"I don't think I've ever been petty to you, Miss June!" A familiar voice stated behind, startling them.
Both June and Sari stood up immediately. "Mr. Oren, hi! June, I shall go and check something in the room." Sari scurried off, leaving June alone.
"Traitor!" June mumbled.
"Are you ready for today's scenes? As you know, I am petty and holds grudges, so, if you make a little mistake today, I won't let you off. I'm in a very bad mood today." Luigi looked at June and scoffed before walking away.
June froze. She really shouldn't be speaking ill of others behind them. She heaved deeply and followed the crew to the filming area.
"This scene is going to be one of the shots we will add to the trailer, so June, you have to bring your best performance. This scene is intimate and filled with a romantic vibe, you have to do a good job." Director Sun remarked.
"Yes, Director." June exhaled deeply before stepping into the filming area.
...
Scene 55
Ethel came out of the store's changing room, dressed in a black dotted patterns mini-dress. "Ziga, how do I look?" She asked excitedly.
"Call me Mr. Saint. I am ten years older than you." Ziga said tiredly as he relaxed on the couch.
"Nine years older, but that doesn't matter. What do you think of this dress?" Ethel corrected him.
"Too short! Do you seriously think it's alright to wear something this short to prom?" Ziga removed the cap from his face and asked exhaustedly.
"What is wrong with this dress? A lot of girls will be dressing this way." Ethel challenged him.
"You are not other girls. Change into this..." Ziga stood up and grabbed a long orange dress from the hangers and threw it at Ethel. "This will look perfect on you."
"No, it won't! This dress is too long, and ugly. Manager, I will go with this black dress. How much is it?" Ethel turned to the sales manager and asked.
"Ethel, don't tempt me." Ziga warned her.
"Why? Give me a good reason why I shouldn't choose this dress." Ethel folded her arms.
At that moment, Ziga regretted bringing her to pick a dress for prom. She was becoming more stubborn.
Of course, there was no way he was going to allow her wear that dress. She looked like a little temptress wearing it. What if a bad guy approaches her after seeing how beautiful she was in that dress?
"It doesn't suit you. It's ugly!" Ziga replied.
Ethel chuckled. "Are you afraid I might attract another man, wearing this?" Ethel asked, hitting the nail on the head.
"All men are dogs, except me. At least, I won't take advantage of you." Ziga was already annoyed by her stubbornness.
"If you think so, then, go with me and protect me. As for this dress, I'm buying it and that's final!" Ethel decided.
The sales manager couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "Miss, your uncle is only concerned about you." She commented.
"I'm not her uncle!" Ziga immediately rebutted the sales manager.
"That's right! He's not my uncle. He's the man I am interested in." Ethel jumped in. She removed the card to pay and Ziga picked up the cap he left on the couch.
"Do whatever you want!" He mumbled while walking out of the store.
"Cut!" Director Sun yelled.
June sighed a relief when that scene was over. She quickly turned to go and changed for the next scene, which was a poolside scene.
Luigi couldn't stop looking at her. It wasn't only him; the assistant director was also looking at June. He didn't like how uncomfortable that made him.
....
June's changing room.
"June, I just finished talking with the director. He said, Mr. Oren will do the kiss and bed scenes himself and he wants to do it with you, without a body double." Sari, broke the news as soon as she entered the changing room.
The coffee cup in June's hand fell and the coffee spilled on the floor. She didn't even mind the fact that the hot coffee and poured on her thigh.
"June, are you alright?" Sari picked up a tissue and wiped June's thigh, whispering to her in the process. "Do something! Do you want them to know you have a condition?"
"Ah! That hurts!" June stood up pretentiously and stepped back.
"I told you to be careful! Can you leave us for a few minutes? June needs to change!" Sari said to the two production assistants in the room.
"Sure!" The two replied and left the room.
"Sit down! I will clean this first." Sari told June.
June first closed the door before turning to face Sari. "Sari, what do you mean Mr. Oren is going to do the kiss and bed scenes himself? Why did he suddenly decide to do that?" June sat down on the couch.
"I don't know the details. The director told me this a while ago. He said, Luigi informed him personally. "
"How is that possible? Sari, this doesn't even make sense. He has never gotten intimate with anyone on set. The closest is a hugging scene. Why the sudden change?" June was confused.
"I don't know! This information has caused a lot of chaos outside. A lot of his fans are outside the set, waiting to witness it. June, this is both an opportunity and a curse! If you do it well, your career is going to catapult. If you mess up, that's the end for us."
"Of course, I know that. But I've only done slice of life movies. This is my first romantic comedy movie. My nerves are like a wrecking ball every time I have a scene with him. I don't know if I will be able to do this right. I didn't think it was a big deal when I had to do it with a body double, after all, it wasn't going to be anything deep, just a peck. But now..." June was greatly disturbed by the news.
"I understand what you mean." Sari sighed.
"Besides, he is so perceptive. If I don't take care, he might even get to know I have a condition that I don't want others to know." June exhaled deeply and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Should I talk to the director?"
"No! It took us a lot to finally get this gig. I can't afford to have a lot of demands. I will just go with the flow." June wasn't to let whatever she had going on privately sabotage her hard work. She had come too far to turn back.
"What if 'that person ' takes it out on you?" Sari was genuinely concerned.
"I don't know! Maybe, this is my chance make him give up on me. If I can use Luigi Oren against him, then it will work in my favor." June smiled. She just thought of something.
"Babe, you're finally coming around. I remember the last time I brought this idea up, you shut it down immediately." Sari was curious to know what changed.
"Although I don't like how Renda put it, but it's true that Luigi has been good to me. Even when he caught me talking bad about him, he only teased me. I remember the last woman that talked about him was sent home, so it shows that he doesn't seem to mind my presence."
"June, I wouldn't have believed you if you said these words some months ago, but you've really become quite open. I was afraid that you still carried the past in your heart and didn't want to open up to anyone after what happened. I'm glad."
June smiled and stood up. "It's time. Let's get this over with."
....
Scene 56
Poolside
Ethel stepped out to the poolside in a purple two-piece swimsuit. Learning to swim was one of the things she wrote as part of her to-do list before graduation and today, she wanted to learn how to swim.
She was currently in Ziga's house and he was out to buy some groceries for cooking. He usually didn't allow her near the pool in his absence because she didn't know how to swim.
Sitting at the edge of the pool, Ethel dropped her feet carefully into the water. With a laid-back posture, she relaxed and closed her eyes.
She was thinking back to the day she met Ziga. It was her first month of third year, but now she had just finished writing her final exam and was about to graduate.
Ziga had pushed her to be a better person. He encouraged her to study and and protected her. She really has fallen for him, but he wasn't ready to reciprocate her feelings.
It seemed that something was holding him back. But no matter what, she was going to become his woman.
Just thinking about being his woman made her heart flutter and her face became a bit red.
"Ethel?" Ziga arrived and called for Ethel from inside the hall. He placed the groceries on the kitchen table and walked out to the poolside.