Note: If you saw my Wattpad status post, my tweet, my Snapchat story, or my Instagram story, (wow, so much social media) you'll know I promised I'd post Friday night. Well, it's still night where I am! HERE WE ARE!
Let's get right to it, shall we?
PREVIOUSLY ON THE CLASSIX: Lex is a method actor. Jared Leto, get in line. (This is an interesting coincidence.)
emeray
As I wait in my trailer for the hairdressers to arrive, my eyes can't help but wander past the bathroom to my bedroom nightstand. There they areââa fresh stack of tabloids, their stickers on the front proudly proclaiming today's date. Over the week on set I'd sworn off reading the magazines they brought to me each morning. I'd initially thought them to be a makeshift Analytix during my time here; a means of knowing what's going on outside the plot line of Onward Train.
I was gravely mistaken.
Reading magazines as a Famoux member is a form of torture in itself. They show us what the world is lying about regarding our characters far too late for us to do anything to stop it. There's so much reading in between the lines, squinting to see if a photo has been doctored to fuel the drama of an adjoining article. Worst of all, they most always are, and there's nothing we can do about it now that they're in print.
That's the hardest thing: It is so incredibly difficult to grasp when you're reading an article about how much of a "Monster on set!!!" you are that someone, somewhere in the world is reading that article too and believing every word it says.
After leafing through a dozen complete falsifications about my personal life over this week, it became increasingly more difficult to decipher whether or not the things written about my fellow Famoux members were false as well. I had to stop reading the papers entirely just to keep myself sane.
Even so, it's tempting not to take a peek when there's a new pile of them by my bed everyday. I've never been good at containing my curiosity, especially when the magazines are so accessible. When I glimpsed the top of the pile earlier in the morning, I was met with Kaytee and Race's faces, blown up to fill the whole front page. The headline exclaimed, THEY'VE GROWN ON US!
I was moving out of the room too quickly to read any further, but it piqued my attention nonetheless.
Sitting here now in the bathroom, tapping my fingers anxiously against the countertop, my interest simply won't dwindle.
Hurried, I get up and grab the first three magazines in the stack, taking them back to my salon chair before I can even think about changing my mind. My eyes scan the words surrounding Kaytee and Race's headline:
THE NEW POLLS FOR DELICATUM'S FAVORITE COUPLE HAVE BEEN COUNTED. CHECK PAGE EIGHT TO SEE WHERE YOUR PICK FALLS ON OUR OFFICIAL LIST.
Of course, I immediately flip to page eight. Twenty faces fill the page, accounting for the "TOP TEN COUPLES OF DELICATUM." They're listed in order, 1 to 10, with captions and statistics from their fan-voted poll.
I can't help but be reminded of the Volx just looking at it.
Eight of the couples I vaguely recognizeâânonFamoux people I've seen once or twice at the premieres or parties I've attended. The only two couples I know of for sure are the first and last.
1: Calsifer Race and Kaytee McKarrington
10: Cartney Kirk and Emeray Essence
It transpires after reading the captions that Kaytee and Race have been receiving quite the boost since the Fanatix first showed up. In fact, I've discovered over this week of reading the tabloids that most all of the Classix members have been improving their public image as well thanks to the Fanatix.
As Elle explained earlier today, Carstan told the Fanatix members that they were allowed to leak any information they came across regarding the Famoux. That being said, anything new or interesting they discover about usââeither good or badââis likely to show up in the tabloids one way or another. As it turns out, they've mostly only discovered good things thus far.
Flipping through the next couple of pages, I notice the headlines for the other Classix members are mostly all positive. Apparently, Race and Kaytee's interactions with Lacey and her two young children have been warming the hearts of Delicatum all week long. As for Till, her member Sarah has been gushing so much to the paparazzi about the new Riot film after attending production meetings that's she's accidentally revealed a few spoilers. The devout fans of the film series have since been buzzing over the statements and making predictions of their own.
As for Chapter and I, being missing in action on a movie set doesn't do well for the stories written about us in the press. When Elle isn't revealing a new rumor about Chapter to her blog, the articles are mostly fake.
Some of the stories I've seen are fine enough, intended, such as the rumors surrounding Cartney and I after our long spurt of affection in the public eye. Others, however . . .
There's a frustration too dreadful to describe that comes when you discover people have the wrong impression of you. I fear I'll never get used to it.
The hair crew arrives before I can pick up the other two magazines, which is probably for my own good ultimately. I half listen, half picture the worst of the fake articles in my head as they talk together about how the action on set has been. It seems that all the method acting Lex has been doing this week has produced a good result, since they can't stop talking about how great the scenes she's already filmed today have been. Five star reviews and award show nominations appear to be in reach.
"You'll be blown away," one of them insists.
I nod, distracted. "I'm sure I will."
When I'm all dressed up and ready, Angad escorts me to the warehouse. Lex and Chapter, having been filming all day so far, are already waiting on the train platform as I climb up the stairs to meet them.
