Arise | Jordan Poole

67 | darkside of the industry

"Baby, you gotta get up. Dray called me twice. He said Hazel needs help."

Amaria groaned, "I don't wanna."
Jordan did not have time for another grown man on his phone, simply because his girlfriend wouldn't answer her own.

"Nah, he's not calling me again. C'mon." Instead of waiting for her to get up, he lifts her out of bed, taking her into the bathroom. "I thought you loved me, why are you engaging in torture?"

"You're being dramatic, I need you to get dressed, help your friend and then you can come home."

Now that Jordan was up, and Amaria was showering, he wouldn't be going back to sleep. He felt bad that he woke her up, but he knew that she would want to help, considering how frantic Hazel and Dray sounded on the phone.

After Amaria's shower, she was dressed and ready to go. Jordan was dressed too, he would be going to the gym with J2.

"Call me when you're done, I don't want you there longer than you need to be." He gave her the sweetest kiss, "If you're not tired, I would love for us to go out later."

She sighed in contentment, "We haven't done that in so long, I would love that."

"Yeah?"
"Yeah."

Amaria did not understand how this film was falling apart with the budget it had, but it was. Hazel signed on in agreement that she would have some creative input, she ultimately did not. She hated the final script and the actors seemed under developed.

"I'm looking for Hazel." The production assistant on staff gave her a look before recognizing her, "oh my God, Amaria Banks? You're, wow you're here. You're so good, you're literally one of the examples of how to be a good PA. Oh wait until I tell the team."

Amaria was flattered but her main concern was finding Hazel, saving her from a meltdown. "Thank you, I really appreciate it. We can talk after we find Hazel."

Amanda lead her to Hazel's trailer. Hazel invited them in after they knocked. "I heard a superstar was in here."

Hazel smiled seeing her friend enter. "Thank God you're here." The hug they shared was tight. Amaria opened her bag, taking her iPad out to use for note taking. "What is it that you need me to do? What is actually wrong?"

"If I don't at least get these actors developed for the scenes, we cannot save this movie. You've seen the script, Its workable but, the acting is so flat, they're all unbelievable." As a writer, Amaria's biggest asset was the ability to read people, with that gift she used that to make her own characters as authentic as possible.

The next two hours were spent working with each actor about how to make their characters much more believable. "Ms. Banks."

"Hey Amanda, what's up?" The weary look on Amanda's face told her, something was wrong. "The director wants to speak to you."

"Oh he's finally here? I've been looking forward to meeting him." Amaria followed through the trailers, back onto set.

Hazel wasn't anywhere in sight, but she could see the director and a few other people talking. As she approached the group fell silent. "Hey, I heard you wanted to see me."

Gabriel Walker, was a small time director. He had done work throughout the Black film community, some work hod classics, others were complete busts. The look of disdain on his face, caused Amaria's inviting smile to fade. "Who invited you onto my set?"

"Excuse me?"

"I said, who invited you here? You are not on my team, I did not request you being here, let alone with my actors taking up my time." Gabriel did not care for anyone stepping in to take over his work. Amaria was taken back by the rudeness displayed.