24. Cassie
There”s not much happening during the last week of filming. Even though we aren’t announcing our relationship until the weekend, I notice how everyone acts around Emmett and me.
I first notice Carla. What would have been normal to me last week is not this week. She hands me mail for Emmett’s trailer and when I ask if any other trailer has mail, she says no. I wouldn’t have thought much about it except for the fact that she’s still smiling while looking at her keyboard. I can tell she’s hiding a laugh and is acting giddy for no reason.
“Carla,” I say. I put my hands on my hips and wait.
She looks up at me, her eyes widen. I might have been a little too stern when addressing her, but too late now.
“I know you know. You can drop the act.”
“Hm?” she asks, looking back at her clipboard.
“I know you know about Emmett and I. You can stop pretending. It’s a little obvious now that I know you know and I can’t stand it.” I take a seat in front of her desk, which I never do. I’m normally in and out, trying to keep my mind busy during the day at work.
Carla looks back up at me and practically slams her clipboard on her desk. She lets out the biggest sigh as if she’s been holding it in all morning. “Oh thank god, I thought I was going to burst. I am not good at keeping secrets.”
I laugh. “Well, unfortunately, you need to keep it a secret until Saturday. Emmett and I are doing an interview to announce it to the world.”
“Okay, okay.” She nods about 10 times, probably talking to herself in her head. “I can do that.” She doesn’t sound convincing, but if she has said nothing to me or anyone else in the past two months, I’m sure she can keep quiet for the rest of the week.
We chat for a few minutes, and I realize I don’t know much about Carla because I haven’t given our relationship any time to develop.
She reassures me that once we go public, nothing will happen to my job, which I already know because Marcy told me, but it’s nice to hear it from her as well. I look at the clock and it’s already almost nine, so I decide I should probably go check in with a few people and start the day.
I say goodbye to Carla, head downstairs, and find my way to the set. I check in with Ed to see if he needs any help with any scenes today since it’s the last week. I’ve seen the filming schedule, and it’s all over the place. The last week is for re-filming anything that was put on hold or any scenes that Ed may have reviewed and he just wasn’t happy with.
After that I stop by the wardrobe department to see if they need anything. I already knew they would say no because I left that room pristine last week and set them up for success. I’ve come to love this job. It’s been fun to get to know what goes into making a movie. I think back to my first week here, having to be an extra, and think about how much that changed the trajectory of my life.
I know Emmett coming into the diner was the start of something, but if I didn’t get the job at January Studios, nothing would have happened. I wouldn’t have tried to seek him out, and he wouldn’t have returned to the diner that often. He likes to say he would have, if he didn’t see me the next day on set, but I know how much that man loves pizza. He would always choose Al”s Pizza over Dave’s Diner.
My phone buzzes as I’m leaving wardrobe. I reach into my back pocket and hit the accept button, putting the phone to my ear.
“Hey Anns! On your lunch break?” I texted her last night to give her an update on what’s going on with Emmett and myself and to call me, so I know that’s why she’s calling me right now.
“I am, yep. I cannot wait to move by you this fall. I’m soooo tired of working at this damn place,” Annie says with a big sigh. She’s started working at a local diner, like me, except hers is full of college students that make her want to bash her head in the wall. Her words, not mine.
I continue walking, heading to the trailers to deliver some scene changes Ed gave me when I passed him on set.
“Have you talked to Mom yet?” I ask.
“Um.”
“Annie, it’s already August! You’re leaving next month.”
“Have you told her about you and Emmett?” Annie counters.
“That’s different and you know it.”
“I plan to tell her at dinner tonight. Don’t worry. I know I need to tell her, and I can do it by myself. I always thought I would need you as a buffer, but I’ve decided if she doesn’t want to support me as I chase my dreams, then… I don’t know what then, but if you’re okay, I’ll be okay, right?” Annie rambles.
“Yes, you’ll be okay and I’ll be here for you, always. We all know that there are a lot of opportunities out here for you to work in PR once you graduate and I think she’ll feel better with you moving by me.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She sighs. “Thanks, Cass. Alright, I need to get back at it, but please call Mom and let her know before the interview goes live. You know she’d like to hear from you first that you’re actually seeing someone.”
“I know, I will. Text me later and let me know how things go with Mom.”
“I’m sure she’ll call you to fill you in, so you can probably use that as an opportunity to tell her the news. I’m happy for you, Cass.”
Annie would almost make me cry this morning. “Thanks Anns.”
I hang up, and somehow I’ve found my way to the trailers. My subconscious definitely took over while Annie was talking to me and I’ve delivered all the updated scenes besides Emmett’s.
I’m not surprised to look up and see him standing at his trailer door. He’s smiling at me, and my heart does a little tumble. He’s already in his outfit for the day, a simple white button up paired with a pair of jeans. A classic look, yet I can’t help but imagine taking his shirt off one button at a time…
“Are you done eye-fucking me?” he asks.
I give him an exaggerated sigh. “I have a special delivery.” I walk up the stairs and give him the script updates.
