by Alena Pitts
I reluctantly held out my sweaty palm and prayed he didn’t notice how nervous I was.
“How’s it going so far? Everything ok with the house and the car and your flights?”
A picture of the yellow spaceship flashed across my mind and I smiled. “Yes, sir. Everything is great.”
“So glad to hear it. Today should be fun. After the meeting, I want you and Mallory to stick around. We’ll go over your first scene!” He motioned to the right and told me to grab something to eat before we got started.
I followed his gesture and could not believe my eyes. There was a huge table covered with brown-sugar-coated blueberry muffins, bowls of fluffy, pink yogurt, gorgeous mounds of assorted fruit, and rows of sprinkle-covered donuts—which of course made me feel right at home.
I dashed right over, grabbed a few of my favorite things, and found the empty seat right next to Mallory. She wrapped one arm around my shoulders as I sat down and gave me a little squeeze.
“So far so good,” I thought. I pulled out the navy folder Mom had given me in the car, my pink and white striped notepad, and my “I Love Paris” pen.
I was ready for whatever was next even if it meant non-stop talking for an hour!
Mr. Fenway led the discussion on dates, deadlines, lights, props, and a lot of other things. He passed out huge white binders which contained the script, schedule, and important phone numbers. I was trying really hard to keep up but mostly I had no idea what they were talking about.
He discussed the filming process and confirmed everything that Mallory had already told me and Mom. The movie would film over several weeks in different locations within the surrounding cities. He explained the filming process just like Mallory had, and I am not sure that Mom or I understood it any better. He wanted us to know that it may seem weird but we would film the end of the movie first because that location was already available. We would then work our way backwards and film different scenes—because they “film based on location instead of timeline.”
When I heard this I drew a huge question mark across the first page of my binder. Mallory chuckled.
As the room emptied out I sat alone at the big white table nervously waiting for my next directions. Mom was in the hall talking and I was pretending to look over the script. After a few minute Mallory came back and joined me.
“Phew,” she said as she took a seat. “You ok, Lena?” Mallory pulled out her phone and starting to flip through her messages.
I tried really hard to think of something to say but all that came out was, “Yup.”
After a few seconds of awkward silence Mr. Fenway hurried over to join us.
I’m not sure how much coffee he had during the meeting but his voice was loud and full of energy.
“Lena Daniels and Mallory Winston!” He was standing over the top of us. His smile was just as loud as his words. “Are you both ready to have some fun? We’re making a movie!”
Mallory jumped to her feet. “Yes, sir, we are!”
I hopped up and tried to match their excitement. “I’m ready too!”
The words sat in the air for a few seconds and I felt silly.
Mr. Fenway rubbed his hands together, bit his bottom lip, and scanned the big empty room. “Hmmm,” he started to speak. “Where should we start . . .”
Both Mallory and I watched and listened without interrupting his thoughts.
“Let’s just stay here and read over your first scene together. Then I’ll take you over to the set and give you a little tour. How’s that sound?”
“Perfect.”
“Yup, perfect,” I agreed.
“Ok. We will start from page 196, all the way toward the back of your notebook. When you come tomorrow you won’t need to bring the book. Kay B will have sides for you.”
“Sides?” Mallory questioned.
“Oh, yes, you will get those daily. Just a small piece of paper with all the information that you need for the day, like times, scenes, and lines. Lena, Kay B will probably email them to your Mom the night before and then just give you a copy when you get here as well.”
I smiled. Something about Mr. Fenway made me feel comfortable and calm. He didn’t look like I’d imagined him. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a plain yellow T-shirt. His outfit reminded me of my dad. His voice was soothing and Mallory and I both followed every direction he gave. By the time we finished practicing our lines I felt better prepared and more excited.
When I told Mom all about it later that night, she simply looked at me and said, “See—just relax!”
I wasn’t completely convinced, but I was starting to feel more relaxed.
Hello, Stars,
Today was so much better than I imagined! Mr. Fenway is super nice and so was everyone else. Best of all, I got to spend a lot of time with Mallory. I am so happy right now and super excited for tomorrow.
Dear God,
Can you please keep showing me how to relax and trust you? It feels so much better when I do!
God, thank you for a good day.
“Good morning, everyone!”
Mr. Fenway started every day the exact same way. He stood in the middle of the floor wearing a pair of bulky black headphones around his neck, holding a handful of papers. He always looked busy but he never seemed to be in a rush. Somehow he managed to focus his eyes and attention on everyone in the room at the same time.
He began by reminding everyone what scene we were working on. Next he would point out a few notes regarding the schedule right before he asked us all to join hands for prayer. I loved starting each day this way because it reminded me of home. I knew people loved God but I never thought there were other people who did the same things my family did.
“Thank you, everyone, for a phenomenal week,” Mr. Fenway began. “I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with on this film. When Gina and I produced our first film seven years ago, we didn’t have a lot of resources or people that wanted to help us. Now, when I look around at all of you, I am so grateful. We had no idea that God would do so many amazing things with our little dream of making movies that entire families could enjoy.”
