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T h e B e g i n n i n g
o f N o w
Once Mr. McKnight called for everyone to have an hour lunch break including myself, I left the building to buy the vanilla and chocolate cupcakes for my one month anniversary at Freedream Film Productions. It felt bittersweet that I was making my mark in just one month as an assistant to the company and being recognized for it. I still had a long way to go but to get feedback from my crew members and my boss on my work ethic felt rewarding to me.
"Congratulations to our very own, Breanna Davidson," Mr. McKnight announced, holding up a ribbon. "On making one month at Freedream Film Productions."
Everyone clapped their hands including the cast of the movie as I ambled over to Mr. McKnight to receive the ribbon. He placed the ribbon on my shirt as I walked off staring at it. It was a gold ribbon that read: Breanna Davidson, 1 MONTH. After the small celebration, the people split up as I was now seated in the lobby's chairs with my colleagues.
"How you feel being an official team member, Breanna?" Raheem asked, taking a sip of his juice before resting the cup in his hands.
"I feel..." I crossed my arms, thinking about the question and how I wanted to answer it. "Well, I'm glad that I got this far here especially at a well-established company like this one, and with a good, hardworking team, it makes working here even more interesting."
"Awe, that makes me happy," Malaysia said, placing her hand over her heart. "You've done so much here in such a short time!"
I agreed.
"Yeah," I nodded my head, deciding to change the subject on to something other than work. "Tatyana, you decided on what place you're going to go for your birthday?"
"I'm still trying to choose between Miami and Bora Bora," She said, tapping her finger on her chin as she smiled. "Both places are so beautiful. I just want to have a nice resort with a spa, do other activities, eat good, and just have fun. I know they might have it out here but being here just reminds me of work so going to either of those places for a three-day weekend would be nice."
"I'm down fa' sho," Terrell said, rubbing his hands together. "I heard they got some baddies out there..."
We all laughed at him, because although we know that he was joking; he wasn't. Getting to know Terrell and living with him for a month now, I began to understand him and his ways. He was a huge flirt and goofy guy so I did believe that he would act a fool which I couldn't do anything but love him for it.
"We know," Leandra giggled, linking her arms with Isaac. As Issac was busy scrolling through his phone, as usual, without saying much to the group. While she was engaging in the conversation.
"I'm here for it too," Malik asserted, sliding his cellphone into his pocket, "Just give me a first-class flight then I'll be one hundred percent down."
"Now you know," Tatyana stared him down, causing all of us to laugh. "If anything, you'll take that economy class flight."
I know that's right. I was also excited about a getaway from work even if it was for the weekend. I probably wouldn't be able to fly with all of them on Friday because I would eventually have to work but Saturday and Sunday, I was completely down. I'd have to buy me some swimsuits, a few fits and a travel bag to take with me but that wasn't a problem.
"I'll let y'all know when I make my decision," Tatyana conferred.
Finishing my chicken wrap, I sipped on my fruity beverage. The catering service company that Mr. McKnight hired did a good job of making the chicken wraps along with the other food.
"What's y'all plans for the weekend?" Malaysia voiced in her silvery tone, glancing around the room at all of us.
"Hitting the club," Malik uttered, as the corners of his mouth curved up into a smirk. "Ain't been to a club in so long,"
Figured.
"I don't even know yet," Raheem shrugged his shoulders, stretching his legs out as he sat in one of the chairs.
"It depends," Tatyana added, crossing her legs over the other as she narrowed her eyes. "We could go bowling or skating. It's been a while since we've had a group gathering."
"The club sounds like a good idea," Terrell agreed with Malik, placing an arm around me. "But it's up to my Lil' bit here, she still considered the new girl here."
"I'm down with the majority," I replied, not wanting to always be the person to have the final decision. I was still a bit new to the crew and I haven't hung out with everyone in the group aside from the girls and Terrell. Though I went out once with Malik, I still had yet to go out with Raheem. "Whatever y'all are planning to do, I'm with it."
"Well if anyone's here free this weekend...I have big news to tell you all..." Malaysia announced, standing up as she placed her hands over her mouth. "It's something that I would like to celebrate with you all!"
I felt excited about this especially knowing ahead of time about her buying a home. It was a huge accomplishment that I truly wanted to have one day.
"To what?" Malik squinted his eyes, pulling his cellphone from his pocket.
"The girls know because we went to dinner," Malaysia conferred.
The girls finally caught on as Tatyana was completely excited for her friend as she smiled proudly at her whole putting both her fist under her mouth.
"Oh, I see how y'all do..." Terrell smacked his teeth. "Couldn't tell ya' boy first?"
"I'm sorry Terrell," Malaysia apologized, giggling as she glanced down at her phone before smiling. "I was working on this for years. Making sure that everything was set how I wanted it to be, and finally, the home that my real estate agent and I found is completed. I'm a home-owner now!"
"Congratulations Malaysia, its well-deserved sis," Raheem stood up, hugging her as the excitement showed across his face. "I'm happy for you."
