Better Than Me

Chapter 8

"Dude. You're supposed to agree with me on this one."

"Oh. Right. Those bastards. How dare they give a newbie this role?"

"That's better." I ran a hand through my hair. "Well, I said I wanted something different. Something tells me this isn't going to be like my other rom coms."

Blake and I both looked up when the door opened. The entire cast – or most of it – was meeting up for the first time to do a read through of the script, and we were just waiting on Sophia, as far as I knew.

Sophia walked through the door and I found myself speaking without really meaning to. It just kind of came out automatically. "Is this a sign of how working with you is gonna be?" I asked.

She looked like she was trying to catch her breath or gather her composure or both. "Your fans nearly trampled me out there. Is that a sign of how working with you is going to be?"

"They just get a little excited," I said in their defense. It wasn't my fault they loved me so much and were excited for my new movie.

She ignored me and spoke to Nora instead. "Sorry I'm late, Nora. I had some trouble leaving my hotel."

I would've called her out on her bullshit if it had been bullshit, but the date of the read-through had been leaked and even I'd had some trouble getting here, and I was used to these things.

"We haven't been waiting long. You're fine," Nora said. "Go ahead and take your seat so we can start."

The only seat open was the one right next to me. She looked like she wanted to sit anywhere but next to me, but there was a tabletop sign with her name and her character that she couldn't really ignore even if she wanted to. As my leading lady, she had to take her seat next to me. Blake, as my on-screen brother, was on my left side.

I watched her sit next to me from the corner of my eye. I was trying not to overtly stare at her so I wouldn't get called out on it. I had a feeling she would do exactly that if given the chance. She was looking around the table, probably overwhelmed by all of the familiar faces. She was easily the lowest-ranked actor here since she didn't even have a rank yet.

"How about we start with some introductions?" Nora said. "We're going to be stuck with each other for a few months, so we may as well get this over with."

Nods and words of agreement filled the room and so it was decided. Introductions it was. I didn't really think I needed to introduce myself, but maybe I would remember everyone else's names for once.

Nora pulled an orange baton out of her bag. "This is the Thespian Stick. If it's handed to you, you say a few words about yourself and then pass it on. I'll start. I'm Nora Harding, and I'm your director. I'm very easy to get along with, and I'm excited to work with all of you. I want this to be an enjoyable experience for everyone. Personally, I think shooting this movie is going to be a blast. We've got a great cast and a great script to work with. But I digress. A fun fact about me is that I love seafood." She handed the stick to Blake. "You're up next, Blake."

"Sweet." Blake flipped the stick around in his hands.

"Please don't break that," Nora said, looking at him with a worried expression.

"Right. Sorry. Alright, well, my name is Blake Grey and I'm playing Eric Knight. I've been in the business for a few years but I always end up back here. Probably because Nora promised to stock my trailer with as much pizza and Skittles as I could ever want. A fun fact about me is that my buddy Chris here and I co-parent a dog." He slapped me on the back and grinned. "He likes to shit on his bed."