Fan Fiction |
by Hibiscus
Today, by some good fortune, she was at the beach but not to relax. No, she was there to shoot an ad for some product she was currently supposed to be endorsing. Her agent had set up the details and her manager had ensured that she appeared at the designated locations.
“Omg! You are such a cheater, Chris!” One of the playing kids screamed out and Ariel smiled wistfully, remembering the days when she too had been as carefree as them. Fame came at a heavy price and while she was grateful and thankful to God and everyone who had helped her pave her way to success, she couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to just be Ariel Lin, the woman and not Ariel Lin, the Actress.
“Ha, I’d probably be wondering what it would be like to be an Actress if I were just an ordinary woman.” She thought wryly to herself. She understood well her contradictory nature and accepted it as one of her eccentricities.
“The scene is ready, Miss.” One of the assistants told her, and Ariel left her spot under the white beach umbrella and walked over to the elaborately designed Life Guard chair. In the ad, she was supposed to save some young model by drinking the energy drink she was endorsing. Ariel grimaced, wondering how many sips of the horrible stuff she’d have to take before the perfect shot was captured.
Her cell phone rang and she frowned.
Who could it be?
She didn’t recognize the number but since only a few people knew the number to her personal phone, she picked up.
“Hello?” She said, conscious of the several pairs of curious eyes on her, including the impatient director. Professionalism was everything in this business.
“I don’t know who this is but this isn’t a good time. Please call me later or you can leave a message on my voice mail.” Without giving the other person time to reply, she hung up, tossed the phone to her assistant and walked off to do her job.
After the shoot, she was in her car driving to a restaurant where she was supposed to meet with some producers who had sent out feelers for her participation in an upcoming drama. Her manager was quite excited about it as it seemed to be quite a lucrative offer, in a financial manner and the role promised to be a segue of sorts from the cute idol characters she played to the more serious acting roles Ariel coveted.
Dressed very properly in a black suit which accentuated her creamy complexion and gave her an air of success, Ariel walked into the restaurant, not noticing that her appearance caused fervent excitement among the patrons. The maître showed her to the table reserved for her party. There were already three people seated there. Two ladies and one very distinguished man. Ariel recognized them as being some of the most influential people in show business. She smiled warmly and shook hands with all of them.
“I’m Angela Cai,” the first woman said. She was dressed in a trendy pant suit that screamed designer and her face which though kind showed that she was a woman who was not afraid to work hard for and get what she wanted. “And this is Blanche Wong, the scriptwriter. And this is Stefan Chou, the producer.”
“I’m honored to meet you.” Ariel replied, all the while wondering why she, among all the very talented artistes in Taiwan, had been chosen, no specifically sought out for this role that no one seemed to want to tell her about.
“Please, get comfortable.” Stefan Chou said, leaning back in his chair, scrutinizing Ariel with a look she thought was calculating.
“I suppose you are wondering why we abruptly called you to have lunch with us instead of going through the proper channels and offering you the role through your agent.” Angela Cai said.
“Yes, actually, I am not certain of the cause of my good fortune.” Ariel smiled.
“The thing is,” Blanche Wong, speaking for the first time, “I refused for anyone else to do the role of my Tuesday.”
“Is that the name of the character?” Ariel, leaned forward, intrigued, despite her previous admonishments to herself to play it cool.
“Yes. I have seen many of your dramas and in fact, I was watching one of them as I was writing this script. And perhaps, unconsciously or maybe consciously, my character came to be a plethora of the qualities you embodied in your various dramas. So much so, that for anyone else to play this role would be an insult to my work.” Blanche finished off, breathing a bit deeply after her impassioned speech.
Ariel was taken aback. She was flattered, yes but she really didn’t know how the author could assume her acquiescence before she saw the script.
“I am flattered that you think the way do, Ms. Wong, but I’m afraid that until I see the script and read my character and know whether I can do justice to her, I will not be able to give you a concrete answer.” She said to Blanche.
“Of course, how silly of me! I do not expect you to jump at the role before knowing what it even is. I wouldn’t respect you as an actress if you did!” Blanche hurriedly fished out a script from her briefcase and handed it to Ariel.
“Here’s the contract that we’d like you to sign if you were to accept the role and agree to act in the drama. I’ve already sent a copy of it to your manager so it can be perused and analyzed by her. I trust you will find the pay and conditions more than reasonable.” Angela Cai said, handing Ariel the contract.
“Well then, now that we have concluded the business, let’s eat! I’m starving!” Stefan Chou said and everyone laughed, grateful for the release the humor provided.