by Betsy Haynes
"Good morning," she said, and smiled at the cameraman who had spoken to her. Just ahead was the gray stone school building. As she got closer, she could see that it was really just a fake front made of plywood painted to look like gray stone.
Before she had gone much farther, Marie and Tony swooped down on her, checking her makeup and hair. Marie dabbed a little powder on her face to cut the shine, and Tony pulled a can of hairspray out of what resembled a carpenter's tool belt and shot a couple of squirts at the curls around her face. When he put the hairspray back, she noticed that the pockets on his belt also contained a butane curling iron and assorted combs and brushes so that he could do major repairs to an actor's windblown hair right on the set.
"Terrific," he said, giving her a thumbs-up sign. "Break a leg!"
"Let's rehearse the scene now, Taffy," Jerry called to her from the base of the school steps.
Taffy started toward him and then stopped, her heart thudding in her chest. Members of the crew were crawling all over the steps, getting the set ready for the shoot. The assistant director was there, too, conferring with the script supervisor while other crew members milled around or stood in small groups. But in the middle of all this commotion, looking totally composed and in control of the situation, stood Paige Kramer, her flame-red hair glinting in the morning sunlight. And on the steps below Paige, glancing up at her as if she were a queen, were Chelsea, Megan, and Raven.
Taffy took a deep breath and moved forward again. She couldn't let Paige see her hesitate or think that she was afraid. She would have to be a real actress and pretend that everything was cool. After all, she reminded herself, in this story my character, Tiffany Stafford, is the heroine, and Paige Kramer's character, Jillian Morris, is the villain.
"Hi, everybody," she called out as she hurried to join the others on the steps.
Everyone said hello, including Paige, and Raven gave her a big smile that made her feel he was definitely glad to see her.
"Okay, kids, let's set up the scene," said the director. "Now, Taffy, remember that Tiffany Stafford is still pretty new in school in this scene, and she doesn't realize two important things. One, Jillian Morris and her friends are only pretending to like her when in reality they've started a gossip campaign against her, and two, Tiffany doesn't know yet that the boy she has a crush on, Eric Peterson, who's played by Raven, is actually Jillian's boyfriend."
Taffy nodded. She had read the script all the way through and knew also that Tiffany was able to break down the other girls' hostility against her in the end. It would be easy in the movie because all she would have to do was follow the script. But she had the feeling that dealing with Paige Kramer in real life wasn't going to be nearly so simple.
"Now let's get in position, kids," Jerry went on. "Paige, you and Chelsea and Megan are talking together on the steps when Taffy walks up to you and tries to make friendly conversation. You go along with her and even pretend to like her until Raven walks up and you see by the look on her face that she's getting a crush on him. That's where we cut. Is everybody ready?"
Taffy nodded and stepped back out of camera range while the three other girls found their chalk marks on the steps. Raven, too, stepped away from camera range on the other side of the girls. But as she and Raven stepped back, crew members rushed in from all sides, taking readings for the lighting, measuring the distance from the actors to the cameras, and testing the microphone booms, and the director looked through the camera lens to see if the shot was lined up properly. It seemed like total confusion to Taffy.
How am I ever going to concentrate and say my lines with so much going on? she thought frantically. How can I pretend that I'm Tiffany Stafford talking to kids on the front steps of school with dozens of people standing around?
"Okay, gang," Jerry called out when the lighting technicians and sound men were through with their testing and had backed away. "We're going to treat this like a real shoot. Is everyone ready?"
Again, the actors nodded.
"Camera up! Rolling!"
Taffy took a deep breath and watched Jillian, Chelsea, and Megan say their lines. They looked so composed, so relaxed. How did they do it? Then she remembered what Merry Chase had told them in acting class. The secret of great acting is NOT to act, but to BECOME the character you're playing. I can do that, she thought as she heard her cue and stepped forward in front of the camera.
They rehearsed the scene more than a dozen times, using a variety of camera angles and lighting. Each time they went through it Taffy relaxed a little more, finding herself getting deeper and deeper into the character of Tiffany Stafford, especially when Raven was smiling at her. But the feeling of confidence came crashing down around her a few minutes later.
