Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen

 novelbin

The next day.

"Cut! That's a wrap!" Director Carrol's voice boomed through the megaphone, cutting through the silence of the sprawling studio like a knife.

Eileen rose from the ground and strolled over to the side where a stylist immediately started fixing her costume. Meanwhile, Egbert was swarmed by makeup artists.

From behind the monitors, Carrol called out, "Mr. Reed, could you come here for a moment?"

Egbert took a sip of water and, bottle in hand, made his way to where Carrol was standing.

After Eileen's costume adjustments were complete, she headed over to join them.

Carrol was briefing Egbert on the upcoming scene, but when he noticed Eileen approaching, he said, "Take a breather, Eileen. The next scene's between Evander Moore and Shirley."

Eileen nodded, then asked, "Has Renee arrived?"

Renee was the actress playing Evander's pregnant wife in the movie. Despite her condition, Carrol had decided against recasting and chose to accommodate her schedule by shooting her scenes early.

"She's here, getting into costume now," Carrol replied.

Shortly afterward, a young woman in an elaborate period dress emerged from the changing room.

Renee made a beeline for Egbert, gushing over how much she adored his work and how honored she was to be playing his wife in a cameo role. Egbert, however, remained nonchalant, offering little reaction.

Carrol gestured toward Eileen and introduced her to Renee, "This is Eileen. You two will have a lot of scenes together, so you'd better get to know each other."

Eileen extended her hand politely, "Ms. Renee, it's a pleasure."

Renee glanced at Eileen's hand, then looked away, offering a perfunctory "Hello" before turning back to chat with Egbert.

Eileen was left hanging.

Within minutes, the set was ready, and Carrol announced through the megaphone, "All right, we'll take it from the top in five!" Renee smiled at Egbert, "I'll be counting on you, Mr. Reed."

Egbert just glanced at Renee, then turned to look at Eileen, who, having opened a bottle of water, was heading off to the side. The scene began, and Eileen settled next to Carrol, both of them watching the monitor closely.

"Cut!" Carrol called out a minute later, shaking his head.

Renee immediately apologized, "I'm so sorry, I blocked the camera."

Carrol frowned and, with an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips, urged, "Let's try it again."

Seconds later, Renee apologized again, this time visibly flustered.

Carrol's patience was wearing thin, "Please, watch your positioning."

Renee nodded frantically, "Yes, of course."

But five minutes later, another "Cut!" echoed through the studio.

Carrol, exhausted, leaned back in his chair, toying with a lighter, tempted to light up but reconsidering with a glance at Eileen.

Addressing Renee, he asked pointedly, "Didn't you rehearse your position?"

Renee, near tears, kept apologizing, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault."

Eileen, chin propped up by her hand, remained silent throughout, her eyes fixed on the monitor.

The morning dragged on, with Egbert and Renee's scene taking neen takes, delaying the production by over an hour.

When they finally wrapped, Renee was profusely apologetic, bowing repeatedly.

Egbert, with a stoic sip of water, had a shadow of irritation on his face.

Carrol, aware that the delays were unfair to Egbert, advised, "Go change out of costume."

Egbert set down his water bottle and walked toward the dressing rooms.

Once he was out of earshot, Carrol turned to Renee, "What's going on with you?"

"I think I got nervous around Mr. Reed," Renee admitted.

Annoyed, Carrol commanded, "Go over your lines until you know them like the back of your hand!"

After Renee left, Carrol turned to Eileen, "And you, go over your script again. I don't want any more delays."

Caught in the crossfire, Eileen simply picked up her script and continued studying her lines.

The next scene was between Eileen and Renee.

Before they started, Eileen excused herself to the restroom.

There, in the stall, she overheard a familiar voice on the phone outside.

"Yeah, I botched it neen times on purpose. The next one's with Eileen, and I can't let her upstage me. I'll perform well"

"Eileen's a good actress? Never heard of her. She's only been in the biz a year, starred in some no-name web series. But enough about her. Did you get photos of that last scene?"

"You did? Great. I've got another scene with Egbert this afternoon. I'll mess up a dozen times or so, make sure you capture it from the right angles. Feed it to the paparazzi and spin it like Egbert can't take his eyes off me, even with his girlfriend right there."

"Bloodsucking? Ha, it's not like that. The man's a superstar; he can spare a little attention. If the whole country didn't know I was pregnant, I could've spun this into a scandal!"

"His fans? As if I care. My husband's loaded. What do I have to fear from another actor?"

"Seriously, my boyfriend can't ditch me! I'm pregnant with his child. He'll have to choose me over his wife. Just watch, once I pop out a son for him, he'll be begging to put a ring on my finger!"

“Alright, enough chit-chat, I've got a scene to shoot. What's that? Watch out for Eileen? Ha, she should be watching out for me! Just wait and see how I'll steal the scene from that rookie actress!"

Renee had only popped into the restroom to wash her hands. After hanging up the phone, the sound of running water followed, and then her footsteps as she left.

*Click. *Eileen emerged from the stall.

She approached the mirror, washed her hands, touched up her makeup a bit, then headed out to set.

Twenty minutes later, the next scene was ready to roll.

Five minutes in.

"Cut!"

Carrol called out another NG, clearly exhausted. He looked at Renee with frustration and asked, "What's going on with you today, Renee? You're standing there like a scarecrow!"

Renee responded with a tone of grievance, "Director, it's... Ms. Lopez, she's not sticking to the script."

Carrol frowned, "What do you mean she's not sticking to the script? Her lines are correct!"

"Well," Renee explained, "she changed the emotion, but she didn't tell me beforehand."

Carrol, on the brink of losing his cool, tossed the script onto the table, "So she changes her tone, and you can't deliver your lines? Just follow the script!"

Feeling wronged, Renee continued, "And she changed the way she was looking at me..."

Carrol felt his headache intensify.

Eileen, on the other hand, just chuckled and raised an eyebrow at Renee, "Oh, did my gaze scare you? Maybe next time you should keep your eyes closed."