Jade

Chapter 19

Two weeks later...

"Hi my name is Jade Brown."

"And I'm Chauncey Greene."

"Today, we're making Guyanese chicken chow mein!" Jade beamed, flashing her perfect smile as the camera panned over a neatly arranged spread of ingredients. "So, my mom's side of the family is Guyanese, and I love Guyanese food. When they invited me to do this segment, I didn't hesitate. I was very much ready."

"You told me you can't cook, though," Chauncey teased, a smirk spreading across his face.

Jade gasped dramatically, clutching her chest as some of the production crew chuckled. "Anyway, we'll be cutting that out," she said, playfully dismissing him as she moved to her side of the counter.

"So, what's your favorite thing to cook?" Jade asked, trying to steer the conversation back to the questions she was supposed to ask during the segment.

"Spaghetti, that's my speciality." He said proudly as Jade snorted.

"So basically noodles," She teased as he kissed his teeth. "What's so special about your spaghetti?"

"I'm from the south, we just know food. Anything we make has something special to it." He said proudly as Jade playfully rolled her eyes.

"Sure. We'll start off by boiling some water to put our chow mein noodles and since noodles are Chauncey's speciality he can work on that while I season the chicken and let it marinate." Jade said as Chauncey chuckled, shaking his head.

"Yo worry about how you're gonna cook that chicken, wouldn't wanna embarrass yourself in front of Vogue." He teased as she laughed.

"What would you say is one of your biggest fears?" Chauncey asked, getting the questions started up as he stirred the noddles in the pot.

Jade froze, her mouth forming an exaggerated "O." "Wait, I thought this was a cooking segment, not therapy."

"Hey, I didn't come up with these questions," Chauncey said, throwing his hands up.

"The subway. That's my biggest fear." Jade admitted as Chauncey busted out laughing.

"The subway? For real?"

"Yes, for real! My mom used to tell me the craziest stories about what happened to her on that underground contraption."

"It's not that bad," he said, shaking his head. "You just gotta disassociate the whole time."

"No, thank you," Jade said, pouring the perfectly seasoned chicken into the wok as the noodles finished boiling. "Alright, what's your favorite thing about being an actor?"

"The money," Chauncey said, the room going quiet for a brief moment before Jade busted out laughing.

"Not you saying the quiet part out loud!"

"Nah I'm just playin, cut that part out too," he chuckled, looking over at the crew. "Honestly though my favorite part is connecting with people and really becoming my character. It's wild how they pay us to entertain and inspire."

"No they pay us cause we give our audience an escape from reality with the stories we tell." She said with a wink as Chauncey chuckled.

"Right, right what you said," he said with a nod. "You ever been to Guyana?"

"Yeah when I was a kid we spent the whole summer there. It was beautiful, I felt right at home." Jade said, stirring the noodles into the sizzling chicken.

"And you still can't cook?" Chauncey muttered, shaking his head.

"I think we might have to cut this cooking segment short, my sous chef is talking crazy over here." Jade teased as he laughed.