Just Like the Movies

Chapter Two

Although there had been a rocky start to the day, the rest passed by without incident. In fact, it ended up turning into one of the best days I'd had in a while. It was one thing to be told your book would become a movie, another to see the script, another to watch the audition tapes, another to see the news get announced watch how your readers reacted... but all that was nothing compared to witnessing the filming of it. Every line acted out made my heart pound. Every retake still felt like watching it for the first time. And, even though acting as a script supervisor felt a little overwhelming at times, I felt like I was in a dream. It didn't feel like it could possibly be real life.

The only thing that reminded me that it was indeed real life were the startling moments where Theo Park and I accidentally made eye contact. It felt like cold water washed over me every time and my cheeks grew warm as I'd remember how close we were. I tried to tell myself just to get over it— it was an accident that I'd walked in on him half-naked. And it wasn't like I hadn't seen a man's bare chest before, so why was I letting it affect me so much? Because it was Theo Park? Because he was famous? But wasn't I, too? Maybe not to the same extent, but...

I stood off to the side of the set next to the actual script supervisor, watching the man in question, just as shirtless as the first time I saw him, listen to Director Ahn and Marco as they walked him through a scene, making some adjustments to where he stood and the angle of his body as he spoke to another actress playing a small role of an intern. I'd been briefly introduced to the other actors in the scene and had to contain my excitement. Although Theo was the only lead actor in the scene, every other single actor and actress were just as important to me. They were bringing my characters to life. They were helping me achieve my dreams.

The scene they were filming now was one of Theo's character trying to convince the intern to mess up an outfit he was supposed to wear for a shoot on purpose— hence why he stood shirtless. Originally, he would wear the shirt he wanted messed up, but they'd changed it so he held it in his hand. I didn't see how it really added to the scene, but Marco was convinced the minor nudity added to it.

I found it interesting how they filmed the movie out of order, but I knew the actress playing my female lead had been delayed by another project, and they couldn't shoot with her just yet. And, because she was the main character, she was in the majority of the scenes including the majority of Theo's scenes, as well. She played my character who was an upcoming fashion stylist that meets Theo's character, a famous model, and gets entangled in a fake relationship when she claims that Theo is her new boyfriend to an ex out of panic.

Sort of cliché, but my readers like that. And I liked writing it, too. There was never anything wrong with a good cliché. They were clichés for a reason— because people enjoyed them.

"Maisie? Maisie!"

My name being called out startled me and I snapped out of my thoughts to look at Zara, the script supervisor, who frowned at me. "You can't space out like that, Maisie."

"Sorry," I apologized, a wave of embarrassment washing over me.

"I know you got this job under special circumstances, but I'd really like to help you gain experience and help you grow as a script supervisor," she said. "And the biggest piece of advice I can give you is that you must always pay attention. You can't space out."

I nodded, taking in her words. It made me feel a little bad, seeing how this actually wasn't my career path, and she was genuinely trying to help me. But it also made me happy seeing how dedicated she was, and how it was my movie she was this dedicated to. Obviously, it was also partly because it was her job, but I still appreciated it.