times keeping it from his eyes, Kurt took the boards from him quickly, losing his balance slightly at the weight and Puck smiled gratefully and raised a hand to wipe the perspiration from his face and brushing a cloth from the counter over his neatly trimmed Mohawk hair.

“Thanks dude, I need your help setting up the stage.” He nodded towards the far corner that had been cleared of the usual array of tables and chairs.

“We have a new guy coming in tonight.”