Rise To Stardom - Chapter 230

Chapter 230: Tardy Two
Sir. Pouncealot was not something that was included in the script.

In fact, what Nathan was supposed to say in that scene was ‘Hey buddy! How’d you get up there?’.

Yet, Xavier, upon checking the shot to ensure it came out perfectly, simply stated;

“Alright. We’re moving on to the next set on the college grounds.”

“Let’s be ready in ten.” he employed a light, rolling gesture of his finger to signal to the rest of the crew who gave curt professional nods as the cinematographers worked to unmount the cameras in quiet efficiency.

“Oh and Kyle. Nice touch with the cat.” he casually added as the young star and Jeff, slowly got off the dining chairs.

In response, Kyle gave a light salute with a thin smile on his lips, after which he then promptly turned around and walked up the stairs to gesture to Sir. Pouncealot to come down.

Leaping into his arms almost instantaneously, the gentlemanly feline, soon climbed atop Kyle’s head and perched there, prompting Jeff to curiously question;

“You didn’t by chance smuggle catnip on set, did you Kyle?”

“Whatever do you mean?” the young star looked almost offended as he walked past the old Hollywood star who added as he trailed behind him;

“He’s probably the first trained cat I’ve seen that’s so receptive, I guess… to you at least…”

“That is curious, isn’t it?” Kyle cryptically answered to which Jeff squinted suspiciously at him.

That said, as the rest of the production crew slowly filed out of the house behind them, alongside Xavier, Kyle soon walked back up to a cheerful Eliza who was happy to see the cat again.

“Here you go Mademoiselle Liz.” he gently carried Sir. Pouncealot and placed him into her inviting arms.

And then, watching as he casually knead biscuits on her fluffy sweater, Kyle and Eliza, both retrieved a tiny piece of catnip from their pockets and offered it to feline like shady drug dealers.

“Haha! I knew it!” Jeff astutely exclaimed, prompting both culprits to share a hearty laughter as Clint whom was situated nearby, smiled lovingly while watching his daughter blissfully laughing again after being bedridden for so long.

Way before today’s scene was shot, Kyle, having gone to select which trained cat they would have on set for the scenes alongside Cassandra, had met with the gentlemanly feline.

And upon hearing from his trainer that he typically behaved even calmer after sniffing or consuming catnip, alongside being extra nice to those who gave him the treat, he’d made it his mission to smuggle them onto the set whenever Sir. Pouncealot would be filming.

Also, having listened to Clint’s request about hoping to have his daughter visit the set, Kyle had told the middle-aged actor to have his daughter, similarly smuggle bits of catnip onto the set like him.

…

…

…

Sharon, alongside a bunch of extras and some of the production crew whom were already on ground, had been expectantly awaiting the appearance of Xavier, Kyle and Clint at the set on the college grounds so they could film the fourth and fifth scenes they had planned for today.

As for the third scene, it would essentially be a shot of Nathan, rushing to get to college as he employed the aid of his trusty bicycle to blitz through the traffic.

And considering a younger Kyle did have a lot of experience biking in his younger years due to its ease of transport to high school, showcasing a few tricks as he did, wouldn’t be an issue when the scene was eventually shot.

In any case, the moment the trio arrived on set though, the honey-blonde haired lady, had her ocean-blue irises curiously twinkle as she perched down to Eliza’s height on the fairly bustling college lawn while asking;

“Who’s this cute cinnamon bun?”

“Eliza Rockwood.” the young girl on the other hand, having responded, kept staring at Sharon with a captivated gaze;

“So pretty…” she muttered audibly, her jade green irises reflecting the innocence and honesty of her words.

This, immediately, had the lady who clearly had dark-circles under her eyes and her hair, purposely made messy for the scene, beam in genuine appreciation.

Swiftly, she angled her gaze towards the young girl’s father whom was situated a few meters away, as he shared a conversation with Kyle.

“Clint. I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this, but the world needs more fathers like you.” the lady suddenly stated aloud, causing an unaware Clint to be caught off-guard by the sudden compliment.

But before he could give his appreciation for her kind words, Sharon spoke again, her voice softer;

“Also, Eliza, what do you want for Christmas?” she suddenly asked the young girl, absolutely ready to spend a couple hundred dollars if need be.

However, their conversation was cut short when Xavier whom was ready, called out;

“We begin in five!”

And literally five minutes later, the Director had already given the signal for the next scene to be shot.

{Tech Wiz: Year One | 1st of July 2022 | Act 1 | Scene 4 | Take 1}

Rushing to not miss his very first lecture, Nathan hurriedly jogged across the lawn, slightly out of breath as the cameras panned to reveal the name of the college; HORIZON TECH UNIVERSITY.

Apologizing as he bumped into and pushed through a plethora of college students who had one thing or the other to say in response, the young man soon arrived at the corridors of the hall.

And yet, despite a few, similarly late students already trickling into other lecture halls hurriedly, the doors that opened into his lecture hall, had a vending machine situated just opposite it.

And currently hitting it in frustration with her boot, was a young, seemingly tired lady with disheveled honey-blonde hair tied into a ponytail, cursing underneath her breath as Nathan walked over;

“Stupid, useless, overpriced, java-coded, no-good, nickel gobbling, tin tyrant!”

At first Nathan had simply intended to walk past, not particularly interested in playing hero to a damsel in distress.

