Joes car pulls up to the studio parking. He turns the car off, and turns to look at me, like he is unsure of what to say.
"Thanks for today," I say to him, breaking the awkward silence, "It was good to go out and do something with a friend,"
I slightly emphasise friend, hoping he knows I understand this wasn't a date. He smiles at me.
"I had a great time with you. You should get out and do more, more often you know. You're not only missing out on the world, but the world is missing out on you," He says to me.
My heart flutters at that, but I roll my eyes.
"What?" Joe asks.
"You can just be really cheesy sometimes," I say with a laugh.
Joe laughs too.
"Well, sorry for being cheesy. But, I mean it," He says to me.
I nod.
"It is pretty good advice. Thank you." I say with a smile.
* * * *
When I get to my trailer, I find Robert waiting for me.
"Where have you been?" Robert asks me, "I heard you got the part, and thought I'd try convince you to let me take you out to celebrate, but you weren't here!"
I rub my lips together, and then smile.
"I was with Joe. He took me out to celebrate," I say carefully.
"With Joe?" He asks.
"Yeah..." I say.
"You left work in the middle of the day?" He asks me.
I nod.
"Yeah," I tell him.
"With Joe?" He asks again.
"Yes Robert, I left my work that I was way ahead on, to go celebrate my new job with my new friend." I say with a smile.
"You never leave work, like ever," Robert says in disbelief, "How did Joe convince you?"
I shrug.
"I don't know... He just says a lot of things that makes sense, it's hard to say no," I say.
"Hmmm..." Robert hums, thinking.
"What is it?" I ask.
Robert opens his mouth as if he's about to say something, but then closes it changing his mind. After a pause, he goes to speak again.
"I guess you won't want to come out with me then," Roberts says.
"No, I'll come! I'm going to try to make more time for friends. I can't spend all my time holed up in here," I say to him as I gesture around the room.
Robert shakes his head, a smile growing on his face.
"I don't know what Joe has done, but I like it," He declares as we leave the trailer.
* * * *
A few days later, I have a meeting with the Duffer brothers to discuss my role and filming schedule.
I'd been thinking a lot about what Joe had said about taking this opportunity to write about what I want to write about, and have decided to resign as a writer on the show.
As I walk into the office building for our meeting, I start to get nervous. What if they think I'm being an overconfident diva by quitting the writer job? What if they decide they don't want me as Kaya anymore?
I walk over to the receptionist and nervously tell her my name. She tells me to take a seat and I sit down to wait. My phone dings with a message.
Robert
Good luck Charlee! And BREATHE!
Charlee
Thank you! I'll have you know that breathing isn't my problem right now, I am practically hyperventilating.
Robert
Okay, stop breathing then! You're welcome for the advice. Break a limb.
Charlee
Thank you so much Robert 🙄
I laugh at Roberts texts and feel the tension start to leave my body. I'm so glad I have him as a friend, he's always supportive and there for me.
"Charlee?" The receptionist calls my name.
"They'll see you now. It's just through there," She points to a door, smiling kindly to me.
I get inside the room and notice Matt and Ross both sitting on a small green couch. They both lift their heads up at the sound of the door opening and smile. Matt motions to a green armchair across from them and I sit down obediently.
"Hi Charlee, so lovely to see you again," Ross says to me.
"How are you?" Matt asks.
"I'm good thank you. Thank you two so much for this opportunity, I really appreciate it." I tell them.
Matt waves his hand in front of him, making a face.
"You don't need to thank us. Are you kidding? You got here on your talent," He says, his brother nodding in agreement.
"Still... I appreciate everything you've done for me. Even since I came on as a writer, you've always made it such a good environment to work in," I tell them.
"Why does it feel like you're saying goodbye?" Ross asks, eyebrow lifted.
"I guess, in a way I kind of am. Don't worry! I'm still intending on taking the part for Kaya, if you'll still have me. But, I've been thinking a lot, and I already make myself work much more than I should. I think taking on a second job would be spreading myself too thin, but I owe it to myself to explore acting," I explain to the brothers.
They are both nodding. Matt's hand resting on his chin, Ross leaning forward with his arms on his knees.
"To tell you the truth Charlee, we wanted to broach the subject with you today. We would never fire you of course, you've always been valuable to the team, but we were concerned you'd be taking on too much and were going to ask what you thought," Ross says to me.
"And - your input will still always be welcome if you have ideas. We always encourage the talent to come to us with ideas about their characters too, since the character becomes more the actors creation than ours. Your voice will still be heard in Stranger Things, if that's what you want," Matt finishes.
I sigh and relax.
"I'm so relieved we're on the same page! I was so scared of disappointing you," I tell them.
"We will miss you in the writers room, and all the work you do of course. But, you still being around on set does soften the blow," Matt says with a smile.
"Thank you, thank you so much for the support. When would be a good last day for me?" I ask.
"Charlee, you're so far ahead already. Finish up what you've got for us on your time, we'll pay you for where you're up to. That should tide you over well past when you get paid for your acting position," Ross says.
"Thank you, thank you!" I say again.
Matt turns to Ross.
"I don't think I've ever heard so many thank you's in one meeting," Matt laughs.
"Now, about the story and the script. We've got the pack here for you. As you know from your work in the writers room, Kaya is Robins ex-girlfriend as well as Steve's new love interest. So, it would be good if you can make some time with Maya and Joe and bounce things off them and build up those relationships so it transfers on camera," Ross explains to me.
I lean forward listening intently and nod along at what he is saying. I haven't really talked to Maya too much, but we do get along and I really like her.
"We've already seen how well you and Joe work together, the chemistry test was amazing! Now, do you have any issues with working with Maya?" Matt asks.
I shake my head.
"Of course not," I say to him.
"Fantastic. Well, I recommend contacting them both and working out a plan and running lines with them. I already know you'll be fantastic!" Matt exclaims.
They show me some parts of the script that I may not have seen yet that other writers had worked on, and discussed more of my characters backstory with me.
By the time I leave the meeting, I'm feeling more confident and so excited to start filming.