Life With Keanu
Raina was on the road before dawn the next day. She'd woken up in fuzzy, comfortable stages, held safe and warm in a pair of strong arms. At first, she'd smiled and snuggled against him. Then her wanton behavior from the night before had her stiffening in his embrace, her eyes wide open and filled with tears. What must he think of her now? The two had never been physical like that before. They'd kissed before, of course. Was that what a real relationship was like? Was that what true couples did? No wonder Greg had insisted that Tyr was too much man for her!
She tried to pull away and quietly had a panic attack when his hold on her tightened. It took some time to settle her racing heart and calm down. She had to get out of this room, this house. She knew that it was a little early to start out for Montréal, but if she had to endure a smug look from her boyfriend - or worse, one of pity - she would break down sobbing and she wouldn't be able to stop. With this thought firmly in mind, she slowly worked her way out of his embrace, gaining inch by precious inch by moving slowly. Once she was up - the world seeming a little colder without his arms around her - she started hunting for her clothes. She was able to find everything but her underwear. Deciding to skip the shower as she really couldn't face Tyr Anasazi right now if he woke up, she took the last of her things to the rental car for her journey. She didn't have much; she hadn't known what to bring to the set, but she figured that she could always buy anything she needed once she got there. Thus decided, she pulled away from the estate without a backward glance. It was just past dawn, but she just couldn't deal with the shame of what she'd done right now.
It was hours before she remembered her hunger pains. She'd been crying off and on all trip. How could she have allowed him to touch her that way? How could she have enjoyed it so much? Had her mother been right? Was she nothing but a whore? Tyr had attempted to video chat with her, but she had refused to answer. She was driving and she looked a mess from crying so much. That's when her stomach started complaining. An hour later she could no longer ignore how hungry she was. She took some time to clean up her face before heading into the small-time diner that boasted an all-day breakfast.
"Oh, honey," Betty the waitress said sympathetically. "Do you need me to call someone for you?" That's when she remembered that black eye Greg had given her the night before. Damnit! She would need to find a way to hide it before rumors started that Tyr was abusing her.
"I'm fine, thank you," she said kindly. "Are you still serving breakfast? I could use some eggs right now." Betty took her to a booth immediately and settled her before coming back with a glass of water.
"Now you just focus on that menu and forget about that no-good man that hurt you. I'll be back to take your order sweetie." Raina was starting to regret coming to this mom-and-pop diner, but she stuck with it because she was already there. Deciding that bacon and over easy eggs with toast sounded good, she fished her headphones out of her purse and decided to listen to the message that Tyr had left her this morning.
"I know that you're there, Sunshine. I miss you. And we really need to talk about last night. I don't care how you look right now, love. I love you so much and I want to talk to you about how wonderful you taste and how exquisite you felt exploding in my mouth. You're still my good girl; please don't hide from me. Call me when you get a chance, Sunshine. I'd really love to talk about this before you get to Montréal. I love you, Sunshine. You belong to me. Please don't shut me out."
"Is that him? Oh honey, no wonder it took you so long to get out of that relationship."
Raina smiled and removed her headphones. "He's not the one who hurt me. That was his best friend in a bout of jealousy. I'd like to order now if that's okay." The waitress smiled as if she couldn't believe that her customer was covering for her abusive boyfriend, but she allowed her to change the subject. The girl ate slowly as she listened to her music. She was debating calling her man but decided at the last minute to wait until she was ready to bed down for the night. With this decision in mind, she asked Betty to give her an ice pack for the road. The woman did so reluctantly, happy with the extraordinary tip that the sweet girl gave her as she left. Raina got back on the road in short order, being hypervigilant since she only had one eye. She kept expecting the cops to pull her over but thankfully, she was utterly unmolested all day. Not wanting to drive after dark with a swollen eye, she found herself an out-of-the-way Motel 6 just off the main highway. She didn't want to be recognized with a black eye coming up. She ate and had a good, long swim to relax. After washing the chlorine out of her hair, she mustered her courage and called Tyr.