Mr. Fenway paused and closed his eyes.
I sat at a table between my mother and Kay B and soaked in every detail Mr. Fenway shared. He seemed so relaxed and smart and kind and so different than what I had imagined. Whenever I’d thought of movie sets and directors before, I always thought they must be intense, drive fancy cars, and boss everyone around in order to get what they wanted. Mr. Fenway and his wife Gina were different and I wanted to understand why.
I closed my eyes as Mr. Fenway prayed,
“Dear God, we are so grateful to you. Thank you for the gifts and talents that you have given us. You always know what is best and we thank you. God, we know we cannot do anything without your help. So I pray for each person that is part of making this movie. I pray that their relationship with you grows over this summer and that they would see and understand your love for them. Be with us today and for the weeks ahead. Amen.”
“Amen,” I said quietly, and in my heart I knew that I wanted exactly what Mr. Fenway had prayed for me. I wanted to understand God’s love the way that he did.
I opened my eyes and spotted Mallory flouncing through my new circle of friends from across the room. She was chipper as always. Her arms were wide open and she was headed in my direction.
“Good morning, Kay B and Lena!” She scooped us in close with one big motion.
“Hey, Mallory!” Kay B easily matched her enthusiasm. “Let’s get you ladies to hair and makeup and get this day started!”
As we trotted off towards our designated places, Mom called for my attention, “Did you get enough to eat, Lena?”
“Yes, ma’am!” I turned to reply. Kay B gave Mom a thumbs up and we continued on our way.
My brain was full of so many thoughts but I tried to focus on what was next.
“So Lena, what do you think about this whole movie thing now that y
ou are here? I love that Mr. Fenway cares so much about the people that work with him.” Mallory settled into her chair and waited for the makeup team to get started.
I took my seat next to her and thought carefully before answering. It was hard to believe that I’d made it through my first week of making a movie. I had to admit that it wasn’t nearly as scary or as hard as I thought it would be. It actually wasn’t anything like I thought it would be. No one treated me like I didn’t know what I was doing, no one expected me to do everything right, and no one seemed to have all the answers. It felt like I was a part of one big family and we all needed each other in order for the day to work.
I didn’t think she wanted to hear everything I was really thinking, so I gave her a quick smile and said, “I’m really enjoying it! I like him and Gina a lot . . . it’s like . . . I want to be like them when I grow up!”
Mallory laughed, “That’s great! But why wait? You can be like them now, ya know? You kind of already are.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I mean did you ever think that God would do this? Take a dream you had about something you wanted and do something so much bigger and amazing with it! I think so many people’s lives will be changed by this movie! Just like the Fenways had a dream and now look . . . here we are.”
I sat very still for moment. I didn’t know if I should tell Mallory that this movie thing actually hadn’t ever been my dream.
“Lena, the same way God helped make the Fenways’ dream come true by guiding them to making movies is the same thing God is doing for each of us. You don’t have to wait ’til you’re grown up. . . . God’s using you now through this movie.”
“Wow, I never really thought about it that way. Can I tell you something, Mallory?”
“Yup,” Mallory answered without hesitating.
“I never actually had a dream to be in a movie. I had never even thought about it before you posted your video.”
“Wow! So what made you want to audition then?”
“Well . . . I really just wanted to meet you.”
Now I felt silly.
“Lena! I love that! God knows things that we don’t. So sometimes He uses the things we like or love in order to make His plans happen! So you thought you just wanted to meet me, but God wanted people to meet Him through you.”
“Wow. That’s so weird to think about. I’m just happy I am getting to learn from Mr. Fenway and Gina and you and everyone else. Last week I was so scared that I almost didn’t come. But now I am so glad I didn’t let that stop me. I’m really glad I’m here.”
“Aww, me too!” Mallory replied with an air hug but kept her eyes open and looking directly at me. I felt weird and I needed to say something to distract her sentimental stare.
“Sooooo, my dad and my sisters come tonight,” I blurted out randomly.
“Aww, yay! That’s great! I can’t wait to meet them—I’m sure they are awesome just like you!”
“Lena?” Kay B called out. “They just called for you. Are you ready?”
Phew! I guess it was good that the hair and makeup people were great at what they do and could do their jobs while we chatted about things like dreams and stuff.
Mr. Fenway walked into the room and hustled over to our chairs. He stooped down until we were eye level.
“Lena, today we are going to shoot the scene where you meet Mallory for the first time. You are at the hospital. Remember, you are really sad and feeling lonely. Your family just received the news about your grandmother’s illness.”
“Ok,” I said.
He turned and looked at Mallory. “You’ll be shooting another scene next door. Gina has a team over there and will give your directions. Head on over when you are finished here.”
None of what Mr. Fenway said made any sense to me but Mallory nodded and so did I.
I followed him to the area where we would be filming. It was a large empty room with three rectangular tables sitting in the middle. Each table had a tiny clear vase each with one white-pedaled flower. There were about eight chairs at each table and they were all empty. Mr. Fenway pointed to the one he wanted me to sit in. There was the usual group of crewmembers hurrying around to set up the lights and cameras and everyone was acting normal but I was confused. I glanced down at my sides to make sure I knew what scene Mr. Fenway was preparing for.
