FEBRUARY 2018 - LOS ANGELES
Eliana hadn't found sleep all night long, her mind anxious but eager to start filming the scenes she had worked so laboriously on for the past several months. When the girl's alarm clock echoed in her room, she had already her eyes opened as she had drowsed through the rest of the night, immediately getting up from her bed and walking toward her wardrobe to dress herself. Obviously, she chose to wear her father's old hoodie, the one that always seemed to brought her luck which was precisely why she needed it today. If her mother had been there, she would have dismissed Eliana's superstitious thoughts and even if the girl wasn't certain to truly believe in her hoodie's magic, it still brought her some kind of confidence when wearing it. The girl skipped breakfast, her stomach too anxious to hold anything as she hastily crossed the streets that separated her apartment building and the studio. When arriving, crew members greeted her, nodding and saying few hello's toward her way, everyone knowing the girl's name. Eliana had only started getting used to the attention she was receiving, sometimes it overwhelmed her but most of those times, it made her heart feel complete, like the path she was currently on was the missing piece for her to feel whole. Eliana gawked in awe at her surroundings, fully taking in the adventure she was about to get on, mesmerized by the studio's immensity and grandiosity now that it had been completed with the structures. The young actress walked amongst her coworkers until she reached the dressing room to change into the way too tight lilac striped wetsuit, the only thing her mind couldn't grasp to get used to. When unlocking the stall, her normal clothes now filling her bag, she was greeted by Janice, the motion capture's makeup artist who would ultimately be known as the dot painter. Eliana smiled at the short woman before her, rapidly understanding she had been sent to walk the girl toward the makeup room.
"Good morning." Eliana exclaimed when entering the room, instantly noticing Bailey in one of the few chairs that rested before a full wall length mirror with light bulbs all around it. The curly haired girl's face had already been half covered with black dots. She faintly greeted her friend back as she tried to keep still for the other makeup artist that worked on her face. Eliana sat in the chair next to Bailey, her head falling on its cushion as she tried to calm her nerves, knowing she could be in this seat for several minutes.
"Just relax your face." Janice instructed, towering the young girl as she started carefully painting the dots on her face. "Do you girls want some music?" Both Bailey and Eliana nodded to Janice's proposition as she took her cellphone out and played electronic dance music, causing the girls to subtly exchange weirded out looks, amused grins creeping on their lips. Yet, Eliana find herself fighting her eyes from shutting, not entirely sure if it was from the lack of sleep or the soothing feeling she sensed growing as she got more and more comfortable in the makeup chair. The girl must had dozed off for at least a couple of minutes because when she opened back her eyes, Janice had halfway painted her face before a feminine and high voice had woken her up.
"And this is where we get ready," Trinity entered, excitedly skipping through the room as she waved for Jamie to follow her. The boy slightly crouched at the young girl's level, a camera in his hands. Jamie had filmed all morning with Trinity as he let the younger girl took the lead on the tour of the set, showing the studio to their nonexistent audience. "Bailey! Lili! Say hi." Jamie pointed his camera to the girls who slowly waved their hand at the lens. The boy sat on the empty chair beside Eliana's, his elbow aiding him to lift the weight of his camera, directing it at the girl's direction. Eliana intuitively lifted her arms to the lens, trying her best to keep still for Janice, in hope of avoiding Jamie to capture her image.
"Come on Lia." The boy chuckled as he moved around her arms, finding a spot where she couldn't stop him from filming her. "I'm making a documentary," Eliana slightly turned her head, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips at Jamie's idea, thinking how creative the boy was. "And I want to interview you since it's the first day of filming." The boy flickered his gaze behind the brunette, now addressing to their other friend who Trinity had joined. "Think about your answers Bailey, you're next."
"Can't you wait after the dots?" Eliana chuckled, causing Janice to lift her brush away from the girl's face as her shoulders rapidly lifted and dropped. "Sorry." She corrected her posture.
