The callback email dropped into Daniel's inbox at 6:42 p.m.
Daniel screamed so loudly the soundstage speakers trembled.
Aria, who was peacefully eating noodles on an overturned equipment box, barely lifted her head.
"What now?" she asked, noodle dangling from her lips.
Daniel pointed at the email on his tablet with shaking hands.
"ARIA.
YOU GOT A CALLBACK."
Aria blinked.
"…I didn't even finish the first audition."
Julian, who was passing by with a fresh coffee, turned.
"You got a callback?"
Daniel waved the tablet dramatically.
"They said—AND I QUOTE—'Please return tomorrow for the final confirmation. Bring comfortable clothing for movement tests. Also… please do not touch the walls.'"
Aria slurped her noodle.
"That seems reasonable."
Director Mason's Emotional Breakdown (Part II)
Director Mason stormed into the room, hair disheveled, shirt untucked, looking like he'd survived a meteor shower.
"MISS LANE!"
Aria looked up.
"Yes?"
"Do you know what a callback means?!"
"Yes."
"What?"
"That I must come back."
Mason stared at her, eyes filled with despair.
"…You say it like it's a threat."
Aria shrugged.
"Depends on who you ask."
Julian coughed into his coffee to hide a laugh.
Mason pointed at the ceiling dramatically.
"IF YOU COME BACK TOMORROW, I WANT—NO— I NEED YOU TO BE NORMAL."
Aria nodded.
"I can be normal."
"NO YOU CAN'T," Mason snapped.
Daniel raised a finger.
"She can try."
Aria raised two fingers.
"I won't flip off anything."
Mason's eye twitched.
"You said that LAST time."
"And I did not flip."
"You climbed a beam!"
"…That's different."
Mason sat down on a crate and buried his face in his hands.
"I'm going to lose my directing license…"
The Studio Executives Weigh In
At the far end of the stage, the executive producer showed up, flanked by two assistants.
He called out:
"Aria Lane!"
Aria raised her hand like a student answering attendance.
"Yes."
The producer smiled—
a rare, dangerous smile.
"Come to Studio A tomorrow morning. We want to see your capabilities."
Daniel stuttered.
"Cap…capabilities?"
The producer nodded.
"We've seen the tapes."
Julian's eyebrows rose.
"Tapes?"
The producer replied calmly,
"The wall incident.
The beam incident.
The reflex test.
The snack raid.
All of it."
Daniel nearly fainted.
"You recorded that?!"
The producer answered with zero guilt:
"This is a film set. We record everything."
Mason screamed from the crate,
"STOP RECORDING HER!"
The producer ignored him.
"The studio thinks she's… interesting. Potentially groundbreaking. Potentially… dangerous."
Aria swallowed her last noodle.
"Well, that's accurate."
Julian Pulls Her Aside
When the executives left, Julian approached Aria quietly.
"You know this callback isn't standard."
Aria tilted her head.
"How so?"
"They're not testing acting tomorrow," he said softly.
"They're testing you."
Aria went still for a moment.
"Why?"
Julian held her gaze.
"They want to know if you're real."
Her heartbeat spiked—
only slightly, but enough for her to feel heat crawl up her neck.
She tried to play it off with a shrug.
"I'm real."
Julian's eyes softened.
"I know."
That single sentence hit her harder than it should have.
Daniel, watching from a distance, whispered into his palms:
"Oh no. They're having a moment.
Oh no oh no oh no—"
The Crew Reacts in Group Chat (Again)
LightingTech01:
CALLBACK CONFIRMED????
SoundOpSam:
Aria Lane is about to break Studio A.
PropsQueen:
If she breaks Studio A, the producer will cry.
InternJ:
The beam stunt was in the tapes?! WE'RE DONE.
EditorNina:
Please keep recording her. I need free entertainment.
StuntsMark:
Julian is invested™.
MakeupLily:
I swear he looks at her like she's a puzzle he wants to solve.
PA_Ricky:
Director Mason hasn't stopped pacing for twenty minutes.
DirectorMason:
I CAN SEE THIS CHAT.
AND I AM PACING.
I DESERVE SYMPATHY, NOT MOCKERY.
AriaLane has joined the chat.
Everyone panicked.
AriaLane:
Does anyone know what time tomorrow?
AssistantDirectorLee:
9 AM! But… please don't break the door when you arrive.
AriaLane:
Okay.
She left the chat.
PropsQueen:
She's going to break the door.
Night Before the Callback
Back at her apartment, Aria stood in front of her mirror, brushing her hair with deliberate calm.
Tomorrow mattered.
Not because of fame.
Not because of the movie.
Not because hundreds of strangers wanted her on their screen.
But because she had felt something today—
A shift.
A weight.
A memory tugging at her old instincts.
People were watching her too closely.
Julian was noticing too much.
And if she revealed any more of her real skills…
Her old life might catch up.
She didn't want that.
But she also didn't want to stop.
She whispered to her reflection:
"Normal. Just be normal."
She paused.
Then laughed once, softly.
"Yeah… right."