Emily sat on the ground in her designated spot. Her feet overpped each other, and a beautiful blue bracelet set rested on her wrist, which she pyed with idly, drawing attention to her hand. I sat beside her, etched on my face.

  "I must have sounded pretty crazy on the phoerday," she began slowly, her red-rimmed eyes adding a vulnerability to her act as she looked away from me. "You just gotta fet about it. That's how you help me out. Just, please, fet about it." There was an undercurrent of desperation to her voice. Theurned bae and said, "And stop pig on Dode, okay? He's a good friend."

  "Good friend? So what am I?" I asked.

  "Yeah, what are you?" She asked indignantly. "Staying back here, hating everybody. I mean, who are you to judge anyone?" Her face had a shade of anger, but she suppressed it as our eyes met. I could see the moisture f in her green eyes as she said, "God, I really loved you a lot. But I couldn't stand it anymore. I… I'm sorry." Her voice broke towards the end. Seeing her in front of me so broken and tired, my eyes watered as well, and we hugged for dear life. Emily started sobbing in my arms.

  "You gotta e bae, Em," I said desperately, my own eyes misty from her charged performance. "You're in a spot, but I get you out."

  "You're not hearing me! I don't wan arotected like some doll—"

  "I'll deal with it!" I said forcefully, cutting her off.

  "You 't!" she insisted. "I came here to say goodbye, okay? Food."

  I pulled away from her as if she had spped me.

  "Whatever you have to do to let me go, you gotta do it," she whispered helplessly, ing closer and holding my fa front of hers. Then she leaned forward and kissed me on the lips lightly before pulling away. "Just let me go," she whispered for the st time as our eyes met in a longing that wouldn't be fulfilled easily. She stood up and walked away from the se, leaviting on the ground. I felt as if someone had stabbed me in the heart as she walked away. The only thing that kept me occupied was the little notepad that Emily had dropped behind which I picked up.

  "Cut!"

  Rian's voice rang out as Emily walked back to our inal position.

  "Holy shit!" Rian said out loud. "What have you two eaten today? Are you on steroids? Because that was fan-fug-tastic. That too on the first take!"

  "Seriously?" I asked Rian dubiously. "We do aake if you want."

  "No, I'm sure," he insisted. "You should see the clip, it's so good."

  I got up from my position and walked over to the monitor to see our performance. I noticed that Emily had silently followed me, and I let her. As a newbie actress, it was an unsaid rule that she shouldn't watch the clip, but I didn't mind too much about it. Being a producer, I was meant to see all the clips of the day in the evening so that if any se had to be reshot, it could be done while we were still shooting. Then there was also the fact that Rian passed su emotionally charged se on the first take. I had to be sure he didn't make a wrong call.

  As the clip repyed, most of my attention was captured by Emily. I couldn't believe this was her first professional performance ever. She was that good. I turo her with a huge grin on my face. "Are you sure you're not lying to me about this being your first film?" At her fused look, I expined, "This is much better than my ag in [The Sixth Sense]."

  "Don't joke like that," she said, pushing me ayfully.

  "I'm not," I insisted. "Ask Rian."

  "Yes," he agreed immediately. "We were all stunned." He pointed out the other crew members, including the ematographer, sound guys, lighting guys, and so on. "We had set aside three hours for this se, but you're done ihan half."

  "Believe me, Rian," I interjected, "some ses would eveend to more than a day."

  "I know that," Rian grinned. "It may be my first directorial film, but I have worked on a film set before."

  That made sense. "So, se?" I asked.

  "Sure," Rian nodded. "We just o go around the blod set up some equipment there." He poi the wall against which we were shooting just now.

  This was a very cheap way that Rian had adopted to make the film: making characters sit beside walls to limit their movement, thus redug camera movements as well. Beside the same building, we would shoot four or five different ses, just ging the direaking it look like they were different buildings.

  Nodding at him in acquiesce, I turo Emily, "I guess you're done for the day. The rest of the ses today are my solo. Isn't that right, Rian?"

  He Emily. "We won't need you until the day after to py the corpse in the car. Your ses are not much, but you are the soul of this film. You made sure of that after that first performance. Believe me, everyone will sing your praise when the film is out."

  Emily could only blush upon hearing that praise.