"Okay," the director called out. "We're ready to shoot."
Taffy turned to go off camera and watch Paige, Chelsea, and Megan say the opening lines when she caught Paige looking at her with cold eyes.
"It's easy to tell you've never made a movie before," Paige whispered so that no one but Taffy could hear her.
"Why?" Taffy demanded. She didn't care who heard.
"Come on, Paige, Taffy. Places, please!" Jerry shouted.
Paige shrugged. "It's just easy to tell you're an amateur, that's all," she said as she sauntered to her mark on the steps.
Taffy seethed with anger. She clamped her jaws together and set her expression in stone. She had to keep her face from showing what she felt inside. An amateur! How dare Paige call her an amateur? She had been modeling and doing television commercials for ages. She was anything but an amateur.
Still, she thought, this is my first movie. And naturally actors get better with experience. But am I so bad that my inexperience shows?
"Taffy! You missed your cue!"
Taffy jumped at the sound of the director's voice. She could tell that he was angry or at least annoyed. When Chelsea's character said, "Uh-oh. Look who's coming," Taffy was supposed to move into camera range and start up the steps toward the others. It was a simple cue, and color rose up her face as she floundered for some way to explain to Jerry.
"Take two," he called to the camera crew. Then turning to her, he added, "Be ready this time, Taffy."
She listened to the director yell, "Camera up!" and "Rolling!" and watched the crewman snap the slate in front of the camera, determined not to miss her cue this time.
"Uh-oh. Look who's coming," said Chelsea.
Taffy took a deep breath and started up the steps, remembering once more Merry Chase's words: The secret of great acting is NOT to act, but to BECOME the character you're playing. I'll show Paige Kramer who's an amateur, she thought as she stepped in front of the camera and began speaking her lines. Except they weren't lines from a script anymore, and she was no longer Taffy Sinclair. The words were the real thoughts and feelings of Tiffany Stafford standing on the school steps trying to make new friends. And the moment Raven Blaine stepped up, he became Eric Peterson, and when he smiled at her, she knew her crush on him was real, too.
CHAPTER FIVE
The instant Jerry called "Cut!" Mrs. Sinclair rushed out of the crowd, heading straight for the director.
"Oh, that was wonderful," she gushed. "Mr. Lowenthal, you're a genius. Taffy is perfect for the part of Tiffany Stafford."
The director gave her a brief smile and moved aside to confer with the AD, so Mrs. Sinclair turned back to Taffy.
"I can't wait until everyone at home sees you in this film," she said, brushing back a lock of Taffy's hair. "But come along now, dear. There's someone you have to meet."
Taffy looked longingly toward the others, embarrassed at the fuss her mother was making. Paige eyed her with cold delight, as if to say that her mother's behavior was just one more way of proving her amateur status. In contrast, Chelsea and Megan smiled sympathetically.
"We shoot the second scene at three this afternoon," said Megan. "Until then, we have to hit the books."
Chelsea nodded. "See you inside the temple of
doom."
"'Temple of doom'?" whispered Taffy. She looked toward Raven to ask him what Chelsea had meant, but he was gone already. That's funny, she thought. He left without saying a single word to anyone.
"Come on, sweetheart," said her mother. "Toodie is waiting."
"Toodie?" asked Taffy, wrinkling her nose.
"That's right. Toodie McCormick. She's your tutor. You do remember that you have to study three hours a day and keep up your schoolwork, don't you?"
Taffy nodded.
"Toodie is the teacher hired by the production company to be on the set with you children in the cast," said her mother. "She has her own trailer where she holds classes."
"Oh, I get it," Taffy muttered under her breath. "The temple of doom."
"Toodie is also your welfare worker," Mrs. Sinclair went on. "California law says that because you're a minor, she has to be here to help me oversee your welfare. Not only do you have to spend time on schoolwork, but either Toodie or I have to be with you at all times while you're on the set."
