CHAPTER 138: PROVING MY WORTH (1)

"Nepotism this, nepotism that."

I kept hearing those whispers again and again, even though I had only been in the room for less than ten minutes.

They weren’t even trying to hide it. Their voices were loud enough that I could hear every word, like they wanted me to know they were talking about me.

Honestly, I wasn’t even surprised. If I were in their shoes, I might also assume that Kai’s sister-in-law got her role through family connections.

But how could they judge me as a talentless actress when they hadn’t even seen my acting at all?

I looked around and didn’t recognize any of their faces. But that was normal because small-budget youth dramas like Love Beneath the White Umbrella always hired newcomers to save money.

On the bright side, this kind of drama can be a stepping stone for newcomers to gain popularity, but sometimes... the work environment isn’t very pleasant.

When a newcomer worked with seniors, they would try their best to act polite. But when everyone was a newcomer, nobody bothered to behave, especially toward someone they thought got their role through a "special path."

Well, I didn’t get in through a "special route," but in their eyes, that’s probably what it looked like. If they knew Kai Brixton actually wanted to lower my pay instead of raising it, they probably wouldn’t be able to process it.

"Good morning, everyone," the director, Eric Donnelly, greeted us as soon as he stepped into the room. Behind him was Brian Smith, the assistant director, along with the people who would make up the film crew.

"I always feel happy when I see new faces like yours," Eric said with a smile. "It reminds me that I get to be part of your journey toward success."

In other words, he was glad because these new actors would remember him as the first person who helped them rise.

Aside from nepotism, this industry is also filled with "you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours" culture. Therefore, if you don’t have allies, it’s almost impossible to survive.

"Since we don’t know each other yet, how about we start with introductions?" Eric said, then pointed at me. "We can start with our lead actors. Please give a round of applause for these talented actors."

The room immediately filled with clapping, but it was easy to see that a few people were doing it unwillingly.

But I chose to ignore them completely and just focus on my work. I smiled brightly as always, then stood up. "Good morning, everyone."

I waved my hand at the group, trying to act warm even though they sometimes responded with cold smiles. "I’m Helcia Orszebet, and I’ll be playing Mia. I hope we can work well together and create a good environment during filming."

However, no matter how bad the work environment is, actors are always expected to be professional. So I’ve gotten used to putting on fake smiles and ignoring the bad vibes completely.

As long as they didn’t suddenly accuse me of having an affair or doing drugs, I guessed it wouldn’t be a problem.

Not long after, Tommy introduced himself as Dion. He was followed by the young actors playing Mia’s friends or the members of Dion’s group, the ones who would act as the bullies.

After staring at their faces a little longer, I finally realized that some of them had also auditioned for the role of Mia.

No wonder they harbored resentment toward me. They probably thought I had stolen their spotlight.

After the introductions ended, Eric clapped his hands together and said, "Alright, now that we’ve gotten to know each other, let’s start reading the script."

Everyone picked up the script in front of them. The room suddenly fell silent, filled only with the sound of pages flipping.

"Let’s begin with Episode 1, Scene 3," Eric said. "This is the first time Mia and Dion meet. I want both of you to understand the mood."

He looked at me first. "Helcia, Mia is gentle but stubborn. She’s tired of being bullied, but she still tries to stay kind. Show that balance, okay?"

"I’ll do my best," I answered with a small smile.

Then Eric turned to Tommy. "And Dion... you’re the school’s golden boy with a rotten attitude. You bully people because you think you can get away with it. But when you see Mia, something about her annoys you, and interests you at the same time."

Tommy nodded confidently. "Got it."

Eric clapped his hands again. "Alright, let’s start. Page six. Helcia, your line first."

I lowered my gaze to the script and saw that it was the scene where Dion is struggling to get his soda can that got stuck in the vending machine.

Since script reading usually relied only on voice and tone, I tried to imagine the right intonation in my head first.

Once I felt ready, I began reading the line: "H-hi! Do you... need help?"

Mia was a cheerful girl at first, but she was also a bit awkward when meeting new people. That’s why I wanted the audience to understand how nervous she was during her first interaction with Dion.

I lifted my eyes slightly to see the others’ reactions, and some of them raised their eyebrows a little when they heard my first line.

It might have been a simple sentence, but even simple lines could show whether someone understood their character, and I knew I delivered it well.

Unfortunately, "enough" wasn’t my goal.

I needed them to applaud me and praise me when this script reading ended.

The script reading continued with Tommy, then back to me, then back to him again, until the dialogue shifted to one of Dion’s friends—Agnes—who became extremely jealous when she saw Dion interacting with another girl.

"Tch. Look at how tight her shirt is," Kylie Wang, the actress playing Agnes, said.

This time, I was the one who got surprised. Her delivery was sharp, natural, and full of emotion.

She really had the potential to become a big actress one day.