Behind the Lens (the owl house au)

Ch. 4 ~ Table reading pt. 1

It had been two months since Luz Noceda had been cast as the main lead of "The Owl House," and her excitement was still palpable. On the night before her script reading, Luz tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. The importance of the next day was not lost on her—it would be the first time she read the script with her fellow actors and the start of her journey as a lead actor. Her journey to get there had not been easy, as she had faced many difficulties along the way, but none of that mattered as she drifted off into a restless sleep filled with dreams of making it big in Hollywood.

Luz's mind was racing with anticipation as she lay awake in the stillness of the night. She couldn't shake off the excitement of tomorrow's events. It felt surreal that she had been given such an incredible opportunity to be the lead actor of her favorite TV show. Her heart was bursting with joy and pride, yet her body was weary from the long hours of rehearsal and preparation. She rubbed her eyes and sighed, trying to coax herself into sleep at last. After all, tomorrow was the day when her dreams would finally begin to take shape.

She raised her hand up to the ceiling, grabbing at the glow-in-the-dark stars she had placed there when she was a child. When she was younger, she used to stare up at those stars and imagine herself in some faraway place—a world filled with fantasy. She always dreamed of being a dragon slayer or a hero of some sort.

The day she learned she had been cast for the lead role, she felt like a part of that dream had come true. She would get to live out some sort of fantasy on set. She was so nervous she felt like throwing up but excited at the same time to see the final product.

Luz turned her head to check out the time. She made an audible groan and buried her face in her pillows when the clock read three twenty-seven a.m. Her plans for the day were supposed to have her up by six a.m., but for some reason, she couldn't shut off her mind and fall asleep. She knew the reason well and hoped her body would give up eventually. Luz picked up her phone and watched YouTube videos until she finally managed to fall asleep.

The blaring of her alarm and the creeping light through her window were a rude awakening to the start of her day. Luz threw off her duvet; her feet hit the cold wooden floor sluggishly. She rose from the bed, big eye bags beneath her eyes, and her hair a mess. Anyone with a pair of eyes could tell she had barely slept a wink.

She dragged herself to the bathroom, a towel in hand. She could hear her mother below, pacing through the house. Luz was amused by her mother's behavior; she appeared to be more nervous than her own daughter.

Her voice echoed through the house, "Luz, if you're going to shower, do it quickly. We do not want to make a bad impression on ourselves." Luz watched her mother move past the stairway into the living room.

The bathroom was cloaked in a soft light. Luz stumbled wearily across the tiles. Every step felt like gravity was pushing down on her body. She turned on the shower; the cold water jolted her. The scent of shampoo and soap hung in the air as she brushed the shampoo through her short locks of hair.

The water slowly turned warm, feeling like a comforting blanket wrapping around her. Luz leaned against the shower wall, allowing the water to wash away the fatigue. Time lost its significance. She couldn't discern whether minutes or hours slipped away as she stood beneath the spray. The world outside the bathroom seemed distant, muffled by the constant rush of water.

Camila banged on the shower door, breaking her peace inside the shower. "Luz, it has been thirty minutes. It does not take that long to take a shower. Hurry up!"

Luz hurriedly finished up her shower. She dried her hair quickly and changed into a pair of gray jeans matched with a yellow and blue t-shirt with green and a beigeish-colored pair of shoes. Luz tried to fix her hair but quickly gave up when she couldn't get it to cooperate, opting for a hat instead.