“Fine, then clean it up and get to work. We have a long day ahead of us.” He scowled as he walked away from Star, and even though he had wanted them to act like strangers, a part of him still wished he had acknowledged him. Everyone else had cleared out as well.
“Don't mind my uncle. He gets like that when my father tricks him into doing something.”
Star gazed down at the child beside him, taking in his adorableness. Despite the youthfulness in his appearance, his eyes held a pearl of subtle wisdom and naivety. Star had read that Kristoph was attending high school and was only eleven years old. He was even on the school varsity basketball team, played the piano, and many other things that would have tired Star out even as an adult.
“Really, do you know what it was?” Star asked out of curiosity.
“Nope. They won't tell me. But it must have been something good this time because my father can't stop laughing, and Uncle Anpu is growly.” He pouted. “But I'm sure he'll get my father back. They play games like this all the time.”
“Bummer. If you find out what it was, can you tell me?”
“You bet. I'm Kristoph, by the way.” He extended a hand for Star to shake.
“I know who you are. I'm Star Rueng.”
“I read your resume and asked my dad to contact your agent.”
Shit, exactly who is this kid's dad?There wasn’t a lot of personal information on the kid, Star could only see stuff on his academic and acting experiences.
“Oh. Um...thank you?”
“It's no big deal. If you didn't have talent, my father wouldn't have agreed to my request.” The kid shrugged his shoulders and then walked away to who knew where.
“Star.” He turned when heard Fiona. “I'm sorry I'm late, there was a lot of traffic...”
“Fiona, it's okay. I haven't been here long.”
“Good. I'd hate for us to get here after Director Anubis. I heard he hates when people are late.”
“Wait, you knew he'd be directing the episode?”
“I found out this morning and sent you the information and the changes to the script too.”
Star had gotten Fiona’s text but only read the first few lines that told him to get to the studio on time.
“Changes to the script?” Star pulled out his cell phone, bringing up the text.
“Yeah, your role got a few more page lines.”
“Do I still get killed off in the end?” Star asked, scanning the script and seeing his character's name appear on almost every page. When he got to the last page, there was a question mark next to his name, as if the writers were undecided on how to take the character.
“I don't know,” Fiona said. “Anyway, I have your stuff for the scene. Let's go get your make-up done. I'm sure they'll tell you what's happening before the end of the day.”
* * *
“Cut!”
Star sighed in exasperation, his heart thudding as he heard the director exclaim, "Cut!" once again. Star was still struggling to deliver his lines despite going through the table read earlier. But he had remained silent, not wanting to give up his first acting role. However, it was evident Anubis was unhappy with Star's rendition. Before the rewrite, Star had been ready to play the role of a person who was gentle but unyielding. Nevertheless, the character's persona had shifted, and he had now assumed the role of the antagonist.
Even with guidance from the acting coach, he was still having trouble with the changes to the script. Star had to admit he was holding back, not wanting to delve too far into his feelings, as the scene was so close to his own experiences. He had not anticipated that his character would be written to have lost a parent at a very young age and to have had to deal with an abusive family member.
“Star, are you listening to me?” Anubis growled.
“No,” he answered, honestly shocking himself.
“How do you expect to learn if you're not paying attention?” the director snapped.
“How can I when you haven't taught me anything?” Star shouted, completely forgetting who he was talking to at the moment. Or that the entire cast and crew had stopped what they were doing, and their attention was on Star and the director.
