Chapter 1
Tala
“CUT!”
My sorrowful expression was immediately replaced with one of irritation as Wyn’s voice rang out through the megaphone. This was our tenth attempt at the scene, and I finally understood why everyone secretly called him the Director’s Cut.
“Can someone ask the geology department if they’re missing one of their rocks?!”
I shot a glare at the menace holding the megaphone, then another one at my scene partner, Jona, who had once again messed up his part. We had been repeating this heavy scene for about an hour now. My tear ducts had been working overtime, and I was pretty sure I was dehydrated.
The menace had the gall to heave out a sigh before shaking his head.
“Let’s take a break, everyone. Be back in ten minutes.”
Jona smiled apologetically and made a beeline for the smoking area, as did a lot of the crew. How they managed to smoke outside given this heat was beyond me, but I bet if I smoked, I’d be right there with them.
“Good job, my star!”
As if summoned, Cielo, my chosen sister and our ever-talented scriptwriter, appeared beside me holding a bottle of cold water. I flipped her off as I took the bottle from her hands and placed it over my eyes.
“This is all your fault, you know. You just couldn’t write a lighthearted script, could you?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cielo give me a frown before her familiar smug grin took over.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. My script is perfect. Even the professor said so.”
I dried my eyes with a towel and returned her smug grin.
“Yeah? I wish I could say the same about Jona. He sucks.”
She burst out laughing. Jona, or Jonathan if you weren’t close enough to call him Jona, happened to be both my scene partner and Cielo’s long-time boyfriend.
“Indeed, he does.”
Her grin only got bigger, clearly amused by her own innuendo. I feigned disgust and lobbed the towel at her.
“I can’t believe you’re wasting my precious ten-minute break with your sex life.”
We walked towards the lounge and settled near one of the stand fans. The studio felt like a sauna, and my makeup was losing the battle along with me.
“You’re the one who brought up my muse.”
I gave her a well-deserved stink eye.
“Disgusting. Do you never get the ick?”
“You’re just saying that because you’ve never experienced it.”
I stared at her.
“Experience what? The ick? Thank heavens for that!”
She rolled her eyes at me.
“This is why I’m the writer, and you’re the actor.”
“Yeah, an actor who’s about to make your boyfriend cry for real.”
Just as Cielo opened her mouth to respond, Wyn’s voice rang out through the megaphone.
“Time’s up, people!”
Was it possible for a voice that clear to become annoying the more I heard it?
I looked at Cielo, feeling defeated. Somehow, all I did during the break was rant about her boyfriend and talk about her sex life. I didn’t even get to take a sip of water.
“That was the longest and the shortest ten-minute break ever.”
Cielo giggled as she ushered me towards the makeup chair to retouch my tired eyes. She gave Jona a kiss as he sat beside me to get his hair redone, still wearing the same apologetic smile.
“Try not to make him cry too much.”
I rolled my eyes at her before focusing on the mirror in front of me, choosing to ignore her last comment.
I’m not one to regret my decisions often, but this has got to take the cake. Taking acting as a summer elective just so I could hang out with my best friend and live up to my name? I thought this would be a fun summer activity. I didn’t realize I was signing up for exhaustion.
Wyn
“I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS!”
I watched from the monitor as Tala wept, her tears streaming down her face. For someone who only began studying acting a few weeks ago, she was doing surprisingly well. Jonathan, on the other hand, could use a few one-on-one classes with the professor—not the one from the geology department.
“But I did it for us! For our–”
“No! You did this for YOU! You selfish pr–”
“CUT!”
I pointed at the projector where the script was rolling. She had skipped a line.
“What is it now?!”
She stared at me.
“Read.”
With brows furrowed, she looked at the projector and started reading aloud.
“You selfish, incorrigible prick.”
She looked around the studio, probably looking for Cielo, who was seated somewhere behind me, probably to convey her annoyance. And convey it she did.
“You selfish, incorrigible prick!”
She repeated the line, only this time she was looking at me. She was probably exhausted from crying and repeating the scene.
“Save it for the screen, Tala.”
Jonathan let out a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. I grabbed my ever-trusty megaphone, gestured for the crew to rerun the script, and without breaking eye contact—
“From the top.”
This film was bad enough with Jonathan’s acting. I, at the very least, needed to give the script some justice.
A lot of people may view me as a controlling perfectionist, and they aren’t necessarily wrong. But this was something I couldn’t afford to take lightly. Too many people had poured their time and effort into this project for me to accept anything less than our best.
By some miracle, we were able to finish our target scenes on time today. As the film-editing course was only a few weeks away, everyone was probably feeling the pressure to wrap everything up.
“We can use the last take for this scene. Save the stills for the poster. You can talk to Cielo and the production team if they need additional shots.”
Jack, our main camera operator, simply nodded and turned toward the production team to relay my instructions.
With the shoot finally wrapped for the day, I grabbed my bag and jacket. My body was exhausted, my throat hurt from giving directions for hours, and the only thing I wanted was a quiet ride home.
Unfortunately, my reprieve was waiting for me by the door.
“Hey.”
Tala stood by the door, her face showing no indication that she had been crying during our earlier shoot. She had changed out of her costume and was now leaning against the wall, her bag hanging from one shoulder.
“Why are you still here? Didn’t the production team dismiss you earlier?”
She glanced towards the parking lot.
“Cielo’s my ride.”
“I see.”
I reached for my keys and continued walking. I had barely taken a step past her when she spoke again.
“Hey.”
I stopped and looked over my shoulder.
“What?”
She glanced towards the studio and hesitated.
“I’m sorry.”
I turned to face her fully.
“About what?”
She rolled her eyes, but unlike her usual annoyed sarcastic looks on set, this one seemed to be more due to embarrassment.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.”
For someone who seemed determined to challenge every word I said on set, this version of Tala was surprisingly unfamiliar.
“It’s not your fault, I probably ruined your flow.”
I glanced towards the studio where some of the crew was still packing up. I could see Cielo barking orders, her tired rock of a boyfriend trailing behind her as they headed in our direction.
Tala followed my gaze.
“More like Jona’s flow.”
I let out a quiet laugh.
“Well, he did miss the same lines about seven times.”
She feigned a sigh and dramatically put a hand on her forehead.
“And even that is an improvement.”
“Indeed.”
She let out a giggle, and for a moment, I wondered how she and Jonathan survived each other.
“You must feel so proud.”
“Like a geologist.”
She turned her head at me and burst out laughing.
“You’re a terrible director.”
I gave her a wry smile. Somehow, insults coming from her sounded like compliments.
“And yet you’re still here.”
She shrugged and rolled her eyes.
“Aren’t we quite the pair.”
“Right.”
She smiled at me, brightly like a star.
“Someone has to make sure you don’t bully Jona into quitting.”
I bit back another laugh. She was quicker than I gave her credit for.
“I didn’t bully him.”
She stared at me and raised a brow.
“You called him a rock.”
“He’s a rock star.”
She burst out laughing again. When Cielo and Jonathan finally arrived, their confused expressions only made her laugh harder.
I shook my head, bid them goodbye, and finally headed home.
Turns out, my much-needed reprieve wasn’t the silence I’d been looking for. I still preferred a quiet ride home, but I couldn’t say I regretted the interruption.
