Rise To Stardom - Chapter 103

Chapter 103: Titular Role
Staring at his phone with a gaze of befuddled amusement, reading some of the frankly terrifying yet sultry messages that was sent to his Mediagram DM’s, Kyle ended up muttering out loud;

“This is their father’s problem.”

Oliver who was driving, laughed a bit at his comment, finding Kyle’s words quite hilarious as he drove through New York’s Time’s Square.

Considering the thirst tweet thing was still in vogue for a lot of celebrities, Kyle had ended up mostly being the recipient of a lot of those messages, most of which he found really amusing.

However, some were just way too perverted for him to read, which was why he simply switched off his Wi-Fi.

Yep.

That was enough internet for the day in his book.

Just as he did though, his gaze caught onto one of the many, neon-lighted billboards, his expression morphing and his eyes widening in shock as he declared;

“That’s me! That’s me!”

On said billboard, one that belonged to GrooveBox, was a picture of Kyle in a white suit, singing at a bar with the cursive words; No Clue by Kyle Kestis; one which then switched into a picture of him, surrounded by fireflies as he sat on a piano stool whilst playing said piano with another cursive text; Strange Canvas by Kyle Kestis.

Staring at the billboard with an excited glee in his usually calm tone, one that caused Oliver to burst into laughter, the billboard soon changed again, this time to another artist.

Turning his head over to Oliver, Kyle then said to his agent with an expression of disbelief as their vehicle left Time’s Square;

“That was me. That was me…”

“I know Kyle. I know.” Oliver couldn’t help but chuckle out loud as he stared at his ward’s awe-stricken expression, a deep hint of amusement in his own grey irises.

* * *

Jon casually drove into a certain, secluded neighborhood in Brooklyn, Manhattan.

Pulling over to a stop, just before a fairly large yet well-maintained house that had definitely aged over the years, the Dreamland Executive got out, moving towards the door to drop by his old pal.

Considering they had been buddies since art school, this wasn’t a particularly rare thing for him to do.

Rather, it was more or less a frequent occurrence, one that Jeffrey himself, frequently also returned the gesture by visiting Jon at his own mansion whenever he was chanced.

Still, both of them made the conscious effort of always informing the others before they decided to head over.

It was simply, basic courtesy.

Passing by the two, familiar guards by the gate, both of whom gave their respects to him, Jon casually walked across the freshly-mown lawn and up the small stairs to ring the doorbell.

Not even a second later, the door slowly opened to reveal an aged woman with smooth black hair in her late fifties, her beauty, timeless, despite the years gone by.

She also seemed to be practically glowing, her dark irises gleaming happily and a beaming smile, settling on her beautiful face.

This contagious smile of hers, widened even more when she saw that Jon was the one at their doorstep.

“Jon! It’s always a pleasure to have you!” she quickly gave him a warm hug, gesturing for him to come in almost immediately after.

“Barbara. You look extra happy today. Jeff buy you that mini yacht he promised?” Jon who noticed her glow, couldn’t help but ask in curiosity.

“No. I’d shish-kebab him if he wasted money on that.” Barbara, Jeffrey’s wife chuckled heartily and then added;

“Besides, I think its best if you witness the cause of my joy for yourself.”

Gesturing to their living room, a route familiar to Jon, the man couldn’t help but raise his brows in genuine surprise when he saw Kyle, wrapping a thick, white scarf around Jeffrey’s neck, one which had the custom inscription; Coolest Grandpa Ever! Here’s to more side quests!

Along with that was Oliver, Kyle’s agent who was placing a big box, containing customized ceramic mugs, all of which also had the exact same inscriptions.

Staring at the scene before him, watching as Jeffrey, grinned from ear to ear in pride, Jon simply let out a small chuckle, finding the entire scene before him amusing.

That said, this was absolutely perfect timing.

He had wanted to discuss something important with Kyle and his agent after all of [Epoch One’s] promotions and PR had died down.

…

…

…

“There’s going to be a private screening for all the actors whom we might potentially cast for the next season of the series early next year. Presumably, early or late January.” Jon casually stated as he sipped on his tea, one that Barbara had prepared for all three.

