Song of the Chapter: HOME by BTS

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Two fingers rubbed against each other in succession in Amias' face, making a snapping noise, successfully jolting the boy out of his reverie.

"Mr. Beaumont, please," sighed the man in front of Amias. "I understand that you're a bit tired due to. . . tearing up after leaving your home, but we have a lot of important information to go over."

Amias smiled, the look a mix of slight fatigue and sympathy for his companion. "Marcus. You're my agent, you've known me since I was 9; just call me Amias. Please. I'm not a stuffy rich guy who's basically Heather Chandler incarnate but a dude."

Marcus Shay was an African-American middle aged man with patches of silver on the sideburns of his balding black hair. Marcus had, what his 12 year old daughter lovingly called, "a resting meanie face". This look helped to keep people from messing with his family and anyone he dubbed a close friend. He always dressed sharply, no matter the type of environment he was in. At work, he always wore a black suit paired with a crisp white dress shirt underneath and sleek, black dress shoes to finish the look.

He chuckled, a lopsided smile making its way on his face. "I always forget that Danielle wants to meet you. But those musical references you make serve as reminders to me." Marcus dragged a tired hand down his face. "She loves Heathers a lot. And In the Heights, as well."

Amias' eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Well now I have to meet her! She's my new favorite 12 year old! Your daughter is awesome , Marcus."

"New favorite? . . . Amias, exactly how many 12 year olds do you know?"

". . . That information isn't important. The phrase you should be focusing on is that I called your daughter awesome and I haven't even met her yet. You must've raised a pretty awesome girl."

"Yeah, she is pretty awesome," Marcus replied, a small smile on his face as he pulled out a cream manilla folder. He waved the folder in front of Amias. "Anyways, on to the reason why you're here on this plane."

Amias nodded and took the folder from Marcus' outstretched hand. "Right. The TV show, it's Sci-Fi, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is a Sci-Fi show. You are to play the main character, Cameron Remington. He is an ambitious young aristocrat and can be manipulative when the situation calls for it, he prefers to be as diplomatic as he can. In the world he lives in, people are either part of the aristocracy or they are commoners. All of the aristocrats fight each other for pieces of land in the real world. The commoners fight for the same reasons, except they fight in a digital world so they can eventually escape the hell that is working for the rich."

Amias nodded slowly and he pictured how Cameron would act. "Can I stand up now? Are we high enough in the air?"

Marcus nodded in reply, giving Amias the go to practice how he would act. The 19 year old already walked with a straight back, so that worked. He tilted his head upwards slightly to give himself the image of looking superior to others and moved it ever so slightly to the side, halfway closing his eyes to calm slits. This, paired with clasping his hands behind his back, gave Amias an air of maturity, seriousness, and a pinch of 'I'm better than you but it's so obvious that I don't have to state it'.

"How does this look?" Amias asked, lowering his voice by an octave or two and slowing down the speed of his words to sound the way he imagined Cameron would talk.

"Pretty good. You sound totally different, too." Marcus said, his eyes gleaming with pride.

Amias hopped in excitement, his façade of Cameron immediately shattering. He clapped his hands excitedly and grinned, looking at Marcus much like the way a puppy would their owner after successfully fetching a stick for the first time.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I've been practicing lowering my pitch so I could use it for times like this!! That was two octaves lower than the way I'm talking right now and I can go one more octave lower, too! And the look in my eyes was from years of mocking rich kids just for kicks. It was a favorite pastime of mine in high school and the kids hated it, so it made them stop bullying a good number of our classmates for the rest of 9th to 12th grade. It was great!"

"Okay, Amias, sit back down. I need to finish briefing you on this." Marcus' tone was stern, but his eyes betrayed him, showing mirth at Amias' quick switch. Amias sat obediently and looked at Marcus, all business again.

His co-stars and directors are definitely gonna have a lot of fun with him, thought Marcus.