  (Break)

  This was the first time Tobias was so involved in a small-budget movie. In any movie, to be ho, because while he resent o of [Harry Potter], his role was limited to that of Troy's assistant. While the heavy lifting for the film was done by Troy and Rian, Tobias had also overseen many aspects of shooting. His biggest role was ag as a mediator wheroy and Rian had a difference of opinion. Like that oime when Troy insisted on casting real-life teenagers in the film instead of 25-year-olds—an argument that Troy woually, as he usually did.

  As a result, it led to the current se they were shooting, whivolved three of the main cast members: Troy, a guy named Michael B. Jordan, and a girl named Anna Kendrick. Michael and Anna were handpicked by Troy from hundreds of headshots they had received for the auditions.

  As the se began, Michael removed his jacket casually while saying, "Whooping this small fry's butt ain't gonna help me. Sure ain't gonna help him either—"

  Before he could tiroy on him, pung him on the cheek. The blow wasn't hard, only a grazing one, but the camera jerked back from the se, making it look like Michael had been hit hard across the face. Troy got up from the floor where he had fallen after hitting Michael and then flung him across the parking lot. Not oo just take a beating, Michael hit back at Troy with equal ferocity.

  The se looked quite brutal to an outsider, but Tobias knew how much time Troy had put into his martial training these st few months. So much so that he could easily defeat Michael in a fight if he wao.

  With a final punch, Michael sent Troy crashing to the ground before snatg his jacket from a y, totally ign Troy. That was until Troy got up when Michael's back was turned, sog him across the fad sending Michael tumbling to the floor. Troy coolly put on his gsses, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and walked off the se as if it was just another Friday. His cheek was bleeding very realistically, thanks to their make up artists, but Troy didn't pay it any mind.

  Tobias would never say this out loud to Troy, but he looked hel cool when he walked away unbothered by beating the shit out of a bigger, older bck guy.

  Anna Kendrick, the actress who pyed Laura in the movie, followed behind Troy when Rian's voice cut through the set, "Cut!"

  And just like that, everyone rexed instantly.

  "Great shot, guys," Rian called out. "Let's break for lunch, and then we'll resume shooting the se in forty-five minutes."

  As the cast and crew began chatting with each other, Tobias thought this was the perfect time to speak with Troy. He walked over to where Troy, Michael B. Jordan, and Anna Kendrick were standing and talking. Meanwhile, a group of extras stood nearby, waiting for their own ce to speak with Troy.

  "I hope I didn't hit you hard?" Troy asked Michael.

  "Nah, dawg, I take even more," Michael grinned before g Troy's hand in a friendly gesture.

  "You were so good back there!" Anna gushed, putting her hand on Troy's other arm. "It was like watg a legit a hero!"

  "Thanks," Troy said with visible embarrassment, pulling his arm away from her grasp and scratg his cheek. Over time, Tobias had bee aced to Troy's tics, and he could easily see that Troy was unfortable with the way Anna was ing closer toward him and with how the extras were crowding around him. Seeing that the security guard was still a few meters away, Tobias decided to step in.

  "Troy," he called out, interrupting the awkward versation before it could go any further. "I o talk to you about something important."

  "Of course," Troy said with relief, turning to Michael and Anna. "Why don't you guys have lunch while I talk to Tobias here?"

  Anna didn't look very happy with that turn of events but nodded heless and moved over with Michael to where everyone else had gathered for lunch.

  "Dodged a bullet, eh?" Tobias joked as they walked to a more secluded spot.

  Troy shook his head. "It wasn't that extreme. She's still o all this and probably will mellow out in a few years. It just gets a little frustrating knowing that sometimes people fet that I'm also a human being, not just a star."

  "That's your life, I guess," Tobias noted. "Anyway, I didn't just e here to bail you out of there."

  "Oh? Then why did you?"

  Tobias grew nervous about the versation he o have with Troy. It was a difficult one, but it had to happen.

  "I got a call from your publicist," he began slowly.

  "Alwyn?" Troy asked. "What about?"

  Tobias sighed before tinuing, "He's suggesting that we should do something to stay relevant in the media. Some positive news for once will do you a lot of good. While you have a very strong fan following, most of them like you because of [Harry Potter]."

  Troy waved off his s, "I don't think that's necessary. I don't like creating unnecessary news when there is no need for it. Maybe in a few years when the whole Harry Potter thing is behihen I see if something like that is needed, but nht now."

  "That's the thing!" Tobias said heatedly. "You have focussed your career solely on movies till now, of which most were Harry Potter ones. You haven't done any TV, advertisements, or anything else." Then he paused for a bit and said the words carefully, "I'm sorry to say this, but most people in the industry think [Harry Potter] would be successful regardless of your presen it. That's why you o do something to stay relevant."

