one of them - j.flatters

xi. the blame is hers

NOVEMBER 2022 - LOS ANGELES
Eliana lifted her hair out of the way for the sound man to adjust the microphone he had hidden under her shirt's fabric, taped near her collarbone. The girl thankfully nodded to the man who quickly left the set as she anxiously brushed her hair with her fingers, making sure they were perfectly placed. She looked over at the younger girl sitting beside her who was already staring at her, a smile plastered on her face in response to any doubts Eliana could have about her appearance. Trinity had always looked up to the Martin girl and didn't realized how much she had missed having an older sister by her side until she had regained the one who had filled the role over the last few years. The now thirteen year old turned her head left to see ring clad fingers holding up a rainbow box, handing it to her. The three of them were sitting in high chairs before a red paper background about to start their third interview of the day. The camera was soon rolling as the director signed them to start with the introduction their team had prepped.  

"Hi, I'm Jamie Flatters."

"I'm Trinity Bliss."

"And I'm Eliana Martin."

"And we're going to be getting up to," Jamie said, shaking the box filled with folded papers, making them bounce.

"Who's most likely to." Trinity excitedly smiled, her fingers wiggling, almost dancing when she announced the game they were about to play. Those kind of interview's were the girl's favorite, it never felt like work and more like they were back in their golden days. Trinity opened the box as she shuffled through the papers, eyes closed, until her hand came out of it with one. "Who's most likely to steal something from set?"

The trio all thoughtfully looked at each other, searching for references in their past to answer the question the most truthfully, smiles all lifting their lips upwards. Eliana didn't seemed to figure something to reply but quickly realized by the looks on Jamie's eyes that he had find one.

"Well, you guys are very kind persons," He started saying to Trinity and Eliana, stuttering on some of his words as the two girls amusedly watched him struggle on translating his thoughts to words. "You've got very pure and sweet souls... and I'm not a nice person, and I don't have a pure soul." The boy said in between laughs, causing the girls to join him. "So I would do the stealing for us." Eliana silently watched her two costars elaborate on the reasons they would steal or had previously stole, noticing how comfortable Jamie seemed to be. His posture more present and his tone more confident than it was in Florida and despite the inner promise Eliana had made, she only reacted to Trinity's and Jamie's words during the majority of the interview.

"Who's most likely to ignore the group chat?" Jamie red the piece of paper he held in his hands, fidgeting with it as it was obvious for everyone in the room who was the right answer. The boy quickly glanced back and forth toward her way and so did Trinity, debating with themselves if some things needed to stay private. Eliana knew she had hurt her friends by distancing herself over the last years, almost completely disappearing from their lives but there was no reason for her to hid it. She owned up to her decision, she might have regretted it but the only thing she could do about it now, was to repair what she had broken. The black haired girl searched deep in her thoughts, contemplating on making up a lie and spare everyone the embarrassment but against all odds, Eliana went ahead and answered a question for the first time.

"Probably me." She chuckled, trying her best to ease up the tension the game had created, something the crew seemed to not have picked up on as the director nodded behind the camera, telling the girl to continue what she was saying.

"Well, Eliana lives the farthest from all of us so you know, uh... time differences." Jamie hastily added, knowing well that it was a lie, making excuses for Eliana's past behavior.