Settling Down [KJ Apa]

Chapter Six

"Welcome Georgia, and Alexandra!" Ellen exclaims, "It's good to have you here."

"It's good to be here." I smile at her as we sit down in the sofa.

"It's the first time for both of you, right?" We both nod, "Now, Georgia, so it's not so common to have the director do interviews on prime time TV. Why did you want to do the whole press tour?"

"It's a story close to my heart, y'know. Me being from Belgium, I've grown up with the stories about the First World War. There are so many war movies out, but none of them really show the Belgian perspective and what happened in those first months. I felt compelled to tell the story. Without romanticizing it."

The audience claps and I smile to Alexandra.

"So what's the story about?"

I give a sign to Alexandra to take the word, and she sighs. I know she doesn't like to answer the questions I'm nore capable of answering, but it's so funny to see her squirm.

"God, I hope I do it justice." She begins, "Alright, so the movie follows Jacoba, a West-Flemish girl that turns 18 on the brink of war. She wants to help, obviously, so she becomes a nurse on the front lines. And the rest you'll have to find out yourself."

"How was it to work together, Alexandra? We all know Georgia's reputation of being too loose on set sometimes."

Alexandra laughs, "She really is. But when it comes to it, she's serious and makes things work. She also knows exactly what she wants to be happening, which means we often had to do more takes because something didn't fit right. At least with her we had close to none reshoots."

"What made you change genres?" Ellen asks me, "Because it's quite different from your first one."

"I'll always write about own experiences, or things that interest me. I'll never stick to just one genre, because that won't be fun at all."

"Okay, so first of all, because we want everyone to go see this movie, we are giving you all 2 tickets to see the movie '1914' which is out now in theaters." The audience claps while Ellen continues, "We'll be back after the break to talk a little more to Georgia."

One of the crew members sign everyone that filming has stopped for a hot minute as one of the make-up artists comes over to retouch our make-up while two heavy lifters take away the one-person sofa next to me. After all, Alexandra has to go to another lot for some more interviews.

"And we're rolling in 5, 4, 3,..." The cameraman counts down before the red light turns on.

"We're back with Georgia." Ellen smiles to the camera, "Now Georgia. You recently got engaged, ain't that right?"

The heat travels up to my cheeks as our engagement picture comes up on the big screen. I smile at it, remembering all the giddy feelings from that day.

"That's from your one week anniversary?"

"You got that right." I smile, "He's amazing."

"You don't have to tell me. I heard the engagement stories." She grins, "So was it really just shitty like your friends told on social media?"

"God no!" I exclaim, "It was truly romantic."

"As a small engagement present- Andy!"

I turn around a little and see Andy running up the stage with two pajamas, a 'his-and-her' ensemble. I laugh, knowing Boston would never wear that. I thank both of them as Ellen explains that we will be looking even better in these that we have ever before. I put them to the side so she can continue the interview.

"So what made you change careers from model to writer/director?"

"Writing has always been my number one passion, you know. Directing came naturally, since I really want the stories that I write to be portrayed correctly. Modeling was just an easy way to get into the industry, I guess."

"Well, we surely miss you as a model."

The interview goes on for just a little bit longer, and I answer all questions that were asked. I am glad that this one interview is over for the day. Only 5 more to go.

___________

I stare at my blank expression in the mirror. My face is all dolled up, but my head isn't. I am so nervous of the outcome tonight. The awards could mean everything for the future.

A pair of hands cover my shoulders, squeezing them lightly as a kiss appears on my cheek.

"Is everything okay?" Boston asks concerned.

"Yeah." I lean against his arm, "Just really, really nervous."

"It'll be fine. You made an amazing movie, darling. People all over the world are saying so. And you don't need a statue to prove you are an amazing writer slash director."

"Although a statue would look nice on our mantle piece." I smile while a little of the nerves disappear.

"I am proud of you no matter what the outcome will be tonight."

I peck his hand as I grab it for him to lead me downstairs. My heels are already killing me, but they look amazing underneath my dress. Boston is a pillar for me as I descend the stairs. He hands me my black woolen trenchcoat before he puts his own coat on. God, he looks so dapper.

The town car is up front and we get in. The nerves in my body are skyrocketing, because I know how important this is. For everyone.

Every actor.
Every director.
Every female in the industry.
Every foreigner that doesn't believe Hollywood could be for them.

Just like I needed someone to be before me, I will be that person for other people.

"Georgia?" Boston pulls me out of my train of thoughts.

I see the flashes appear outside the window. I grab Boston's hand and he squeezes mine to reassure me everything will be okay.

I am ready.

_________

We're finally here! I know, I know... I've been holding this back for a long time, but I'm finally back on track. This is only the beginning!
Also, thank you all for still being invested in this story. I know how hard it is to still be invested after such long periods of silence, and I am grateful you still want to read this.

23 days from now marks the day I lost one of my best friends and the whole month of September is just a hard time to get through. I know it's not quite an excuse not to write, yet it's very hard to find the courage to write on when something like this happens. I am sometimes so emotionally drained that writing about happiness is too far away.
I hope you understand why I have these long breaks, and I hope you continue this journey with me.

- Tess