"If you read the script, it will inform you about everything more in depth than I ever could. Now that we've discussed that, time to talk about your co-stars and first interviews. Many of the other actors and actresses that are going to be on the show with you will be around your age and this is their first job, as well. Except for a few; one in particular being your main co-star, your eventual love interest in the show. Jennifer Gardner. She's rather popular among the younger demographic, so her presence in the show will automatically bring in viewers.

"A day or two after your arrival in Hollywood, you will have a cast meet-up so everyone can get to know one another. In other words, this is where you bring in the Amias puppy charm and make as many friends and connections you can. I cannot stress to you how important this meet-up is for your career. Understand?" Amias nodded. "Good. And now, the thing that nobody ever wants to talk about: interviews. To make this short, they are integral to your popularity among viewers and determine how other celebrities will treat you. Your first ever interview will be a few days after the meet-up, and it will be with Belinda Shrike. Now, I'm —"

"Wait, Belinda Shrike?" Amias asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"Yes, now listen. Belinda Shrike is a dangerous woman. She's a damn good reporter and has more than once been able to fluster her guests and get information on any of their skeletons in their closets. Her job is to squirrel information out of you and present it to the public; give them someone to talk about and ridicule. She has single-handedly ruined many careers, whether the person in question was just starting their career or they were a seasoned celebrity."

Amias was both listening and not listening to Marcus in all his surprise, but he at least managed to reply with, "I don't have any skeletons in my closet."

"Perfect," Marcus clapped his hands together triumphantly. "Amias, that's exactly what I need you to say with Belinda. That will work. Talk around everything she throws at you. Find a way to bring up a long winded anecdote about your family, or talk about all the musicals you like. Just don't say anything that seems suspicious, and you'll be golden. Screw this up, Beaumont, and your career will basically be gone before you even had it."

All Amias did in response was nod dumbly, which seemed to temporarily be enough for Marcus.

Belinda Shrike.

Amias never thought he would hear that name said again after his freshman year of high school. Belinda was his childhood best friend; they had known each other since elementary school. Ever since that one faithful day in Pre-K when Amias had accidentally ran into the poor girl, making her fall into the ground and yell at him, it was the two of them against the world.

Their personalities were a bit polar to each other, but they still got along famously. Belinda was often brash and loud with anyone and everyone she knew and basically had no shame whatsoever; she was the more confident one — or at least that's what everyone else thought. Amias, on the other hand, was quieter and thought before he spoke; he was the more laidback and calm friend.

And of course, when 7th grade hit, so did the hormones, making Amias feel more than platonic feelings for Belinda. He was too young and too scared of losing their friendship to confess to her. But he always thought that Belinda might have reciprocated his feelings. He just never came clean to her and eventually faced the consequences of heartache when she moved after 9th grade.

"Amias." Amias looked at Marcus, who stared at his client worriedly. "Are you alright, son? You've been staring out of the plane window for at least ten minutes and you're frowning. That's unnatural for you, Amias. What's going on?"

Amias smiled, genuinely touched by Marcus' worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Marcus. I was just thinking that the next time I come to New Jersey I should visit your daughter. Finally get to meet her."

"Hell, no."

Amias started to pout at the quick and harshly put response, but Marcus put his hand up in a silencing gesture. "Son, you're too invested in BTS right now; I can't have that in my household."

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Chapter 2, done! ✔

What does everyone think of Marcus? Discuss your thoughts on him and the chapter here!

Marcus' comment to Amias about him loving BTS is definitely something my parents would say to me. One time, I started singing one of their songs in my room and both my parents said, "Stop it with the BTS." from our living room. 

They support my love for the band and their songs, but they don't want the songs stuck in their heads. 😂😂

Just so you know, I'll be posting a few more chapters today after this one, so that's something to be excited about it you like this story.

I have no idea what to write in these endnotes, so I'll end this one for now. 

Thanks for reading, and remember to not be a silent reader! Vote and comment! Constructive criticism is an author's best friend! ❤❤

See you in the next chapter!

Word count: 1,571