Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
My blood pounds loudly in my ears as I wait for the director to respond. With everyone’s attention on me, I feel like I’m standing on set naked. My nerves twist, and my guts are tight, and I resist the urge to press my palms against my stomach. Who am I to make a suggestion? What was I thinking?
The director narrows his eyes at me as if trying to determine if I’ll become a problem if he lets me talk. Finally, he nods.
“Stella’s line feels a bit immature to me. How about if I ask for an ice cream instead?” I point to the fake ice cream storefront on the set, next to the pet store.
Again, the director squints. The side of his lip arches, and I can tell he doesn’t like the suggestion, but now I feel committed. I rush to assure him. “I can make it work.” Yeah, that sounded way more confident than I feel.
He looks over at someone who shrugs before he says, “We’ll give it a shot. Let’s take it from Lidia’s line, “But you’re my daughter and I say so.”
I panic because I don’t know where I am at that point.
We’ve only shot the scene from the beginning.
Am I supposed to remember where I am at that point in the scene?
I make a fist and scratch my nose with my knuckle as Chandra turns toward me.
When I have her attention, I hiss just loud enough for her to hear, “I don’t know where I'm supposed to be.”
She calls out, “Can you spot us, please?”
Several people rush over to the biggest camera and study the viewfinder, then race over to us.
I’m pretty sure neither Chandra nor Sally need the assistance, but I’m thankful when they pretend they have no recollection of where they were at that point in the dialogue.
A gal takes me by the arm and steers me back a few feet, then shows me what position to start in and reminds me of my next action.
I thank her as I groan internally. Of course, the director picked a line where I’m halfway through spinning in circles as I follow them.
As I wait for the scene to start, I stand awkwardly with my arms splayed wide and try not to tip sideways.
“And, action!” Hank calls.
I continue to spin while Chandra delivers her line. I run up between them and say wryly, “If you’re finished arguing, can I get some ice cream?” I point casually toward the store, and the director yells, “Cut!”
“That was good, Arabelle!” His tone indicates he’s stunned.
Does he not know that I have some experience with script writing?
I know I’m not a full-on writer or anything, but one of my strengths with the videos Dad and I did was to rewrite scenes to make the character feel more authentic.
Still, I feel a flush of pride as he stares at me like I’m an alien. “Thanks.”
“Okay, let’s break for lunch. Be back here at 1:00.”
Startled, I look around for a clock. It can’t be lunchtime already.
“Want to hang with me?” Sally asks.
“Hang?”
She nods. “There’s a cantina where we can get food and hang out. It’s easier than leaving the set to go get lunch. But maybe that’s just me. I can’t get used to how much traffic there is around here. It’s a bit intimidating.”
“Oh my gosh, it’s ridiculous. Are you from a small town too?”
“Yes. I feel like a total country bumpkin here in the big city.”
I jog over to grab my bag before following her off the set. “Is it weird to you how many people run the yellow lights around here? I can’t believe there aren’t more accidents.”
“Oh, I don’t actually drive.”
She seems embarrassed, which is sweet. “How do you get to work every morning?”
“My aunt has a driver.” She looks around to see if anyone is listening and leans in as a grin spreads across her face. “I feel like such a star riding in the back of that car with her.”
“I bet! Dang, I’m jealous.”
“Oh, well, it’s only because I’m staying with her while we shoot the film. Otherwise, I’d be forced to get my driver’s license and drive myself.” She shudders. “I can’t imagine learning to drive in this kind of traffic. I’m scared enough to do it in my tiny little hometown.”
As we follow others into a large room, a symphony of smells teases my nose and makes my stomach growl, reminding me I haven’t eaten yet today.
Suddenly, I want to try everything I can smell.
The savory, the sweet, with a dash of whatever that sharp tang of scent is.
We queue up behind the line that has formed at the start of the hot food display.
It looks like a large school cafeteria with people in hairnets plopping food onto people’s plates.
But it smells much more appetizing than the food at my school.
I stand on my tiptoes to see what kind of food there is to choose from as I respond to Sally’s driver’s ed woes.