“Thanks Cassie. How kind of you.” Emmett winks.
“Gross, you two,” Marcy says from behind. I spin around to find her standing at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed.
“Shh, leave us alone,” Emmett chimes in.
I give his shoulder a slap and then walk down the stairs to Marcy. “Have a sec?” she asks. I nod. I look back at Emmett and say goodbye, wishing him luck for his last week on set. A moment that to anyone else would look normal, since it is the last week of filming, but knowing that he’s done acting means a different thing since it doubles as his last week on set for the foreseeable future. At least, the last week of his acting. He’ll still be around the set, but it will be different because he’s a writer of whatever film is going on. I realize I haven’t even asked him what movie he’s going to pursue or what next steps are for him. I don’t know much about the behind the scenes of turning a script into an actual movie.
When we get back on set, Marcy stops by the snack table. This reminds me of my first week, following Marcy around trying to figure out what my job was going to entail.
She grabs a muffin, places it on a plate, and turns to face me as she takes off the muffin liner.
“Have you heard anything about the new movie being filmed after Emmett’s movie ends?” she asks. She takes a bite of her muffin, briefly closing her eyes before opening them back up. It must be good to enact that kind of reaction.
“No, why?” I grab myself a muffin and take a bite. It sure is a damn good blueberry muffin.
She walks toward the hallway, so I’m assuming she’s heading toward the offices. Apart from the entrance I use in the mornings, there”s not much else there, so I can only guess we”re going to see Carla.
Marcy explains while taking glances back every few feet to make sure I’m following her. This hallway isn’t that big. I’ve learned to stay to one side because there is always someone running the opposite way. Sometimes it’s because of a wardrobe malfunction, other times it’s because Ed ordered a coffee from some assistant.
I find out from Marcy that January Studios has agreed to let an independent movie be filmed here during the three-month break between the current and the next movie. Not only that, but apparently Ed has agreed to stay on as the director, which she says never happens. We’re on our way to talk to Carla because someone saw my recent showcase and wants me to star in the leading female role.
“What?” I mutter. I stop walking. Marcy takes a few more steps and when she looks back, she sees I haven’t moved.
Instead of repeating herself or giving me shit for just stopping in the middle of the hallway, she walks back to me, loops an arm around mine, and pulls me forward.
“You heard me,” is all she says as we walk up the stairs.
“I did.” I give her my best side glare. “But I don’t understand how they knew to find me here, of all places.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. Just trust me, okay? It’s going to be fine. You actually aren’t auditioning against anyone.” If that wasn’t enough of a shock, she dropped my arm and headed into Carla’s office. I wasn’t even able to respond. She didn’t turn around to see my facial expression.
I don’t even get into the office before Carla is walking… wait, she’s moving fast, she’s speed walking toward me. “Cassie, oh thank god, I’m sorry I totally forgot to talk to you about this movie thing this morning.” She hands me a folder and turns back around to walk to her desk. She said “this movie thing” like it wasn’t a big deal, when in fact it is a big deal.
Marcy is already sitting in one chair in front of Carla’s desk, so I move to sit in the other one. She’s busy flipping through some of the top pages on her clipboard, taking her phone out to type something every few seconds.
I open the folder. I pull out the first page, which has the title of the movie on it. “A Little Bit Extra.” It doesn’t say who wrote it, but there’s a short blurb about the film. It’s written as a short film based on a true story. It’s a romance, but it doesn’t tell me much about the story besides the fact that it focuses on a main couple and how they slowly fall in love.
It’s similar to the scene that I ended up performing at the showcase. I smile at the paper. I don’t know how this happened, but I’ve decided I will not ask questions about it. I know that happened the last time I landed a role. It ended up terribly. Not only did I lose the part, but I shut myself off from new relationships. Without Emmett, I wouldn’t have even acted in this last showcase.
I put the front page on the left side of the folder to find that there are no other pieces of paper. It’s just this one page in the folder, which seems odd. I don’t know why Carla didn’t just hand me the piece of paper like she does every other time she needs to give me something. Instead, she made a bigger deal about this. Her love language is stationery and office supplies, so I guess it made sense to have it packaged up and in a folder. It gave me something to open, which, in return, caused my initial reaction to be for myself and not for her and Marcy.
“So?”
I look up to find Marcy staring at me. Carla is staring too, but it’s Marcy who speaks.
“I mean…” I close the folder before I look back up. “The title is great and, I mean, it honestly aligns with my personality, but where is the rest? Don’t I get a sample script or schedule? How does it affect my job here? I don’t want to quit on you all last minute—”
Carla cuts me off. “It’s all handled. Jeez, and I thought I talked a lot.”
We all laugh. It’s true, if I knew anyone for talking a lot, it’s Carla. I’m the one with the extra personality. We know Marcy for the broody attitude, even though we know she’s a softie under her shell.
We sit in Carla’s office for a few more minutes talking, and I’m asking questions every other second about this film. Luckily, Carla reassures me that more information will come on Monday and I’ll have a week off before filming. I let them know I need to talk to someone first. They know by “someone” I mean Emmett, but I’m still trying to be careful about saying his name here in case others are around.