"Oh, baby. Are you alright?" he asked when he saw her eye. Raina ducked her head in embarrassment.
"Does it really look that bad, Honeybear?" she mumbled, getting the ice pack she'd gotten from the diner this morning out of the freezer to apply to her eye.
"You look like a woman who can hold her own in a fight, Sunshine. But it's going to take about two weeks to clear up. Let's hope that you have some really good makeup artists on the shoot."
"God, I'm gonna be fired before I even get a chance to work on the movie," Raina whimpered, tearing up.
"Not likely. If the director is worth his salt, he'll find a way to work around it. Just keep icing it, baby. And don't push on it when you do. It'll clear up faster that way."
"Thank you," she mumbled dejectedly. "I guess I… That is to say…"
"Baby, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. If you'd stuck around this morning, I would have told you just that. We also could have arranged a way to ice that eye." He smiled charmingly as he said it.
"But Honeybear, I was so loud and then I-"
"You are a passionate woman that doesn't do anything halfway. And when you let me drink you… Your body is so sweet, so addictive, Sunshine. I hope you realize that I will be doing that for years to come." He knew that he was saying the right things as the look of shame and embarrassment left her face. "You are amazing, Sunshine. You never cease to amaze me."
She smiled like dawn breaking and the conversation continued from there. The third time she nodded off at the desk she'd set up at, he sent her to bed with a promise to visit her on set in a few weeks if time and work allowed. The girl giggled and went to bed that night wondering why she'd ever doubted her man in the first place.
For day two of her journey she waited until the pharmacy opened up and got a few more gel ice packs, a Styrofoam container, and a bag of ice so that she could keep her eye iced. By the time she reached the set, her eye actually looked worse than the day before. The bruising was in full bloom. Not wanting to deal with a late fee from the rental car place, she went there first and exchanged her car for another one that she could rent weekly. She pulled into the movie lot an hour later, flashing her driver's license to gain access. The stagehands immediately led her to the director, who looked her over and did a double take.
"I wasn't aware that you were a brawler, Ms. Rutherford."
"I'm not. My boyfriend's friend caught me off guard. I got him back and he's no longer his friend, but the souvenir remains." She was being nonchalant as the director was, but her face was on fire from all the attention she was garnering. People were blatantly staring at her. The rumors that Lorraine Rutherford was working again were everywhere of course, but Villeneuve had been very tight-lipped about who his leads were for this project.
"Hmm… We'll have to change the shooting schedule to use that eye to our advantage. Wilma, show Ms. Rutherford to her trailer, her understudy, and then Wardrobe so that we can get started. We will be starting as soon as our other lead is ready and out of makeup. Let's move it, people!"
The assistants all scattered to do the director's bidding and so did Lorraine, hefting her heavy backpack and following the woman who had flinched when he'd said 'Wilma'. The stagehand looked behind herself and seemed surprised that Lorraine was right on her heels.
"Hello, Ms. Rutherford. I'm Wilma. If you would just follow me…"
"Please Wilma, call me Raina. I'm here to work, not to be fawned over. I don't have the best sense of direction, so I'll rely on you to help me out." This seemed to relax the woman and the trip around the lot was less nerve-wracking than before. There was a guard outside of her trailer. Big and beefy, the man looked up and nodded the women into the trailer when they arrived. Raina was surprised both by the presence of a guard and the grandness of her trailer. Working on Sunshine was a very different experience.
"Your bodyguard out there has the key to your trailer, Ms.-Um… Raina. Paul will make sure that no one gets in here without your permission, so you can leave your backpack here. Mr. Villeneuve also has a strict 'no phones' policy on set too, so you might want to turn it off and leave it here too. The bun you have your hair in is nice, but hair and makeup will want to see what they're working with, so you might want to take your hair down since we're heading there next." The assistant was surprised when Raina followed her instructions to the letter. She was used to actors throwing tantrums or being snarky when asked to do something. It took a little while to get all the pins out of her hair, and when she accomplished the task, Wilma could only gawk at the sheer length of it. "All of that is yours?" she asked in awe. The orderly locks were tight to her head and fell to her knees.
