Thursday was filled with packing, talking to my dad, aka the only family member I keep in contact with, and a lot of sudden emotions for Claire and I. We've spent the past two years together. We were roommates in the dorms our first year of college and we got this apartment the summer after before our second year. We've been through a lot in those two years. Figuring out college and adulthood, bad boyfriends and girlfriends, stupid fights over stuff like whose chips those were. We did a good deal of crying, and Sky had come over and lay in our laps, trying to comfort us.
Now I'm at the airport. My suitcases are checked, Sky is in her new carrier, and I have my laptop, camera and food for Sky in a backpack. I'm just a tad bit anxious. I love going on planes, but 31 hours is definitely the longest I'll ever be on planes and in airports in one go. Soon, the boarding starts for the first flight. With a big smile, I board the plane, and I smile again as the plane takes off. The take off is always exhilarating. It's like riding the Tower of Terror. I don't know why, but I love the feeling of you gut just dropping to the floor when you rise up like that.
I slept the entire first flight. And during my eight hour layover in Houston, I, of course, ate, and worked on editing videos. I also let Sky out of her carrier and attached a leash to her little collar. She doesn't need the leash. She stays by my side in public. The leash is just so I don't get in trouble. I also made sure that she ate and got some water and made sure she relieved herself in the pet area of the airport. Even with all of that, the layover seemed to last forever. Then there was the flight to LAX. A little longer than the first flight, but still went by pretty quick, because I slept the whole time again. Let's just say I can sleep wherever and whenever I want. It's a gift I guess. The next layover was much easier with it only being a couple of hours. The flight to Auckland was the worst. With how long of a flight it was, I couldn't sleep the whole time, so I ended up watching some Lord of the Rings, an all time favorite of mine. Sky also disliked this flight. Though she's generally quiet, she started meowing halfway through the flight, so I had to take her out of her carrier and let her sit in my lap for a while. The passenger next to me didn't seem to mind so why not. After that, the last layover and flight went smoothly. By the time the plane landed, I was well rested and ready for the day.
"Alright Sky, let's get our bags and find Peter and Sebastian," I say to my cat as I follow the signs to baggage claim. It was easy to get to because of all the signs, but there's so many people here. But once I got to baggage claim, it was slightly less crowded I guess. It took a while for the belt to start moving and luggage to start appearing on it. But once it did, I soon found my two suitcases. They're easy to spot. Two hard shelled blue suitcases with white elastic straps along the center. Once I got both, I take a deep breath and turn around. Almost immediately, I spot a small group of men with Sebastian holding up a sign with my name printed on the front. Holding in a laugh, I smile as I make my way over to the group.
"Ms. Sylva Fletcher, welcome to New Zealand," Peter Jackson says with a smile. I smile back and shake his awaiting hand.
"It's so nice to meet you and be apart of this. Thank you so much for this opportunity," I say, smile growing. My gaze shifts to other three of the group. One of which specifically caught my eye. He's kinda pretty, I think to myself.
"Let me quickly introduce everyone here. As you may have guessed, this is my assistant, Sebastian Meek. And then we have Graham McTavish, he will play Dwalin, Dean O'Gorman, he will play Fili, and Aidan Turner, he will play Kili," Peter says, pointing to each as he says their names. Graham is the tallest of the three actors, with a bald head. He also seems to be the eldest of the three. Dean is the shortest, with blond hair that's neatly styled. Aidan, probably the most handsome of the three, in my opinion, has dark, curly hair and strong brows. My eyes linger a little too on his face for my liking before I force them to look back at Peter.
"Is that a cat?" asks Aidan. I turn my gaze back to him and nod.
"Would you like to hold her?" I ask and I nods with a smile. I chuckle to myself and let her out of her carrier. The man gently picks her up and holds her to him.
"What's her name?" asks Dean.
"Sky," I answer shortly.
"She's a beautiful cat. Now, let's get into the van. We'll head down to the studio, where you'll be shown around, and then when one of these three heads back to the hotel, they'll take you there with them and then you'll be shown to your room. Just state your name to the person at the front desk," says Peter before he exits the airport with the five of us following behind him. There's two men waiting outside a black van. Once we reach them, they grab my luggage, backpack, and cat carrier and put them in the back and then we all enter the van. The two men are in the front, one driving, the other in the passenger seat. Peter, Sebastian and Graham sit in the first row of three, leaving Dean, Aidan and I to sit in the other row of three behind them. The last row of seats, a row of four, is where my bags are. I'm seated in the left seat, between Aidan and the wall, and Dean is in the left seat, in the other side of Aidan. As the van begins to move forward, Sky hops out of Aidan's arms and into my lap. I smile at her and pet her soft fur.
