Aiden and Ava talked a bit more before he realised that it was going to be the time for the script reading session. As he was a pretty new actor in the Industry, it was just respectful for him to arrive early.
Before leaving, Ava said something to him that made him anxious.
'Try to be careful around the set. [Sherlock of the Shadows] has a pretty diverse cast, and not everyone would like you. You are very young in the industry, and even though you have impactful roles, they are going to be skeptical of you as the lead.'
To that, he replied.
'I feel like I need to prove myself every single time.'
'Yeah, that's how it is in the industry. You prove yourself more and more with every single project. People doubt you and think you could only do a certain type of role. So, you prove that you have a better range. You do it until you have nothing left to prove, and everyone knows how good you are.'
Thinking of that conversation in his mind, Aiden made his steps towards the room where a lot of people had already gathered.
Tom was also accompanying him to the reading session as part of his staff.
When he entered the room, a few people's eyes landed on him.
***
Just five minutes before Aiden arrived, a group of actors was talking about the series and what were their aspirations and thoughts about it. At the same time, gossip about the current trending topics was also being discussed from time to time.
It was then that one of the actors said.
"[Disconnected] is getting pretty rave reviews. I really wonder how the cast is feeling currently. They must have been depressed when the movie flopped, and now everyone loves it. A lot of people are calling it a strange phenomenon."
He was an actor in his late 30s and was going to play the role of a teacher.
"You could ask the main guy in it about the movie when he comes." Another actor replied, and a girl next to him made a confused expression.
"Who are you talking about? Seth Douglas isn't a cast member, right?"
"Not him but Aiden. Seth is the main character, and no one liked the movie when he was the focus. Now everyone loves it when the focus is less on him and more on the other characters. Aiden benefitted the most despite the movie being a flop."
The girl nodded when she heard that. She was a social media influencer who had blown up for her short-form dance videos on Skygram and had moved to LA to try out for her modelling and acting career.
"Yeah, Aiden is doing pretty well. There's a reason why he got the lead role."
"Yeah, I feel a bit jealous because I auditioned for it too, but he's the hot topic currently."
"Actually, his audition was so good that Phineas decided on him on the spot. I don't think it's just because he's a hot topic."
"Yeah, being bitter won't do anything now. You will get better chances in the future."
As the actors discussed things about Aiden, the actor who had started this discussion about [Disconnected] opened his mouth.
"Even if he's good, Jeremy Hill is still going to nitpick something and give him a hard time. I'm feeling bad for him because of that."
Everyone nodded at that like they had seen it themselves in the past. Only the girl who was a social media influencer seemed confused.
"Why will he give Aiden a hard time? Both of them don't like each other?"
As she was very new in Hollywood and didn't know a lot about the personalities of actors, she was unaware of it.
"They have never met each other before I think." One of the actors said, and the girl got more confused.
"Then?"
"It's just that Jeremy Hill has a habit of nitpicking young actors and giving them a hard time on the set. He won't completely start bullying them, but he would sometimes act rudely and is a very tough person to get along with."
Another actor also added.
"Yeah, he has issues, and he doesn't like the new age actors because he thinks they don't particularly care about the art involved in the profession and just want to earn money. Think of him as an old, strict traditionalist that doesn't like the young generation."
Jeremy Hill was an old actor who had played a diverse range of roles since the 80s. He was a staple villain back then, but as he got older, he played a lot of different roles.
Because of his experience and seniority, he expected people to respect him, and at the same time, he had considerable influence in the industry too.
"Ah, he came!"
Suddenly, all the talk halted as someone walked in. He was wearing a brown coat over his shoulders and his face was filled with wrinkles. There was a cold air about him, but when he approached the group of actors, his face changed into a smile.
He was Jeremy Hill.
"It seems like I'm a little late. My car was stuck in the traffic, but it seems like we have not started reading yet."
"Yeah, there's still ten minutes left. We are going to start once the other actors come. Director Phineas is still out talking to a few crew members. Apparently, they want to shoot the reading session for the behind-the-scenes montage."
Hearing that, Jeremy tilted his head.
"Who else among the actors isn't here?"
"Aiden Silvereye. He's still not here."
Jeremy made a meaningful expression hearing that and didn't say anything, but other actors knew that he didn't appreciate the lead being late for the reading session.
It was then that the door to the room opened, and Aiden walked in. Everyone's eyes gathered on him as the actors wondered what was going to happen now.
***
Watching the scene in front of him, Tom remembered one of the episodes from his favourite reality TV show — [Famous for being Famous].
In one of the scenes, the main female character would get cast in a TV series and on the first day of the shoot, she would be stared down by a more experienced actress, and a verbal spat would go on.
In the end, there would be an entire arc over the power struggle between both of them. It was silly but very fun to watch for Tom.
Now, he was experiencing it in front of him as Jeremy Hill stared down at Aiden. The atmosphere was exactly like a reality TV show, and if there were popcorn, Tom would already be munching on them.
"Hello, I'm a big fan of yours. I have watched [Mafioso] a lot of times."
Aiden said, pushing his hand towards Jeremy and talking about his most acclaimed performance in a gangster movie [Mafioso]. Jeremy had played the role of a villain in it.
"It's nice to meet you too."
Jeremy said, shaking his hands and for a second, everyone felt that the atmosphere had cooled down and the old actor won't try anything and let Aiden off the hook.
But in the next second, he again opened his lips with a condescending tone.
"You are the lead of the series and a relatively young actor. Don't you think you should have arrived a bit earlier? You are the last of the actors to arrive."
The atmosphere froze for a bit as people wondered what type of response Aiden would give. Rather than making a counter, it was best to just accept the mistake.
If he did that, then Jeremy won't be able to drag it more or else he would be seen in a bad light.
But Aiden handled it calmly.
"I was trying to come early."
"Then?"
"I just met someone and got engaged in a talk. That's why I was a little late."
Jeremy clicked his tongue at that and frowned.
"Who did you meet that you were late for the script reading? As a young actor, don't you think you should give extreme priority to the show—"
"It was Director Ava Adler I was talking with. She's one of the producers on the show from Titan studios."
Aiden suddenly cut off Jeremy and said. For a moment, the old man's expression scrunched, but he soon calmed himself down.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, we were talking about the show."
Jeremy wasn't able to say anything else and simply left Aiden alone while other actors looked at him with wonder.
'It looks like I should pretend that I'm pretty close to Ava to not get any trouble on me. Anyway, she told me that she was going to back me until we are working together.'
He thought in his mind secretly.
No one was going to be rude to him if they knew that one of the producers was backing him. In a way, it was protection.
Aiden wondered if that's how people from big agencies felt. As they had a lot of backing, they could do anything and would get away from it. Obviously, Aiden wasn't going to act like Seth Douglas or Tyler Reed.
He was just glad that he could get away from power struggles that didn't suit adults.
Though, he knew that Jeremy was still going to be a problem.
'Wade warned me about it, but I do know how to shut him up.'
He thought, glancing at Jeremy Hill.