"Of course, Wilma! I've been growing it out since I was a little girl. I've never cut it, and have always maintained it myself. In fact, I just fixed it up last night for this shoot. It took a couple of hours, but I think it was worth it. Shall we go see your hair and makeup artists?"
Wilma led Raina around the lot, pointing out important points and people along the way. She did her best to memorize everything, but there were so many people and places to remember that she knew it would take a couple of days to get it all straight in her head. When they reached the hair and makeup artists, Catherine Dennins took one look at her knee-length braids and scoffed.
"Well, all that has got to go, Ms. Rutherford."
"Excuse you?" Raina said angrily, immediately on alert from the dismissive woman.
"All those braids. They're too long and unmanageable. We'll have to shave your head completely to get rid of them. We'll fit you with a wig and-"
"No."
"No? What do you mean 'no'?"
"No. I'm not cutting my hair. I'm like Sampson, I've been growing this out since I was a child. My hair is perfectly manageable - I've maintained it all my life."
"Look," Catherine huffed in annoyance at having her judgment questioned, "the script clearly calls for Mr. Reeves to be able to push your hair behind your ear. That, to me, says 'soft, relaxed hair'. Your hair is fused, so undoing it is out of the question. Now just-"
"Then I'll wear a wig! You're not cutting my hair off!"
"There's no wig big enough to stuff all that hair in!"
"If I can find a suitable wig in Western Canada, I sho' nuff can find one in Montréal. Just tell me the style you want and I'll-"
"There isn't time for all that!"
"Make time. You are not cutting my hair!" The two women glared at each other.
"Why would she need to cut her hair at all?" a new voice interjected on the argument. Both women turned to stare at Keanu Reeves in the flesh.
"Mr. Reeves! I… I um… Ms. Rutherford's hair isn't right for the shoot. The script calls for chemically relaxed hair. The right wig will-"
"I didn't read anything in the script about having to have a certain type of hair to do this movie," Raina said furiously. "If I had, I would never have agreed to it! My hair is not 'wrong' or 'unmanageable' just because you are unused to handling this type of hair. I'll do my hair myself, or I'm willing to cover it if it makes you more comfortable. But there is no scenario in which you are taking a pair of scissors, a razor, or any other sharp implements to my head. It's not happening. Oh, and by the way, you have yet to introduce yourself." Both women were still glaring daggers at one another.
"My name is Catherine Dennins and it is my job to make sure that the right look of the movie is maintained."
"You mean the white look," Raina growled. "If you wanted a Caucasian woman to play this part then you should have said so. It is not exactly hard to see that I am very much not Caucasian and never have been!"
"That's not it at all," the woman immediately started backpedaling, her entire face an alarming shade of red. "I just… The image in my head for-"
"Sounds to me like you need to change the image in your head," Reeves interjected once more. His tone was neutral, but the anger on his face was clear to anyone with eyes.
"You need to be able to run your fingers through her hair! How are you supposed to be able to-" Keanu immediately walked over to his co-star, noting that she was suddenly frozen like a deer in the headlights. He smiled and ran his hand through her hair, tucking a few braids behind her ear as he did.
"It's perfect," he said softly to her. By now, there were rosy undertones to Raina's honey-gold skin. She had a bashful look on her face and was looking anywhere but at him. He grinned boyishly at her while addressing Catherine. "I can run my hands through her hair just fine just the way it is. There's no need to-"
"The director-"
"Then Ms. Rutherford and I will speak to the director ourselves about this. A woman's hair is her crowning glory. And Raina's is truly glorious; there's no need to change it. How did you envision wearing your hair for street scenes?" he asked her. Without a word the embarrassed woman put her hair up in a high ponytail, using a few braids from inside the tail to secure it. By the time she finished with this five-minute operation, her hair resembled a black 'I Dream of Jeannie' look, with braids down to her butt. She shook her head a little to test the unfamiliar weight before nodding at him. Unable to help himself, the man once again pushed her braids behind her ear. "Problem solved, Ms. Dennins. I would be more concerned about this black eye and how to cover it."