“Driving isn’t so hard. I even learned how to tow a trailer on the move out here. ”
Her eyes pop wide. “Whoa. That’s next-level stuff. Did you back up?”
I laugh. “Kinda had to if I wanted to get us out here on time for shooting to begin.”
“Were you scared?”
Her question is so earnest that I have no trouble admitting the truth. “Terrified. I can’t tell you how many videos I watched before I finally got the nerve to try. I delayed our leaving by two days because I was so afraid.”
“Man, I’m impressed.” Sally cranes her neck to look at the food, and that stunning grin of hers lights her face again. “Yay. They have fajitas. One hundred percent recommend them.”
“Cool. I love fajitas.”
“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t.”
I laugh. “My best friend, Glory, can’t eat bell peppers, but I swear she’s great anyway.”
Sally slaps her hand over her mouth, making her apology muffled. “I didn’t mean to insult your bestie.”
We focus on getting food. I’m pleasantly surprised to learn it’s all free. I expected a lunch lady to be sitting at a register at the end of the line, but instead, we turn toward the tables, and I follow Sally to a booth along a wall.
I learn that I’m a few months older than Sally, which we both think is funny, considering I’m playing her little sister.
That she has already graduated from high school because she started school at the age of four.
That her boyfriend relocated too while he pursues his degree in child psychology online.
They are both living with her aunt, but Sally made sure I understood that she and her boyfriend are not living together – like that.
Then she drops the bomb that her best friend is dating teen heartthrob Tod Strapper.
“In my opinion,” I look around to make sure I’m not overheard. “Tod Strapper deserves his reputation, while Crispin Moore doesn’t.”
She cocks her head. “Why do you say that?”
“Tod seems genuinely nice. And he also seems to enjoy acting.”
Sally grins and nods. “He’s so nice. I’m so happy for Sarah.”
“While Crispin is a conceited jerk who seems to think he deserves the spotlight.”
Sally frowns. “Is he conceited? He’s been pretty nice to me.”
I roll my eyes and lean forward so I can continue to whisper.
“He sort of has to be nice to you since you’re playing boyfriend and girlfriend.
It’s in his best interest to make you like him.
But he has been nothing but dismissive toward me.
If I was a fan, I’d be completely disillusioned by his treatment. ”
“Huh.” Sally sits back. “I had no idea.”
I can see that she’s genuinely surprised to hear what a jerk he is. She totally strikes me as a person who gives everyone a million chances to prove they don’t deserve her trust and friendship. She’s way too nice. But since I’m not sitting alone right now, I’m thankful for that.
“Does your aunt go out for lunch?”
Sally shakes her head. “She works out.”
“Like at a gym?”
“Yep, weights and stuff. She’ll slip back into her trailer for lunch about half an hour before our afternoon call.”
“Do we always get a two-hour break?”
Sally nods as she takes a bite of her fajita. When she finishes chewing, she says, “You should definitely bring a book or something to entertain yourself. Unless you want to hit the gym too.”
“Oh gosh, no. The only way I’d hit the gym is with my car.”
She chokes on her next bite. “That’s funny. But me too!”
It feels so good to sit and talk to someone my own age.
While it makes me miss Glory more than I already do, it also soothes me in a way I didn’t even realize I needed.
I’ve spent the last several months being the adult in the family, and visiting with Sally lets me release all that responsibility that has been thrust on me and pretend I’m still just a normal seventeen-year-old girl.
Maybe this movie thing isn’t all horrible.
I take a big bite of my fajita.
“You’ve got something, just here.”
I look up to find Crispin, holding an orange, a boiled egg, and a can of soda in one hand and pointing to the side of his mouth with the other.
I hastily wipe my mouth and come away with a smear of sour cream and guacamole on my hand. Of course, he has to witness my messy eating.
“See you guys after lunch.” He says it like a challenge.
I look across at Sally with a panicked expression. “Why? Why will he see us after lunch?”
She shakes her head, already scrolling through something on her phone. “Because of the scene switch”
“Scene switch?”
Sally looks up at me and nods. “We’ll be filming with Crispin.”
And there go all my happy feelings, floating away into the ether.