Dress Rehearsal

She had never got the call before and here she was on the verge of fudging it, of ruining any hopes that lingered in her less than optimistic mind about having a career in front of the camera. Her buttons popped free jerkily, the sliver of skin between the folds of the soft material appearing in uneven intervals. Her struggles were no longer forced.

Tim, on the other hand, leaned against the wall, a cruel, or what he hoped appeared to be cruel, smile upon his face. He had lowered the gun to his side, his finger resting casually on the trigger, as if it were born to rest there. "Hurry up! Pull that sweater off. I wanna see what my money's bought." He crossed his arms over his chest, the right hand, the one in possession of the weapon, in front, leaving the threat of force very much visible to her.

Beth gulped and sniffled loudly, her hands holding the sweater together, clutching it tightly. Suddenly, she didn't want to do this. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. She looked around the set, her eyes darting back and forth in shame, her hands trembling and trying to force her sweater open.

"Good! Great emotion there!" Ron hollered. Finally, some real emotion. They were getting somewhere.

Beth shook her head and all of the fears, all of the real emotions that were propelling her forward in the scene departed and she was just left with fear...the fear of botching the job. Tim saw the emotion fade from her face, saw her now wooden hands slowly part the sweater to reveal the utilitarian white cotton bra underneath. He braced himself from the explosion...it didn't take long.

"Noooo! Don't lose the feeling! Dammit!" Ron jumped down from his perch again and with angry strides crossed the space between them. He grabbed Beth by the shoulders and shook her...hard. "What's wrong with you? Fear is a pretty basic emotion in acting class. Please tell me you did take some classes? I can't believe this shit." Ron began pacing, his agitation replaced now with a driving fury. It was getting late and they were still working on this one scene...this one little scene. They were only supporting actors, they only had minor roles, but this scene was critical to the build up of suspense in the whole picture...if this scene didn't work, the entire movie wouldn't work.

Tim listened with half an ear to the tirade, to the torrent of invectives spewing from the normally affable director. This was turning into a nightmare. He had such a great feeling when his agent had called him. This was not a commercial, he was not being asked to be an extra in some infomercial. This was the break he had been looking for, hoping for. Now, it looked like his break was disintegrating before his very eyes and it had everything to do with this girl across from him. Tim got angry. He began to feel the menacing emotions that were supposed to be his character surge through him. How dare she ruin this for him? If she went down, he knew that Ron would get rid of him too. Ron saw them as a matched set...and in many ways they were.

Beth was soft and pale, with light brown hair that seemed to float around her delicate face. Her eyes were expression personified...when she chose to use them. That's probably what got her the part. She didn't have many lines. She had to convey her character solely through the use of her body, her posture, and, most importantly, her eyes.