"Um… Mr. Villeneuve said that he was going to revise the shooting schedule to use my eye to his advantage," Raina said softly. Keanu nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, I remember that there were a few scenes when you needed to have a black eye." He was still playing in her hair and pretending that the move was unconscious. "Who did that to you, Raina?"
"My boyfriend's friend Chantelle." She sighed when he blinked at that. "Well, I guess his name is still 'Greg' since he hasn't undergone the surgery yet. He's in love with my man and didn't like it when I pointed out that he'd never have him."
"I take it that your boyfriend took care of it?" Keanu said forcefully.
"Nope. I did." She grinned at him cheekily. "I was raised with four brothers; I know how to brawl. I told that jerk that I'd lay his stupid butt out on the floor if he put his hands on me. He obviously hasn't learned the art of the verbal spar. He makes for a very poor girl."
Reeves laughed and it put a smile on the girl's face that he was eager to see remain. "So, now that Raina's hair is taken care of, what will we be doing about her makeup?"
"I-if you'll come with me, Ms. Rutherford. I'm Donna Weathers and I'll be your makeup artist for the shoot."
"Sure," the girl said sweetly. "And please. I go by 'Raina'. It's been a long time since I've gone by my real name." Donna nodded and led her latest client to her makeup chair. She'd worked with Dennins on and off for the last five years and no one had ever put the woman in her place like little Raina just had. It was… She almost wished she'd filmed it for posterity. Lorraine had been perfect: cold, determined, earnest. And with Mr. Reeves backing her, she'd won the fight. Oh, no one was going to let her live it down!
Raina needed very little in the way of makeup, especially since they weren't trying to cover up her black eye.
"Do you use makeup regularly, Raina?" Donna asked as she finished up with her foundation.
"I do not," Raina admitted. "I'm more of a tomboy than anything. My hair is my only real vanity." Donna nodded along as she applied minimal hypoallergenic makeup to the girl.
"You have such beautiful skin. It's almost a sin to put makeup on you at all. But we don't want you to disappear into the shot, right?" With a happy smile, Raina followed Wilma to the wardrobe trailer. The women in Wardrobe had little to say as they put the girl in clothing similar to what she was wearing, careful of her newly done hair and makeup.
"Next time you should come to us first, okay?" Terri - who revealed herself as Douglas in a past incarnation - smiled kindly at the girl.
"I'm sorry," she said automatically, dropping her head remorsefully.
"It's no big deal, Raina," April said while lifting her chin. "Makeup just doesn't like us smudging their work and we don't want makeup all over our clothes. You didn't know that before. Now you do. Okay?" The girl grinned and hugged April before dashing off to the set, Keanu and Wilma in tow.
"Wow, you really handled that whole hair thing well," Wilma said enthusiastically once the group was clear of the trailers. "I thought for sure that you were going to be scalped. Catherine is known for her snap judgments. She's very good at what she does, but she's a hard person to argue with once she's formed that initial opinion."
"Ms. Dennins can make any opinion she wants, the idea of losing my hair is completely unpalatable to me. I'm not one to simply roll over when it comes to something important to me."
"I'm just glad that she wasn't able to get her own way. Raina's hair is beautiful. It would have been a tragedy to lose it to something as trivial as a film." Raina jumped slightly, obviously having forgotten that Reeves was there.
"Th-thanks, Mr.-"
"It's 'Keanu', Raina. Didn't we already establish that?" Raina was once again turning red. The man had to wonder if she was like this with her boyfriend.
In the meantime, Raina was shaking with excitement. "I, uh… I should talk to my understudy and stunt double before reporting back to the director."
"Tabitha and Roxy are right over there," Wilma pointed out the women who could have been Lorraine's distant cousins. Both were wearing wigs with long, softly curled hair and they looked annoyed at the moment with something that one of the stagehands Raina recognized from the hair and makeup trailers was telling them. One of them looked more annoyed than the other Raina noticed. The group walked over to her, and the stagehand and the less annoyed woman quickly wandered off.
