GRACE*

        CHAPTER 1

"Miss Adeyemi?"

Grace looked up at the woman, observing her forced smile and strained act of friendliness. She was trying her best, but moving to and fro and calling out random names was taking a toll on her. Though she tried to hide it, Grace sensed she was annoyed. Almost pissed in fact. Apparently, she was new to the job, or she would have gotten the hang of it by now.

"Yes?"

She gestured towards the door behind her."You're up."

Grace picked up her purse and stood. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the door. Clutching her purse tightly, she strove to steady her heartbeat. Grace sucked in a breath, relaxing her hold on the purse when her palms began to feel sweaty.

Come on, Grace, she thought, in a desperate attempt to reassure herself.You got this.

She had been working towards this all her life. This was what she had always wanted, wasn't it? A chance to prove herself? A pointer to the right path?

Grace took in another deep breath. She resisted the urge to turn around,afraid of the eyes that would be on her. What would they think? That she was a nervous teenager who hadn't come fully prepared? If only they knew.

Grace reached out to place a hand on the handle. The sight of her shaking hands stopped her. She knew she was nervous, but she had hoped it wouldn't come to this. She clenched her fist, then released them. She repeated the exercise a few times, taking deep breaths during the process.

"Ma'am?"

Grace turned abruptly to face the woman from earlier. The look on her face made Grace look down in embarrassment. The woman probably thought her an idiot, standing in front of the door without opening it.

"Are you alright?" Her tone expressed no concern, just sheer curiosity. And a hint of suppressed amusement. Unlike before, when she had observed every single detail about her expression, Grace couldn't muster up the courage to look her in the face.

"I-I'm okay," she mumbled, still looking at her feet.

"If you say so." Grace nodded. "They're waiting. You don't want to waste their time, trust me."

She swallowed, watching as the woman turned to return to whatever she had been doing before the sight of her performing weird exercises before the door caught her attention. Grace sighed.

She finally summoned enough courage to look around, and, contrary to her belief, no one was looking in her direction. They were probably too busy doing some last-minute mental adjustments to have noticed her staring at the door. She let out a breath. That was a good sign, at least.

Grace turned back to the door but this time, she made no move to walk towards it.Its dark colour and design looked foreboding. If looking at the door terrified her this much,what would happen when she faced what's on the other side?

There was no way she could do it. No way at all. She turned back to face the woman.

"Excuse me, can you show me where the restroom is?" When she saw the odd look on the woman's face, she quickly added, "I need to pee."

The woman nodded and pointed the other way."First room on the left."
Grace mumbled a "Thank you" before making her way towards the place. She located it without stress.

Once she was inside, she stood with her back to the door, forcing air into her lungs. She had to do this. Staying here would only buy her time. She would have to face what's lying beyond the door sooner or later. Hopefully it would be sooner rather than later, but with the way she was feeling, she couldn't be so sure.

Grace placed a hand over a racing heart and closed her eyes. Would she be able to pull it off? Was she prepared enough,or had she been trusting too much in her own abilities?

Stop it, Grace, she thought,shaking her head. Don't think like them.

They thought she couldn't do it. That it was all rubbish and she'd come running to them when she failed. They had laughed at her when she'd shared her dreams with them, telling her it was impossible. She had been told to snap out of it, that dreaming would cause her to lose hold of reality and drive her insane. She hadn't believed them then and she wouldn't do that now.

She opened her eyes, determination strengthening her resolve. She would not fail at this, not after everything she had put into it. Not after the hard work and rejections. She had sacrificed so much to get this chance and she would do anything to hold on to it.

She tilted her chin upwards, her resolve strengthened. She could do this. It didn't matter whether or not they thought so. All that mattered was that she knew she could it. That was enough reassurance.

Taking another deep breath, Grace opened the door. This was what she had been waiting-and working- for. She would not lose sight of it now. She would put in her very best, nothing less. She stepped out. This was it. She was near.

She was about to take another step into her future.
*
*Ibiyemi Marvellous*�

*GRACE*

Chapter 2

Five more minutes."

Grace nodded at the director and turned to the lunch table. She grabbed a bottle of water and sipped it.

"You seem to have it all under control. Wish I could say the same for myself," one of the actors, Victor, said.

Grace looked at him from the corner of her eye. Victor was one of the protagonists of the movie they were shooting, her character's husband to be precise. He was tall and dark-skinned, and he smiled a lot. Grace thought him a pleasant person to work with, when he wasn't flirting with her, that is.

"Don't tell me Mr. Charismatic is nervous. I'd be very disillusioned," she teased.

"Okay. I won't tell you," Victor replied, reaching for his own bottle of water.

Grace took another sip. Victor was wrong. She was nervous. Despite the fact that she'd been in the movie industry for five years, she still suffered from what she termed 'pre-shoot nervousness'. It was pointless, really, since she was usually prepared. But she couldn't help it. It was harmless, though. Immediately she heard "Action" she became another person entirely.

"Take your positions, actors," the director said.

"I'm sorry for what I'll do to you, Wife." Victor winked and walked away, leaving Grace wondering why actors always thought it wise to hit on their leading ladies. Male ego, she mused as she positioned herself.

