One of the Cast

I spun on my heel and was met with the grin of a curly haired boy who looked about my age, maybe a little older. “Aaron,” he held out his hand for me to shake, which I did begrudgingly, but smiled back as well.

“Roman,” I replied.

“Oh, you’re Amanda’s cousin, aren’t you? She told us a lot about you!” He led me over to two empty chairs closer to the fire, which I was grateful for, otherwise I’d have been totally frozen in a matter of minutes.

“That’s what I’ve heard, hopefully it wasn’t anything bad?” I almost didn’t want to hear the answer, for there were a myriad of options she’d have had if she’d wanted to tell one of my lesser side.

He laughed and shook his head, making his curls bounce adorably. Curls were one of my weaknesses, I can’t help it. “Only the very best, I assure you.”

We were then interrupted by someone over my shoulder saying, “Surely you’re not already trying to beguile Miss Stiles already, are you, Aaron?” Eddie appeared next to me, still smiling. I don’t think he has the ability to not smile, actually, and I’ve only seen him a couple times.

“I can’t help my natural charisma, Eddie, don’t be jealous!”

The next few hours were filled by Eddie and Aaron recounting stories of each other, mostly those that could be potentially embarrassing for the other, and each funnier than the last. By the time Amanda was ready to go I was sure I had six pack abs from laughing so hard and so much.

As exhausted as I was, I was sad to have to go, but seeing as it was past one in the morning and we were among the last to leave, it was certainly time for our exit. I stood, as did Eddie and Aaron, and Aaron swooped me up into a big hug, telling me to go see them again soon. I agreed quickly and turned to hug Eddie as well but he had disappeared already. Glancing around as we headed back through the house, I saw Eddie in the kitchen, talking to someone, but the other person was hidden from view. I stopped in the doorway to wave goodbye to him but he didn’t look away from the person. Though I hadn’t intended to hear any of their conversation, I couldn’t help but hear snippets.

“...help you forget her!”

“I’m fine, Samantha, I told you! And working again will be even better!” Eddie sounded extremely defensive as he argued with who I assumed to be Samantha Barks, who plays Eponine. She’s the only Samantha I can think of, anyway.

“You’ve said that too long! Obviously it’s not true!”

“Well it is, whether you believe me or not...” he drifted off as he finally looked up and saw me.

Eff I thought. “Oh, I was just heading out and was going to say goodnight!”

He looked momentarily worried that I heard something I shouldn’t have, but smiled back nonetheless. “Oh, goodnight! Thanks for coming, it was wonderful meeting you!”

I followed Amanda back out to her car, not remotely listening as she rambled on about something regarding the movie, and instead wondering what in the world Eddie and Amanda were talking about.

The next morning, Amanda woke me up obscenely early. “Roman, come on! You get to go into work with me today!”

“What? Why?” I groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers over my head and trying desperately to go back to sleep.

“Because I know you want to! This way you won’t have to sit around the house or find some way to entertain yourself all day!” She was way too happy this morning. “You could probably even be an extra!”

“Oh, joy unbound,” I mumbled into the sheets.

“Okay, up, up, up!’ She pulled the sheets off me, causing me to shiver almost immediately.

“You’re a demon, Amanda. A straight up demon!”


I woke up the next morning to an empty house, so I assumed Amanda had gone on to the set, leaving me to decide once more what to do. I had been thinking about finding a job to occupy my time, not to mention the fact that I would need one eventually. So I set out on my bike and headed downtown, not having much of any idea in mind as to what exactly I was looking for. After about fifteen minutes of riding around I saw a few cute little boutiques, so I figured I could give those a try first.

The first couple were unsuccessful, but as soon as I walked into the third, I knew it was perfect. They were playing one of my favorite songs, and I loved basically every piece of clothing or accessory I saw.
“Hi, can I help you?” A cute, small girl with a pixie cut appeared out of a doorway in the back, smiling as she carried a shirt back up to the front desk.

“Oh, yes, I was wondering if you had any job openings?” I asked nervously, I had never worked in a commercial store before or really had to ask a complete stranger about a job.

She smiled wider. “We are, actually! Do you have any experience?”

I grew even more nervous and shook my head. “Not in retail like this, but back home I sold art and did small jobs here and there. I do love clothes, though, and I love to make my own!”

“That’s so cool, do you have any pictures of some you’ve made? I’m just curious,” and she really did seem genuinely curious, and it was then that I realized that she was sewing something onto the shirt she was holding.

“Well I made this shirt, if that’s better?” I spun in a small circle, and looked up to see her expression, which immediately made me relieved. She was clearly impressed, though this wasn’t one of my better projects.

“Well why don’t you write all your information down here, and I’ll give you a call later after I talk with my business partner?”

As I left the boutique, I felt an even mixture of relief and anxiety at what they would decide. Though I only decided I definitely wanted a job this morning, I just had a feeling that that store was where I wanted to be. Just as I finished unlocking my bike, my phone rang, and I answered it after seeing that it was Amanda calling.

“Hey! What are you doing?” She asked, barely waiting for me to say hello.

“I’m downtown, just seeing about getting a little job somewhere, why?”

“Oh, that’s good! We were going out for lunch and I was gonna see if you wanted to go with us!” When she said this I could hear Aaron in the background, saying, “Come with us, Roman! You know you want to!”

I laughed and agreed, and decided to bike to the set since it wasn’t too far away.

I arrived on set just as Amanda and Aaron were walking out, and were soon followed by Eddie and Samantha, who I still hadn’t officially met.

“My favorite American!” Aaron gave me a hug, but was immediately lightly punched by Amanda. “Sorry, but it’s true. At least she doesn’t punch me!”

They had apparently already decided on a small cafe that was within walking distance, and the whole way Aaron asked me about where I looked for a job and anything that popped into his head, while everyone else walked behind us. Which was good, because I wouldn’t have been happy if I could’ve seen the look I was receiving from Amanda and the slight glare Aaron was receiving from a certain other British boy...