"Hi. My name is Lorraine Rutherford, but I like to be called 'Raina'. It's a nice wig," Raina complimented the woman.
"It's completely useless now," the woman snapped before Raina could say anything more, snatching it off to reveal her bald head. "Where am I going to find a locked wig with locks that long?"
"I'm sure that you can manage it. There's a large African population in Montréal."
"Filming is about to start! There's no time-"
"I will not cut my hair for any reason, especially not for someone else's convenience. Everyone is just going to have to deal with that."
"You're selfish," the woman snapped, brandishing her wig at the woman. "I had locks and I gave them up easily for the sake of the film. You should-"
"I'm a human being. All human beings are inherently selfish about something. What are you selfish about?" The woman blinked, obviously not expecting such a philosophical answer. Whatever retort she'd been planning was lost in her shock.
"I… I…"
"Anyway… since I've unofficially met my understudy and stunt double - though neither of you introduced yourselves or told me your roles in this shoot before accusing me of selfishness - I believe that there's nothing for it but to report back to Mr. Villleneuve for further instructions. I don't want to be the reason the shoot was further delayed. Good day to you, madam." With a slight bow that clearly impressed the woman despite everything, Raina turned around and headed back the way she thought the director might be. Luckily she was mostly right, and Wilma took over navigation duties when they started to get off track.
… …
Denis Villeneuve wasn't sure what to expect of his latest actress when she'd walked onto set. Lorraine Rutherford was known for working on one movie with one director. He'd personally expected some entitled princess from all of the attention she'd been getting on the internet, not a rough and tumble tomboy that looked as if she'd stumbled in from a bar-brawl while practically speaking the Queen's English. She'd responded to his authority automatically. After dealing with so many actresses that he'd had to put in their place over the years, it was refreshing to have one… do what he told them to do when he told them to do it. Maybe working with the elusive actress wouldn't be so hard after all. Ester had told him that little Raina was a delight on set, but he'd taken that with a grain of salt. Maybe he didn't have to.
The crew was buzzing about some scuffle at the hair and makeup trailers this morning. He wasn't too worried about it. What he wanted was for his stars to get here so that he could start filming. He didn't expect for the two leads to be led towards him by his stagehand. The two were engaged in an animated discussion and it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. The way the girl kept looking down and then up at him like a shy maiden made him wish he was taping a 'behind the scenes' video. Both of them looked good, as if they had gone through wardrobe, hair, and makeup. He'd have to congratulate Wilma for keeping them on track.
"Ready to start?" he asked once the trio were in earshot.
"Yes, sir," Raina said brightly, all but bouncing to his side. He and Keanu exchanged amused looks at her enthusiasm.
"Denis will do," Villeneuve smiled at her. "Now I know that you're well-versed in action scenes, Keanu. How are you at fighting, Ms.-"
"Raina," the girl smiled. "And I have some practice sparring, though obviously not as much as Mr.-"
"Keanu, Raina," the middle-aged actor smiled. The girl flushed.
"I am willing to work with whoever I need to work with to choreograph the fight scenes, Denis."
"Joseph, we've got fresh meat for you," Denis laughed playfully. A Latino muscular male who looked very serious and no-nonsense - until he smiled - trotted over to the director.
"Who's going into the grinder, boss?" he asked. "Not the chick with the black eye? She looks like she's been through enough." Raina set her guard and faced off against the man without a word. "Oh? You ready to join the big leagues, chica?" Without warning, he lashed out at her side and was surprised when she blocked and lashed out with a solid hit to his shoulder. He was sure that she was holding back and that amused him. "Come with me.'' The two opponents headed to an empty part of the set, where Joseph started fighting her in earnest. Instead of punching her when his hits connected, he'd slap her. He didn't get as many hits in as he usually would with this girl though.
