Page 83 of A Little Bit Extra

27

Emmett

The morning goes by in a blur. Cassie is already stressing out, even though she’s trying her best to hide it. After asking me for the 5th time if she curled every piece of her hair, I knew she was getting stressed out about this interview.

I did my best to reassure her, but I also know that she has every right to be stressed out about today. It’s going to change a lot for us. She doesn’t even know that I’m going to announce the movie yet. I want that to be a surprise. I hope she doesn’t slap me while we’re filming.

We agreed to do the interview at the studio since it’s where we both spend most of our time. Being the primary filming location for my movies, it's the ideal place to symbolize the closure of one chapter and the exciting beginning of another.

We still arrive separately, just in case we have any lurkers outside the studio with cameras. I find Cassie exploring the set inside, her footsteps echoing in the empty space. Even in its stripped-down state, Ed's chair remains a focal point in the center of the room.

A warm smile graces her lips as she spots me coming toward her.

“You ready for this?” Cassie asks. Before the person interviewing us arrives, I lean to plant a soft kiss on her lips.

“I should have done this a while ago, so yes, I’m ready.” She nods because she’s the only one who truly understands. I rarely open up about my parents, but Cassie's probing questions have shed light on why I chose to pursue acting. She also knows that without her helping me work through my past and question my career, I wouldn’t be doing this interview. I wouldn’t be quitting acting, and I sure as hell would not be making a movie next week.

That last part she still doesn’t know, but soon she will. It’ll be the last question that gets asked in the interview. To avoid any surprises, I took the responsibility of approving the questions for today. I knew the interviewer would bring up the movie and prompt Cassie to share her thoughts. We have done a bit of preparation, but her response will be unscripted and in the moment.

I’m being a little selfish with wanting her to be a part of the movie. The prospect of being on set together, collaborating, and bringing art to life fills me with excitement and fulfillment.

Finding Cassie was never in my plan. I didn’t know what I was going to do after this movie, but I just figured I’d sign some other contract to appease my dad and keep him off my back. Sometimes I fantasized telling him I’ve had enough and being truthful about what I want to do. But then he’d encourage me to take a deal or my mom would call and talk to me about acting. I didn’t have someone on my side, not like Cassie is. My friends have always been supportive, but I haven’t been as open with them about how unhappy I am as I should be.

Today that changes. Within the next hour, everyone will know that I’m done acting.

The person interviewing us walks in, accompanied by two others. One person handles the camera, while the other person takes care of the audio. The interviewer offers a warm smile, extends her hand, and introduces herself as Mia. In order to conduct this live interview, we only need a small crew.

Cassie and I sit next to each other and Mia is across from us. I reach over the arm of the chair separating Cassie from me and intertwine my fingers with hers. She looks over, her eyes meeting mine, and gives me a nod and a small smile, letting me know she’s ready.

The interview begins.

“So, Emmett, first off. Thank you for letting us do this exclusive interview with you. I know you don’t do a lot of them, so thank you for giving us the honor.” I nod. “Now, let’s start by talking about the lovely lady sitting next to you. I want to get into your current movie, but I know viewers are probably dying to hear who she is.” Mia pauses to let me respond.

Cassie and I prepared for most of these questions, so we knew this one was first. I give Cassie’s hand one squeeze.

“Of course, yes, this is—” I look over at Cassie and back over at Mia, “Cassie. My girlfriend.”

“Lovely! So the rumors a few months back were true, huh?” Mia raises her eyebrows. I chuckle.

“Well, at the time, Cassie and I weren’t together. We were truly just friends, but over time we became more. We wanted to wait until after the movie to announce our relationship.”

“Cassie, how was it keeping things private? How do you feel about your relationship being made public?”

I look at Cassie and smile, a sense of unwavering support evident in my eyes, letting her know she’s got this.

“Keeping things private was intentional. We didn’t know where things were going to go, and workers aren’t allowed to have relationships with actors for that reason. Things go wrong, actors getting distracted, you know, so we kept things private and allowed our feelings to develop naturally. We had a few articles that tried to make our relationship public before we were ready, but we got through it together.” Cassie looks over at me and smiles, squeezing my hand once. “Now, I’m more than ready to announce our relationship. Over the past few months, I’ve gotten to know Emmett, genuinely know Emmett, and I love him.”

Mia grins.

“I love you too,” I say and lean over and plant a kiss on her cheek.

“Gosh, you two are adorable. Okay, let’s switch gears a bit. Emmett, you had something you want to announce. Is that right? Is it what movie you’re acting in next?” Mia asks. I didn't disclose the purpose of this interview to her, but since I rarely do interviews, the content didn't matter to them.

“Actually, Mia. The opposite.” I let my words sink in before I continue. I can see the confusion on Mia’s face. She keeps opening and shutting her mouth, but no words form. “I am stepping away from acting and shifting my focus toward a career in writing.”

Mia’s jaw drops, but she quickly closes her mouth once she remembers we are live. She’s as stunned as I expect the rest of the people watching to be. I can already picture my dad pacing his room, getting ready to give me an earful. I sent my parents the interview link, and told them I had an announcement. My dad obviously took that as something different, thinking I was announcing my next movie like Mia did, but I didn’t bother correcting him.

“Not acting? Well, that’s one way to make this weekend more exciting,” Mia says joyfully. We all laugh a little. “Well, Emmett, if you're not acting and instead writing, what is next for you? Do you plan to write movies instead?”

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