Taffy groaned inwardly. If that was true, this was going to be worse than jail.
They had reached the trailer with Toodie McCormick's name on the door.
"Go on in, dear," said her mother. "I dropped off your books and assignments a little while ago. She's nice. You'll like her. I'm going to have coffee with the other parents, and I'll be back later."
Taffy opened the door slowly. She wasn't sure she was ready to meet her jailer, nice or not. But when she got inside, the teacher wasn't there. In fact, the only one who was there was tiny Tessica Taylor, who was sitting at a table with her head bent over her schoolwork.
"Hi, Tess," Taffy called out. "What are you doing?"
Tess looked up and smiled, and Taffy went to the table expecting to see the little girl drawing a picture or working on arithmetic problems. Instead, what she looked down on was a page covered with intricate mathematical equations.
"Advanced algebra," said Tess matter-of-factly. "Didn't you know that I'm a child prodigy?"
Tess threw back her head and laughed, and Taffy couldn't decide which was more puzzling, Tess's homework or the strange way she was behaving.
"Sorry," said Tess. "I just couldn't resist. Everybody sees only one thing when they look at me. My height. Nobody ever looks close enough to see that I'm really fifteen, including you. Do you have any idea how tired I get of being treated like a little kid?"
Taffy was speechless. Tess was fifteen? Two years older than herself? And yet, now that Tess mentioned it, it was obvious from her voice and her face and even her figure that she had to be older than seven or eight. Taffy fumbled, trying to find words to apologize.
"Forget it," said Tess. "I shouldn't have embarrassed you like that. And I'm definitely not looking for sympathy. Hey! The doctor says I may shoot up a foot or two any day now. Won't that be great?"
Tess was laughing again, and Taffy laughed, too, partly from relief and partly because Tess had such a great sense of humor. Maybe there was someone on this set whom she really could be friends with after all.
Just then the door opened and Paige, Megan, Chelsea, and Raven were led into the trailer by a tall, thin woman dressed in jeans and cowboy boots and whose brown hair hung in long braids in front of each shoulder.
"Hi, Taffy," said Megan.
Chelsea was smiling broadly. "See. What did I tell you? The temple of doom," she said, sweeping her hand around in the air.
Taffy laughed. "I see what you mean." She could see out of the corner of her eye that Paige had no intention of joining the conversation and that Raven was looking down, carefully rubbing an invisible spot on his shirt.
"Morning," the teacher said in a pleasant voice. "I'm Toodie." She explained the routine to Taffy and handed out books and homework assignments while they all got settled at tables.
The trailer was crowded and Taffy found herself staring straight at Paige every time she looked up from her work. As usual, Paige had a haughty expression on her face that sent chills down Taffy's spine. What's your problem? Taffy wanted to shout, but instead she decided to play a little game with herself. Merry Chase said to become the character you're playing, she mused. Who am I playing at this moment? she asked herself. I'm playing a seventh-grade girl who is studying very hard, so hard, in fact, that she doesn't notice snotty people around her. Taffy smiled to herself. Okay. Here goes!
For the next hour she didn't look up from her work. A few times she heard Raven cough or shuffle his feet, and she was tempted to let her eyes travel to the other end of the trailer where he was sitting, but she didn't. He had been acting so strange today. On the set he smiled at her and made her feel special, but once they were finished acting, he behaved as if he barely knew her.
When the lunch break came, Tess motioned for Taffy to follow her. "You're going to love lunch on the set," she said.
Taffy nodded and looked back over her shoulder. Paige, Megan, and Chelsea had just come out of Toodie's trailer, but Raven was nowhere to be seen. Paige was frowning in Taffy's direction. Or maybe I'm reading too much into this, thought Taffy. Maybe she's just squinting into the sun.
They walked along the side of a large truck fitted out as a chuck wagon. It looked a lot like an ice-cream truck except it was larger, and with the sides opened up there was a railing to slide trays along, and two men were inside filling plates. Taffy asked for fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and a hot roll, and when her plate was handed to her, she couldn't believe how much food was there.
