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“A celebratory dinner in front of the TV then?” he asked as he opened the freezer and inspected the remaining boxes. I smiled.
“Sure.”
I switched the television over to the news and started eating. The newsreader was delivering a story about industrial action, but I couldn’t focus on it. All I could think about was Isaac’s advice:It’s not too late to say no. Acting was already harder thanI’d expected and I’d barely started. It would only get harder as I filmed more emotionally charged scenes, and then there was the sex scene… even thinking about it made panic rise in my throat.
But then again… I loved seeing my dad happy. And I loved knowing that I’d been chosen for the role because of something I was good at. If one of the other extras had found the script, it was highly unlikely they would have memorized the entire thing in one read-through, but I did.
It almost felt like fate.
But then the newsreader moved onto the next story, and an image of Brooke appeared on the screen behind her head.
“In entertainment news, Brooke Hayes has been fired from the locally made production of the next Hollywood blockbuster,Pushing Daisy.” The camera cut away from the newsreader and showed paparazzi footage of cameramen following Brooke through the airport. She wore dark sunglasses, but her brunette hair, fake lips and pixie-like chin were unmistakable.
“Is it true you were fired for being intoxicated on the set?” one reporter asked.
“Fuck off,” she said, although her curses were bleeped out. “Fuck off and leave me alone.” She reached her hand up and blocked the camera with her palm. When the whole screen was almost covered in darkness, the broadcast snapped back to the newsreader.
“Brooke has been replaced by a local up-and-coming actress, Kyla Wright.”
One of my old high school yearbook photos flashed up behind her. Seeing my face on the television made me want to throw up the noodles I’d already eaten. How had they found that photo? Had someone I’d gone to school with sent it in? Or had the network hired an intern to trawl through my social media profiles?
The newsreader continued. “Not much is known about Kyla at this stage, but teenage girls all over the world are worried about how Brooke’s firing will affect Hollywood’s golden couple, who were slated to appear in this movie together.” A loved-up image of Dean and Brooke flashed up on the screen, with a red heart superimposed over the top of it. “Now to sports…”
The camera panned across the studio to a man who sat at a low desk with a cricket trophy in front of him. He gave an awkward smile and launched into his predictions for the weekend’s games.
Dad waltzed into the living room with his steaming meal on a tray and grinned.
“My daughter… a movie star.”
I gave him a weak smile and spun my fork around in my meal without eating it. All I wanted to do was to change the subject.
“Did Bob say how the cafe’s going without me and April? I haven’t signed a contract yet; I can still turn down the role if he needs me.”
Dad gave me a funny look.
“Why would you turn it down? Kyles, if you don’t accept this role, you’ll never have another opportunity like this. It’s sweet that you’re thinking about the cafe, but I know you don’t want to work there for the rest of your life.”
I felt like someone had slid a knife between my ribs.
“What if I fuck it up? What if the movie’s terrible because of me?” I thought about Isaac and how mournful his eyes looked when he told me how important the movie would be for so many people.
“What if you don’t?” Dad countered. “I saw your school play, and you’regood.” He smiled, and it made the knife twist. “They wouldn’t have given you this role if they didn’t think you could do it.”
I looked at the floor.
“That’s not what Isaac said.”
Dad’s eyebrows rose.
“Isaac Williams?”
“He said they hired me to save money,” I explained. “That the studio only agreed to hire me so they didn’t have to fly in a big-name actress from America.”
Dad looked thoughtful for a moment.
“So why don’t you ask him to help you?”
I started to blow off the suggestion and stopped. I didn’t know what to think anymore. Back in Isaac’s trailer, everything he’d told me made sense, and I felt like my best course of action would be to quit the movie. But now, away from the set, I felt more like my normal, capable self and the movie set felt like a dream.
