Everyone woke up that morning with a certain feeling of emptiness. Jade woke up in a new environment she still was not used to. After a few moments, she remembered where she was. It was her first day of work. She would go to the Paramount studio and meet everyone. She would supervise a probable multimillion dollars project which was about an idea of hers. And with that in mind, she wanted to be prepared.
She got dressed and took a few things with her. She remembered seeing a café a few buildings away. She went to that café and sat down on one of the tables. The café was rather empty as most people were working already. After ordering a big cup of coffee, she took out the script, a pen and a few empty sheets of paper. She slowly read some parts again, making notes she wanted to remember and emphasize. She didn't exactly know what she would do today, but she had an idea. It would either be meeting the casting director or the crew responsible for the props. Jacob would probably be there too, making sure everything goes right. After writing out three sheets of paper, she glanced at her phone. 9:40 am. She left the money on the table, collected her things and made her way towards the studio.
Beck woke up, noticing someone missing that morning. Someone he grew accustomed to again. It would be tough not seeing her every morning. He enjoyed waking up a few minutes before her. He would watch her as she sleeps. She always looked peaceful. Calm. Beautiful. He smiled at the memories. She would be back. And when she does, he would appreciate those moments even more. He would enjoy her presence even more. He got up and put some clothes on. He ran his hand trough his hair as he sighed. He missed her, and there was nothing he could do about it. He walked over to his car. He wondered how the others were doing.
Cat didn't have much sleep. She tried to escape into her world again: A world where everything was fine, without problems, peaceful; a world where her best friend was with her. She felt her heart ache. She wouldn't see her today. They wouldn't talk about random things. She wouldn't hear any of Jade's sarcastic remarks. She wouldn't sit with them during lunch. All those moments that became natural to everyone. She felt the urge to cry. But she wouldn't. It wouldn't be fair towards Jade. Jade had always been there for her. Jade had always listened to her when she was sad. She always protected her when someone was mean towards her. As much as it hurt, she would be happy for her best friend.
Tori was taking her books out of her locker. She looked over at the locker across the hall, filled with scissors of different colors. She sighed at the realization for a certain amount of time, the owner of that locker would not be there. Tori watched as her friends approached. She saw that they missed her too. Andres' patented smile was replaced by a small frown. Robbie's' expression was completely neutral. Becks' usually stoic expression was replaced with an empty stare. But none of them could match the change that occurred with Cat. Her usual, happy go lucky, personality and her wide smile were gone, replaced by a frown and eyes filled with sadness.
"Ready to go to class?" Andre asked in a lifeless voice. The others nodded and went towards the classroom. Tori turned around and stopped Robbie for a moment. She never expected this to occur, but the former geek was now probably the one who is dealing the best with this situation.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Tori asked, not caring if she would be late.
"What is it?" Robbie asked, surprised.
"I need your advice. About this situation. I… I don't know if I'm exaggerating things, but I'm worried about the others, especially Cat." Tori admitted. Robbie's expression changed from curiosity to a sympathetic smile.
"We all miss her. It's simply that each one of us deals with it differently. But you are right about Cat. It does seem to affect her the most. But that's normal. She and Jade have been best friends since I met them, and I'm talking Pre School here. It's too early to skip to any conclusions." Robbie securely said. Tori sighed, but she knew he was right.
"You are right. Come on, let's get to class." She said and they took of. Robbie watched the younger Vega as they walked. He knew that this wouldn't be easy. They were a small group in which everyone had always relied on everyone. The worst thing that could happen is if everyone tried to deal with this by themselves. And he also knew that this would be a natural reaction for all of them.
Jade walked into the large building completely clueless where she had to go. She was fifteen minutes early, so she still wasn't completely stressed out. She watched around, trying to figure out where to go, when she felt someone pat her on the shoulder.
"Can I help you?" the tall, muscular man asked.
"Yes, my name is Jade West and I'm here to direct the movie "Pop goes the Weasel"." She explained, thanking god she met the security officer.
"Ah. So you are Miss West. Mr. Oswald told me about you. Follow me please." He said as he started walking towards the elevator. She followed him in. He pressed the button for the 3rd floor. Soon, they arrived and he motioned her towards room 18.
"The others should be here soon. Please wait for them inside, Miss West."
"Thank you…" she said, but stopped, not knowing his name.
