"GooOooOood Morning!!"
That was the sound that awoke me as the clock turned to 6:30 AM. I had seen a video with the meme and now it was the only thing that scares me out of bed. If it works, it works...
I quickly grabbed my outfit that I had planned the day before, going into the bathroom to take a shower. It was really early in the morning, but at least it meant I would get most of the hot water first. It was exciting, finally being ready to venture into the acting world. My dad always told me that it was a dangerous world, and he wanted to protect me. But I think I was ready. The contract and paparazzi said so.
The contract was for a movie. It was centered around this girl who could manipulate the universe, but when her powers went awry, she unleashed chaos on the world. And I don't mean "Oh oops! Extra monkeys!" I mean "Oh shit, that's a nuke." That's a little exaggerated. Maybe.
Dad told me to call him before I went to hair and makeup so that's what I did. I set up my phone against the mirror and pressed the FaceTime video. It rang. And rang. "Mija! Oh, the trailer looks nice!" I smiled, waving him off. "How's the bed? How's the cast?" I chuckled. Leave it to my dad to sound more excited than one of the main characters...
"Papi! So many questions, you act like you're not an actor yourself." He chuckled, seemingly walking to the kitchen for his coffee. "The bed's nice. I'm meeting the cast in a bit. Line reading, then me, the other kid and adult leads are going somewhere apparently. It's a bit cold at night around here, though."
"That's Vancouver for you. Did you pack the extra blanket like I told you?" I nodded, showing him a piece of it. "That should keep you warm. And have fun! You're going to love some of the cast members. I snooped around."
"Oh my God, really?" I asked. The director had refused to tell most people who they were working with. Maybe because it was a lot of kids? I was fine with it, but this was my first acting job. I wanted to know what to expect. My dad nodded on the other line and opened his mouth to say something, but the trailer door echoed a small knock. "That's Hair and Makeup looking for me. Love you Papi!" I said, waiting for him to acknowledge he heard me as he waved me goodbye and ended the call. "Coming!" I yelled to the person outside my door. I grabbed my jacket and my phone, checking myself in the mirror and smiling. Let's go.
The girl who came to pick me up was really sweet. Her name was Amybeth, she was in her 20s, and she was my assigned makeup lady. She said that I was her first client in the acting scene, and I told her how sweet it was that we were having our firsts together. I loved tiny coincidences. After I told her what I usually did for makeup, she glammed me up with a small natural look, only adding a small amount of foundation (I broke out once after using it and was terrified to try it again), and then some blush and lip gloss. I smiled as I looked in the mirror. Hair was next. My stylist came to me. She was a bit more serious and looked more in her 30s. I learned that her name was Alma and that she had only done hair for two years. She had a simple hairstyle, two french braids. My hair stayed in place and I thanked her, looking in the mirror. I had picked this cute pink long sleeve shirt and these sweatpants with butterflies on them. Thankfully, Amybeth had these gorgeous hoops with butterflies on them. I love butterflies. I waved goodbye to Alma, and walked out, heading towards the set.
A/N ~ (For all the readers, I wanna just say I can't style for shit so please enjoy this embarrassing attempt at an outfit :D i also can't crop the pictures 😭)
It took about 45 minutes for all the getting ready to be finished. I had texted my dad for most of it before he did his normal morning things. I made my way through a lot of trailers. Nobody in sight yet. When I got to the set, I saw three recognizable people. And I had met one of them personally. "Bella!" I exclaimed, jogging over to them excitedly and wrapping them in a hug. They hugged me back, smiling. "Your dad texted me and told me you would be here," they said, their British accent putting me at ease. "I'm guessing you didn't know?" I nodded, motioning to a chair and sitting down next to them.
"I walked in here blind last week. Talked to Dad right before hair and makeup." They nodded, looking around as the two other's faces walked up to the table and sat. "Hello, good morning!" I said, smiling. They smiled back and extended their hands.
"Richard Harmon," one said, and I recognized him from a show I watched on a whim. I was hooked since, and never expected to act with him.
"Lana Parilla. Nice to meet you, sweetie," the other said. I was thankful my dad was famous, or else I would've been dying. I had followed Lana for the longest time, watching shows like Once Upon a Time and Why Woman Kill. I had a certain attachment to her characters.