I stand up to head out of the room. Marcy already handed me what I need to do for this week, mostly just tidying up and organizing, which is nothing new. I will need to find time to talk to Emmett, possibly at dinner tonight.
I walk down the stairs and take out my phone, opening the messages to my mom. The last time I texted her was for her birthday earlier this year. Her response was a simple “thanks sweetheart.” Our relationship has gotten better over the years. I used to refuse to text her, and Annie would beg me to say hi to her over our video calls. I visited for Christmas two years back and she actually asked me about my job and seemed interested enough to talk to me. She kind of apologized about how the previous three years were, which I took as a good start. I owe it to Annie to try and reconnect. I type out a small message asking her to chat tomorrow. There, done.
Now that that’s off my mind, I immediately start thinking about the acting job. I want to accept, but without receiving a lot of details, I”m not sure why they asked me to play the leading role. I know it”s a short film, but I still don”t understand who discovered me. It helps that it’s going to take place here and Ed will be directing. That’s honestly the only reason keeping me grounded with this project and has me leaning toward saying yes. If it was anywhere else, I would have a hard time accepting an undisclosed project.
I say hi to the doorman at the bottom of the stairs, turning to head down the hallway. I find Emmett on set with Max and Lane.
“Hi!” I wave to them as I walk over. They are also getting blueberry muffins. I’m not surprised since they were good. Word must have gotten around. “You guys heard about the muffins I take it?”
“Mm. So good,” Lane says with his mouth full.
I respond with a laugh and a nod.
Emmett winks at me. Even though Lane and Max know about us now, we’re still keeping talking in public to a minimum.
“So, last week on set, huh?” Max says to the group.
“I’m excited. This film schedule has been exhausting,” Emmett replies. He turns back to the food table, grabbing another muffin. He gestures to me with it, and I nod. I definitely want half of that.
I was going to ask them if they knew anything about the new movie being filmed here, but Ed walks up and joins the conversation. Then I think maybe I shouldn’t if it’s not supposed to be public yet. So I stand there and talk with them about the week ahead before I decide to check things off my list.
Moving about the day is simple. By the time lunch rolls around, I find a seat across from Tyler in the cafeteria.
“Hi!” I set my tray on the table and take a seat. “Your day going okay?”
He nods, his mouth full of whatever the sandwich of the day is. “Busy, but that’s pretty normal for it being the last week. What about you?”
“Eh, doesn’t feel too bad. Just a lot of running around, making sure everyone else is all set, you know?”
“Yeah, I get that.”
We talk about our weekends and what else we did after we all hung out. I’m not surprised to hear that what we did was similar; a movie marathon and lots of snacks. Eventually Lane joins us, sitting next to Tyler, and he fills us in on some casting issue that I honestly can not sum up because I have learned to zone out. There is always some sort of casting issue, so I’ve learned it’s best to just listen and nod.
Max comes next and takes a seat next to me. He’s on the phone with someone, but when we ask him who it is, he just waves us away. Lane says it’s some new girl he met the other day, and that gets a glare from Max. It’s most definitely a girl.
Marcy joins us, but she doesn’t sit. She’s always on the move, so she stands at the end of the table saying her hellos. She leaves just as fast as she came muttering something about needing to grab a sandwich on the way out. I tell her I’ll text her later. She gives me a thumbs up. I want to let her know I want to do the movie, but not until I talk with Emmett first.
Eventually, Emmett wanders over and sits on my other side. He leans over and bumps my shoulder with his. I do the same back.
It’s nice like this. Most days are like this, actually. Sometimes I see everyone at lunch and we get a few minutes to chat and catch up about the latest studio gossip. Other times people come and go, but at least I see everyone during the day.
January Studios has become a home for me. Or at least the people here have made it that way. It doesn’t feel like I’m working most of the time, and it definitely makes me grateful that I accepted a position I wasn’t even interested in to begin with.
I try to live in the present, but when I look around at this table and see Emmett, Max, Lane, and Tyler laughing and talking about some memory, I’m blessed to have met them all.
I figure I should get back to things, since we have been sitting in the cafeteria for over an hour. I know their schedules are pretty loose, but I have a list of things I need to get done before I’m able to leave today.
I get up and say my goodbyes, receiving waves and ”see ya laters” in response.
My phone buzzes when I reach the doors to the trailers. I place my tray by a trash can and pull my phone out of my pocket as I push open the doors to the outside.
Emmett
6 days until I can kiss you in public and let the world know you’re mine.
I sigh and smile. The world will soon discover that Emmett is no longer acting and that we are in a relationship. I’m not as nervous about that as I am about his parents’ reaction. I don’t let that take over my thoughts right now. No, right now I smile at my phone knowing that I’ve managed to not only land a role as a lead actor, but find someone who believes in me and likes me for me. Just when I was starting to come to terms with the fact that I may have to make some changes in my life, I”m about to check off the remaining item on my plan.