Mornings were never something Lukas looked forward to. There were several reasons for that, mainly the fact that he hated being woken up by the sound of an alarm clock. However, on that particular morning, the student had another reason to wish to stay in bed: the ache in his muscles from all the work he had accomplished the day before.
So, when his alarm rang that morning, cutting short whatever peaceful dream he had, the young man couldn't help but whine from the very idea of getting up. He stretched under the cover, listening with annoyance the sound of his alarm clock resonating in his small studio apartment. God, he wished he didn't have class. It was only six in the morning, much too early after the day before. He had no idea how many hours of sleep he would need to recover from something like that. Yet, he would need to go back to the movie studio right after finishing his classes.
No need to say that it wasn't something Lukas looked forward to. Of course, the job was physically difficult, so this was one of the excuses, but it wasn't the only one. As a matter of fact, his new job was also tiring psychologically speaking: there had been too many people moving around him, too much noise in the room he was in, and many people's lack of manners (one of them in particular)…
And, obviously, he also had to put out a fire! Who does that on their first workday?
Lukas sighed and looked at his phone in discontent. The first semester had started only a few days ago and he already felt that this was going to be difficult. However, he managed to find an ounce of courage deep inside of him and stepped out of bed, wincing at the pain in his arms and legs. Yep, this day was definitely going to be unenjoyable.
Lukas's apartment was quite small but it was more than enough for him. This was his first time living on his own and there were obviously a lot of pros and cons. Yes, he was finally independent, yet there were a lot of things he had no idea how to do, laundry being one of them. Thankfully, the Internet was full of tutorials, so it would only be a matter of time until he was fully able to take care of himself. Unless he caused a fire trying to cook pasta… Hopefully, living on his own would give him plenty of opportunities to learn how to cook without burning anything.
The student started his morning routine, trying to ignore how tired he was. He really hoped that Mike had talked to Kaleb, his boss, about his offer. The idea of joining a smaller and calmer team was suddenly very appealing to the young man. Well, he supposed that he was going to learn that later that day.
Studying law had always been Lukas's dream, just as becoming a lawyer. But there were many small things making this dream a little bit harder to accomplish or, at least, making the way to it more tedious. Public transports were a part of it. Being in a crowded bus, having to smell people's sweat was not what the student had imagined back when he was in high school. But, heh, this was a small price to pay to do what he wanted! And being in one of the most famous law colleges of the country, this had to be expected. Though that didn't mean he took much pleasure in that.
Lukas went to class as usual after having prepared his bag. The ride to his law school was just as crowded and smelly as he thought, yet he managed to ignore it most of the time. The day progressed well and, despite his tiredness, the student was able to understand the majority of his courses. He didn't know anyone yet so he chose a seat in an empty part of the lecture hall. The possibility of sleeping was very appealing to him but he resisted the temptation and tried to follow the teachers' explanations and instructions.
And around four in the afternoon, his classes were over. But not his day, oooh, far from it. He still had to go to work. Suddenly, he felt very unmotivated at the idea. Yet he still needed the money to pay for his school fees and food. Luckily, his parents had decided to take care of the rent of his small apartment, so it was still something less on his mind.
The young man dreaded his return to the studio but still went on his way to it. Just like he expected, the bus ride was still crowded, though this wasn't surprising at this hour of the day. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief once he got off the vehicle. As soon as he stepped outside, he felt the wind caressing his face. God, this was exactly what he needed after a twenty-minute ride in a tight space, surrounded by complete strangers!
His eyes looked up to meet the huge studio in front of him, on the other side of the road. It was quite modern, though you could see there were two different buildings: it was a vestige of the time when the Conductor and Grooves persisted to work alone rather than together as they did now. Though that didn't mean they were friends or even got along, far from it. But at least they were trying to work together, which was a start.
The student crossed the road and braced himself as he entered the building, afraid of anything he might discover today. However, he was almost astonished to see the reception hall almost empty, without people running or screaming around like they did the day before. There were a few people here and there but it was way different. Was he late? Did he come too early? Lukas couldn't help but let his anxiety put uncertainties in his mind. Normally, he would need to go directly to the movie shoot part of the building but he was too nervous for that. What if he had misunderstood something? The rational part of his mind was frustrated because, of course, he was too serious to misunderstand something… But what if? Sure, there had been a fire the day before, but still, what if? That was his anxiety talking. Not knowing what to do, he walked to the receptionist. The latter's expression looked like he was way too tired for his job. Would the young man become like this after a while?
He cleared his throat and put his hands on the counter as he asked:
-"Huh, sorry… I was hired yesterday and I was wondering…" Lukas was making no sense and the man in front of him was now looking at him with a mix of curiosity and annoyance as the student was looking for his words. Eventually, he just decided to be direct about the source of his nervousness: "Okay, there's no one here. Am I too late or too early?"
The other man squinted, trying to get what Lukas was saying. Then, it seemed to hit him as a look of realization crossed his features. His expression changed suddenly from exasperation to laughter. In front of him, Lukas remained unmoving, not knowing if this was a good sign or not.
-"Ahahaha, well…" finally replied the receptionist after laughing a bit: "We don't have incidents every day, you know. Uh, though, now that I think about it, it happens fairly often. But today, everything's fine."
Lukas sighed from relief. He felt his anxiety settling down inside of him, waiting for the right moment to crawl out again. At least, it was under his control now.