Just as he had explained, the paper read: “Natalie meets Jennifer for the first time.”
“But why is Mallory headed to film next door?”
Normally I don’t ask him a lot of questions but I had to know how this was going to work. I could not possibly film a scene with Mallory, without Mallory being there.
“Oh, good question!” Mr. Fenway chuckled and I exhaled. “We will film her portion of this scene later on today. We are just going to get a few close shots of you. You will be pretending to talk to her. You know when you watch a show and two characters are sitting close and talking but you only see one?”
I nodded.
“Well, this is how they do it. We can get more done in less time if, while we film your close ups, we have Mallory filming another one of her scenes somewhere else. Instead of having her just sit here and watch.”
“Ohhhhh, I see!”
“Perfect. Now let’s get going. As soon as I say action, I want you to say your first line and look up. That way it will look as though Mallory is just walking over to the table. Got it?”
As soon as he finished, he stood up and stepped away. I sat up straight in my chair and looked straight up just like he’d told me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the camera gliding closer to my face. My eyes really wanted to move but I remembered to never look at the camera.
I repeated my line, “I can’t believe this is happening,” and waited for my next instructions.
“Cut!” I heard Mr. Fenway yell, then I saw him whisper to the man holding the really long stick with a dangling light over my head.
The light wiggled a bit when the man shifted from his left foot to his right, inched forward a smidgen, and then found his balance once again.
We repeated this scene for the next hour until finally the microphone, the light, my pretend stare, and the invisible Mallory all worked together perfectly.
I was so relieved to hear Mr. Fenway finally yell, “We got it!”
“Lena, good work! You are free for about an hour or so! Your movie mom and dad will be on set today and we will film your first scene with them. Then call it a day. Stay close. Kay B will grab you when we’re ready.”
“Perfect!”
I raced off and headed back to the hair and makeup room. I was hoping Mallory was back but she wasn’t.
I twiddled my thumbs, looked around the empty room, and considered my options. My little black book peaked through the open zipper of my book bag so I pulled it out, found a comfy corner, and decided I needed to go ahead and empty my brain. I’d learned so much in the last three hours and if I didn’t write it down, I was sure I would forget it.
Hello there, Stars!
I am feeling really good today! I’m so glad God gave me this opportunity. So far it’s been really great. I’m glad I decided to come and be a part of it. Mr. Fenway is so nice! I am glad he’s not mean and bossy like I had thought he would be. I would be absolutely, positively MISERABLE if he was.
God, you really do know what you are doing! Even when I don’t understand exactly what’s going on, you always have it under control. It’s kind of like filming a scene with Mallory without her being there. I can’t see the whole picture now but later on when Mr. Fenway puts everything together it will be great. I think that’s what my life is like—once you put all the pieces together it will be great!
I could get used to this making a movie thing!
“Lena, Lena, Lena.”
I knew someone was calling my name but I was in that awkward space between being slightly awake but still dreaming too. I could not tell if it was a baby squirrel’s voice or an actual
person that I heard until I felt the pressure of a tiny little body easing its way next to mine.
“Lena, can I sleep with you?”
It was Ashton.
Even with my eyes practically shut, I could see that the little purple hand on my alarm clock was pretty close to the seven. Ashton had only beat my alarm by a few minutes.
I rolled over and welcomed her in. Of course Amber was just a few steps behind and inserted herself right between me and Ashton. We shuffled a few blankets around and tried to get comfortable.
Ansley heard the commotion and in a matter of seconds we were all wide awake. It had been a long weekend with touring our new city and filling Dad in on everything I had already done. I needed to be on set in just a few hours and didn’t want to be awake yet. I remembered how lonely the room felt before my sisters got here so now that they were, I was excited to spend time with them.
“Guys,” I started, “I have to get up in a few minutes anyway.”
“So Lena, what do you do there all day anyway?” Ansley made her way across the room, jumped up into my bed, and landed on my ankles.
“Hmmmm, well let’s see . . . as soon as I get there Kay B meets me at the door. You guys met her at dinner on Saturday. She is the really funny one with the pink hair. She tells me what to do, but not in a mean way. Mr. Fenway is like the big boss but Kay B is in charge of getting me places and making sure I’m on time and know what to do.”
Once I started talking I couldn’t stop. “There are so many people around. You can’t really see them when we’re filming but there are people holding the lights, and doing all sorts of things with the sound. I wear a little microphone on my waist. It looks cool but it’s actually a little annoying when I have to use the restroom . . .”
“And guys,” I kept going, “there is a whole rack of clothes that they bought just for me! We call that wardrobe. So as soon as I get on set Kay B takes me to wardrobe.” I paused. “Well actually, no, she normally takes me to hair and makeup.
“Did you know I get to wear makeup? They put a clear powder on my face, something shiny on my eyebrows, and they always make sure my lips match my shirt! That part’s so fun!”