"Pardon me. My name is Andrew." He said as he extended his hand.
"Thank you Andrew." She said as she shook his hand. He excused himself and went back towards his desk. She walked into the room. There was a big table with a lot of seats, a computer and a projector. But what immediately caught her eye was the coffee machine standing in the corner of the large room. She placed her stuff on the table and made herself a coffee. She sat down and took another look at her notes, but the door opened a few seconds later. Jacob came in with a mid aged, brunette woman and a older man.
"Good morning Jade." Jacob greeted her, quickly followed by the other two.
"Good morning." Jade greeted back. They all sat down on the table.
"Jade. This is Miss Holding. She is the casting director for this project. She wants to talk to you about the characters of the movie and discuss possible actors you would suggest." Jacob said motioning towards the lady sitting to his left.
"My name is Jade West." She introduced herself, getting up and extending her hand. The older woman smiled at the good manners the talented girl had shown and shook her hand.
"And this young man next to me is Jeff Nichols." Jacob said as he smirked towards the older man. "He is the leader of our building crew. He will be responsible for the building of the set and the props. You are going to tell him about your ideas and what you are going to need."
"Nice to meet you." Jade said as she shook his hand.
"Here is the plan for now. The first two weeks we Monica is going to finish with the casting of the actors. Give her your input and share your ideas with her so that she knows what she should look for. Jeff and his crew are responsible for the building of the stages and props. Tell them what you want the places to look like and if you need any special props. They are going to get them. When that is done, we are going to make a schedule for filming. I want you to decide what scenes to shoot in what order and give that to Jeff, so he knows what stages are going to be used beforehand. That is the first month. Then we can start shooting. It should take at least three months to do this. We are taking it slow, because no real project can be done well if rushed. The last two months will be used for editing, input of music and animations. Jade, throughout this whole process, you are going to observe everything and direct the traffic. I'll make sure that the budget is sufficient and not overstretched. Also, I need to warn you, we are probably going to re shoot some scenes because of the MPAA. They always find a reason to send the movie back, so don't let them discourage you." Jacob explained before taking a look at his watch.
"I have to leave you already. I hate to meet a few of the special fx guys. I'll call you later and let you know who we are considering, so you can help me choose." Jacob told her as he got up and left.
"I have to leave too. I'll be in room 22, 2nd floor when you are done here." Jeff said and left.
Jade looked over at the blonde lady who took placed her suitcase on the table and took out some files.
"I must admit, I'm thrilled to be able to work with you." The older woman said as she was searching for something in the case. "I love the script you wrote. And I think I've found some actors that match your description of the characters. So take a look and tell me what you think." She said as she handed Jade some of the files. Jade looked at the pictures first. She studied them carefully, reading the short biographies and the works they had done before, She was also thrilled that amongst them were some names she already knew and actually would have chosen herself. The two talked for an hour. Jade explained why she picked a specific actor for each character, explaining the characteristics she wanted. Miss Holding listened to her carefully and took notes. She was surprised how sure the young woman was about what she was looking for. After Jade was done, Miss Holding placed the files back.
"You are really something, aren't you young lady." She remarked out of nowhere.
"What do you mean?" Jade asked, not sure how to take that statement.
"I've seen older, more experienced people come to their first day of work completely unprepared, ready to make decisions of the cuff. And then you come in, on your first project, with a vision and a certainty of what you want. I'm positively surprised." She explained. Jade's expression lit up. This meant a lot to her. She was afraid of failing, but she actually managed to leave a good impression on the experienced woman.
"I'm going to contact the actors and continue looking for the parts you haven't found a match. I'll call you when I'm done." Miss Holding said as she took the suitcase and left the room.
Jade collected her things and made her way towards the 2nd floor. She entered room 22 and saw Jeff standing with a few of his colleagues. She walked over to him and took out the drawings she had made while writing the script. He was surprised at the details she had included. She explained how places should look like and the locations that are going to be necessary.
"I must admit, it's nice to work with someone who knows exactly what she wants." Jeff said with a smirk. He took the notes and the drawings Jade had given him and passed them on to one of his colleagues.
"We'll get to work right away. I'll let you know if I have any questions." Jeff said and walked over to his colleagues, explaining to them what they would be doing the next few weeks. Jade left the room, happy with her performance.
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