Page 76 of Holly Jolly July

Julia and Oscar join a few minutes later, chatting amicably. I should be stoked to finally be on set with a juggernaut like Oscar Fizak and a rising star like Julia Miles, but I can’t lie to myself. There’s somewhere else I’d rather be.

“Ready?” Oscar asks me with all of his swagger, but his usual charm has less of an effect than it normally does. Even Julia’s perfect toothpaste-commercial smile holds little sway. My mind goes back to a tall woman with enviable curves and a sarcastic semi-permanent smirk.

Teal catches my eye and I look past him, off set. Mariah is there behind the monitors with the rest of the crew. We make eye contact, and the corner of her mouth lifts in a smile.

I grin back, focusing on her and how settled she makes me feel. “I was born ready.”

After a full day of filming, and only one retake despite Mariah taking up so much room in my thoughts, I start to make my way off set toward hair and makeup.

“Great job, Ellie,” the grip says as I pass.

“Thank you.” I smile, surprised by the compliment.

The gaffer joins in. “Yeah, you really knocked it out of the park.”

“Oh, really? Why—”

Oscar and Julia approach me, a phone between them. “This is good stuff,” Oscar says. Julia nods, giving me a thumbs-up.

“Thanks.” I’m taken aback that I’m finally getting the recognition I deserve, and from the leads no less. All my work and dedication is paying off! “I’m glad we finally had a day on set together! I could really feel the tension between you two, and feeding off that worked wonders for my own character. It felt great working with you both today, and I hope we get other opportunities after this to—”

“Oh, we mean your TikTok,” Oscar clarifies, pointing to his phone.

Julia nods. “The horny alien? Love it!”

“Wh-what?” I stammer, baffled.How do they know about that?

Mariah pushes past the crowd and grabs me by the shoulders. “Ellie!”

My skin tingles at her touch. I hope she can’t see me blush under my layers of pasty makeup. “Mariah?”

She grips me harder. “It’s our video. It blew up.”

I narrow my gaze. “What do you mean, ‘blew up’?”

Mariah shows me her phone. “It’s at four million views.”

“Fourmillion?” My mouth hangs open. “I thought you said you only had a few hundred followers!”

“I did. But now I’m at twenty thousand and climbing. I can’tkeep up with all the comments and messages. It’s... surreal. I’m sorry, I had no idea this would happen, I—”

“Wait, why are you sorry?”

Mariah gestures to the room. “Everyone’s seen it. They’ve seen... us. Like that.”

I shrug. “It’s just acting, though. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

Her shoulders slacken. She takes a moment to consider this. “Yeah. You’re right. Just acting.”

“I get it, it’s your first time on film for a large group of people. It can be nerve-racking, but you get used to the attention.” I rub her arm in consolation.

She looks from my hand and back to me. “Right.”

“If anything, this is good! More publicity for you and your work, more publicity for my acting career.” I take her arm and turn her toward the exit. “Nowfourmillionpeople have seen your incredible makeup skills!”

“What about your directing talents?” she adds. “The film wouldn’t have been anything without your ideas and you calling the shots.”

I scoff. “No, it’s the way you designed the alien that’s getting all the attention. You killed it!”

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