Beautiful Child

Annalena walked through the white shiny corridor as she made her way to drama class. She was interested in acting and wanted to do play-write as well, so of course drama was always her favourite subject. Her teacher thought otherwise, Mr Anderson didn’t like her because she would observe more than the other students and didn’t talk out in class, to him that meant she had low confidence and would never be an actress but it was also the fact that she didn’t throw herself at him like the other girls. A small smile spread on her face as she remembers that she had a new drama teacher: no more Mr Anderson. Don’t get Annalena wrong, he was a good teacher and everything but he didn’t challenge his students enough.

She tucked a loose strand of her light brown hair behind her ear before placing a pencil in the middle of her messy bun. Annalena did this often as she always found herself looking for a pencil to scribble down notes or jot down ideas of stories and plays. She had shown Mr Anderson what she has written but he always handed them back saying “If you want to accomplish in life you must live in the real world.” It would hurt her feelings but she knew what he meant. Stop living in an imaginary world.

Annalena walked into the classroom she knew she was early but she always was. She had just turned into the classroom when her small body collided with someone else’s. She took a slight stumbled but the person caught her and steadies her.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see where I was going!” Annalena stuttered slowly looking up at the person she had walked into. Her breath caught in her throat and she had to blink a few times to make sure that she was seeing the right person.

James McAvoy stood in front of her, his hands on her arms from steadying her. He quickly removed them before he spoke “It’s fine, no one got hurt and it was both our faults technically,” he smiled at her, and Annalena felt a smile slowly appear on her lips.

“Are you the new drama teacher?” she asked quietly and bit her lip nervously, she never really felt comfortable around people but she didn’t know how to act in front of someone famous. She was amazed that he was in her school, he was one of her favourite actors and she loved every film he did.

James chuckled “Yes, I am. A favour for a friend,” he scratch the back of his neck nervously “oh! Please take a seat in the circle there.” He motioned to the circle of chairs in the middle of the classroom and sent Annalena another smile.

She nodded and took the seat at the back of the circle which faced the front of the classroom. She reached into her bag and pulled out her notebook and took the pencil out of her bun. She watched as the chairs began to fill up with her classmates and how they talked about having a famous actor as their drama teacher.

Annalena looked up to where James was standing and her eyes read what he wrote on the board. Mr McAvoy. He turned around and caught Annalena’s gazed “it makes me sound so old doesn’t it.” No one else noticed that he spoke except for her. She smiled at him and titled her head from side to side as if saying ‘little bit’.

Mr McAvoy chuckled and then clapped his hands together gaining the attention of the rest of class, “Right then,” he lifted a chair over and place it in the gap at the front of the circle facing Annalena, he placed it backwards so that when he sat down he could lean his arms on the back of the chair. “I’m your new teacher for a while.” He smiled at each of them and motioned with his thumb to the board where he wrote his name “Mr McAvoy.”

No one said anything, they just stared at him not knowing what to say. Mr McAvoy sighed, “Okay well,” he said awkwardly “What is acting?” this made Annalena start taking notes like she always did in drama.

“Storytelling. Being yourself in another characters situation and learning more about humanity.
There is a reason why the character is the way they are, a reason why these events are happening in the characters life and a reason why the story is being told.
So when you act, you look for things in the script that provide you with information of how to walk, talk and interact, the thinking of it comes from listening.
You are always you as an actor, thinking with your own brain and using your intellectual spin with your performance. You aren't "possessed by an external whimsical character entity" that's why some budding actors have so much trouble with acting - 'cause they see acting as something outside of their control, you have complete control over the way you act.” Mr McAvoy talked while moving his hands and Annalena wrote as quickly as she could.

“I want you guys to tell me why you want to act” he said as he looked at each of them
He paused and looked at each of us. She scribbled.

“Is it fame and fortune? Wanting to escape life? Act with some of the best actors/actresses in the world today? Or is it the fact that actors and actresses have been labelled as gorgeous or handsome compared to ‘normal people’?” his blue eyes travelled around the group of teenagers that sat in front of him but his eyes lingered longer on Annalena and flickered to the notebook that sat on her lap which she was scribbling down the current conversation.

A tall black haired girl scoffed. Annalena knew her as Crissy and knew that she was going to make a comment about how he talked about actors being handsome when he himself is an actor.
“Someone’s sure of themselves” Crissy muttered as she flicked a piece of black hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest. Mr McAvoy tilted his head to look at her with his eye brows furrowed. A slight smile graced his face before he spoke,

“So that’s why you do Drama huh? Each of you do this to show how better-looking you are than everyone else, except her..” he pointed at Annalena, his elbows still resting on his knees as he leaned forward
“Why not her?” Brad snapped. Annalena was writing every word spoke down
“Because,” Mr McAvoy smiled at her “she’s been taking notes and is writing down everything I’m saying, full stop.”

Annalena made a small dot to show him that she did what he said: full stop. She looked up at him shyly before tucking a strand of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear, the corner of McAvoy’s mouth turned up in a slight smirk but it was still a soft smile.

“What’s your name?” he asked
Before she could say anything Anthony spoke for her “her name’s Annalena,” he gave her a smile which she returned with a thankful one, he knew how she didn’t like talking a lot.

“Annalena?” Mr McAvoy asked as he had clearly never heard the name before.
She nodded “The writer of Atonement dedicated his book to a girl named Annalena, it was my mother’s favourite book.” She saw people look at her as she talked about her mom, none of them had ever heard her speak of her before. They all knew what had happened.

“Did she like the film?” a genuine smirk was on Mr McAvoy’s face.
Annalena smiled “I don’t know but my sister enjoyed it very much,” she didn’t mention how it was one of her own favourite movies, she would only embarrass herself if she did.

Mr McAvoy studied her face before a small blonde woman in tall black high heels walked into the room, “Sorry to interrupt but Mr Henderson wants to have a word with Annalena.” Once again Mr McAvoy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as the students oohed at Annalena, “em, sure.” He answered before he looked at Annalena who was now standing “I will see you next class, Annalena.”

She nodded and quickly followed the blonde woman who was called Miss Williams, once they were in the corridor Miss Williams asked “What do you think of your new teacher?”
Annalena looked at her feet “Different,” she answer truthfully but as she remembered his smile, her stomach filled with butterflies.