From Twinkle, With Love(34)
“Wow, check out the crowd,” Maddie said, pushing her way up to me.
“I know, right?” I decided to put aside our differences for the sake of our professional relationship. Maddie had clearly turned it off, and I could too. Besides, I was fairly sure this was all part of being a director. I couldn’t let my personal feelings get in the way of my art. “Oh, and thanks for showing off the capelet.” Most of the people in line were from Maddie’s social circle.
She waved me off. “Ah, it’s no big deal. People are super excited to include this in their college apps, too. It’s so different.” She tucked her hair behind an ear and half smiled at me. “So, are you psyched? This is what you’ve always wanted, coming to life.”
“I’m so psyched,” I said. And then it hit me that we sounded like acquaintances who’d run into each other at a restaurant. Ugh.
“Cool,” Maddie said, wrapping her arms around herself. “So … I’ll go wait in line. See you inside?”
I thought about saying yes. But I could feel it—my best friend slipping further away from me. So, on impulse, I said, “Um, do you want to come inside? Maybe help us pick the roles?”
“Me?” Maddie said, holding a hand up to her chest. “But I’m just an actress.” I could tell by her exultant smile that she liked calling herself that.
“So what? Perks of being the lead.”
She looked at me for a beat and then said, “Squee! Okay.”
I felt a tug of affection for her, despite everything. Maddie is the only person I know who says “squee” instead of just typing it. Smiling, I put an arm around her and led her in.
Maddie turned out to be very helpful in casting. For instance, when Sahil and I had difficulties deciding between two people, she’d say stuff like, “Oh, Olivia just got grounded for going to a frat party without telling her parents, so she probably won’t be able to make practice for a week or two.” So we chose Francesca instead. Or “Mike told everyone he thinks this whole gender-swapped idea is crap but he needs to beef up his college apps,” so we chose Brij for the role of “Morris” (Mina in the original).
Oh, and speaking of Brij—he completely captivated us with his acting! Even Maddie, who’s not into films like Sahil and I are, was leaning forward and watching him. The only reason we’d been considering Mike a little more is because Brij has a tendency to mumble. But better a mumbler than a hater, I say.
Oh, and guess what? Victoria Lyons came up and apologized to me after she auditioned. Maddie was in the bathroom and missed it. Victoria basically said, “That was pretty crappy how we interrupted your conversation yesterday. I’m sorry. Hey, by the way, you should come to Hannah’s birthday party next Saturday at my parents’ cabin. Okay?”
First I just stared at her in utter shock. Not only was Victoria Lyons apologizing to me, but she was also inviting me to a party? Then her words sank in. “Oh, it’s Hannah’s party?” I asked, thinking about our moment in the hall yesterday.
“Yes, but it’s my parents’ cabin,” Victoria said. She put a hand on my arm. “Please, Twinkle. Let me make it up to you.”
I said okay because I’d be crazy to refuse an invitation to a party at Victoria’s parents’ cabin in Aspen. Plus, she wanted to make something up to me? It was finally happening, wasn’t it? The movie was helping elevate me past groundling status, just like I’d hoped. Maybe I could hang out with some of her friends, show her that I could fit seamlessly in with the silk feathered hats. I could probably just avoid Hannah most of the time anyway.
Plus, on a professional note, it’ll be a good time to get some behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast members, like that extra footage at the end of DVDs, to make our film stand out at the festival.
I ended up casting Victoria as Renfield, but the invitation had nothing to do with it, promise. I mean, honestly, I would like to cast Hannah as the character who eats live animals with the hopes of obtaining their life force, but she didn’t show up. Big surprise there. Why would she want to go to Twinkle Mehra’s auditions? Maybe I should be thankful she even let Maddie come. Anyway, Victoria is great at styling her hair and she promised she could style it to look like a rat’s nest to suit the character’s chaotic mind.
We begin filming tomorrow—my first real movie and chance to be a director! This is so surreal, I keep looking around for Salvador Dalí to make an appearance. I just hope I can live up to expectations—everyone else’s and my own.
Love,
Twinkle
Thursday, June 11
Homeroom
Dear Valerie Farris,
I ran into Sahil today before first bell. “Hey, T,” he said, his mouth quirked in a mischievous half smile. “Where’re you rushing off to in such a hurry?”
Do not be taken in by his charm, I told myself. You have something important to do. Stay focused. “Um, I was hoping to catch you on your way to class.”
His smile got brighter and he took a half step toward me. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” I kept my face serious and looked straight into his eyes. His gorgeous, soft brown eyes. Those eyes I’d fallen into right before we kissed. Focus, Twinkle. “Look, I know the other day at lunch I might’ve seemed like I didn’t care too much, but …” I took a breath and said the rest in a rush. If I waited, I’d lose my nerve and change the subject to the cafeteria’s chocolate milk or something. “Sahil, it was a big deal to me that you chose the cyclorama over the backdrop I wanted. I mean, I’m not saying that you bullied me into it or anything—I should’ve spoken up at Thoroughly Thespian. That’s something I struggle with, so that’s what I’m doing now. I’m speaking up. I wanted the backdrop, not the cyclorama. And I didn’t like the way you spoke to me at lunch the other day when I brought it up.”