Gravitating

Firsts of Many

The thrill and contentment that runs through me while acting can never be compared to anything else in this world. Acting always brought me closer to joy.

But as I walk into my set, sweating and trying to take deep breaths just like my sister had told me to, I realize that this is it, my big breakthrough that I've been waiting for since I was 13. The huge set, with all the hustle, makes it look so intimidating yet instills a sense of calm in me. This is my forte, I told myself. Audition for this show had been nerve-racking and unbelievably tense but I never gave up and I gotta pat myself on the back for that.

" Niti! It's so great to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you from Praveen sir."

I try to force a genuine smile on my face looking at Vibha standing in front of me looking as radiant as ever. 

"Hi! It's great to meet you too Vibha. When did you arrive?"

" Oh about that, I live a little close by compared to most of our colleagues so I thought I might as well take a thorough look at it", she smiled.

"It must be convenient then. Unfortunately, it takes me an hour to come here every day." I frowned subconsciously, the one thing I hated is being late. I was never tardy and didn't plan on being one in the future but this distance was going to play to someone else's advantage.

"It's fine. A lot of the costars live quite far too. It's not something that you should fuss over on your first day. Let's go, I believe the first scene is yours."

I smiled and tried not to let my anxiety show. Distance shouldn't let me stop from achieving what I planned for myself all along. With that, I entered my set. It was plain, but something that could be my home for the next year at least. 

As I finally put on my make-up and walked into the studio for my very first scene, I bumped into someone. Great, my first day, and my clumsiness is highly impatient to come out. I came face to face with a chest, quite a good-looking one at that, might I add. As I looked up, milky brown eyes, twinkling with laughter clashed with mine. Not him, I secretly panicked. No, not him again. 

" You should look where you're going Niti", he winked with the faintest hint of a smile.

I had to refrain from rolling my eyes. Why on earth should this day get any more complicated than it already is? With a forced smile, I matched his stare.

" Right, my bad. I'll try to keep these accidents to a minimum next time."

Suddenly, his demeanor changed. As I looked at his frown aimed at me, I couldn't help but think that maybe I should've been more welcoming. Maybe if I stopped thinking about his attractive frown then, I would realize how important our relationship would be in the next few months. 

" I, it's fine." I looked at his freakishly tall figure as he went on to smile at someone behind us, I realized I find him attractive. His eyes never left mine, as they slightly shifted below my eyes. 

" I need to go. See you later." This time I tried to put my carefree attitude and as looked up at him, the twinkle in his eyes remerged. I love his twinkle, I thought. 

"Parth! Come here, take a look at this." Just like that my bubble broke. I smiled at him and walked past.

As I walked further into the set, I started to smile and wave at a few of my friends whom I've known for a few years now. But most of them were new faces, friendly smiles, and a few curious glances. Most of them looked welcoming and non-judgemental which came as a huge relief to my overworked mind. Shashank sir seemed a little assertive for a director but seemed to appreciate my punctuality. As I approached him, he seemed to know exactly what my concerns were.