I got up the next morning, finding and envelope in front of my hotel room. I went to pick it up and opened it. I didn’t even bother reading the letter and went straight to the page of script, worried I wouldn’t be able to get the lines in my head in time. It wasn’t much I had to say on the first look.
Then I shifted back to the letter from Mr. Seifert explaining it was a love scene between our character and Austin, which was written for the character we wanted to be on the show. I wasn’t done reading the letter, but went back to the script again, reading the beginning.
Surprisingly it was extremely close to what I wanted. I smiled and went back to the letter again. Mr. Seifert went on about how important it was going to be and how excited he was and how he would love both our characters on the show. And then I read the P.S. As you may have already noticed, there is a kiss at the end of the scene. And when I say kiss, I mean kiss, not just on the cheek.
My eyes got big. It felt like an invisible hand was closing around my throat. Quickly I went to the script and there it was. Black on white. Austin kisses Mary. My character.
As if that wasn’t enough, I knew that each of us always got the same letter, so Angel would kiss Ross too. My fear was replaced with bitter jealousy. I didn’t want her to kiss him, I didn’t even want her to touch him or look at him in her disgusting flirty way. That thought creeping in my head all the time I got ready and went to the car waiting for me outside. Angel soon also sat down and the picture of her and Ross kissing appeared in my head and I stared at her in anger.
We arrived at Disney Studios and Mr. Seifert was waiting outside.
“Hello finalists.” He greeted us. “I bet you figured out yourself, your mentor for today will be the amazingly talented Ross Lynch.”
Ross came out the doors. I smiled at him, then my fear of the kiss came back and the fact that he would kiss Angel too.
“But.” I heard Mr. Seifert say “We also need a guest judge and since today is the final, I thought of maybe doing something special. Say hi to the future peers of one of you.”
Laura, Calum, Olivia and Raini, who played Trish on the show, all came out of the doors in the back. I noticed I would possibly spend a lot of time with them in the future and I was overwhelmed by that thought.
“So let’s get down to business. Mouna? Will you please follow me?” Ross asked and I nodded, biting my lip.
I had memorized most of my lines on the way to the studios, but I still didn’t know them a hundred per cent. Ross opened the door of the sets for me. The scene was set up in the library at night and the lighting was already set to that.
“Do you know the lines?” Ross asked.
“Most of them.” I replied, feeling my breath getting quicker.
“Then let’s just start from the beginning. No recording today, but your markers are there on the floor, the red ones.” Ross said, his eyes shifting around nervously. At least I wasn’t the only one.
We went through the scene and it actually went very well immediately. But then the kiss was about to happen and I couldn’t help but laugh. Immediately I started to feel like I was about to cry. What was wrong with me?
“Is there something wrong?” Ross asked and I laughed again at him practically reading my mind. Then the tears started flowing and I tried to hide them behind my hand.
Ross hugged me. “Hey, it’s not that bad it didn’t work the first time.” He whispered. “We’ll just try again.”
“But I don’t want to.” I whispered back.