As for Jeffrey, he was currently outside with his new scarf, making a call to his son and daughters and telling them he wanted more grandkids.

Kyle’s gifts, seemed to have really put the man in an exceptionally, great mood.

“Now, most of the other roles have been finalized, but, the role of The Curator especially…” Jon’s voice trailed off, taking another sip out of his tea as he continued;

“His, is of course, the one we’re yet to find an actor for.”

As the Dreamland Executive kept speaking, his demeanor calm and composed, Kyle and Oliver payed rapt attention, waiting for the man’s next words.

“That’s the role I want you to audition for Kyle.” Jon gently placed his cup, back onto the saucer as he concluded.

A thin smile now nestling on his lips, one that he maintained as he gazed back at Kyle and Oliver who maintained eye contact, Jon asked;

“So, what do you say?”

Chewing on those words, realizing just how big this offer was, especially from a Dreamland Executive himself, Kyle and Oliver, still maintained their individual calm demeanors.

Sure both of them (Kyle especially), were excited at the thought of being offered a private screening but still, there were also a lot of cons to it.

At the moment even, there were more pros than cons in filling up the shoes of the titular time traveler, especially, due to the past few seasons which pretty much had fans losing interest in the show.

Added to that, if one ended up acting in show that ended up not being well-received, that was another issue on its own as finding one’s next acting gig, could end up becoming a hassle.

Directors and producers, were less keen on working with an actor whose previous project was already attributed to a failure after all.

And for Kyle, considering he had only just recently gotten his first big acting break in the form of [Epoch One’s] exposure, he really needed to tread carefully in selecting his next project.

So, with all that in mind, both individuals, kept thinking to themselves for a few more minutes before, finally, Kyle broke the silence with a curious question;

“Why a younger actor though? Or is it just me?”

Smiling at that question, loving the fact that Kyle was smart enough to not immediately jump on the offer yet still single out that seemingly inconsequential point, Jon soon responded;

“Hmmm. Call it a business tactic…” the Dreamland Exec vaguely answered, one that caused Oliver to lightly stroke his chin, while Kyle, simply tilted his head in even more curiosity.

“I can only share so much with you right now.” Jon kept speaking, after which he then added;

“If, however, you do decide to come for the auditions and hopefully, get casted for the role, then I’d be willing to give you all the details.”

Gazing at the Dreamland Executive, his interest piqued, Kyle listened as the man spoke again.

“So, once again, I’d like to request of you to audition for the role.” Jon said, casually gesturing to the young man with an open palm while asking;

“Think you’re up for it?”

…

…

…

Driving in comfortable silence, save for the sounds of the hustle and bustle of the lively city around them, Oliver soon broke the silence, his voice, calm;

“Today was… unexpected.”

“That it was…” Kyle simply replied, gazing outside the window as their vehicle, zoomed past some cars on the Brooklyn bridge.

Despite Jon having told him he had an offer for him at the Premiere a month and a few weeks back, Kyle had never expected for it to be such a big one.

It was, truly unexpected, to say the least.

“The Curator, huh…” Oliver slightly shook his head, still pleasantly perplexed by the offer from Quentin, minutes after they had left Jeffrey’s home.

“That’s a big role Kyle.” the agent added and Kyle lightly smiled, although it was obvious he was trying his best to suppress his excitement.

Truly, it was a big role.

Yet, at the moment, it was a dangerous role to fill in the shoes for.

That said, Kyle didn’t want to linger his thoughts too much on it at the moment since nothing was set in stone.

Even if he did go for the auditions, there was no guarantee that he’d be the actor they’d choose.

As a result, Kyle decided to put his thoughts regarding the titular role on the backburner and instead, refocus his attention, back onto the goal in front of him whilst stating;

“We can finally head back home. Considering the screening isn’t till early next year, I’d really like to put all of my efforts into perfecting my new song. Hopefully I can round it up before the new year.”

“I agree. Guess we’ll be heading back tomorrow then. I’ll ring up Jennie, see if she’s available.” Oliver gently nodded his head in agreement as he replied.

“That’d be nice. Thanks Oliver.” Kyle appreciatively said and the agent casually responded;

“Don’t mention it.”