Tess noticed, too, and she chuckled and said, "Save room for the salad and dessert. They're over here on a separate table."
Taffy passed up the salad but couldn't resist the chocolate cake, wedging a piece between the chicken and the mashed potatoes on her plate. Then she followed Tess under the canvas dining fly where picnic tables were set up.
"I thought everybody ate at the commissary," Taffy said as she sat down beside Tess and began to eat.
"They do if the set is on one of the soundstages," Tess said. "Out here on the back lot, we're too far away, so they bring lunch to us. Great, isn't it?" Taffy nodded and looked around at the cast and crew chatting together as they ate. For an instant it made her think of the cafeteria at Wakeman Junior High, and she felt a wave of homesickness. I wonder who Shawnie is eating lunch with now that I'm gone? she thought sadly.
Just then she heard a voice that she recognized. "And what's more, she can't even act."
Taffy resisted the temptation to turn around and yell at Paige that she could act as well as anyone on the set. Instead, she leaned toward Tess and asked softly, "What's the matter with her? Is she always this nasty?"
"Gosh. I thought you knew," said Tess. "Paige wanted the starring role in the movie, and she wanted it really badly."
"Do you mean she wanted the part I got?" asked Taffy. "She wanted to play Tiffany Stafford?"
"You've got it," said Tess. "She thought she had the part sewn up, too, until Channing Crandall decided to do one more round of auditions. That's when he picked you."
"Wow," said Taffy. "That's terrible, but how can one part be so important?"
Tess sighed. "You see, she made a bunch of really successful movies when she was little. Then her parents moved to North Dakota or South Carolina or somewhere where she didn't have the chance to act anymore. I guess they didn't even hold auditions where she was. A few months ago they moved back to California, and she saw her chance when tryouts for Nobody Likes Tiffany Stafford were posted. You might say that she's trying to make a comeback. She sees herself as becoming a superstar like Alyssa Milano or Tracey Gold. She wants to really shine."
Taffy poked her fork into her mashed potatoes and made swirling designs in them while she thought over what Tess had just told her. She could see why Paige would be disappointed. Especially if she'd really thought she had the part locked up and that it would make her a superstar. But why take it out on me? Taffy thought angrily. It certainly wasn't my fault. I had nothing to do
with it.
"Well, what about Megan and Chelsea?" Taffy asked. "They seem awfully nice, but they're always with Paige."
Tess nodded. "They are nice. Believe me. But they used to be Paige's best friends when she lived here before. She was actually nice then, too."
"But surely they've noticed how she's changed," insisted Taffy.
"I guess they're just being loyal," said Tess.
Taffy took a tiny bite of her chocolate cake and thought about Paige again. It was uncanny how this real-life situation was so much like the movie they were making. Paige was jealous of the new actress on the set who got the part she wanted. In the story, Jillian Morris is jealous of Tiffany Stafford partly because Tiffany is making a play for her boyfriend, but also partly because being new, Tiffany is getting a lot of attention.
Taffy thought about the script. It all worked out neatly so that Tiffany won over Jillian and her friends in the end. But that's just a story. Real life is much more complicated.
Next, her thoughts turned to Raven. He was so handsome and so wonderful when he wanted to be. Tess seemed to know everything about everybody. Maybe she knew why Raven was behaving so strangely, too. Taffy was dying to ask. Still, she thought, when you're talking about superstars, Raven Blaine is the genuine article. He probably doesn't have time for me except when we're working together on the set.
She sighed. Being a movie star was a lot different from how she had thought it would be.
CHAPTER SIX
The afternoon went by quickly. After another hour of studying in the temple of doom, the cast was called back to the set to film the next scene. This time Tess and KJ were in it plus a bunch of extras who were instructed to mill around and look like kids standing around on a playground waiting for the bell to ring. The scene went well, and KJ was such a comedian both on the set and off that by time Taffy got back to the hotel at the end of the day, her black mood had lifted and she was feeling good about her first day as a movie actress.