  When Troy didn't say anything for a few moments, Tobias tinued, "I talked to a few more producers about your studio project, but no one wants to give you wht now because they think you're overpriced. They want to see one of your non- Harry Potter projects succeed before iing in you."

  "That's why I'm produg my own film," Troy said.

  "It's not just the studios," Tobias tinued. "When I joined as your assistant, we used to receive on an average 3-4 big brand endorsement offers every week. We didn't accept them, sure, but we received them heless. And now, only we'd be lucky to receive one such offer every other week."

  "What are you saying should I do?" Troy asked impatiently.

  "We o do something drastiprove your image. Alwyn suggested that you get involved in some charities."

  Troy silently pohe situation before nodding, "It's a good idea, but let's wait until after we've fihis film. I o focus on this first. Tell Alwyn to find a good charity projee in the meantime. I'll have a meeting with him after this is over."

  "I'll vey your message," Tobias said, nodding.

  (Break)

  Adulting is difficult. I found that out the hard way. It's even more tedious when you have to py ball with unreasonable assholes called studio heads and their managers who think that your fame could be defined in numbers. The worst part is that I'm not even an adult yet, and they were already treating me like a odity.

  "Lights! Camera!"

  Rian's and brought me back to the se we were shooting. It was the st day ooday. Shooting [Brick] was a bizarre experien itself because the genre and the story were so uhat such films don't get financed by any big studio.

  This was the film that I was most involved in, both because of my role as the producer and my ag role in the movie. There wasn't a single se where my character, Brendan, was not present, because the film was told from Brendan's point of view. So any information not seen by Brendan wouldn't be seen by the audieher. The movie on the surface seems like a simple murder mystery, but it's so much more. It has love, betrayal, violence, suspense, and thrill.

  The basic plot is that Brendan finds out that his ex-girlfriend Emily Kostich has been murdered near a tunnel. Emily had told Brendan previously to leave her be, but he couldn't. He bees obsessed with this mystery, determio find out what actually happeo Emily.

  The opening sequence was the one we were shooting right now, he entrance of the tuhis was the only day we would be shootihe tunnel. Rian had decided to finish all the ses involving the tunnel in one day because we needed a special permit from the local govero shoot there. The red tape was a nightmare to get around, but I guess it will all be worth it in the end.

  "A!"

  I guess it was good that I was so sad iy because the se called for me to be the same.

  I crouched down o ground at the mouth of the tunnel, where a small stream was flowing in. My eyes teared up as I saw the prone form of Emily lying ier. She was wearing the same clothes and the same blue bracelet as in the first se we had shot together. I stepped closer to her before realizing that someone else was in the dark of the tunnel, watg me. So I got up and ran after him, only to be attacked by him a crashing to the ground. I got up, came out of the tunnel, looked down at Emily's fragile body, and picked her up over my shoulder, bringing her into the dark of the tunnel so that no one else would find the body for now.

  "Cut!"

  I put Emily down upon hearing that, and she stood up quickly.

  "I swear, I'm never doing a film where I have to py a corpse," Emily joked pyfully. "That water stinks up close."

  I couldn't help but crack a grin at her. "Aww, poor little Emily. We could have arranged for a body double for you, but we didn't have the budget."

  "Yeah, yeah, I know that," she waved off my excuses. "I haven't seen any big-budget film shoot, so I have no idea what that entails."

  "Don't worry, you will," I said with utmost fidence. "One day, you'll be the top actress in Hollywood and look ba this day when you pyed a corpse for the majority of the film, and ugh at it."

  "That's not gonna happen," she deadpanned. "Stop saying impossible things."

  "It's only impossible if you don't believe in it," I lectured.

  She rolled her eyes but didn't argue further.

  It was then that I realized something important. Speaking to her, my bad mood had vanished like magic. She just had this quality that made you happy. She was like the therapy that I desperately needed but couldn't get.

  "Hey, did you get an answer from Stephen Chbosky for your audition of [Perks]?" I asked Emily as soon as the thought occurred to me.

  "No," she shook her head.

  "Then I'll talk to him again," I said fidently. "I'll show him your clips from the shoot of this film if he's relut. You are very good."

  Emily stood there stunned for a moment before nodding slowly. "Thanks, Troy."

  "Don't worry about it," I smiled at her.

  "Alright everyone, we're doh this shot!" Rian announced. "And with this, we the filming of [Brick]!"

  _____________________________________

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