Chapter looks relieved to see me. "Emeray."
"Hey," I say.
"It's been a pretty long day without you on the set," he tells me. I sense the hint of exhaustion in his voice.
"How are the scenes turning out?" I ask.
"It's been . . . fine." He nods to Lex. She's turned toward one of the set's clocks, looking at neither of us. "Everyone's been really impressed with our new actress here. She's been really nailing that role of hers."
I smirk. "So I've heard. What has she been doing?"
"Well, there was this sceneââ"
"C'mon, you two," Lex interrupts tersely. She snaps herself around to face us, her arms crossed over her chest.
I narrow my eyes, but Chapter doesn't seem fazed. He runs a hand through his hair, speaking softly. "What's the matter, Lex?"
"Stop talking about the scenes like that."
"Oh, yeah. Right," he says. "See, we're so close to being done with filming, it's easy to break character, don't you think?"
"I wouldn't expect that from an actor with so many awards."
He shrugs. "There are other techniques to acting. But personally, I can't wait until you're not playing a mean girl anymore."
She doesn't respondââshe's already turned herself back toward the clock, closing the conversation.
"Wow," I whisper.
Chapter nods gravely. "She's been like this all day long, on camera and off. Honestly, it's gotten a little alarming."
"We're almost finished," I remind him.
"That's true." He gives me a look. "Let's hope the method acting doesn't stick when we get off this set."
A crew of hair makeup artists climb onto the platform, brushes and combs in their hands. They do a few small touch ups as Shailey gets the cameras situated for filming. From the corner of my eye I watch as Lex huffs and swats them away. Anything to keep herself in character.
"All right." Shailey claps her hands together, as per her usual style. "Are we ready for some good confrontation?"
There's only one actual scene with Lex, Chapter, and I together, and in the movie it shows up really close to the ultimate climax. In summary, Chapter's character has just left a party that Lex's character had been attending, and she happens upon Chapter and I together at the train station. As of this part of the movie, no one knows about our relationship, so it comes as a shock to her.
Of course, unlike certain events a few days ago, the scene doesn't end with Chapter's character claiming to be a method actor.
"Lex, Chapter, make this take as perfect as everything you've been doing today," she says. "And Emeray, I know you'll catch up for it. Now, are we ready?"
We situate ourselves on the platform, Chapter and I together near the edge, and Lex near the fake doors. I try to catch her eye before Shailey gets the cameras rolling, but she won't look anywhere near us.
"Okay. Onward. Action!"
In an instant, Lex springs to life. She finishes a stride she hadn't even been taking, following it up with a few good stumbles into the center of the platform. Her eyes train on Chapter and I, mouth dropped.
"Where are you going?"
"Stef." Chapter takes a step back, feigning surprise. As far as my own lines in this scene go, I'm mostly directed to stand still and watch them interact. "What are you doing at the train station?"
"There's a party down the street wondering where you've gone."
"Well, I'm going to be a while."
"A while?"
On cue, I move closer to Chapter, reaching out for his hand. Lex hones in on this, looking up at him with even more shock. She's supposed to, at this moment, ask him a question: Who's this?
I wait for it, for the moment to add my rejoinder.
But she hesitates a second too long. The apprehension inside the warehouse deepens twofold, threefold.
And then she turns up her nose.
And goes off script.
"Are you helping the homeless?"
Chapter and I crinkle our brows at her words in unison. No need for us to feign any surprise this time.
"Pardon?" asks Chapter.
She gestures to me. "Who's this scum you're with?"
I blink, struck by her words.
Where did that come from?
"Hey," Chapter warns, putting a hand on Lex's shoulder warily. He attempts to bring the scene back to its script, skipping a few lines to make it fit. "Hey, there's no need to not be diplomatic to her, Stef."
"No." She shakes her head. "No, I can't let you ruin yourself like this."
"Ruin myself?"
"Well, of course."
Absolutely none of this belongs in the scene. I feel Chapter's hand clasp even tighter on my own, and a camera to my left zooms in on it.
"Stef, what the hell are you talking about?" he asks.
"Do you know what people would say if they saw you with her?"
Chapter goes to say something, but I cut him off.
"Really?" I ask. I cock my head to the side, a surge of adrenaline rushing through my veins. She and Chapter might be able to go off script whenever they want to, but to me, it feels incredibly unnatural. "And what would they say if they saw me, Stefanie?"
Lex purses her lips, meeting my gaze with equal ferocity. For a second I'm fearful she might bite my head off.
"Do you think you're really special or something?" she asks.
"Huh?"
"Getting to dress up in some nice clothes and feel important for a few minutes? You think that makes you really special, don't you?"
Instinctively, I look down at my clothes. One of the evening gowns from the rack in my trailer. Dark purple.
"But you know," she continues, "those changes don't actually change a thing. You're never going to be any different than the person you used to be, Zara."
