The Director of the film set was a man called Oscar Price.
He was the type that wore flowers over his necks, hawaiian shirts no matter the weather, shades for no reason and walked around with flip flops trying to fix everyone's karma while everyone called him Guru.
He didn't seem like the type that could get people's attention, except when someone was trying to figure out why a weird, always high and long haired blond man was directed about hundred people at once even though he was exceptionally good at it for some reason.
But Oscar was kind hearted as well, and his love for the environment and animals, he was a really strict vegan, wasn't fake. He actually had it in for people who didn't recycle and he made sure we all donated charity for animals that were slowly becoming extinct, that was fine, he paid us too much anyway.
He had told me his son, a weird lanky and rude kid called Deidam I'm sure masturbated day and night in his room because his video gaming ability was pure shit, had my book in his room and it had shocked the heck out of Oscar because Deidam couldn't read to save his own life.
And then when Oscar read it, knew why any teenager would like it.
"It's a lovely book, what you have, princess and you wrote this at 19?" He asked the first time we met.
A day after I'd arrived at New York, Oscar had personally sent his own guards to pick me at the place I was to an apartment of his choice where I could stay and was close enough for me to appear when he needed me.
An apartment that he paid solely for.
After I'd moved my things to the place, they drove me to his mansion. I could tell Oscar actually came from old money and lived in some old victorian's house like something out of a gothic novel with statues of angels and water fountains all over.
How we had actually met was them taking me to Oscar who was smoking pot in the middle of his golf course.
He had said my aura was beautiful but I had something overshadowing it. I frowned at that and he had immediately hit me with his golf stick which he, weirdly, took everywhere "Only positive energy here"
We walked into his house, the whole place echoing as we did so. It was spaced out quite well enough and the floors were all marble with many paintings scattered all over, my eyes lingering on a very beautiful woman that had haunting eyes.
They reminded me of someone, but I couldn't remember who.
"She is quite astounding, I am aware, yes" He had an accent as well, which clashed with the whole thing he had going on and he spoke with a certain pip and confidence "She was my wife"
"Oh" I looked away "Sorry about your loss"
"Oh no, darling, she isn't dead, we're just divorced" Then he added with a smile "So I suppose she's still alive, for now at least. I've been too busy to actually do something about her"
It was already obvious Oscar was one of those intelligent people who were nice enough if you did what they wanted so I wasn't too surprised about his words and I just shrugged.
"I've read your book. It's beautiful, it moved me darling and yes, everything does move me but there was something missing even though I can't point what exactly"
We were going up his stairs to the ballroom. It was wide and spacious, just like everywhere in the building.
"You're a gifted child, Skyler. Can I call you that?" I told him he could call me whatever he wanted, since he was the one paying me. He'd laughed but told me I shouldn't try jokes at all before he continued "A prodigy writer but an amateur. You need a mentor, a spiritual guide that will help cleanse this darkness inside you, and of course, in your book"
We stopped at the center "What's wrong with my book?"
"Oh don't get me wrong darling, it's a sweet little thing" He stood at me side, the golf club hung over his shoulder "Except that it makes you want to kill the two main characters cause they are really stupid. I don't know how to explain it but it is alright to have a love-hate relationship with a character but their flaws are just too much"
I was looking at the glass ceiling "So you want them perfectly lovable?"
"I want them lovable for a while until piss begins to stink, do you get that?" He was smart, and that was the truth "An element of surprise in romance. We're tired of the cliche mushy things. We want characters that we can love at the beginning but realize that they're actually horrible people eventually"
Then he gave me a lopsided grin "You and I, Skyler Castle, are going to prove that love is the most fickle emotion of all"
My book was already not so popular but before Oscar announced the project, he made sure he took every one that could be found in libraries, not like they were that many, so that people would be at the edge of their seats for the movie and when the giving of roles began, he made sure I was there, wanting my approval.
At the time, I hadn't known what he was trying to do.
And then there was Ryan Spielberg.
He was Oscar's assistant who, for some reason had the deepest scowl on anyone I'd ever met. Everyone said that it was probably because when he came for movie casting, Oscar had hired him thinking he was Steven Spielberg's nephew and when he realized he wasn't, just made his assistant though I doubted that was why he was always so angry, especially at me. He specially despised me.
Oscar used to joke that Ryan was just jealous of my energy and the fact he was my spiritual guide but whatever it was, I stayed away from him.
Little by little, I forgot about Jamie. True, I didn't sleep well at night, and the burn I felt randomly at his absence was still there but I had books I needed to edit and people who thought my opinion mattered, not my gender.
For the first time in years, I felt like I didn't just exist, but lived.
YOU ARE READING
US
Teen Fiction"What we are Skyler, how we feel. We don't have to give it a name. It's just Us" ~ Skyler has never felt like they belonged anywhere. Not being sure that they were a girl or boy, not fitting in a Christian family, never feeling completely happy. Tha...