Adopted by Dakota Johnson

Chapter 22: Nepo baby

^ Trixie, Reagan's new friend pictured above
Today was the first day of my acting class. I was thrilled! It was the only thing I could think about for weeks. "Hey are you sure you don't want to eat anything before you go?" Dakota asked me. "I can't. I'm too hyped up to eat." "Well at least take a granola bar. I'm going to put it in your backpack. I don't want you going on an empty stomach."

Class started at 6:00 am today. On Wednesdays and Thursdays it was after school which I preferred cause I'm not much of a morning person. As we drove off I fantasized myself playing in movies and showing up on red carpet events. That dream was quickly over once we pulled up at the Academy of Dramatic Arts.

"Good luck!" Dakota said was I got out of the car. "I know you'll do great!" I slowly walk up to the building. This center is not too big but there sure is a lot of hallways! You can easily get lost if you make the long turn. I decide to go to the front desk to ask. The lady had bright yellow fingernails and a messy bun with dark circles under her eyes. I saw her eating a donut while she was finishing up a phone call. After I made sure she was done I went up to ask. "Hey I'm here for my first acting class but I'm not sure where the main theater is. Can I get some directions?"

"You're for the 6:00 am class, correct?" She asked me. "Yes!" I couldn't tell if she was annoyed or maybe just tired but she didn't seem too happy that was for sure. "Make a left, then a right, and go straight through the hallway. You'll see the theatre. You can't miss it," she told me in a monotone voice. "Thank you! I appreciate it."
"You're welcome. Enjoy your class."

It was 5:57 which meant I was just in time. At least I wasn't late. I saw the theater she was talking about as I entered the hallway. As I made my way in I could feel the butterflies. I guess this is what it feels to be trying something new. I felt like a new kid on the first day of school.

I saw all the girls sitting on the stage. I slowly walked up. "You must be here for the acting class!" a cheerful young voice exclaimed. "I sure am!" I told her trying to sound confident. "What's your name? We're just taking attendance right now." "Reagan Johnson." "Awesome, well thank you Reagan. You may now grab a chair and sit next to Trixie. I'm Ms. Parker. Welcome to the class."

"Thank you," I told her as I grabbed a chair. I looked to the girl next to me. She had blonde hair and brown eyes and was wearing a black top. "Hey!" I said trying to be friendly. "Oh hey girl! I love your dress, she told me. "Oh thank you. It's from Brandy Melville." "No way, I love brandy!" she exclaimed. "Me too. They have tons of cute clothes. I know they're a little controversial but even my mom says that these days they want to cancel everything. All brands are a little problematic." "I agree. If we keep going like this we might as well go dumpster diving since everything is canceled."

I love this girl already I thought to myself. She's funny and we already both have something in common. Before we could finish our conversation, Miss Parker made an announcement. "Alright girls! I want us to go around the room and introduce ourselves. Say your first and last name. Then say who your favorite actor or actress is. I also want you to say if you've had any experience before or if you haven't tell us what you hope to get out of this class."

The first girl who introduced herself was Charity Jones and she said her favorite actress was Jennifer Lawrence. It was interesting to hear everyone's favorites. When Trixie's turn came she said her favorite actress was Emma Stone. Next it was my turn. "Hi my name is Reagan Johnson. My favorite actress is Dakota Johnson which is cool because she adopted me. I promise I'm not being biased. She was always my idol. I don't have any experience in acting but my dream is to play in a movie one day so I hope I can learn how to play different characters and even learn how to fake cry."

"Oh my god! You're Reagan Johnson. Dakota Johnson's daughter," a girl called out. "I saw you in the newspaper and all over social media!" I wasn't used to all this attention before so it felt kind of nice but also overwhelming. "Well I think it's great to have a celebrity's daughter be apart of our class. It isn't every day we have an actresses' kid join us. I'm sure your mom will be very proud and tell her I'm a fan of her movies," Ms. Parker added. "I will!" "Are you going to be at the movie premiere for Bad Times at the El Royale? We're all excited to see it." "I am! It's my first time at a movie premiere so I'm excited to walk the red carpet," I told my teacher and the class. "Well we will be sure to watch you and be apart of the crowd."

I saw a girl whisper to her friend and give me a dirty look. She's probably just jealous I thought to myself. Once we were finished sharing, Miss Parker asked us all to pick a partner for our first task. We had to choose a card and then act out a scenario using what was written on it. We were supposed to make up our own lines. "This is our starting exercise. Next week you guys will be given a topic and making up your own skits based on what you're given. For example, if the topic is prison you'll have to make a skit about prison. You'll eventually write your own play in groups. At the end of the semester we will perform it in front of an audience."

I decided to pick Trixie as my partner. The scenario said you and your best friend like the same guy and are fighting over who gets to go with him to the dance. This one was easy enough. We decided that the boy's name would be Jake and I would start off with saying I liked him first. Then Trixie would explain how she never told me before because she was afraid our friendship would end. The ending would result in both of us going together instead of going with any guys.

Once we were done practicing our skit I saw a girl with red hair in a ponytail walk up to us. It was the same girl who was whispering about me to her friend. "I just wanted to say I don't think it's fair that you're here while some of us have had experience for years." "What is that supposed to mean?" I asked angrily. "I'm just saying since you're Dakota Johnson's daughter they'll cut you some slack and you'll get any role you want. Meanwhile those of us who worked hard won't get the same opportunities." "That's not true! Being the daughter of a famous person doesn't mean I get handed free things in life." "Oh face it Regan, you're a nepo baby. You can have the worst acting skills or be mediocre and you'll be cast as the main character." I didn't even know what to say to that. Was there any truth to what she was saying? The girl walked away with a smirk on her face.

"Don't listen to her, Reagan. She's just jealous!" Trixie reassured me. "Thanks Trixie. I appreciate you saying that." Now I was in over my head. If it wasn't for Dakota's mother, Melanie, would she even be in the industry? A lot of child actors become famous because of their parents. They'll start auditioning for roles and they get them because their relatives were a huge hit. It's basically cheating.

As I got into the car after class was over I knew I had to ask Dakota about this. "How was class?" She asked me. "It was good and I made a new friend named Trixie but I had a question. If I become a famous actress is it just because I'm a nepo baby?" I asked her  "Reagan, what? Who is getting into your head? Did someone say something to you?"

"Well there was this one girl who made a comment. She said it's not fair that I'm here because those who worked much harder than me don't stand a chance since I have a famous parent. I'll have access to all the roles I want without even much experience." "Reagan, I can assure you it's not all true. There's some truth to it when it comes to breaking into the industry but you're not going to be awarded big roles for simply having a famous parent. You'll need to have talent and have some background as well. You'll get small roles but if you want to be the main character or to be considered you have to work for it. It's easier to break your foot into the industry if you have connections but that's not the only way."

"Thank you, Dakota. I feel a lot better knowing it's only half the truth." "Of course. I also want you to know how proud I am of you for trying this class." "I'm trying my best! I'm also looking forward to the premier next week." "So am I! Now let's get going to school. You don't want to be late."