Becoming More Than Strangers

Chapter 1: The Call

Jessie Jordyn was sleeping soundly in bed when the vibration of her phone jolted her awake. She had spent the whole night memorizing lines for her second chemistry read the following day, so when she saw her agent's name on her phone, she assumed it was about the upcoming audition. She took a deep breath before accepting the call from Elizabeth Paul. She said, "Hello? Jess speaking." Elizabeth's raspy voice broke through the speaker. "Jessie, how are you doing?" Jess said, "I'm okay. A little tired and nervous about the chemistry read later today." She had spent countless hours and months of work, prepping for this. It was for a pretty crazy role and she had made it through four callbacks and had done a chemistry read with three actors from the major production. Today was supposedly the last chemistry read before the casting team made final decisions.

    Elizabeth said, "Okay, well here's the thing, they canceled the chemistry read today." Jessie's jaw dropped, tears of frustration began to form. Elizabeth continued and said, "Can I facetime you really quick?" Jessie said, "Yeah. Give me five minutes." They hung up and she quickly got up from her bed, brushing her hair and washing her face so that she looked put together, cursing the fact that she likely lost the part. She quickly hurried over to her desk and did one final check in the reflection of her phone before facetiming Elizabeth. Elizabeth quickly picked up and said, "So sorry. We just wanted to see your face when we told you the news." Jessie quizzically looked at Elizabeth through the phone. "We?" Elizabeth continued, "Yes. We. You remember Carmen Cuba, right?" Carmen Cuba, esteemed casting director, waved as the phone was given to her. Carmen said, "Hi Jessie. Good to see you again. Sorry for canceling the chemistry read today." Jessie said, "Oh, it's okay. I understand. But great to see you again too. How are you?" Carmen said, "I'm doing good. I'll hopefully be doing better in a few minutes when I tell you this: we decided to cancel the chemistry read because we already know you're perfect for the part. So would you give me and the Duffer Brothers the honor of being the new cast member of Stranger Things: Season 5?"

Jessie was speechless, utterly flabbergasted. She managed to cough out the words, "Yeah—yes. Yes, oh my gosh. Yes please! I–I don't even know what to say!" Carmen chuckled with Elizabeth and said, "You were right about how she'd react." Elizabeth nodded as Jessie blushed a deep red. Carmen continued, "Okay. So we'll need you to come down here to go over some things like the schedule and such as well as a few contracts. Could you come, let's say...around 12:00?"

    The rest of Jessie's day was an absolute blur. It seemed that she was signing NDA's and release forms left and right. By the time she had gotten a schedule for the following year, articles were being published with headlines such as, "Jessie Jordyn: Rumored to Play New Character in Stranger Things Final Season" and "Noah Schnapp and Five Others Follow Jessie Jordyn on Instagram: Is It Official?" It seemed that by the time she finally got back home, everyone in her life had heard the news and wanted to find out if it was true. Jessie sighed to herself before getting ready for dinner to tell her family the news. The 21 year old didn't know what to expect for the coming year. All she was sure of was one thing: It was going to be one hell of a year.