Gloria didn't have to hire anyone as Neha said she's do it gladly. The talented young woman barely had anything to do and she was still paid eighty-four thousand dollars a year.
Neha sighed as checked the file that Lucio had sent. She stared at the incomprehensible code on her screen for a few seconds before she called Lucio hurriedly.
A second later, the call was picked and Lucio's voice was heard on the line.
"What's up, my dear programmer?" Lucio asked, clearly in a good mood.
"….."
"Hello?"
"Ah, yes. The file that you sent. It has some weird language and I can't recognise it."
"Well…. It's a language specially made from scratch for the game alone. None of the humans can understand it, including me. Two separate AI's were created to compete against each other.
One made the world Oscuro and the other one is responsible for sending us players to conquer the planet. That's just the gist of it and the other stuff is complicated", Lucio calmly blabbered whatever came to his mind.
"Oh, okay… so this code was made by the AI that is on the players' side."
"Yes."
"Okay, thanks. I was so confused."
"I was also confused at the start." Lucio said lazily as he yawned.
"Do you at least know one programming language?" Neha asked sceptically.
"Cough, cough. I've got things to do. I'll talk to you later." He said before hanging up.
Neha shook her head, smiling as she asked Gloria to buy some memory cards.
*****
Lucio happily ate his breakfast which the other four had prepared for the day.
"Emilia and Emiliano, I'll be taking you guys to the school today. They will give you a test and you have to answer what you know." Lucio said as he ate his sandwich.
Both the kids nodded happily as they had only heard about the concept of schools and had never attended one.
Lucio looked at the other two before asking, "I got a mail from the university that I have a test today and I don't know anything about acting…"
"You're realising that now? What were you thinking when you applied for the course?" George asked as he stared at Lucio, shocked.
"Um… I was thinking that I'll be able to chill in class as there isn't much to read or write in acting." Lucio said gloomily as he looked at the two siblings.
"Pfft, sorry about that. Although there isn't much writing, we will be asked to practice a lot and every week, we will be paired with a team from different courses such as videography, graphics, animation and a lot more to make a short movie." Georgia said as she wiped the water she had "sprinkled" on her hands with a paper towel.
"So…. a lot of work?" Lucio asked
"Well… it's a yes and no. You can finish a short movie in a few days. Sometimes, you will have to work continuously for the whole day but you will get a huge break after that."
"That's better. Anyways, what am I supposed to do about the exam?"
"It won't be too hard. They will simply check your natural acting talents and note down which roles you can act well and a lot more that I don't really know."
Lucio was relieved when he heard that and nodded.
Georgia was still not finished as she offered to help him prepare for the exam which he gladly accepted.
After breakfast, Lucio was led to the backyard, where Georgia lectured on and on about different things to note when acting, such as body language, facial expressions, accents, etc.
"Sometimes, you will have to get into a certain physical shape in order to do a much better job and impress people. There is also the need to read the script thoroughly to understand the character you will be playing.
Some roles suit a certain person better than the others and it involves various things. Many characters have something unique about them and the actors who grasped the secret and used it well are some of the most famous actors of all times."
Lucio listened attentively as she kept on speaking and it continued until the alarm in his phone rang.
Georgia stopped at the interruption and looked at Lucio, who simply shrugged before saying,
"I have to take the kids to their school. You can come with me if you are free and we can continue as we wait for them to finish the test." Lucio said as she looked like she had a lot to teach him and he, himself wanted to absorb as much knowledge as possible in the shortest amount of time.
"Sure." Georgia said as she called out to her brother. "Oye George, I'll be taking your car."
"Okay!" George said loudly from inside before throwing the keys at her.
Lucio went into get his siblings who were ready before he even walked in. Unfortunately for the hyperactive shorties, Lucio had to change into something other than shorts.
A few minutes later, they were speeding down the roads. Georgia was a surprisingly good driver, contrary to Lucio's expectations.
Soon, they reached the school and Lucio escorted the two excited kids inside. The teacher said that the test would be conducted and there will also be a lot of interaction with the kids, allowing them to leave at 3:30 in the afternoon.
Lucio simply nodded and walked back to the car.
"I have to come back here to pick them up at 3:30 in the afternoon. My exam will end at three… Could you please pick th-"
"Sure, I'll do it." She said enthusiastically as he got into the car.
Lucio thanked her again and she drove back.
Georgia looked at Lucio who was sitting beside her and asked, "What do you plan on wearing to the exam?"
"I'll just go there directly in these." He said casually.
Georgia almost felt like face-palming herself when she heard that.
"Although, I admit that you look attracting right now, you need to wear something appropriate for the exam and not like a country bumpkin."
Lucio stared at her, confused, as he did not know whether she was complimenting him or insulting his simple choice of clothes.
Gloria looked at him before sighing, "You need to make a good impression. Wear something that can help you change according to the character you might have to play."
"What do you think I should wear?" he asked.
"A suit!"
"No."
Lucio completely rejected the idea of wearing the suit. He liked the cold and something like the coat made him feel too hot.
"Suit yourself." She said, seemingly angry at his direct rejection of her idea.
Lucio smiled wryly as he fidgeted with his phone, not changing his mind.
Soon, they reached the University and Georgia showed him the place as she continued feeding him more tips to ace the test as she seemed determined to have him pass.
The university was huge, with each course having its own building and the largest one was the engineering branch, taking up almost five square kilometres of land.
Compared to that, the arts section seemed too small with a single square kilometre of land given to them.
The closest one to the entrance was the medical branch, then the engineering and then came all others, with acting and videography being the furthest from the entrance.
Luckily, each branch had their own parking lot and they only had to walk two kilometres to reach the four-storey building that was dedicated to acting.
After showing him around, Georgia looked at Lucio thoughtfully for a few seconds before speaking up.
"Alright… let me ask you something." She said and continued without giving him time to answer.
"Are you good at lying?"
"Well… I guess I am?" He replied, confused as he did not understand how lying was related to acting.
"Tch… Okay, listen. Acting is similar to lying. Instead of just using your mouth, you use your whole body, facial expressions and a lot more including psychology."
Lucio nodded, slowing realising the meaning.
"Can you now tell the difference a person who is good at lying and a person who is bad at it?" She asked, trying to sound mysterious. Which did not have the intended effect as Lucio seemed to be in his own world.
"… A person who is good at lying is also an actor…. Using body language and other factors to make people believe the lie. A person who is bad at lying is not actually bad, he just doesn't use anything other than his voice."
"Wow… you are kinda smart huh. I didn't know this until one of the professors taught us this." Georgia said, amused.
"Thanks? I guess?" Lucio said, tilting his head slightly to the side, subconsciously.
Georgia nodded before asking another question, "Now, do you know what kind of lie works the best if we ignore all the body language and stuff?"
"Yea… Lies that have a bit of truth mixed in them." Lucio said knowingly as he mostly lied by mixing in real facts.
Georgia smiled as she gave him a thumbs up,
"Yes, the half-truths."