"I knew you were hiding something, congratulations baby!" Terrell jumped up, surprising her as he picked her up off the ground before kissing her cheek. "I remember texting you and you would give me dry answers."
Malaysia laughed.
"My sister!" Malik cheered for her, standing up as they did their handshake. "Congratulations, that is a very huge accomplishment man. So happy for you!"
"That's real dope Malaysia," Issac spoke, completely shocking me. "I'm happy for you, really happy."
"Thank you guys, I love y'all so much," Malaysia's eyes watered, as she continued. "It was so hard holding in my secret for so long. I wanted to tell you all at the right time so this weekend, I'll be giving you all a fully-furnished tour around my brand new home, and Tatyana will be hosting the party afterward!"
We all cheered for her, as she could no longer hold her tears. It kept falling down her face as she was incredibly proud of herself. Checking my cellphone, I sighed as it was now time for our hour lunch break to be over—as the crew members checked their phones, they realized it too.
"Well, it's time for me to head back to work,"
I hugged everyone, leaving them as I walked over to the clock-in area. After clocking in, I moved to my desk and glanced over my list of tasks. Deal with trash and recycling. I ambled around the areas of the cast, production crew, and all the other departments eating; throwing away chicken wraps papers, chip bags, water bottles, and other snacks. I even grabbed the broom and dustpan from the back in the film studio and proceeded into sweeping the floors of crumbs, dirt, and trash then dumped it into the trash.
"Davidson?" A voice called from the walkie talkie.
I picked it up, pressing the button to push to talk. "Yes,"
"We're going to be reshooting the first scene," Mr. McKnight stated. "Noticing a few mistakes, I would like for you to explain this to the cast members and the extras that we will be reshooting the first scene, thank you."
"Copy that Mr. McKnight,"
I saved the broom and dustpan in the hallway closet, going to the sink to wash my hands thoroughly before making my way towards the actors and actresses trailers that were outdoors. Leaving out of the building, I headed towards the first trailer seeing security guards standing in front of it. They recognized me from the building as they moved out of the way and I placed a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" A voice questioned.
"Breanna, the assistant."
The door opened as Amber's agent Phoebe was behind the door, she extended it open further, allowing me to enter the trailer as I noticed Daniella and her agent Carla sitting with Amber who was drinking tea and looking at her script whole Daniella was chewing on pretzels while scrolling on her cellphone.
"Hey, Breanna, what's up?" Amber greeted, sitting her cup of tea on the table.
"Mr. McKnight wanted me to inform you all that we're going to reshoot the first scene," I said. "I'll escort you all to the film studio,"
"Okay," Amber stood up. "I've been meaning to ask you if in our contracts, are we required to have our transportation or?"
"I'm required to handle your hotel booking and transportation," I confirmed, leading the way out of the trailer with the security guards following us. "I'll make sure to schedule you the Ubers once the shooting is finished for today,"
"Wow, thank you. Didn't think you had to do that also," Daniella asserted, following me out of the trailer.
"Yeah, you do a lot girl." Amber nodded her head in agreement. "I also wanted to tell you happy one month anniversary to you, personally. I know how hard it is to be an assistant and work for an established company. So, what you do to me is very important."
"Thanks, I appreciate that so much." I smiled.
The trailer wasn't that far from the building at all, as security guards protected us from people and held the door open for us. Once I escorted the talents to the film studio, I moved on to the waiting area to explain it to the extras. Stepping inside the waiting area, I stared at the extras talking with one another, eating the snacks and refreshments, as well as watching the TV or listening to the light music playing from the radio.
"Hello everyone!" I waved at everyone, seeing them all divert their attention on to me. "I was told to let everyone know that we will be reshooting the first scene. So, I'll escort you all to the film studio, and then once the scene is finished being shot, you'll go through wardrobe and makeup then I'll sign you out. Okay?"
"Okay!"
I led them out of the waiting area, and into the film studio room. Most of the extras who were considered the audience were called by Mr. McKnight and the production crew to give them pointers on what to do.
The first scene was taking all day, and I'm sure that we weren't going to get to be introduced to our other main character, Marc Thompson. Although Bryan wasn't shooting today, he was still present and watching his cast-mates act.
As I checked off the tasks on my iPad, I heard the walkie talkie as I pressed the button to push and talk.
"Hey Breanna? I know you're probably busy at the moment," Malaysia's voice appeared into the walkie talkie. "But after you're done, can you help me fix the set issue?"
"Not a problem, I'll be there,"
.
.
.
Once Mr. McKnight called for the final lockup for the first day of filming; I was happy to finally get off and clock out. As everyone was leaving, I began to think about the video that I recorded and glanced at Mr. McKnight checking out the details of the paperwork that I completed. Whereas, Leandra was coming from her department on the second floor as the elevator doors opened. I grew nervous at the thought of losing my job.