"She seems to really like you," Aidan says as he watches Sky.
"Well, she is my cat. She's supposed to like me. Otherwise I'd have failed as her human," I reply with a chuckle. Aidan chuckles as well and reaches over to pet Sky. Her being the attention lover she is, purrs at the attention she's getting.
"What breed is she?" I hear Dean ask from the other side of Aidan.
"A Birman," I answer after leaning forward to look at him as I speak. Not long after, we reach the studio and we all file out. Sky, being lazy, climbs onto my shoulders and wraps herself around me. It's not the most comfortable for me. She's lucky I love her.
Some of the crew is there to greet me and then show me around. They first show me to the makeup trailers.
"This is the trailer you and I will be working in mostly. I'm Dean's makeup artist and you'll be Aidan's," informs Abigail. She's the one who's showing me around. So I get to work with the the pretty boy. Abigail then shows me around the studio. "Ah, here's all the actors who play the dwarves. And Martin Freeman. He's paying Bilbo. They're doing a 'dwarf boot camp' thing," Abigail says as we approach fourteen men, three of which being Graham, Dean and Aidan. She then proceeds to list off each of their names along with which dwarf they play as she points to each on. They all greet me with a smile.
"Is she done with the tour?" Dean asks Abigail.
"Almost. I'm going to show her around the trailers once more and then we'll be done," she replies before leading me out of the building. I turn back for a second to see Dean glance over to Aidan with a smile. "It's a bit tricky sometimes. I got lost the other day for a good bit. But you find your way pretty quick. These are the actors trailers here," she says as once we're back at the trailers, pointing to a large group of them that have names on the doors. "A good path to follow to get out without getting lost is following the trailer order of Richard, Stephen, James, Dean, Aidan, and you're out! And just do that in reverse to get in," Abigail says as we pass each of the trailers.
"And then between the actors trailers and the studio building is where the makeup trailers are," I try, hoping I remembered correctly.
"Yes! See, you're already getting the hang of it!" Abigail says, giving me a pat on the back. We're now at the van the brought me to the studio. "And here's the van. Someone at the hotel should be able to show you to your room. I'll see ya tomorrow!" She reaches over and gives Sky a quick pet and then she leaves. I make my way into the van, sitting on the left seat of the first row of three. Just as I'm about to reach over and close the door, two faces pop into view. Aidan and Dean.
"We're heading back to the hotel for lunch. Mind if we share the van?" Dean says as he and Aidan sit in the seats to my right, in the same order as before. Sky then climbs down from my shoulders and into Aidan's lap.
"I don't mind," I say in reply to Dean as I stare at Sky. "Apparently she now likes Aidan more than she does me," I say after watching him pet her for a moment.
"The ladies love him," Dean says with a shrug. I chuckle and roll my eyes. Within minutes, we reach the hotel and the two help me with my luggage.
"Is this your first time in New Zealand?" Aidan asks as we enter the hotel, Sky in his arms.
"Yep. I've only been here a few hours and I already love it," I reply with a smile. We get to the desk and I tell the lady my name. She then hands me a key and tells me my room number.
"Hey, she's on the same floor as you Aidan," Dean says as I thank the woman.
"You're on floor 5 too? Awesome. I know someone on my floor already," I say with a smile before we head to the elevator.
"You two could hang out after work each day," Dean suggests.
"That is if I'm not busy. I had a life before today you know," I say. The elevator door opens and we enter it.
"What do you do?" Aidan asks.
"I'm a makeup artist on YouTube," I answer.
"I'm guessing that's why Peter Jackson hired you?"
"Yep. I specialize in wound effects," I state as the elevator stops at floor five.
"What kind of wounds can you make?" Dean asks as we walk down the hall.
"Pretty much any. Cuts, burns, bullet holes," I list.
"Do you know who you'll be primarily working on?"
"Abigail said I'll be working on Aidan," I reply to Dean. We're now at the door to my room and I thank them for their help before bringing my luggage inside and gently taking a sleeping Sky from Aidan's arms.