[5] It's a wrap!
That's kind of a filling chapter but we're gonna continue with the main story soon. It's important for me not to rush from peak to peak, because that's not how life is. I want the story to be as realistic as possible.
June 2022 – New York City
Right after Christina's birthday y/n made a little bucket list for her weeks off. She tried not to be too lazy and just watching Netflix or Disney+ for the whole time, so she tried to find activities to do during that time. A few of her 'Want-to-do's' were things she always wanted to do but was never brave enough. "Now or never" she thought while copying her list from a random paper into a new bought notebook:
• Finish at least one book about mental health or self-motivation
• Have a picnic at the central park
• Visit a pilates class (Christina said pilates is THE workout for models and actresses. We'll see)
• Order a dish you never had before at a restaurant you've never been before
• Do all the necessary health check-ups
Not exactly a bad-ass list but good enough for the two and a half weeks off.
She started with a picnic at central park today as the weather started to become warmer in the last days. Y/n loved to see all flowers start to bloom in spring, but her favorite season was summer. Warm and sunny days on sets where she could just wear her sunglasses and watch the actors / actresses do their jobs while she was relaxing in between takes. Of course the warmer it got – the more make-up fresh-ups were necessary but as y/n really loved her job that didn't bother her in any way.
While laying on the green grass of central parc she enjoyed a ham and cheese sandwich and started to read in her mental health book "atomic habits". Working on two of her To-Do's at the same time: that's kind of badass. Right?
The next day she continued with her motivational behavior and went to a pilates class in the morning. She though pilates was like a yoga class but a bit more intense so she was shocked when she found herself in a room filled with so called "reformers". These are machines with a bed-like frame a platform and a set of springs. Equipped with straps, springs, ropes and a leather sliding carriage, the Pilates reformer may look more suited for 50 Shades of Grey than a workout studio.
After 45 minutes of torturing her body with those exercises she decided to go to a nearby Thai restaurant. She's never been to that restaurant before, so she was brave enough to ask the waitress to surprise her with her lunch. She just added that she was not used to eat too spicy – what made the waitress laugh. Wait why is she laughing? though y/n and started to become uncomfortable. But the waitress brought her an amazing green curry with rice and a lot of vegetables. She never ordered a green curry before – always a red one. Although she didn't even know the difference between a red, a green and a yellow curry. Sometimes being brave and order something you've never eaten before will bring you a delicious surprise! y/n thought before leaving the restaurant in a good mood.
Just two days off and already four tasks of her To-Do-list done. Well, three and a half because she hadn't finish the book. When she returned to her apartment in the afternoon (after a little stroll through the city) she called a few of her doctors and made some appointments to get checked for the next two weeks. Then she laid on her couch and watched some of the "make-up trends"-videos on YouTube.
Time flies by the next two weeks and y/n was able to finish the book and attended a lot of doctor appointments. She was completely healthy (thank god!) but one of her docs teased her by saying that she could do more cardio workouts for her endurance. She preferred weight training, but she decided to include at least one cardio day to her workout routine. But as running was never something she enjoyed, she decided to go to a kickboxing class every Thursday evening.
Mid of July 2022 – New York City
The movie y/n was working on was going to start filming in a few days but she and her team were already preparing everything. Every actress and actor needed to come in and they tried all different make-up looks – that would be needed throughout the whole movie – with them. Taking pictures of every look to make sure the look is exactly the same for every shot. She always liked those first days, because she was still able to influence the appearance of the movie. Most directors gave the hair and make-up team some kind of freedom and trust in their experience so y/n designed a lot of the looks on her own.
She started to laugh when she took a picture of a pastel green eye make-up she had done for the leading actress Sophia.
"Why are you laughing y/n. Does it look that ridiculous?", Sophia asked concerned.
"No, No, Sophia not at all. Sorry for laughing! A few weeks ago I discussed pastel colored make-up looks with a few actresses and I tried to convince them that I don't think this will be a lasting make-up trend. And now I am standing here and doing a pastel green eye make-up for your prom scene.", y/n answered while trying to soothe Sophia.
Sophia smiled and said: "I don't care if it lasts or not. It looks amazing. Can't wait to shoot that scene with that amazing dress and your make-up."
The prom scene was going to be one of the last scenes of the movie – a teenage romance movie of female sciene nerd (played by Sophia) and a basketball player who fall in love with each other. Yep, very cliché. But those kinds of movies work for centuries, so "never change a running system" as her father liked to say.
September 2022 – New York City
The next months were really intense for y/n but she did an amazing job with all hair and make-up looks in the movie and she was happy to hear a lot of compliments from the cast and crew. Although they didn't do any fancy stuff like alien make-up in SciFi movies, their styles help to underline important scene and gave the movie a specific look. So y/n was kind of said when filming was nearly over – having just the big prom scene left.
Sophia was in the hair and make-up trailer for almost 1,5 hours to get the pastel green make-up done and when she changed her clothes into the matching dress, y/n looked at her in awe. Dress and make-up matched perfectly – something she was never 100% sure about because the costume designer changed Sophias dress a couple times. But in the end all of them were happy with the outcome: the light green dress, the wavy hair and the pastel green make-up. Sophia happily said: "Well I don't need to act like I am the queen of the prom because I really look like a queen."
The whole trailer filled with the hair and make-up crew and the costume designers started to laugh. y/n walked slowly through the huge city hall like room – where they were filming the prom – and felt nostalgic. Every time when a project ended she felt sad about it. That's why she wanted to work on a TV series set someday so she has more time to work with cast and crew – hopefully for many years if the series has multiple seasons.
All of the prom scenes were shot in no time and so it was finally time to say goodbye to each other. Sophia organized some beautiful flower bouquets that where handover to everyone of the hair and make-up and costume designer teams. When she gave the bouquet to y/n she whispered at her: "I chose the one with the lilies because I know these are your favorite flowers!"
Y/n smiled at her with tears in her eyes. Yes, lilies are indeed her favorite flowers but she didn't expect Sophia to remember that. She's gonna miss to work with her every day. They exchanged their numbers and agreed to stay in contact but when reality hits and both of them move on to their next project they will probably forget about each other. Y/n experienced this quite ofter. Christina was the big exception as they were able to stay in contact and even became very good friends. Speaking of Christina, y/n took her iPhone and entered their chat:
Me
Hey lovely, we finished my current movie today. Would you like to come over tonight and celebrate?
Christina
Hey sweetie, so happy for you! Sounds good. What about pizza and movie night? Not in the mood for dinner somewhere else. Hate to look out for paps...
Me
You know I would always prefer pizza and movie night to a fancy dinner. Still the lame ass ordinary girl that you like very much.
Christina
Stop saying your lame. But indeed I like you very much. I'll be around at 7! See you later xoxo
