Spotlight

15

omigosh this is so long im so sorry but this is a massive chapter in the story

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The next few weeks flew by and we were currently in our fourth week of filming Spotlight, therefore we were on the fourth episode. The past few weeks had been crazy.

My Instagram account – which I hadn't really used much since last summer – had skyrocketed to nearly one hundred thousand followers in just four weeks. Over the past year I had basically lost all my followers due to being considered near irrelevant back home in Miami. I never used to post, but now I found myself posting photos of myself or the others on set nearly every day.

We had all grown so much closer since the filming began back at the very first pilot. It was crazy to think that people that I barely knew would become somewhat like a family to me.

Every week consisted of the same things. Filming for a new episode began on a Sunday, and wrapped on a Wednesday. Wednesday through to the next Sunday we would rehearse lines for the new episode. It was a tight schedule with a lack of sleep and plenty of coffee runs, but it felt rewarding to see the final product after they edited it.

Most Friday mornings we had meetings about promo or press. Typically it would lead to some sort of a photo shoot of the cast in their characters signature look, or consisted of us filming on location.

Surprisingly, the camera crew had already got a collection of mess ups from the group of us for a blooper roll that would make its debut on the DVD when it got released in about six months time.

In L.A, the weather was warming up as the summer break hit its peak. I was on a tight schedule everyday and had to wake up at the crack of dawn most days to get makeup, hair or fittings done.

It was hard to be on this side of the camera for so long at once because until the show actually debuts – nobody understands how hard the cast and crew work just to make it look perfect for the viewers on television.

The plot to the show was basically the same as my life, and currently my character in the show was falling for another guy. In real life, this person was Kai – but in the show it was Brian.

Camera crews sure knew how to make it awkward between actors in their scenes. So far I had kissed both Tristan and Brian on screen, which made me feel so awkward due to the amount of times they ask you to re-film the take because a section of your lip was too far right or too far left.

It made me nervous to think of how close the show was to actually airing. Fox had decided to air it on Tuesday nights, which is when they aired most of their teen dramas. It was in line with all the other popular television series' run by the network, in an attempt to draw in viewers. We had the timeslot for eight thirty, which meant it would be more for older teenagers than younger ones – which was exactly what our producers were aiming for.

"Order for Mae!" the Starbucks employee called out. I snapped back to reality and stared at his green uniform.

"Yep," I replied, grabbing a straw from the ones they provided in the stands alongside where the orders were handed out.

"Have a nice day," he happily grinned as I took the Frappuccino from the wooden bench. I smiled back at him but didn't bother being polite and lowering my sunglasses.

Truth is, I was tired. I'd actually never been so tired in my entire life. I would usually get to my hotel room at the late hours of the morning, and then be up at six or seven every morning for rehearsals. This entire schedule was hard on my body.