Ghost Bird

4: Breakfast with the Lees

Kota and Victor both come sprinting into the room. "Please tell me we're not late," Victor gets out in between labored breaths. I gesture to the work happening around us.

"They're still setting up. What took you so long?"

"We had to talk one of the assistants out of making Victor use his stunt double for jumping on you. All he's doing is jumping on the bed!" Kota grumbles.

Isabel finishes checking the sets and calls us over. "We'll start with Sang waking up in Kota's bed. Sang, there's going to be a camera under the blanket to capture your expression, so be careful not to nudge it. Victor, jump to the far side of Sang so you don't land on the camera. Everybody knows their lines, right?"

We nod. My heart starts to race as I position myself in the bed. This is my first scene and I don't want to screw it up. I lay down, pull the blanket up to my shoulders, and close my eyes. I open them again when an assistant comes over and straightens my hair on the pillow, but then she leaves and I'm ready to start the scene for real.

I hear the snap of the clapboard. "Scene four, take one!"

I slowly open my eyes. I squint at the bright light, making a big show of glancing around the room. The audience can't read your thoughts. Show them your feelings. Frowning, I try to get my bearings. I turn my head towards the ground where the pullout bed used to be, but it's no longer there.

One of the sound technicians clangs two boards together to represent a door banging, then makes clomping noises. My eyes go wide and I pull the blanket over my head. It takes all my concentration to maintain a scared face and not glance at the camera I know is pointed right at me.

"Hey Kota!" Victor calls out. "Still sleeping? What's wrong with you?" His footsteps approach the bed. He takes a deep breath, then jumps. He somehow manages to land perfectly so that he looks like he's on me without actually squishing me. His hand grazes my ribs though, and a giggle escapes me.

"Cut!" Isabel yells. "Sang, you can't laugh, this is serious!"

Victor gets off the bed and I shift the blankets to the side. "I'm sorry, I'm kind of ticklish," I murmur.

Victor's gaze narrows on me. "Ticklish, you say?" He pokes my ribs and I giggle again.

Isabel scowls. "Reset!" she yells. I lay back down, repositioning the blankets to make them neat again. The same assistant fixes my hair, then we're ready to go.

"Scene four, take two!"

I go through the same routine as before. Omg, where's Kota? He's gone! Oh look, here comes Victor, I better hide.

"Hey Kota, still sleeping? What's wrong with you?" Victor jumps again, landing perfectly once more. I manage to control myself this time and pop my mouth into a surprised "O". I let my arms fly up a bit, just enough Victor to grab my wrists. I squirm around, but can't get free.

"Are you getting up or what?" he asks playfully. "The world is spinning on without you."

More footsteps approach. "Victor," Kota says in a warning tone. Victor freezes. In one smooth motion he leaps of the bed and drags the blanket with him, leaving me to block my eyes from the light.

"Who..." he says. I lower my arm and examine him just as he is examining me, as we supposedly see each other for the first time. His stare is so intense that a blush rises to my cheeks without my prompting.

"Victor, this is Sang," Kota introduces. I watch with wide eyes as they banter back and forth. Don't they think it's weird I haven't said anything yet? It seems pretty weird to me.