To: A Fellow Author
You are too kind. I have only dabbled with my own original fiction, and I am currently stuck in the endless rewrite period. Perhaps if I had more time...but nonetheless. Thanks again!
The thick fabric of Jack's jeans had protected his leg from the flames. It was just another accident like any other on the set.
It's one of those things that is expected to happen, hence the reason they had EMTs on set.
They didn't even need to take Jack to the hospital, in fact, the young man is acting like he didn't nearly die (or at least get very seriously maimed). Instead, he is joking around with the EMTs like they are old friends. Then again, for all Aster knows, they just might be.
Something someone said, as the EMTs initially surrounded Jack, something that implied this wasn't exactly a rare event for the stunt actor. That he is rather accident-prone. Not a safe flaw for someone in his career path.
But Jack Frost will live to annoy another day.
And the movie will go on.
Just like it always does.
And as the sound of Jack's laughter fills the set, the unfortunate accident fades into oblivion.
Men don't wear makeup. This was Aster's firm belief all through high school.
As an actor, however, he had learned there is exceptions to every rule.
That does not mean, of course, that he had to enjoy the ordeal. Word had circulated amongst the makeup artists' community to ignore the scowls and looks of pain on the Australian actor's face. And that the rumors of him punching out an artist who had made his makeup just a shade too heavy were only slightly exaggerated.
He was no Jack Frost by any means, whose only method of peeving makeup artists is that he can never keep his fool mouth shut. It is a new game amongst the artists to toss treats into his mouth to get him to hush his mouth for just a few moments.
It's ridiculous that North didn't bother to get Aster his own dressing room. All the other directors do it. And so he's sitting as they apply the makeup, fuming all the while, all while staring at the seat across the room where Jack was sitting, surrounding by a crowd like always.
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?
If Jack Frost tells a joke and no one is around, is he still funny?
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
These are questions to which the answers may never be known.
And therefore 'tis useless to waste time pondering such useless questions; especially when one's time is better spent reviewing the choreography and lines for the next scene.
Which really is how actor E. Aster Bunnymund should be spending his time rather than pondering the eccentricities of a nearly-forgotten schoolmate.b Even if nothing is nearly as eye-catching as Jack Frost surrounded by a crowd of gleefully laughing peers.
Therefore, Aster puts in his earbuds and closes his eyes, tilting his head back to give the artist unhindered access to his face.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Aster looks up to notice Jack lounging in the set chair across from him.
Aster just rolls his eyes and shifts in his chair so that the white-haired young man is no longer in his direct line of sight.
Too bad his manager confiscated his earbuds, and therefore he unfortunately remains within range of hearing the nuisance.
He braces himself for any number of horrid jokes, but the other actor seems fully content to just sit in relative silence. And as the silence proceeds into uncomfortably awkward territory, Aster finds himself fighting the urge to break the quiet himself. His eye begins to twitch. Where the hell is Tooth?
What could that idiot be up to?
He looks out the corner of his eye, giving up the ghost of indifference in his own mind. But Jack Frost isn't within his vision, and therefore he must turn his head, pretending to be looking for his manager.
Jack sits there, back ramrod straight, much unlike his normal slouched carefree posture. His face seems nearly naked without the broad grin that normally stretches around his head. And his eyes, his bright blue eyes, are dull, locked in an absent gaze that chills Aster to the bone.
But before he has the chance to do much more than process it, the other man blinks, noticing Aster's gaze, and then winks.
"It's rude to stare, Kangaroo."
