Share a Scene Sunday (4)

Alrighty, it's that time a week again! I've been trying hard to keep myself on track this week, getting through my novel, but it's been hard. I haven't been to work since Tuesday, I've been out of school, and the weather has been divine. How can I be expected to stay inside and work?

Well, anyway, I pulled out a random scene for Share a Scene Sunday, from my current WIP, Limelight and Dust. This is one of the very first scenes in the book, where the MC, Juliet, goes to work on a new set, where she will be catapulted into much drama with the other artists, actors, and such. Here we go:

Juliet’s fingers shook as she unpacked her make-up kit. Even though she wasn’t particularly glad to be back in the business, she was glad she had kept her kit updated, or she might be in big trouble. Looking down at her many brushes and powders, she knew she was prepared for anything they threw at her.

And yet, she was almost as nervous as she had been the very first day of her very first job, when she was sixteen years old and her mother was her boss.

“Juliet? Juliet?”

Sebastian’s high-toned voice rang out at her from the entrance. It set her heart to racing, and she dropped the bag in her hand. When it hit the floor, multi-colored eyeshadows scattered everywhere. Juliet bent to pick them up, hoping that no one else in the trailer had noticed. There were five other artists there with her, and she could tell by the way their high heels all froze that they had, in fact, noticed.

Then a pair of snake-skin cowboys boots stomped up to her, coming to a halt a few inches from her favorite set of eyeshadow. She wanted to reach for it, but she left it where it was and straightened to meet Sebastian’s eyes.

“Juliet,” he said, without greeting her in any other way, “this is Cassey. Cassey, this your new artist, Juliet.”

Juliet hadn’t even noticed the blond standing next to Sebastian. Thanks to her extremely tall heels, she towered a few inches over Sebastian, a detail Juliet found rather entertaining.

As she reached out to shake the girl’s hand, she realized it was the same girl that had been on set with Sybil a few days before, when Juliet had come to observe.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Juliet said loudly, trying hard to assert herself. Maybe that way she wouldn’t seem quite as terrified as she was.

The girl just nodded, giving Juliet what her high school speech teacher would have called a “dead fish” hand shake. “So, Paula is working with Seth now?” Cassey looked down at Sebastian and popped her gum. She placed a perfectly manicured hand on her jean-clad hip, sticking it out until it looked like she might fall over.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and nodded. “Unfortunately.”

Cassey rolled her eyes as well, chewing her gum loudly and with her mouth open. Well, at least Cassey had proven herself as an actress. She had certainly looked more ladylike the day before, when she had been rolling around in jungle mud.

“Such a waste,” she muttered. Although why she bothered to try and say it quietly Juliet didn’t understand. She obviously didn’t have any qualms about expressing the thought.

“Tell me about it.” Sebastian motioned for Cassey to have a seat in Juliet’s station, and Juliet suddenly felt like the red-headed stepchild. She should have known better than to think she would be welcome. Most of these people had been working together for just as long as she had known Sybil. She couldn’t expect to be welcomed with open arms.

She hadn’t exactly expected people to be mourning the promotion of her predecessor either.

Cassey dropped down into her seat with a sigh, without spitting out her gum or taking the sunglasses from her head, where they rested on top of her golden curls.

This has definitely been the most fun I've ever had writing a novel, and I hope the final product will be presentable!

xoxo,

Vicky B