Although I had the evidence to back me up—They could easily deny themselves of being apart of the video due to their faces not being on a camera aside from their voice. Also, I thought about being blackballed or blacklisted from the entertainment industry since Mr. McKnight held a strong influence in the industry. I was simply an assistant and my voice wouldn't matter to anyone. I would end up losing my job and going back to Baton Rouge in shame.
I tucked in my bottom lip, pretending to fiddle around with my folders as I watched in the corner of my eyes, the body language that they displayed. It was professional, as Leandra walked over to him and showcased the paperwork in her folder as Mr. McKnight nodded his head.
I couldn't do this.
"Davidson," Mr. McKnight cleared his throat.
I looked up from my cellphone, forcing the fakest smile on my face.
"Yes?"
"Didn't you clock out a few minutes ago?" He lifted a brow, holding my folder in hands. "Whatever you didn't get to finish today, you can still finish tomorrow morning."
"Thank you Mr. McKnight," Leandra told him, strutting away from him as she rolled her eyes at me and exited out of the building.
"Sorry, I'll be out," With one last forced smile, I followed Leandra out of the building to only get blocked from going to my car. "Leandra, you're blocking me from getting to my car..."
"I just want to know why you were standing in the office those extra minutes?" She crossed her arm, tilting her head. "Are you trying to have an inappropriate affair with our boss?"
"I'm sure you know much more about inappropriate affairs than me," I mumbled, shutting my mouth immediately as I realized that I gave it away. I was eventually going to go home and worry about the situation on my own but Leandra was invading my personal space.
"Excuse me?" Her smile on her face dropped into a gaping jaw showing her look of worry, along with her hands being at her sides then crossed again. As she tried to change her body language to be more relaxed, I could tell that she grew uncomfortable. "I don't know what you're talking about Ms. Davidson,"
"You have a good day, Leandra." I giggled, brushing past her.
Entering my car, I couldn't help but laugh. One up for Breanna.
I turned on my ignition, leaving out of the parking lot after stepping in the car and putting on my seatbelt. I got on to the road heading into the direction of Terrell's home. I sang along to the songs that played on the radio as my phone began to ring. Glancing down at the caller ID, it was Johnathan Strong, and I hoped that it was good news.
Johnathan Strong was helping me get into an agency so that I could become an actor. He worked with plenty of people like me, who were trying to get a name for themselves as he had plenty of connections in Los Angeles that'll help me get to where I need to be. He claimed that he saw star quality and potential in me, the moment he saw me sitting in the chair of their interview, and told me that I needed to take advantage of it.
"Hello?" I greeted him cheerfully, using Bluetooth from the car so that I didn't hold my phone while driving. "How are you, Johnathan?"
"Hey, I'm doing good," Johnathan replied, his deep voice sounding off in the car. "I have good news. There's a public celebrity event happening real soon and plenty of entertainment people will be there. I'll bring you in as my plus one and introduce you to some industry people that you'll be able to network with and from that moment, I'll get them to schedule a meeting with an agency."
"Thank you so much, Johnathan," I beamed. "So when's the event? Also please let me know the time and place as well as the dress code so that I find the best fit for the event."
He continued to tell the information about the event, telling me that he'll send one of his stylists to send me a few looks for the event. I was truly grateful for Johnathan and meeting him at the interview. Finally, I arrived at Terrell's home and parked the car next to his car, and stepped out of the car, getting my keys.
"Talk to you soon," I ended the phone call, walking over to the front door. I turned the knob, noticing that the door was opened and I smiled, entering the house. I spotted Terrell waiting on me on the sofa and sleeping. So, I headed towards him after locking the front door and tapped his arms. "Terry, I'm home, you could go to bed, you didn't have to wait for me."
"Yeah I do," He fluttered his eyes opened, rubbing his hands down his face. "You be getting off super late and it's dark outside."
"Thank you for caring for me," I kissed his cheek. "Love you, let's bring you to bed."
I tried pulling his arms to get him up, as I placed one of his arms on my shoulder and tried to lift him. I struggled to get him up, as I sighed and ended up falling on him.
"Terrell, get up, I know that sofa is not so comfortable to sleep on," I said, remembering the pain that I felt in my back the next day.
"Aight," Terrell muttered, rising from the sofa. "Good night best friend, I love ya! See you in the morning."
"I love you too," I grabbed the dishes from the table to clean them up before putting it up.
I loved and appreciated Terrell, so much that I couldn't grow tired of saying it. He did so much for me in a month of staying in his house. Allowing me to stay in his house, cooking for me, and letting me save my money to help me buy me an apartment. As he insisted on me not paying rent, I pitched in buying groceries, cooking, and cleaning—all to let him know that I was grateful for him.
I couldn't betray him or the other people that I met at the company and I wouldn't. My plan that I had originally thought in my mind was soon going to be long-gone. I wanted everyone to like me for me not being a person that was fake or trying to get my way to the top by being evil.
Success and fame was something that I craved for but not doing it deceitfully—a lot of opportunities comes with people being genuine and nice. With that being said, I deleted the video completely off of my phone and decided to forget it then headed upstairs to my room to go to bed.