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Chapter 1: Kate
"Are you really ready for this Kate?" asks my best friend Laura.
"Sure, why not?" I answer.
"Okay. Well, I better drop you off here. Have a good first day!"
"Wait! You're leaving me here?"
"Duh. What did you think? That I would hold your hand all the way into there?"
"Not necessarily hold my hand but at least accompany me into there."
"Sorry but you know what the rules are on a set. I'll be expecting a phone call after this first day of shooting, okay?"
"Fine. I guess I'll see you later," I say, turning my attention to the door in front of me. I take a deep breath and open the door. The set is already busy. I spot a man with headphones on and decide to ask him where I can find the director. He sends me to the audience area, where I find him lounging in a chair.
"Hi, my name is Kate. I'm here for the new role of Jennifer."
"Great! Did you get your lines memorized already?"
"Yes."
"Very good. I can tell you will work out wonderfully here. Why don't you go into the dressing room to see if your wardrobe fits. I will call a rehearsal in an hour."
"Which way is it?"
"Go down that hall and it should be the second door to your right."
"Thanks."
I wander down the hall and find the second door, which is open. "Excuse me, is this the dressing room?"
A tall woman smiles at me and says, "Yes. You must be Kate. I'm glad to see that you've made it this early because it will give me time to readjust your wardrobe in case it needs to be altered. My name is Susan. If you should need anything, just let me know and I will try my best to accommodate you. Your rack of clothes is against that wall. Why don't you go try them all on and let me see them on you so I can make sure I did find the right sizes of clothes."
"Sure thing," I say, making my way to the rack of clothes. After about an hour of modeling each one, she finally tells me that I am through and that I can relax in the green room until Kevin, the director, calls rehearsal. Grateful for the chance to gather my thoughts together, I make my way down to the green room, following Susan's directions. Once I reach it though, all my thoughts vanish as I see Ryder Strong lounging on the couch. He looks up just as I get to the doorway and smiles before turning his attention back to his magazine. Quietly, I move into the room and take a seat in one of the chairs in the room. I can't help but stare at him, which I think he feels because he looks up at me again.
"Hi, can I help you?" he asks.
"Sorry, no. I guess I'm just a little nervous."
"Nervous? Why?"
"Today is my first time on a real live TV set."
"Oh my God! You are the new girl, Kate, right?
"Yes, I am named Kate. I think my character is named Jennifer."
"Right! You are my soon-to-be girlfriend too. That's cool! Why are you here so early though?"
"I had to check my wardrobe and I got the first day jitters to be honest."
"Understandable. Thing with me though, is that I am so used to this set."
"That's true. You've been here for how long? It seems like I watched you grow up along with me on the TV."
He laughs and says, "You probably did. I bet one of those thoughts at every start of the season was, 'Wow, Ryder grew taller,' or 'Ryder sure looks more rebellious and scruffy,' right?"
"Not quite but close," I say, laughing with him.
"Have you met anyone else yet?"
"No. You know what? Do you remember me by any chance?"
"Should I?"
"Well, we met up in Oakland one day because our manager hosted an acting class for new young actors and he had asked you and me to go there to talk to them. You represented the TV show side and I represented the ads and commercials. Do you remember that?"
"That was you? Dang, you grew up yourself here."
I laugh and say, "Thank you, I think."
"Are you still with Mitch?"
"No, I found a new manager. Mitch was getting too busy with all of his bigger actors so I decided to find someone who wasn't quite as busy. What about you?"
"Oh yea, I still am managed by him but I hardly talk to him now. It's like this. When you get to be a regular star of a TV show, the managers stop caring about you because in this world, you aren't good enough to do commercials, movies, and TV shows all at the same time. Go figure, but that is the name of the game."
"Yes, that is true unfortunately."
Ryder looks over my shoulder and says, "Hey Danielle and Ben! Get in here. Our newest member of the cast is here."
I look behind me and see both people walking towards Ryder and me. As Danielle gets closer, she smiles and says, "Hello. You must be Kate. I'm Danielle and this is Ben."
"Hi! Was everyone prepared ahead of time for my arrival on set or something because it seems as if everyone knows my name here."
"Well, it has been a while since we have had new blood on Boy Meets World who will be a long running character," Ben says.
"I see. So what is this whole business with live television like?"
"Hard but fun. Don't worry about messing up. As long as you know your lines, Kevin will love you. Besides, they like making those dang bloopers of us all the time. I think they have seven full tapes of just us making mistakes out of everything."
"Sounds fun," I say, just as one of the assistant directors I am assuming comes in.
"Hey you four! Get out on set, we are starting rehearsal."
Ryder and I get up and follow Danielle and Ben out onto the stage.
"Well, here we all are with the newest edition to the family. I would like for you guys to run through the first scene where Corey, Topanga, and Shaun first meet Jennifer. You are all at the park when you see a guy slapping this girl hard. When she falls to the ground, Shaun you rush over and play the knight by saving her from this vicious savage of a guy who actually would hit a woman. Jennifer is twenty by the way. Shaun instantly finds Jennifer attractive but he knows now isn't the time to recite a pick up line. He helps her up, asks what is wrong, listens, and gives her counsel. Try that right now."
We all take our places that he gives us and wait for the cue to start. The rest of the day is like that, rehearsing the different scenes that we would be doing for the rest of the week. It goes by really fast and actually ends on a good note. The last scene is just between Danielle and me, where Jennifer and Topanga have a girl's night out, giving Jennifer the self-confidence and the amount of fun she has needed for a long time. In between run throughs, Danielle and I talk endlessly about everything, finding that we have a lot in common since I am only a few months older than her.
"Do you ever find it hard being this major star on this show Danielle?"
"Not really. The fans are wonderful, I've learned to deal with the rumors and criticism, and now that I have a boyfriend, I don't have to worry about guys liking me just because of it."
"Having a thick skin has always been a good idea for me and my situation I think."
"Do you have a boyfriend Kate?"
"No, I've found that even for a not-well-known actress like me, it still is hard to find the right guy. Tell me about your boyfriend though."
"Well, actually, you may know him. His name is Lance and he is from a music group called 'NSync."
"The Lance? That's right! I remember hearing some rumor about you two dating."
"Well, for once rumors are true. I am dating him and he is the most wonderful guy in the world. I think he is supposed to come out mid-season since their tour is ending and I can't go there obviously because of our shooting the different episodes. I'll introduce you."
"That would be nice. Well, I think we better shush up because Kevin is looking at us as if he's been standing there waiting for us to quiet down for a while."
"Yes, I think that is a good idea. Don't worry about it though. He really is a softie inside and hardly ever actually yells at us. A few more run throughs and we will be out of here."
True enough, another two times of rehearsing the scene and we are dismissed. On my way out though, Danielle stops me and asks, "Do you want to go hang out with me tonight? It will give us some time to get to know each other better."
"Sure, that would be nice."
"Great! Do you want to follow me or drive together?"
"I'll follow you since I don't want to leave my car here."
"Sounds good. Dinner first and then decide on plans after it later?"
"Good deal. I'll see you at wherever you lead me!"
"Okay," she says, smiling and turning around to walk to her car.
Wow, she is definitely really sweet. I have this feeling we are going to become really good friends here.
I get into my car and wait there for Danielle to finish talking to Ben and get into her car. In truth, today was actually a good day. I just hope that the rest of my time here goes just as well. Tomorrow is the first time I will be in front of a real live audience like that. How am I going to deal? Slow down Kate... Deep breaths here. That's better. Now, follow that car of Danielle's!