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“Youstilldon’t know your lines?” Dean asked. “It’sI have every right to expect that when we go on a road trip, you know how to read a map.”
Brooke looked unflappable. She tucked the script back under her chair and ran a finger over her lip gloss.
“I’m getting into the headspace of my character.”
Preston glared at her.
“Roll camera.”
When the cameras rolled again, I continued miming a conversation with April, but I strained my ears to hear what Brooke and Dean were saying.
“I can’t believe we’re stuck here because of you,” Brooke said, and Dean ran his fingers through his hair.
“It’s not my fault.”
“Yes it is.” Brooke’s voice rose. “It was your idea to avoid the highway!”
Even though I knew what would happen next, their acting sounded so effortless, soreal, that I was already sucked into the story, and waited to hear the words that I knew were coming.
I almost cried out when April kicked my shin.
What?I mouthed. She moved her lips in an exaggerated way so I could make out her words.
Keep talking.
I felt my face grow red — I hadn’t realized I’d stopped. I turned to the extra on my left, hoping that if I focused on her, I wouldn’t be so aware of Dean and Brooke’s presence only a foot or so away, but I was wrong.
Dean spoke in a low, threatening tone that made my body quiver.
“What right do you think you have…?”
“I…” Brooke faltered, and Preston’s voice was full of anger when he yelled, “Cut!”
For the next four hours, they filmed the same lines over and over again. Sometimes Brooke nailed that line and forgot the next one, but despite checking the script multiple times, she never finished the whole scene.
Despite the repeated takes, Dean was flawless. He was so talented at disappearing into his character that it was hard to remember he was acting, but each time Preston yelled, “Cut!”Dean seemed to transform into an entirely different person: no longer Tom, but the brooding handsome actor who could melt butter just by looking at it.
I, on the other hand, was over it. I no longer cared that I was in the presence of Hollywood royalty — I just wanted to stretch my legs, remove my prosthetic, and eat something warm. If I could remember the entire screenplay from reading it once, why was Brooke, a professional actress, struggling so much?
I can’t believe we’re stuck here because of you, I mimed the lines as Brooke and Dean spoke them.It’s not my fault. Yes, it is. It was your idea to avoid the highway! What right do you have…? I have every right to expect that when we go on a road trip, you know how to read a map.And I have every right to expect that someone older than five can tell the difference between left and right, but here we are. Oh, so you’re blaming me?
“Cut!” Preston called, and I frowned. Brooke had delivered her lines correctly for once, so why had he stopped her? “You!” he said, pointing at me. “Blonde extra.”
I blinked. It was the first time he’d spoken to me directly, and I didn’t like the tone of his voice. He didn’t wait for me to answer before continuing. “You were mouthing all their lines. All you have to do is sit in the background and mime a conversation. It’s not that hard.”
Perhaps if I wasn’t so hungry and my leg wasn’t so stiff, I might have apologized and we might have moved on to film the scene again.
But as it was, my blood boiled. Sure, I hadn’t followed the instructions, but we’d been here for hours and I didn’t like being singled out in front of everyone when it was Brooke’s fault, not mine, that we were still here.
“I don’t think I was in the frame,” I said, but Preston didn’t like being spoken back to. He marched up to me with flaringnostrils. “Whenever there’s a camera in the room, you shouldalwaysassume it’s on you,” he said in his Californian accent. “Always.”
He stared at me and I stared back, even as I felt my face grow hot. April kicked my ankle again and I exhaled.
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
“Let’s restart the scene,” he said, with fatigue in his voice. I glanced around the room, feeling sure that everyone must hate me for holding up the shoot. Brooke glared at me, and I returned my focus to my teacup.
Preston went through his routine, and I picked up the cup and pretended to take a sip.