This 'Lorraine' was quick. She was very good with her body placement and not afraid to take a hit to score a better hit on her opponent. He threw another punch, this time at her chest. Instead of dodging as she had been, she caught his fist, pushed his arm up and out of the way, and slapped him on the cheek. Before he could retaliate, she flipped backward away from him, but only far enough to take his legs out from under him. He flipped himself up to his feet and kicked out at where she had been, but the girl was already on his other side and slapped him in the side and chest. He grabbed her hand as she went to back away and pulled her close, surprised when she started wiggling against him. Her movements earned her just enough space to escape his hold, but she was smart enough not to attempt a hold of her own. Instead, she slapped him in the mouth and backed off, starting to sweat, but looking ready for more. Joseph held up his hands in surrender and grinned at his latest opponent.
"Damn, where'd you learn to fight like that?" he laughingly asked, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"I grew up with four brothers," she shrugged, panting from their bout. "None of us were ever ones to back down from a fight."
"Nah, chica. There's a difference between roughhousing with brothers and what you just showed me. Where did you learn to flip like that?" Raina looked down in embarrassment.
"I uh… I tend to copy moves I see on TV or in films. I took dance classes as a kid and practicing the moves is good exercise," she finally admitted looking around at the crowd that had gathered during their bout. Joseph seemed to finally notice the attention they were garnering and stopped with the questions. Instead, he got right down to business.
"Well, it's good that you have some practice. I'm going to teach you a fight sequence that you can practice with Jonathan. He's thug #3 in this movie."
"Hello," she said politely with a nod. Jonathan nodded back just as politely. For the next hour, the two coordinated a fight in a way that was almost like a dance. Everyone was watching between tasks set for them by the director. It didn't take long to perfect the moves and once Raina had them down, they filmed it and it went off without a hitch. Keanu also had a few action scenes and they were committed to cellophane by the end of the day. Because of her black eye, the two couldn't film their meet-cute, but it hardly mattered as the chemistry between the actors was fantastic. Keanu's ego was thoroughly stroked from her nervous fumbling through her lines. The girl never forgot her lines as she had admitted to doing during Sunshine, but there was an agitated energy about the girl that made each take fresh and interesting. By the end of the day, Denis was very impressed with the actress.
"Alright, people, that's a wrap for the day. Get some chow and some rest at the hotel we're all staying at. Be back here by eight tomorrow morning." A round of applause went up and Raina joined in, exhausted from her day. She'd done more exercising in one day of shooting than she usually did in three days at home. Joseph was relentless! He pushed her to know her choreography by heart before the start of any scene. And now that he knew that she could copy moves she'd learned from the TV, he pushed her even harder to get the moves right. Denis was eating it up, all but filming their practice runs he was so excited.
The entire cast and crew that didn't live in Montréal rode in a caravan to the hotel they were staying at. Raina swam for half an hour, cleaned her hair, called her boyfriend, ordered room service, and went to sleep. By the time she woke up, the media had descended on the hotel like a swarm of locusts. Reporters were gathered on the front steps to wait for a story while other people were gathered to get a good look at the girl. Lorraine ordered an early breakfast so that she could get to the set early and miss traffic. She was fixing her hair for the day when the knock came for her food. Opening the door, she was immediately bombarded with questions from an intrepid internet reporter who had found her way into the hotel, determined to be the first to interview the girl.
"Ms. Rutherford, how does it feel to be back in the spotlight, filming movies again?" Audrey Clemson blurted out as soon as the door was open.
"Huh? Wha-"
"Is the pressure enough to drive you back into hiding? What have you been doing all these years? Do the people in your old life know that you are a star?" There was a phone in her face, recording her every word and facial expression.
"No! I mean- I just- Who are you? Why-"
"Audrey Clemson. Have you gotten back in contact with your family about-"
"We're going to have to ask you to leave, Ms. Clemson," Keanu said, smoothly coming up behind the reporter with a bodyguard in tow.
"Just a few more questions for Ms. Rutherford."
