The Alternate Extras of Halesowen

The Raven's Call

Looking out of the window as the car drove through a town, Kimberly looked back on the week. It had been a great one, full of adventure around the Peak District. Then had come a visit to the Wild Shore Delamere water park – an outdoor adventure area set on a lake. It had been a single day of trying the various activities the park offered, then back on the road again.

She hadn't been entirely truthful when telling the others about the extension to her holiday. The whole idea behind the holiday had been that it would be for her. It had been arranged as a celebration, but also to get her to where she needed to be. For she had accepted The Raven's Call, and her parents were proud of that.

Just what The Raven's Call truly was, she had no idea. All she knew was that there had been several single episode parts available for the production, and the one she had been assigned was said to be the most important even though it was the smallest.

No-one was to know that she had a role, so she had kept it a secret from everyone but her parents. She could admit to being nervous about such, as she felt a growing sense of wanting to tell everyone, but maybe that was just nerves from being a part of a professional production.

She wanted to do well.

Mistakes were a part of acting, she knew that. Even the professionals made them. But this was her first time. As such, she held hope that her performance would be good enough for others to take notice.

The car turned up a side street, which brought Kimberly's head to look to the front windshield. Despite her nerves, she smiled. Soon she would be doing what she loved. The car made another turn, and she saw the building she would be at. Her smile widened, though she felt a large twinge of nerves hit her.

With the car now pulled up, she and her parents were out of it.

"You'll do good," her dad said. "You show them what you can do."

"Keep relaxed," her mom added. "Perform your best, and don't worry about mistakes."

"Thanks," she said. "I'll make sure to show myself at my best."

Giving a deep breath as her parents withdrew back inside the car, she walked forward to the doors of the building, letting it out as she neared. The air that expelled from her seemed to carry her doubts, as her nervous energy seemed to quell itself as she entered.

Inside, it was clear the building wasn't usually used as a production base. It even looked as though it had become a home of the crew, with a large TV in one corner with sofas bunched around it. Over in another corner, two people were being instructed in some sort of fight scene.

"Are you Kimberly?" someone asked her.

She jumped slightly, having been interested in the goings on of the place. Turning around, she saw a man with a clipboard.

"That's me," Kimberly said with a smile.

"Excellent." He looked down at the clipboard and looked to make a mark of a piece of paper on it. Then he looked back up. "I am both the producer and director of this series, so most refer to me as the production manager." He freed one of his hands to shake hers, then added, "I'm sure you've been wondering what this part you've accepted is."

"Yeah, I'm interested to know my role. Small but important, it was said to be."

The production manager gave a smile, then indicated that she should follow him. Leading her over to where the two actors she had been watching were, he called for them to greet her. He then started talking in more detail of the role and what she would be doing.

She remained silent throughout the explanation. She couldn't help but internally laugh, since if she did become successful in acting, it would be almost the same as a rags-to-riches story. Literally.