Act 1.3 - Conversations

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The light in the room was overwhelming.

For now, there was nothing left to do but examine the shade of nail paint that she'd plastered onto her toes the night before. That way, she did not have to stare at the face in front of her.

She had known this would happen. It was almost unavoidable now, what with the show's rise in popularity and the channel's changing policies. It had been in the works a month or so ago, the writers had offered, almost a defensive statement than an explanation. She knew how it worked, and while she could refuse, a part of her did not want to. That part of her knew the consequences of refusing to act out a couple of scenes that could very well lead to her role in the show increasing. It would be foolish, and not to mention extremely selfish. She was not the only one who would have to set her own inhibitions and thoughts aside and play the part assigned to her.

Indian TV was changing, or at least the side she worked in. The rival channel had been airing rather "bold" stuff for years, what with blind-dating and shows that were aimed to stir as much controversy induced interest as possible without actually airing porn on prime time. It was about time for their channel to strike back and bring back the interest of the target audience. In this case, it was largely teenagers.

And so, after a careful study of numerous popular American Teenage shows, lots of rewriting and character adjustment, the writers had finally emailed the cast the new and improved script.

She'd been fortunate, or so the fans of the leads would argue. Her role was not supposed to be anything more than a minor antagonist, and now she was the second leading lady. She was not stupid, she knew exactly why that had occurred. Adding new characters was always a risky thing for a daily soap as audience reactions often ranged from annoyance to rage, particularly over new female characters. Besides, her character was already there and she had a history with the second male lead.

She could take those reasons. At least they made sense. What did not make sense were the words on the page she was holding.

She wanted to run. Hide. Disappear. Be anywhere but here.

But she knew she couldn't.

There was work to be done, lines to be memorized and above all-

She looked up at him, praying that her reluctance did not show on her face.

His eyes were focused on her face and it was the look on his face that changed everything.

It wasn't indifference or the small smile that he usually displayed.

Could it be?

"Don't worry, I'm nervous too. I mean, I've kissed people but never on camera." his voice was soft and steady. Almost reassuring.

She couldn't help that her lips curved into a hesitant smile. "Me too"

"How do people do this. I mean, you can see any American show and they seem to do it almost effortlessly" he shook his head "I'm happy the channel is trying to go beyond its normally conservative restrictions but that means doing a lot of things that we are not used to as actors."

"It's not a taboo there. Kissing." she pointed out

"Kissing is so much more than..." he stopped and looked at her face.

"Go on" she offered him a smile. Encouragement.

"You'll think I'm..." he looked down at his feet.

"Honest. I'll think you are honest. Go on!" she did not know where the boldness to encourage him had come from.

"Kissing is more than just brushing lips together. At least it is for me. I think I would be unable to do that with someone I didn't have any feelings for." He confessed, looking at her with the same kind of intensity he did when they slipped into the skins of the characters they played.

"I think the same way. And how will your girlfriend take it?" She shook her head and sighed "I'm sorry, I kind of forgot you..."

"Broke up? You can say it. What about you? Hiding any boyfriends or fiances that I should be careful of? Wait you don't have to answer that. I was out of line" he sighed.

In that small moment, the normally cheerful co-star of hers seemed just as shy as she always was offstage.

"Um, not yet. It's fine. We haven't really had the chance to talk to each other so openly so...I think the changes are making us fill in the blanks as fast as possible?" she offered.

"You could be right. I wish you'd talk more you know? You are always on your own at lunch, you retreat to catch a nap at every chance you get. You really make it hard for people to figure you out" he pointed out.

She looked up at him, a hint of a smile on her lips. "Maybe I don't want to be figured out"

"Maybe you are just slipping back into character because it's easier than being yourself?" his tone was more teasing than accusatory.

"I don't know. Maybe." she shrugged.

"Is that why you act? To escape?" he chuckled, the soft sound filling the silence.

He hadn't moved but for some reason, she felt like he was suddenly too close.

Too close to figuring her out?

"No. Is that why you act?" she retaliated.


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⏰ Last updated: Nov 27, 2018 ⏰

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