"It's going to have to be now," the A-list actor said coolly. "Ms. Rutherford is not answering questions" The woman turned around and did a double-take. "Mr. Reeves, I-"
"Are you going to leave peacefully, or do I need to call security? You're not supposed to be here and my co-star and I need to discuss some things before we start shooting for the day." Sighing when she realized that her gig was up, the woman put her phone back in her purse and left without another word. The bodyguard followed her to ensure that she didn't get lost along the way and to report the security breach to the front desk.
"Thank you, M-Keanu. I really wasn't sure what to do about that reporter."
"You should get used to that. The media is a relentless monster and you have managed to fumble your way into superstardom. I think my favorite two words when dealing with them are 'no' and 'comment'." Raina giggled and he grinned at her. "You are an excitable little thing, aren't you?"
Though I seem intoxicated
I'm just highly animated
Keanu chuckled, not even remembering the last time he felt so young and carefree. "Are you quoting lines from A Goofy Movie at me?" he asked just to clarify. He laughed more at her stuttering fit.
"It… But… No one remembers that movie!"
"I remember that movie," Keanu insisted. "I wasn't a kid like you probably were, but I watched it just the same. It was fun. I remember how much I loved the soundtrack."
"Are you kidding me? I have the whole soundtrack. I play it all the time. It was my introduction to Tevin Campbell."
"Well, that settles it. I'm definitely carpooling with you today."
"I was just- wait. What?"
"We're carpooling to work. It'll save gas and I really want to hear your music."
"But music is so personal. What if you don't like something I'm playing?"
"Then I'll ask you to change the track. I tend to be quite eclectic with my musical tastes. I doubt you could offend me with your music." The man grinned winningly when a knock on her door had her running over to open it. This time it was her breakfast and she dug in with a good appetite. She was so enthusiastic about it that Keanu ordered his own breakfast to be brought to her room. When it arrived, he was sure to charge the meal to his room, the relief on the girl's face enough to make him grin. After eating, he and his two bodyguards headed downstairs with the actress to the valet to get her car. The tired-looking young man brought the car around the front where the circus was in town. If Raina thought that Clemson had been forceful and aggressive in questioning her this morning, it was nothing compared to the jackals gathered to interrogate her on the front steps of the hotel. What felt like millions of questions were asked in the seconds it took to recognize the trap before it sprang. Flashbulbs went off right in her face, blinding her.
"Ms. Rutherford! Ms. Rutherford!" Everyone was screaming to be heard over each other. Those not badgering Raina were doing their best to get a statement out of Mr. Reeves. It was a free-for-all and Raina just wished it would end.
Then someone asked the question she'd been dreading and her resolve firmed.
"Ms. Rutherford, what happened to your eye?" Lorraine started pushing through the crowd silently. "Oh, come on, Ms. Rutherford," the man who'd posed the question followed her as she descended the front stairs to her car. "You can tell me. I'm Derek Winters with Le Devoir newspaper. Just ignore everything else and focus on the sound of my voice." The rest of the crowd started following as well, clamoring for a statement. She started mumbling something and some of the noise quieted down to hear her.
"...Late for work."
"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Derek asked, full of self-importance that the girl had broken her silence after his words to her.
"I said, it's six o'clock in the morning. I'm up this early so that I'm not late for work. Get out of my WAY!" Many people flinched or outright jumped back at the sheer amount of venom in her sweet voice. Used to Keanu's polite refusals, no one was quite prepared for her anger. With people forming new opinions about the actress who was usually described as 'sweet', the girl sighed as her rental car came into view. She stomped over to it, thanking the valet, and slid into the comfort of her warm car against the cool Spring morning. Keanu and his bodyguards piled into the vehicle and they were off. It took a while to calm down from such a horrid display; turning on her music on shuffle helped. The car was silent as Saliva's 'Click Click Boom' blasted on the speakers, quickly followed by Mary Mary's 'Go Get It'. When they rolled up to a stoplight, Raina started scrolling through her music quickly, her shoulders unclenching.
"What are you doing, Raina?"
