Foreign

Chapter 10

Greg and the cameraman are discussing scenes while I'm taking notes. I'm anxious not to make any mistakes. Greg looks at me approvingly from time to time.

I check my watch and decide it's time to call for Hero, Melany and Josh. I decide to knock on Melany's trailer first. It's closest to set and if she hasn't left when I return with Hero, I can knock again. I won't take any chances with her, I won't let her destroy the faith Greg has in me now. When I knock on the door, she yells that I can come in. When she sees it's me, her face drops and her eyebrows pop up.

"What?" She says with an icy voice.

"You're expected on set in ten minutes," I declare as professional as I can be around her. Without giving her the chance to answer, I walk to Josh's trailer.

"Oh, hey Char! Come in!" he says with a broad smile when he opens the door.

"No, I can't, I still have to get Hero. I just passed by to say that you're expected on set in ten minutes."

"Well well, look who got promoted from filling the fridge to the director's assistant!" I can't help but return his smile, he's always so nice!

"I know right! It's like a dream come true."

"Well, I'm sure you'll do great!" He walks out of his trailer when I head to Hero's. Silently I thank him for this. He makes my job so much easier.

I don't even knock when I reach Hero's trailer because he told me I don't have to.

"Hey baby," I say before kissing him. "You're expected on set!"

"Well, I better listen to the boss," he teases. I kiss him one last time.

"A kiss for good luck," I whisper. He wants to lace his fingers through mine when we walk to set but I hold back.

"I want to be professional when we're at work." He nods in agreement. "That's okay baby. Come on." When we walk past Melany's trailer, I can tell she hasn't left yet. I sigh.

"Do you want me to get her?" Hero asks unsure.

"No, I can handle her." I knock on her door and walk in straightaway without waiting for a response.

"Hi, Mel! I thought we could walk together. Come on!" She opens her mouth to reply (probably would have been a very nasty reply) but then spots Hero behind me and decides to stay silent. She scowls when she leaves her trailer but I'm very happy and satisfied. I won this round. Charlotte 1, Melany 0.

Greg is pleased that everyone is on time. I go over my checklist one last time when he discusses the scene with Melany, Hero and Josh. Everything seems fine and I take my place next to the cameraman. I'm a bit nervous and I bite my lower lip. Hero smiles at me and when he winks, Melany scowls again. The first scene goes smoothly but the second one takes forever. I check the schedule and we really need to move on to the next.

"Greg, we need to finish this up if we want to stay on schedule," I gently say.

"I know!" He groans frustrated. "But we're nowhere near done with this scene. Something is missing." I know something is wrong and I hate to say it but it's Melany. Her attitude in this scene isn't right. I'm not sure if it's in my job description to comment but I do it anyway. I explain to Greg what I think is wrong and I tell him how I'd change it. He thinks about this for a second.

"Well, I'll give it a try. Couldn't get any worse." He calls for Melany and talks her through the changes. She gives me a dirty look because she knows I suggested this to Greg. In the end she tries really hard to ignore everything he just said. She just refuses to try. We get to the point where she needs to obey because Greg is furious and in the end it was the right call. We finally manage to finish the scene, an hour late. The actors go back to Wardrobe for the next scene and us crew are hastily making sure everything is right for the next scene. I overhear Greg discussing Melany's behavior with Liam and I try not to smile. In your face bitch.