"There's supposed to be like 10 people here, not including producers and writers," Mr. Richard spoke up as we waited a few more minutes. And that's when the writers were seemingly summoned, because in came the rest. I did a mental headcount: 4 teens including me, and 6 adults, not including the other staff. I also recognized a kid that was about my age. I knew he acted with Ryan Reynolds. I didn't recognize anybody else at the moment. As the writers handed out scripts, I could finally put a role to names, and then names to faces. That's when my brain read a seemingly familiar name. "Walker Scobell?" I asked as I read one of the actors. I looked around to see if I recognized anyone with the name but then I remembered. That kid that acted with Ryan Reynolds. The writers started talking and we all went around the table introducing ourselves. Miss Lana went first saying she played Analise, then Mr. Richard said he played David. Then the others started. This is how it went.
~~
???: Hi everyone, my name is Shemar Moore. I acted in Criminal Minds and SWAT. I'll be playing Maurice. Nice to meet y'all.
???: Um. I'm Cailey. I'm 15. I acted along with Chandler (she gestures next to her) in The Walking Dead. I'll be playing Annie. Nice to meet you guys.
Chandler: Hi everyone! I'm Chandler. I was in The Walking Dead for like 8 years. I'm playing Jack. I haven't acted in a hot minute but it's nice to be back.
Bella: Hey guys! I'm Bella Ramsey. I played Ellie in The Last of Us earlier this year. I also acted in Game of Thrones. I'm playing Ashley. Your turn! (They nudged me with their elbow)
Me: (I chuckled nervously.) Good mornin' everyone. My name is Jade Pascal. I haven't acted before, so this will be my debut. I'll be playing the big main character, Luna. And in case you were wondering about my last name, yes, my dad is Pedro Pascal. And fun fact, I didn't tell the casting directors my real name until after the whole process. So no favoritism was involved here. Nice to meet all y'all. (Absolute silence for a bit...)
???: Ok then! Hi, I'm Momona Tamada! I was in the To All the Boys You Loved Before series as well as the Babysitters Club series that came out like 2 years ago now. I'll be playing Star! So nice to meet most of you!
Walker: Hey guys. I'm Walker. Um... Recently acted in The Adam Project with Ryan Reynolds... so you might know me from there... I also did a movie called Secret Headquarters. That was with Momona. That's all I have. Oh! I play Evan.
???: Hi everyone! I play Maya. (She paused before facepalming and realizing she forgot to actually introduce herself.) Oh! My name is Alycia, and I acted in The 100 with Richard there. I'm also acting on Fear the Walking Dead, but we're on break right now which is why I was able to take this role.
~~
And with that, the introductions ceased and writers began their little synopsis as well as answered any questions we had. I only asked what the food was like, and everyone chuckled. The answer was simple: our trailers had fridges, stoves, microwaves, you name it. We could eat by ourselves or go out with castmates. Our choice really. And the kids have like a budget every week: 250 (Canadian, 'cause Vancouver) dollars. We could save it up if we wanted, but we got paid 250 a week for food or whatever we wanted. Nice setup.
We did a quick first table read before finally splitting. I went towards Bella and away from the others, but she dragged me over to the other kids. Cailey was standing next to Chandler and Walker was talking gently to Momona. "What do you say we start this movie production with a bang?" Bella asked the five of us. I looked at them and shrugged, and looked at the others. Momona smiled and came over to me, whispering in my ear. "Hey, let me get your number so I can start a group chat for all of us younger people." I smiled and gave it to her while Bella and Chandler discussed where to take all of us. Poor Cailey seemed shy, but since she had an old castmate present, she seemed to have let her mask down a small amount.
~~
???
Hey newbies how it like being in the presence of a god? 😤🤯
??
Walker be nice.
Walker
and if i dont want to?
Momona
I'll show them the video😏
Walker
stop holding that against me 😭
Jade
Ooh what video(this is jade hi guys)
Cailey
hey its cailey i think im the only one that hasnt talked👋🏻
Momona
You're good! Me and Walker are gonna have a little movie night us teens. After we all go to wherever they're taking us☺️
Jade
ooh what movie?
Walker
you say "ooh" a lot
Jade
see this is why i have the role of Luna and you don't
~~
"Hey guys?" Chandler said, looking at all of us. I chuckled as I looked up to see all of the others still texting in the group chat.
"Have y'all decided?" I asked, putting my phone in my pocket, the others following suit.
"Yup," Bella said. "We're going to go to Olive Garden!"