"I'm looking for my A Goofy Movie Soundtrack. I know it-Ah! Check this out," she grinned as 'Eye to Eye' came on. The light changed just as she turned off 'shuffle' on the device and the remaining trip to the set was full of her sweet voice singing along with the music. Keanu was impressed with her pitch and tone; he wasn't really known as a singer. She could be.
"You have a very good voice. Unless it's in the shower, I can't carry a tune in a bucket." Raina giggled, not commenting as she navigated the streets of an unfamiliar city made alien by darkness. Luckily, with her obnoxious navigation program interrupting the groove from time to time, she was able to get back to the set sometime just before seven. Several yawns were in evidence as she parked in the lot, but she was too busy trying to bring up her mental map of the set to notice.
"I kinda wish I had GPS for this set," she sighed, looking around the darkened space for Wardrobe and Makeup.
"Don't worry. I've been here for a couple of days, just to get a feel for the place," the actor she was traveling with smiled. "We need to go this way." He gestured grandly in the right direction and walked beside her to the appropriate trailers. Terri was up and annoyingly chipper for this early in the morning.
"How do you do it?" Raina asked in awe as she finished dressing for the day.
"Do what, honey?" Terri asked blankly.
"My mother once told me that it takes me about an hour, sometimes two, to become pleasant in the morning. I'm proud to say that I have managed to get that down to an hour flat through my work. But you and April seem to genuinely be enjoying the early start. How do you do it?"
"Oh, Sweetie," April chuckled. "This isn't early for us. We've been doing this for years and it's always the same. We've been up since four in the morning getting ready for whoever might come through the door. We've both had a couple of cups of coffee and we're well-rested and prepared for our day." She then laughed at the poleaxed expressions on both stars' faces.
"That's right, kiddo," Terri cut in. "It's the same way with hair and makeup. It's good that this isn't a SciFi flick and no one needs to be in the makeup chair for hours. We'd be up even earlier."
"Damn," Raina said with a graceful bow to the two women as they all laughed. "I'm scared of you! I'm just going to head out to my next destination now. And count my blessings." The wardrobe people laughed heartily and sent the actors on their way.
"Four in the morning? I'd die," Raina insisted on the way to the hair and makeup trailer.
"I'm sure you'd get used to it," Keanu laughed, looking amused.
"I spent three years working five or six days in a row in my rotation and I never managed to 'get used to it'," the girl said emphatically. "Some things people just aren't meant to 'get used to'." The man she was addressing broke into raucous laughter, causing her to giggle and pout.
"Ready for day two of filming?" Donna asked kindly once she was finished with the girl.
"Now that I've got my game face on," she shrugged as she exited the chair, ignoring the dirty looks she was getting from Dennins. Keanu was next, his treatment taking more time than hers did. Then the two tired actors made their way to the director. He was waiting with a couple of medium cups of Tim Horton's coffee. Raina hesitated, not being a coffee drinker, but Villeneuve passed her a cup and she was forced to accept. Breathing in the warm aroma, she blinked and looked at him. "How did you-"
"Esters told me," he said, smiling as the girl smiled brilliantly and hugged him before taking a sip of her French Vanilla Cappuccino. Keanu laughed along.
"It really doesn't take much to make you happy, does it?"
"I'm a simple girl with simple needs," Raina grinned, taking yet another sip and letting the sugar and caffeine hit her system. The three started discussing what scenes to film today as the rest of the cast and crew showed up. By the time everyone was assembled, it was eight on the dot.
"Let's get started," Denis said, handing his empty cup to one of the stagehands for disposal. It was another grueling day of work. Because Raina's black eye was still healing, the group was forced to continue working on fight scenes and the emotional scenes that went along with them. Once again, Keanu and Lorraine led their people through the scenes, their friendly and upbeat attitudes serving to cut down on the arguments and rivalries that would usually spring up in such an intense production. Over the next two weeks, the eye healed, first to a sickly greenish color before fading away completely. This allowed the director to expand his filming beyond the middle of the film.
