Vegas, Baby

Sidney Poitier

Visiting the set of James' highly anticipated film, I was so far out of my comfort zone that I tried to blend into the background and not draw any attention to myself despite the fact that James had introduced me to everyone. From the way many of them greeted me, I could tell that they already knew who I was, something that was confirmed when I asked James if he had mentioned me before. 

"I wouldn't exactly call it 'mentioning you'," James said, shrugging his shoulder as he walked me to his trailer, which really, looked like an Ikea apartment on the inside, little nooks and crannies adding space in the weirdest of places. "It was more like 'bragging about you.'"

Groaning, I slumped down on the seating area and huffed. "You're incorrigible."

"And you are so British when you use words like that," James laughed. He was dressed in a sharp suit, looking very much like the Baby Bond that his character was supposed to be. James had tried to explain the plot of the film with me, even going so far as to let me read parts of the script but I have such a terrible imagination that I finally announced that I'd wait until it came out in the cinema. Sitting next to me, James quickly checked the time and sighed heavily. "They're going to come and get me in a couple of minutes. Will you come and watch or are you going to stay in here?"

Before I had time to respond, a knock came at the door of the trailer, followed by a manly voice shouting for James. Through a silent conversation, it was agreed that I would go and watch him work. As we walked onto the set, he said that after the scene was filmed, he'd introduce me to his co-stars and give me a tour of the location. 

A woman in her forties approached me as soon as she saw me at James' side and took me to where a crowd stood around a monitor. Pushing them all aside, she motioned for me to sit and gave me a pair of headphones that were connected to the intricately set up system. The man to my left turned to look at me and smiled, introducing himself as Felix. Smiling back at him, I introduced myself. 

"Oh, trust me, we all know who you are," Felix laughed. "Damn boy hasn't stopped talking about the most amazing girl he's ever met. You have a super fan, Nina."

I blushed. I could feel my cheeks burning up. "Oh. I hope I won't be a distraction."

"You'll be fine," I was reassured. Felix turned back to the monitor in front of him and said, "Just you wait until you see your boy in action. He's going to be a huge star in the future. Trust me, I've worked with some famous names. I know who'll make it big and he's going to be huge."

Having heard Felix practically gush about James and his acting ability, I couldn't wait to watch him work, fixing my eyes on the monitor and waiting for 'ACTION!' to be shouted out. I didn't need to wait too long because soon enough, filming was underway. It was a car chase with James behind the wheel of what I think could be considered a supercar. It was red and it was fast. I'm sure the price tag was in the six figures, as well. Nevertheless, James did his stunt time and again, although from the mutterings I heard around the monitor, the second take was the winner. The other seven were 'backups', I was told. 

A costume change went ahead while burly men came rushing out to restage the scene. From the filming schedule I was given, I noticed that they were filming out of sequence and that the car chase scene happened very early on in the film, while the next scenes were from the last quarter of the plotline. This time, another character would be in the scene with James and my heart sank slightly upon seeing the name on the page: Sabrina. Vaguely remembering James mentioning the character when he gave me the synopsis, I recalled the actress playing opposite James. 

Mackenzie Kennedy. 

Since I'd never heard of her, I did a bit of Googling, only to regret it instantly. She's a twenty-two-year-old underwear model who wanted to move into acting and this was her first role. She was tall (five eleven), had beautiful (long) blonde hair, and her eyes were so blue, they reminded me of the clearest ocean (like a Meditteranean Sea blue). Girls like her are the reason that I have very low self-esteem when it comes to my appearance. Had I known Mackenzie Kennedy would be on set, I would have worn something a little more sexy than a pair of ripped jeans, a t-shirt I'd bought for fifty Brazilian Reals, and Havianas that were looking far beyond their best. I should have at least combed my hair instead of throwing it up into a messy bun. 

The pair walked out onto set together, chatting animatedly, before heading over to where I was sat next to Felix. James approached and got straight down to business, talking with Felix about the scene and how Felix wanted it to come across on screen. Realising that Felix was the director, I pinched my eyes closed and berated myself for being so dense. Shaking my head, I felt like the stupidest person in the entire world. 

"So, Nina, what do you think so far?" Felix asked, making everyone turn to look at me as they waited. "Is he as good as I told you he'd be?"

I shrugged and decided to tease James a little. "He's alright, I suppose. He doesn't look brooding enough for my liking."

"Is that so?" James asked, his voice sounding as if he was more than prepared to meet the challenge in my voice. I grinned and nodded, watching as James laughed and rolled his eyes. "We'll see about that, Nina. Oh, by the way, this is my co-star Mackenzie."

"Hi," I greeted the Goddess stood in front of me. She turned her nose up at me in response.

Whether James saw or not, he didn't call her out on it. Instead, he grinned at me and said, "And this is Nina. I'm going to marry her one day."

"You'll have to propose first," I remark, before adding, rather feistily, "Not that I'm guaranteed to accept, of course."

"Yes, you will," James winked at me. "Now, this might sound cheesy, but I think you're grate."