-"Right…" continued the student with a sour laugh: "Anyway, thanks!"
He was about to enter the shooting part of the building when he heard a muffled "good luck" behind him. He froze instantly and stared at the receptionist in bewilderment, though the latter was now reading a magazine and wasn't looking at the young man anymore. He was messing with him, right? Surely, this man was messing with him! Lukas gulped down and took his courage with both hands as he left the room, hoping to be right.
The student was, in fact, not right.
After a few rooms, he found the one where his boss, Kaleb, was. When seeing him, the older man gestured him to come. When Lukas arrived in front of him, he didn't even get the time to greet his boss. The latter simply started talking without even greeting him:
-"Mike talked to me yesterday and he said his team could use some stagehands. His boss agreed so I have no reason to refuse since you just arrived and don't have a real purpose in my team yet."
"Yeah thank you, you prick," thought Lukas, still doing his best to keep an impassive face despite the man's words about him. Well, it was true, though there were much better ways to say it.
-"Anyway, the auditions for your new team's show started today, so you're going to have a lot of work in the following days. The rest of the stagehands probably finished setting up the scenery for the auditions, but there is still a lot of stuff to do. They'll probably show you everything you need to know, so, yeah."
He then pointed to door Lukas went through a moment ago and explained him the way to his new team's shooting set. Well, all that fuss for almost nothing… If Lukas had known he would come here just to hear that, they could have sent him a text, that would have been much quicker… However, just before the student left, his (ex) boss handed him an ID badge, on which Lukas's name was written.
-"Welcome to hell," concluded Kaleb, without any hint of a smile on his face.
Oh God, he wasn't joking.
The student took the badge, forcing a smile as he did so. His anxiety was threatening to be out of control. He really hoped this was just a huge ragging, just something to scare him the first few days… However, deep inside of him, he could feel that they weren't lying. Gosh, he wished he was wrong…
Lukas thanked him and left the room, once again looking for the right one to finally start this workday. He found it surprisingly easily after following Kaleb's instructions as much as he could. The young man found himself in front of a door with a "13" on it, indicating which shooting set was inside.
Okay, so, now this was ridiculous. Lukas had gotten the message, karma hated him, what could possibly go wrong after that? Apparently, defying the universe was an enormous mistake from the student's part. As soon as he opened the door, his eyes fell on many faces he didn't know, Mike's one in a corner of the room… And MJ's jerky face. What was he doing here? Didn't he have some movies to act in?
Oh, well, guess Kaleb didn't lie when he said "welcome to hell"!
All people in the room stopped what they were doing to look at the newcomer with curiosity. The young man guessed that no one told them about him joining the team, or at least, maybe they just didn't expect him today. Lukas couldn't help but hold the strap of his bag tightly. So many stares on him made him extremely nervous and it absolutely didn't help his growing anxiety. At this point, it was just waiting to engulf him whole.
Lukas moved forward, looking around him apprehensively. Which person was the team manager here? Who should he talk to first? Mike? Should he ask who was his new boss? To whom, though?
His fears were calmed as he recognized Grooves's face among the stagehands, probably telling them what to do. How did he not recognize him through all those people? His haircut and excentric outfit should have helped to spot him.
Taking a deep breath, Lukas moved to Grooves's direction, not without waving at Mike in the process. His new friend smiled back at him and gave him a supportive thumb up. Next to him was MJ, who only rolled his eyes in a mocking way. The student only glared at him in response. No matter how rich and famous that guy was, Lukas would not take his bullshit. The young man might have an anxiety problem, yes, but he absolutely refused the very idea of letting someone getting under his skin just for the fun of it. MJ's only reaction to his glare was to scoff, which only made Lukas even more resentful towards him.
When Lukas arrived next to the director, he cleared his throat to catch the other's attention. It seemed to work, as the director lifted his head to look at him, from top to bottom, before he recognized him.
-"Oh, you're the new stagehand, aren't you, darling?" he wondered, though it probably wasn't a question from the tone of his voice.
-"Yea- I mean, yes," answered Lukas, doing his best to stay polite. Standing in front of a celebrity without losing his composure was already quite a challenge!
-"Mike told us about you. The more people we get to help, the better!" His suave voice resonated in the room. The director had a real presence, a presence no one could match. His outfit had a lot of colours which immediately caught one's attention. Just like usual, the man was wearing shoes with huge heels. How was he even able to stand on these?
-"You're part of the team now, darling!" continued DJ Grooves, taking a pose as he spoke: "I'll be managing the show… Alongside the Conductor, unfortunately."
His voice changed from his usual glamorous tone to a mix of a disappointed and disgusted one at the mention of the Conductor. Yeah, Lukas was right to think the two directors were far from being friends, even when they tried to work together. It would be really funny… If the student didn't have to work under them, that is.
Still, he couldn't hide his astonishment at this idea: he would work directly under them? Under two famous figure of the showbiz? Lukas couldn't believe it! And, quite honestly, his anxiety didn't either, though it would happily create new sources of stress for the young man, now that he knew who his bosses were.
-"Anyway, darling, I think it would be best if you worked under another stagehand's management for a while, so you can learn the ropes."
Lukas nodded. This made sense, considering he knew nothing about this job in the first place, apart from putting out a fire apparently. At least, this was going much better than what he had first expected.
Grooves called someone from the team, a certain Tom, to assign Lukas under his care.
Now, Lukas's job would truly start.