Shailey and the others on set could watch this entire improvisation unfold and think absolutely nothing unusual of it. My character Zara isn't as rich as Lex's character Stefanie. It's a plausible scene. Hell, Shailey might even be delighted by this off-script addition. Some extra tension, she'd say, to push the plot forward even more.
But somehow, when she says it to me, I don't feel like Zara.
I feel like Emilee.
Emilee Parvenu.
Feeling my hands start to shake, I struggle to keep my chin up. Emilee was always so fond of looking down at her feet when people confronted her.
You're a Famoux member, I tell myself again and again in my head like a mantra. You're a Classix member, even more. You're better than this.
I puff up my chest. "Andââandââumââ"
Hesitation follows.
Emilee always stuttered on her words.
I clear my throat, feeling frantic to speak clearly. In my peripheral view I can see Chapter looking on with confusion and concern.
"And whyââ" I begin again, harnessing my strength. "Why, Stefanie, do you think you have any idea who I used to be?"
Lex only smiles.
Her next words chill me to the bone.
"I don't know what you used to be. I only know what you are."
And it happens so fast. Like some kind of memory, I watch from beyond my body as she throws all her force into her arms, hurling me off the platform, right down onto the train tracks below.
I haven't even hit the floor before I hear the shouting.
"Cut, cut, cut!"
I'm still so caught off guard by Lex's statement that I barely feel the impact of the train tracks. It's as if I didn't fall to the ground at all, and rather submerged into water and drifted to sleep. The next thing I know, I'm lying flat on my back, a dozen alarmed staff members crowded around me with first aid kits. An ice pack is pressed against the back of my head, and it's only then that I realize how much my entire skull is throbbing in pain. In fact, everything hurts, my head especially.
A hand links with mine, soft and small. My fingers are squeezed together roughly with an excited squeal that makes my head hurt even more.
"That was so, so good!" says a voice.
I glance groggily toward the source. She's is knelt down beside me, holding up our intertwined hands and shaking them feverishly.
Lex.
It's as if a spell has been castââany of the menace that was in her eyes moments ago is no where to be seen. She's even shed her peacoat, her headband.
Just Lex. No longer Stefanie.
"What?" I ask. My voice is a croakââfalling straight on my back seemed to have knocked the wind out of me too. I erupt into a coughing fit as she carries on.
"We did that so well!" she chirps. "That was thrilling!"
Thrilling. The way she says it makes me want to run, to dissolve into the airââanything to get me as far away from her as possible.
"I wouldn't use the same words."
"No, but it was! Did you see the way everyone reacted at the end?" Lex makes another squeal-like noise, as if she'd just made the perfect play in a school sport. I feel bile crawl up my throat.
"Because youââyou pushed me off the platform."
"Oh, gosh." She taps my head gingerly. By the way it feels, she might as well have bludgeoned me right back into the ground. "I hope that didn't hurt too bad. I tried to push extra carefully. But, you know, it still had to seem real."
Perhaps it's the headache, but the more she speaks, the more foggy my mind gets. I swat her hand away from me, lifting myself up into a sitting position with my head between my legs. The throbbing won't quitââit only grows by the second.
"Where in the script were you directed to push me off of the platform?" I ask. "Was that some kind of a write-in I wasn't told about?"
"Wellââ"
"Emeray." Chapter kneels down, beside me, putting a hand on my cheek. I look up and see his face close to mine, his eyes wide. "Are you okay?"
"IâI don't know."
He looks at Lex, revolted. "What the hell was that up there?"
Her face falls from its excitement in all of a second. "I was acting. IââI thought the script didn't have high enough stakes for this scene, so Iââ"
"So you put one of the most valuable celebrities in Delicatum in danger? Lex, that's what stunt doubles are for. That's what planned stunts are for."
"I just came up with it! I was in the characterââ"
"Oh, to hell with the method acting. You figure out when to stop every so often to be a decent human being and still make a good, award-winning movie. You justââyou can't push people off platforms without consulting anyone!"
"I wasn't going to push her that hard, I swear!
"Look at her." He takes the ice pack from my hand and holds it on my head. "I hope we got a freaking great take of that, because we're not doing another."
xxx
I honestly don't know about that either. Like what. I just. But anyway, tell me your thoughts.
Great news: We're nearing page 200 in my word document. I'm so good at pacing!!!!! (Not!!!!)
Anyone back in school yet? Tell me about your first day. Or if it's coming up soon, tell me about what grade you're going into and everything. How do your classes look? New school? I wanna know the details.
As for me, I'm moving into my dorm next week. (!??!?!?!?!??!?!)
With so much changing soon, I'm glad I have the familiarity of Wattpad. I mean, how bad can things be if I get to post to you every Friday, right?
All right. Have a wonderful weekend! Remember:
Sticks and Stones may break your bones, but haters make you famoux. Stay classy, stay classix.