"Action!"

As expected, her nervousness disappeared in a flash as she got into character.

"Look here, Sophia. I'm getting tired of your shenanigans. I married you to take care of my home and child, and you're failing at both," Kola- Victor's character- said, incensed.

Sophia reeled back, hurt. "I'm sorry, Kola, but-"

"No buts, Sophia. What's this?" Kola gestured to the living room. There were clothes strewn on the settees, and a few books on the table.

"I went out to gather the clothes, then I heard Nifemi crying so I threw the clothes on the chair so I could pacify her. Then-"

"Excuses, excuses, excuses!" Kola yelled. "I'm tired of your excuses, Sophia."

Sophia reached out to pacify her husband. "I was only trying to-"

"Stop trying to do anything! Just do what you're supposed to do without messing things up!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

"Stop being such a liability and do something right, for God's sake!"

Sophia stared, hurt. She swallowed, as tears brimmed in her eyes. "I'm a liability?"

"Yes!" Kola threw up his hands, too angry to care about the effects of his words.

"What? I thought you loved me," Sophia whispered, weakened by his words.

"I thought so, too. But not anymore," Kola said as he walked out of the house.

Sophia's legs buckled, and she sat. She held her head in her hands as Kola's words echoed in her mind.

"He doesn't love me," she whispered, tears dropping from her tired eyes. She'd given him everything- she had even chosen him over her own family. She worked hard to keep the house and take care of his three-year old daughter. Yet, it wasn't enough.

She wasn't enough.

Sophia looked up, determination hardening her features. She was a liability to him, but she wouldn't be anymore. She would become a woman worth his love.

"I would make something of myself. I'm tired of living like this," she soliloquized.

The camera zoomed in, capturing every emotion and gesture.

"Cut! Good work, everyone. Now for the second take."

Grace sighed. They would have to do it all over again. Hopefully, the director would be satisfied after the fourth take. The director gave her a thumbs up, and she nodded, returning to her position.

❄

"Just stop it already. I don't date actors. Ever."

Victor raised a brow, one hand on Grace's car.
"Really? Why?"

Grace shrugged. "Confidential," she said.

"You can tell me."

Grace groaned inwardly. What's with this guy? She'd decided to be civil with him because of the movie, Finding her way. They needed to have chemistry, and Grace was professional enough to set aside her personal inhibitions for that. But she was starting to get tired of his shameless flirting. She'd laughed it off at first, but not anymore.

"I don't want to," Grace said.

"Why not?"

Grace rolled her eyes. "Let it go, Victor. I don't date actors. Period."

Victor folded his arms, assessing her. Grace almost cringed. Thank God the shooting would soon wrap up, she was starting to get tired of the guy.

"What's with you anyways? You're not that much of a looker, so you should be grateful I gave you my attention," Victor said, puffing out his chest.

Grace laughed without humour. "I'm flattered by your praise."

Victor scowled. "You're arrogant."

Grace smiled. "Now, that's a compliment." She turned to go. Talking to any other person was better than talking to an egotistical maniac.

"Jerk," she mumbled. Victor was just like most of the other actors she had worked with -cocky and too flirtatious for their own good. They always thought it was "manly" to hit on their leading ladies. Grace had made the mistake of falling for their lies in her early years, but she'd learned the hard way.

Rule number .1 Never date actors.

Sure, she needed to have chemistry with them, and she went out of her comfort zone- going on casual dates and trying to get comfortable with them. Most of them took it as a sign that she had a thing for them, but they quickly learned that she wasn't. She only showed interest because she wanted to turn in an excellent performance. Nothing more, nothing less. They had learned that the hard way.

Rule number 2, Be unpredictable.

"Miss Adeyemi?"

"What?" Grace snapped.

Teni approached her cautiously. "The Producer wants to speak with you."

"What for?"

Teni shrugged.

"Is it important?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Teni said, annoyed by her incessant questions.

"Yeah, how are you supposed to know?" Grace sneered.

Teni bit his tongue. He heard the unspoken words, you're just a common cameraman.
He kept his cool, though. He didn't like his feelings controlling him. That was why he hadn't snapped when Grace had called him Cameraman on the first day of the shooting. She was a good actress, but was lacking in the social department, he thought. He didn't like her at all, and he knew other people that shared his sentiment.

"Tell him I'm on my way," Grace said, searching her purse for her phone.

Teni did just that, but he wasn't happy about it. What was wrong with her? Treating him like an errand boy! Teni fumed as he looked for Kenny, the producer. He saw the man among a few other people, engrossed in a discussion.

"Excuse me sir."

Kenny looked up. He was a middle aged man with a slim frame and an easy smile, very easygoing as well. He treated everyone equally, not allowing sentiments to cloud his judgement. Unlike some people, Teni grumbled.

"She says she's on her way."

Kenny nodded. "Thank you, Teni."

Teni approached his crew, still upset about the way Grace had scoffed at his job. He was as important as she was, if not more. If he wasn't there to capture her acting on film, how would the world know of her?

Teni shook his head and settled to work. He wouldn't worry about that woman. She wasn't worth it.

It was only a matter of time before she fell anyway.

*Ibiyemi Marvellous*�

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