Chapter 11

Going back to the set on Monday morning was both good and bad. I did enjoy my job, it was easy and allowed me to observe a fascinating process. If I had any questions I waited until Triss wasn't busy and then asked her. She seemed quite happy to explain. This was a new experience for me since my curiosity for how things worked or why things were done had been squashed for the last three years. Those were not acceptable questions.

I think it also helped to relieve some of Triss' tension. The pressure was building, in particular on the director, Triss' husband, and the star, Lucia. And that was the bad side of things. Lucia had been hired for her beauty and acting ability, both of which she had in spades. The problem was that you were asking the audience to believe something that was not normally possible and Lucia was not believable. The whole film hinged on the one thing that Lucia was struggling with.

There were lots of meetings with lots of suggestions, but nothing really solved the problem. It was during one of these meetings that I got the fright of my life. I had done my bit with the coffee and biscuits and was sitting behind Triss like usual. I had shifted my chair a bit so that I could see Bee and spent the first few minutes focussing on her, creating the images that I wanted for her.

Recently, Bee had set her alarm for earlier so that she could join me for my yoga practice. That was great, but it did mean that I couldn't do my usual focus work first thing in the morning. The only time I had available now was during these meetings, it was just lucky that we had one every day.

When I am focussing like that, it is a very single-minded focus. I was used to being unnoticed and didn't expect anyone to be observing me. To some extent, I was ignoring everything else. I had just finished my concentration work when I noticed that no one was talking and then as I looked around, everyone was looking at me, apart from Bee who was frozen still.

I started looking around in a bit of a panic, probably looking like a startled rabbit.

“It's OK, Rose. You are not in any trouble,” Triss said gently trying to reassure me.

Bee turned round to look at me, swivelling her chair, and upon seeing my expression, just opened her arms. I leapt into them and buried my face in her chest, trying to hide from everyone.

“Why is everyone looking at me?” I mumbled, still hiding.

“Why were you staring at me with such focus?” she asked me.

I thought about what I could say that would be believable without giving away my secrets. “It's silly,” I admitted.

“That's OK, it doesn't matter if it was silly,” Bee answered.

Still, no one else was talking and all the attention was on me, waiting for my explanation.

“I was sending you positive thoughts,” I said.

“It doesn't matter what she was doing. Can she do it again?” Pierce asked.

“Honey. Can you look at Triss and send her positive thoughts?” Bee asked.

Triss moved so that if I turned around and looked at her I didn't have to look at everyone else. I twisted so that I could look at her, comforted by Bee's arms that were still around me. I could pretend to try and not do it properly, but I had already been caught once, so I decided to do it properly. I looked at Triss and imagined her with a smile on her face, concentrating like I usually do.

“That's it! That is the look!” Pierce exclaimed.

I buried my face back in Bee's chest but listened to the conversation around me.

“The question is can she teach that look to Lucia,” I heard Adam say.

“Why don't we film a scene where the look is essential using Rose and then see if we can get Lucia to copy it. I don't think Lucia would react well to sending an eight-year-old unknown to teach her anything,” Triss suggested.

“I don't suppose Rose is registered as an actress or has an agent,” Adam mentioned. He turned to Bee. “Can you sort that out?” It wasn't a question, just something that he expected Bee to add to her list.

Triss approached me and crouched down to be at my level. “Would you do that for us? Ignore a few cameras and do that focus look?”

I nodded my head, unsure what else I could do.

The meeting broke up fairly shortly afterwards. I felt much better when everyone stopped staring at me. I followed Triss back to her office. A few minutes later Bee came round with a worried look on her face.

“Hi Bee,” Triss said to Bee's surprise. “What can I do for you?”

“We may have a problem. I just need to speak to Rose for a second.”

“Do I need to leave my office,” Triss said with a laugh.

“I don't think so, let me just check,” Bee responded with a smile.

“Rose, honey. Do you trust Triss?” Bee asked me.

“Yes,” I said cautiously.

“I think we need to tell her the truth,” Bee admitted.

I turned to Triss. “Will you promise not to send me back to my parents or the bad men?” I asked Triss, holding out my pinky finger.

Triss' face went very serious. She shook her pinky with mine. “I promise,” she said simply.

“As you can probably guess, Rose is not my niece. I found her on her own in the Sequoia National Forest, when I went for a walk on Sunday. She would only come with me if I promised not to hand her in. She was worried that she would be returned to her parents who had sold her to some bad men. I have kept her with me while I have been trying to figure out what I can do to help her. I have cashed in a few favours to do a bit of investigation so I can tell you that she is not on the missing person's list and there is no evidence linking her to anybody. Rose does not wish to tell us about her past. This last Sunday Rose was examined and certain samples have been sent off to check that she doesn't have any STD's.”

Triss gasped at that point.

“I have also surreptitiously checked to see if I could be a suitable foster home. Unfortunately, I don't qualify. I've gone about as far as I can to keep her safe. I can't organise an agent without some kind of legal identity, so if you want Rose to do that scene, we're gonna need some help,” Bee said, hugging me and facing Triss.

When I looked at Triss she was using a knuckle to play with her bottom lip, thinking furiously. “There is medical evidence that those tests are necessary?” Triss eventually asked.

“Yes,” Bee said bluntly.

They were clearly trying to speak without upsetting me so I decided to intervene. “I don't have a hymen,” I said quietly.

They both looked at me in surprise.

“That's what the doctor said,” I explained.

“Obviously, I am going to help, I just need to work out how. I think we should shoot the scene anyway and let the paperwork catch up later. I will need the doctor's report, or, at least the doctor's name. I need to make a few phone calls and, to be honest, it is best if you are not here for those, Rose.” Triss turned her attention to Bee. “Bee, why don't you become Rose's assistant for today. I will clear it with Adam. Take her through the scene, practise her lines, familiarise her with where she will need to stand and so on. I think it will be an hour or so before they have everything set up. If you finish before I do, go to the cafeteria and I will come and get you when I am ready.”