one of them - j.flatters

iii. battle of the accents

AUGUST 2017 - LOS ANGELES
Summer was coming to an end and Eliana had no other choice but to agree with whoever had said that one never forget the summer of their sixteen years old. Every day, the girl would excitedly come onto set for underwater screen tests with the people she could now call her best friends, and every night, she would have trouble finding sleep, too eager to start a new day. It had been a whole summer of flying back and forth from Moonbeam to Los Angeles for Eliana and her mother, sometimes her father would join them for a weekend but as he had chosen to keep his job, he rarely could. Eliana never resented him for it, she understood it and their family couldn't afford to live off solely on their economies, especially now that her mother had taken the whole summer off. But she couldn't help herself but wished Victor was here by her side, experiencing it all with her and her mother. Since Eliana came from outside of the United States, the production team had rented a small apartment for her and her mother near the studios, in a building they usually used for their actors' habitation arrangements. In Avatar's case, the filming would last too long for simply renting a hotel room so they had decided to move almost every young cast member into this apartment block, making their travels easier. A nanny, Georgia, also living near the kids, working full-time on supervising them as some weren't accompanied by members of their family. Eliana was looking through her suitcases filled of everything she might have needed for the next year, searching for that one piece of clothing, becoming more irritated by the minutes she couldn't find it.

"Maybe if you had put away your clothes in the wardrobe like I told you, you would find what you're looking for." Annie exclaimed from the kitchen, her hands soaked in soapy water as she did yesterday's dishes. Eliana made sure she was hidden by the bedroom's door before rolling her eyes at her mother's comment. She never missed an opportunity to correct her daughter and it had became more frequent since Eliana had been casted.

"I know. I just haven't had the time." The teenage girl hypocritically said, her tone laced with fake calmness when the only thing she wanted to do was to yell back her answer. 

"I'm not doing it for you."

Eliana sighed, mimicking her mother's words under her breath, her hands still eagerly looking through her whole wardrobe that weirdly fitted in only two suitcases. She didn't gave her mother the satisfaction of replying something as she knew how their conversation would end: angry shouts and slamming doors. Instead, Eliana stayed silent and continued her desperate search. The girl excitedly shrieked when finding the grey hoodie that once belonged to her father during his university years, immediately putting it on her body and wearing it like the good luck charm she thought it was. This shirt had brought so many good fate into Eliana's life. When she auditioned for the role, Eliana was wearing it. When she received the email for a second audition, she was also wearing it. When Annie had gotten the call, she wore that grey hoodie. So, it was obvious that she needed to wore that same hoodie for her first linguistic lesson, putting every positive odds on her side. Eliana had an unhealthy habit of wanting to excel at everything, even at something so meaningless as a tutoring session. 

"I'll be downstairs in the common room. Tutor's going to be any minute, now." Eliana stated to her mother, a bag full of books and crayons hanging on her shoulder as she ties her shoelaces. Annie hummed, acknowledging her daughter's words but her gaze still focused on her task, her shoulders stiffed as she childishly played the same silent treatment game as her daughter had previously did. Eliana ignored the cold reaction from her mother and made her way to where the linguistic lesson had been planned. Jamie already sitting by one of the tables, reading an old and tarnished book that looked like it had been past down from generations.

"Hi." He said, his eyes still moving along the words before him. "I'm finishing my chapter and then..." He didn't bother ending his sentence as the book grabbed his full attention, causing the girl to chuckle at his daze state.

"Don't worry." She whispered. Since the table read, Eliana had gotten to know the younger cast better, becoming more and more familiar with each of them as most lived in the same building. Production had thought it would create an even more authentic chemistry between all of them if they lived all under the same roof, except for Trinity. She was the only one who didn't since she was from Los Angeles and not very far from the studios but the youngest would still hang out in the common room with her fellow castmates. There had been a few nights where they would meet up in this very room and play some games or watch movies, things that kids typically did at sleepovers. Even if Eliana liked this routine, she was more than excited to start working on the movie, training was in five days and she eagerly counted the hours before it. Jamie slammed his book closed, a small smile creeping on his lips as he placed it on the table before him.

"Is it good?" Eliana asked, one eyebrow risen and eyes squinted as a playful smirk appeared on her face.

"No," Jamie straightened himself up on his chair, his body moving forward above the table as he mirrored the same expression the girl had. "but it's a classic."

"At least you're honest," Eliana chuckled, her lips turning into a pout as she slowly fake clapped the boy's brutal uprightness. "even if you have terrible taste in books." Jamie slightly gasped to the teenage girl's comment, causing her to hold her laugh by pressing her lips together. The sound of a door closing startling the both of them as they were deeply mesmerized by their conversation.

"Hey guys, I'm Mitchell, I will be your tutor for the next few days." The bearded man exclaimed as he grabbed his laptop before dropping his bag on the floor, both of the teenagers greeting the man with smiles and small nods, becoming their usual shy self again. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, the traffic was horrible."

"No, don't worry." Eliana answered, her hand reaching the side of her cheek to keep her head lifted, her eyes subtly flickering to Jamie's as they shared an amusing look. "What are we starting with?"

"Ouh, I can hear an accent. Let me guess," Mitchell paused, searching for clues in the few words Eliana had spoken out loud. "Clearly Canadian but you have a little something else. I can't put my finger on."

"Franco-Ontarian." Eliana corrected the man, noticing she had surprised him when his eyebrows rose to the fact.

"What about you?" The tutor turned around to Jamie, causing him to uncrossed his arms and lifting his head up. He couldn't look more unbothered than this.

"British."

"Brilliant." Mitchell awkwardly joked, mimicking Jamie's accent as they all crackled a laugh. The tutor proud of his joke and the teenagers cringing to it. "So, let's get started."