But her words, clearly had him amused as he halted in his steps, turned around slightly and walked towards the named tin tyrant as the lady huffed in deeper frustration.

Rummaging through his messenger bag, he soon retrieved a small, spherical, matte-black slate, no bigger than a golf ball.

And much to the confusion of a frustrated lady who just wanted her canned coffee, she watched as the young man beside her, placed the spherical slate on the pane of the vending machine, tapped it gently and before her very eyes, her stuck can of coffee, jerked forward briefly, alongside other drinks that fell into the pick-up box below.

“You’re welcome.” he simply commented as he returned the gadget into his bag, his steps already taking him towards the lecture hall.

“Ah, yes. Thank you.” the lady however, slightly tilted her head with an intrigued gaze as she stared at his receding back.

Snapping out of her thoughts though, she quickly retrieved the can and made her way into the lecture hall, same as Nathan’s.

And upon entering, Professor. Malakai, previously leaning casually against the podium, paused mid-speech as he stated, acknowledging the tardiness of the duo;

“Fashionably late, I see…”

“…especially you, Miss. Danvers.” he added familiarly.

“Not exactly the algorithmic precision one would expect from future tech innovators.” he remarked to which Felicia gave a quick-witted reply;

“Well, Professor, I figured I’d let the universe test the efficiency of the human patience today. Consider it an unplanned algorithmic disruption. One that I owe to the nickel-gobbler just outside the door.”

A few students chuckled in response to her words, one that had Malakai smirking as he engaged with the lady’s quick wit;

“Clever. But as future pioneers, you should know that precision is everything, even with unexpected variables.”

“Maybe…” Nathan slightly adjusted the strap of his messenger bag, his voice quiet yet audible enough for everyone in the room to catch it.

“… but I figure some of the greatest breakthroughs, come from these unexpected variables.” he disagreed with his Prof’s remarks.

This earned a slightly arched brow of inquiry from Malakai who seemed interested in hearing more of what the young man had to say.

Felicia and the rest of the class, similarly angled the same gaze of interest towards him as Nathan, upon realizing he had to back up his statement, casually added;

“Take Tesla, for instance. His experiments were often chaotic and unexpected, yet, they led to the very foundations of modern energy. I think I make a valid point.”

Slightly nodding in agreement to that as some of his students similarly did, the Professor then shifted his attention fully to Nathan as Felicia, sneaked away to take her seat;

“I see. Not bad.”

“But, let me ask you this, Mr. ––?” the clearly engaged Professor, seemingly glad to have another brilliant mind amongst his students, curiously inquired with a slight gesture of his gloved hands.

“North. Nathan North.” Nathan offered, earning a masked hint of familiar surprise in Malakai’s green irises.

And then, with a thin smile, he continued;

“Mr. North, if you were given the choice between an unpredictable genius and a flawlessly efficient machine, which would you trust to aid you in the case of an unexpected variable?”

Shrugging with a fairly nonchalant demeanor, Nathan replied;

“Depends…”

“Which one’s gonna cost me less money to hire?” he casually added, his capitalist personality on full display.

The lecture room fell into silence for a beat, after which it then erupted into a mix of amused chuckles and light-hearted laughter.

Even Malakai smiled amusedly, noticeably taken aback by his student’s out-of-pocket answer.

That said, as Malakai studied a grinning Nathan a few seconds later, a flicker of something unreadable in his expression, he then gave a subtle, nostalgic smile;

“An unexpected yet still fascinating answer nonetheless. You may take your seat, Mr. North.”

“Thanks Prof.” Nathan did as he was told, finding a spot to settle into.

“Do well to arrive early next class. And that goes for you too, Miss. Danvers.” the Professor casually added.

And with that, Malakai turned to the projected feed to continue his lecture as Nathan finally took his seat, his curiosity piqued as he audibly muttered to himself;

“I hate to admit it but Gramps was right…”

“This, might be worth my while, after all…”

“Tailslate and… Cut!”

–

-Ding!

“That was a good take, yes…” Xavier remarked with a thoughtful expression as he kept staring at the take through the cameras.

In response, the entire lecture hall full of actors, turned their attention towards the back of the hall where he, alongside the cinematographers whom had been filming were situated.

“… but it can be better.” the Director, having leaned back into his chair, stated, after which he then spoke, his tone authoritative;

“Kyle. Sharon. You guys just need to act as you did from the moment you walked into the class.”

“If you can make meaningful improvisations to bolster the scene, that’d be welcome. Same for the rest of you.” he added with a light gesture of his hand.

“You got it Zay.” Kyle responded with a brief salute while Sharon gave a curt nod of understanding as she replied;

“Roger that.”

The other extras on set, also did the same, their responses professional.

“As for Clint…” Xavier, having giving them all a thumbs up, shifted his attention towards the middle-aged actor whom was listening attentively;

“I need Malakai to have more subtleties of familiarity to his expressions when he’s speaking to Nathan, especially after he realizes he’s speaking to his former colleagues’ son.”

“Alright then.” Clint nodded affirmatively as the Director, satisfied with everyone’s responses, spoke once more with a light clap of his palms, his tone rhetorical;

“We still need to film one more scene today so let’s try to get in in the second take, okay?”

“Now, retake your original positions.” he gestured to the main trio who did as they were told, each of them, alongside everyone else in the lecture hall ready for a second take.

And no sooner had the cinematographers gotten their cameras realigned for the second take, Xavier gave the familiar order;

“Lights… Camera… Action!”