"I'll wait." Jamie said, his lens zooming on the girl's face as he tried to captured the essence of the moment she was living. It was no secret for Jamie that Eliana's every thoughts could be seen on her face, by a sudden frown or a simple twinkle in her eyes which could only be noticed if you knew where to look. Jamie admired the girl he felt lucky to call his friend, an overwhelming urge of inspiration flooding his body when she met his eyes through the lens, her shy grin causing the boy to do the same. "You look ridiculous." The boy lied, thinking she looked quite the opposite, even with dots painted all over her face, she made his heartbeat picked up.
"She's all yours." Janice proudly exclaimed when she had finished her work, twirling the girl's chair toward Jamie's way. Eliana shyly chuckled to the woman's words, her teenage mind wondering what it would be like to be Jamie's, finally admitting to herself after almost a year of knowing the boy that she was deeply attracted to him. How couldn't you be? Jamie had everything for himself. Eliana gaped at Jamie readjusting the settings and the position of his camera before refocusing his attention to the girl sitting before him.
"So," The boy started, his eyes getting lost into hers as he cleared his throat.
"So." She smiled, her eyebrows knitted together, waiting for the boy's questions for his so-called documentary.
"Just sate your name, age, date and talk to me about what you're feeling and expecting for the filming of the most awaited movie of all time." Jamie instructed Eliana who nodded through all of his words, overthinking the answers she could give.
"Um, okay." The girl straightened her position, her right leg crossed on top of her left one in the elegant posture her mother had taught her, her body statuesque like as she figured the footage would eventually end up for the rest of the world to see. Jamie frowned to the girl's body shift, wondering why she had changed the way she presented herself yet he still let her do the interview the way it pleased her. "My name is Eliana Martin, I'm currently seventeen year old as of the 20th of February 2018." Eliana paused before answering the next question, seeking for the perfect one in her mind, something that would make her mother proud, something that would make the world adore her.
"Don't think about it. Just say what's at the top of your head." Jamie directed the girl who didn't seemed to appreciate his comment as she started to thoughtfully chew the insides of her cheek. Eliana didn't know if she was more annoyed by his bluntness or his honesty. "I'm just saying, this is supposed to show the most authentic version of our journey, I don't want you to filter... well, you." Eliana anxiously scratched the back of her neck before putting a hand on Jamie's camera, leaning it down so it could film the floor instead of her, the self doubt getting the best of her as she declined to answer his final question. Jamie frowned to the gesture.
"Yeah. Well, sorry I'm not authentic enough for you, Jamie." Eliana said while getting up from her chair and walking out the makeup room, the boy quickly following behind her, immediately regretting the words that had made her voice quieter, hurt. That wasn't his intention and Eliana knew that she might be overreacting but if she wanted to succeed in this industry, she needed to be the best version of herself at all times, especially in front of a camera. Anybody's camera. That was what her mother had taught her, that was what would make all of her dreams come true.
"I didn't meant it that way and you know it." Jamie said, finally catching up with the girl as he stopped her from walking further away by blocking her way, tension slowly growing as he grabbed her by the shoulders in a comforting gesture which she ultimately brushed off.
"I do." Eliana sighed. "That's why I'm telling you to ask me again in a few days." The girl's eyebrows scrunched together as she tilted her head toward the boy with pleading eyes. Ones he couldn't deny anything. Jamie sighed, his hands dropping back to his sides, Eliana instantly longing for his comforting touch again.
"You know you don't need your mother's approval for every little thing of your life." He gently spoke, telling the girl things he knew she didn't want to hear but were necessary. Family meant being honest with one another, even if sometimes the truth could hurt and since Jamie considered the girl as family, it seemed like the only right thing to say. The boy had noticed over the last months how Annie treated her daughter, no matter how hard Eliana was working, it wasn't as close to meet the woman's expectations. He hated seeing her change her personality, what made her so interesting and beautiful and with his documentary, he only wished to show the real Eliana. The one who made him laugh, who made him romanticize every occasions and who had the kindest heart as the brunette would never allow herself to reveal it to the rest of the world.
"No, not for my life but for my career, yes. Yes, I do, Jamie. And I know you'll probably never understand it but that's just the way it is."
Growing up was already as hard as it was, but growing up under the spotlights, that was something different for the teenager who tried to find a version of herself she liked, one she wanted to become. Maybe this was what caused Eliana Martin's downfall from the film industry.
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@liamartian filming is finally starting!
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