Behind the Lens (the owl house au)

Ch. 6 ~ The First Day

The sun shone brightly, marking a new day. Although today wasn't an ordinary day, today marked the beginning of the first day of filming. Luz would never see another day like this coming ever; today would be the one and only ever first day of filming, marking her debut into the acting world.

Yet, here she was at 5:46 A.M., her feet aching in pain, her lungs expanding, breathing harder than ever before. She never dared to work out this hard during her physical education class, but when she woke up late as per usual, her mother was nowhere to be found. Luz looked all around the house; she checked the basement, the bathrooms, the cabinets under the couch.

She knew her mother wouldn't be under the couch, but it never hurt to try. When she scoured the kitchen, she found a note her mother wrote, telling her daughter both good news and bad news. Unfortunately, she was called into work late, so Luz would have to catch the bus that departs at 5:45 A.M. The good news was Camila would still be able to make it to the set on time for filming.

But worse turned into worst when Luz looked at the clock and realized it was 6:37; the bus was at least a 20-minute walk, and Luz, well, she was never skilled at running. Her gym teacher permanently benched her for the rest of the year when she knocked down the cheerleaders' pyramid and broke the captain's leg after her shoe flew headfirst into the poor girl's face.

Luz learned that day never to try to play soccer again. The real kicker that day was she was supposed to be climbing a rope with the rest of the class instead of messing with the soccer ball. Luz was still throwing on her shoes while running towards the bus stop.

"When will I learn to wake up earlier?" Luz thought, mentally smacking her forehead.

Luz let out a sigh of relief when she saw the bus stop nearing. Her relief ended shortly when the bus shut its doors and left her behind. "Wait! Stop the bus!" she heaved.

She could feel her body wearing out; Luz was the equivalent of a panting dog. She looked like a mess—her hair was frizzed out, her clothes messy. She yelled down the streets, trying to gain the bus driver's attention.

Luckily, it wasn't that hard; she gained the attention of everyone nearby. The bus stopped and opened its doors. Luz wiped the sweat drooping down her face; she managed to make out a "Thank you" and showed the man her bus pass.

She sat down, and a wave of exhaustion hit her. She dozed in and out of sleep until she reached her stop. The streets of Hollywood were daunting; the streets were crowded, and she could feel constant eyes on her.

After a long and tiring journey, Luz stood in front of Walt Disney Studios but was stopped short at the gate. "Excuse me, miss. What is your business here?" The guard asked. "Oh um, my name is Luz Noceda; I'm the main lead for The Owl House," she explained to the men.

They analyzed Luz, looking her up and down. The guard narrowed his eyes. "Normally, actors come in cars?"

"Well, I have a good explanation for that. You see, my mom was supposed to drive me here, but she was called into work, so then I chased after a bus and walked here."

"Do you have your entrance pass or any kind of identification?"

Luz groaned, realizing she forgot the key card. "I was in a rush and forgot it."

"I see. Well, nice try, kid, but I can't let you in without it."

A car honked behind Luz; she jumped out of the way, startled by the car that almost hit her. It was a black Lexus with tinted windows. Luz squinted her eyes to see who it was; the window rolled down and revealed the driver to be the mint-haired girl who embarrassed her at the reading.