“What exactly are you expecting at this ‘American party’?”
She put her hand over her mouth and blushed.
“We hear that Americans are easy. Why do you think Kenta wants to date an American girl?”
“Ah,” I said, suddenly understanding.
“Will you help us?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I promised.
It shocked me a little that she would want to go to a party to hook up. I wouldn’t have expected that from someone who said she had a boyfriend. Then again, I was sure this type of behavior happened everywhere.
◊◊◊
When we got back, the girls whisked Misaki away to talk about her big date. I found Kenta and Jiro waiting for me in wardrobe.
“You must give us details,” Kenta said.
I looked at the two of them and shook my head.
“We had a lovely dinner. If you want to find out what happened in the car on the way back, you’ll have to talk to Misaki,” I said.
Then I pushed them out of the dressing room.
That was probably the wrong thing to say because they both jumped to conclusions and scampered off.
Misaki was a different woman once we were back on set. She no longer stood back and acted the wallflower. She took her role as my new big sister seriously and did things like fuss over my clothes and bring me tea. Lexi wasn’t happy because she felt that was her job. I made eye contact with my PA and let her know to give Misaki this.
I was really starting to hate the Japanese work ethic, mostly because it was about to kill me. We didn’t wrap up until well after two in the morning. There were promises that we would get off early tomorrow and not resume filming until Sunday afternoon.
◊◊◊
Chapter 3 – Dinner with Springbok Thursday December 1
This morning, I skipped exercising in exchange for sleep. Lexi finally had to roust me out of bed so I would be on set on time. When I made it out to breakfast, Fritz was drinking coffee with my dad.
“You look like hell,” Dad said.
“Whoever said acting was easy was nuts. We were on set until almost three again last night,” I said.
I spotted the coffee and held up one finger for them to hold that thought while I poured myself a cup.
“It must be bad if he’s drinking that,” Dad said.
“Thanks for sending me the text. I hadn’t realized your hours were so long. I gave Manaia the morning off,” Fritz said.
“After our rough start, he’s been okay,” I conceded.
“He’s actually a good guy, just a little rough around the edges. I figured you would get him straightened out,” Fritz said.
“More like, if David didn’t cause him to quit, then he could do this for anyone,” Dad quipped.
“If I weren’t so tired, I would argue with you,” I said. “Is there any food?”
“In the oven. I made a breakfast casserole.”
I made plates for myself and Fritz. Like me, he could always eat.
“I hear we have a dinner meeting with Springbok. Do you know what that’s all about?” Dad asked.
“Lexi was supposed to find out. We should ask her when she finally gets ready,” I commented as I saw her coming down the hall.
“Coffee,” Lexi moaned. She was as sleep-deprived as I was.
We waited for her to pour a cup and grab a plate of breakfast. Dad asked her about the meeting.
“They were vague as to the purpose of the meeting, according to Caryn. She said they thought you would find it beneficial.”
“Do you think it has to do with modeling?” Fritz asked.
“I doubt it,” I weighed in. “Springbok has signed up some high-profile universities recently. They’re catching up to Under Armour as the number three shoe company in collegiate sports, behind Nike and Adidas.”
“David couldn’t model for them and keep his eligibility with the NCAA,” Dad explained.
“That’s why I’m puzzled. Why would a shoe company want to talk to me while I’m still in high school?” I asked, confessing my ignorance.
“Sounds like you each need bodycams and pen-mics. I’ll get it arranged before the meeting,” Fritz said.
He was probably right. It would be better to record the encounter and find it was something innocent than not to do so and discover we had a problem. We could always delete it later. If they were up to something, we might need the leverage of an accurate recording at some point.
◊◊◊
We worked until noon on the button and then were told to relax for a couple of days. The entire cast and crew were visibly relieved, as everyone had been working the same hours I had. I had all of two minutes to enjoy my freedom.
“The car is waiting,” Lexi said, reminding me that I had other commitments.
I was supposed to start shooting my part in Halle’s movie,
Manaia had replaced Fritz and was waiting for us out front. I started to get my phone out to call Brook.
“She said she would call you later,” Lexi said, guessing what I was doing.
“It sounds like you talk to my girlfriend more than I do. I can’t wait until she gets here.”
She handed me today’s script, and I studied it as we drove to the studio. Once we arrived, Lexi guided me to wardrobe to get changed.
