Back in Los Angeles
Lisandra has arrived at Luminara Media and is waiting for her instructor. it has been almost ten minutes since the time, and the latter isn't here.
In the three lessons she had this week, the teacher had always been here before her, but now, she is still not here; she murmured: "Maybe she was blocked by the traffic?"
Meanwhile, the teacher that she was talking about had been here for a long time in fact but strangely enough, James told her to wait then after another ten minutes, she was told to leave, the lesson here had been canceled as the company had arranged a new program for Lisandra.
Although the teacher feels indignant and it was an insult to his personality, after all, the salary offered by Luminara Media is too much.
It was at this time that Lisandra started getting impatient; the door was pushed up.
When she looked at who was coming, her heart skipped a beat because it wasn't her teacher but she knew the person there very well.
Like many Americans, she has been watching movies since her youth. This was also the beginning of her dreams, but unfortunately, her father wouldn't allow her to become an actress.
She could only do her best to start learning playing guitar independently while also singing from time to time, it was also at that time she came across a new online platform called YouTube while she posted her cover by curiosity.
It never occurred to her that she would become so popular, but sometimes, fame is just like this; someone would just add his face while spreading his hands at the end of a video to become popular while others could only watch them trying hard but never succeeding.
The person in front of her was someone she had seen in some movies, but as she grew older, the latter suddenly disappeared.
She was very curious about what she was doing here but nonetheless, she straightened her posture and smiled politely, though she couldn't hide the confusion in her eyes.
"Good afternoon," Lisandra greeted instinctively.
Then she said a little awkwardly. "I wasn't expecting anyone other than my instructor today."
Emma offered a warm smile as if to ease the atmosphere. She stepped further into the room, appearing like a caring elder, but her sharp eyes were observing every detail of Lisandra. "Good afternoon, Lisandra. I hope you don't mind the change of plans. The company arranged for me to meet with you today."
Lisandra was surprised about the sudden change in the program, she replied: "Oh, of course, I didn't know there would be a change." she was still confused by the situation, what's this actress doing here?
Lisandra's contract only concerns the band, so what should she do with an acting teacher? That's right, Lisandra thought that Emma was an acting teacher.
Emma could see the confusion on Lisandra's face but didn't address it; she sat down near the latter without being polite, and her posture appeared a little relaxed, but in fact, she was absorbing every detail about Lisandra through her sharp eyes.
Emma wasn't here to find fault about Lisandra after all but just to observe her, it was the reason she kept a warm smile while showing a little more intimate behavior,'Well, let be a white lotus for now'
She leaned in the chair while casually asking: "How's everything going with your music lessons?"
Lisandra was taken aback by the situation. Shouldn't they talk about acting like how she should act in public or something like that?
After blinking, she said: "Uh, it's going well. I mean, I feel like I'm learning a lot. Before I learned to play music by myself, a little bit of a hobby, but after having an instructor, it's like a new world has been opened up to me; I seem to understand many things that I neglected."
Emma nodded, still smiling, her eyes taking in every word and reaction from Lisandra. The young girl was clearly confused, but she was managing to stay composed, which impressed her slightly."That's wonderful to hear. It must feel like you're finally connecting all the dots, huh?" she said, her tone warm, almost as if they were two friends chatting casually.
Lisandra relaxed a little at the familiar tone; after all, she is just a young girl and didn't remark she was being led by the scheming Emma; she just feels good to have someone to chat with.
She didn't have many friends to talk to, and her father, as an officer, was the kind of rigid man; right now, she feels like she found a confident, so she said: "Yeah, exactly. It's like, I always had the passion, but I seem to lack that something; I didn't think it wasn't because I didn't receive professional teaching, but only now did I realize this."
Emma nodded again, but in her mind, she was thinking, 'What a naive girl, but still, it's good that she isn't scheming; Viktor needs exactly someone like this; let's test her further up.'
Emma leaned forward just slightly, making the atmosphere feel more intimate, and she said: "Yeah, Passion was one thing; the ability to channel it effectively was another or why do you think people would pay so much for professional training? It's good you understand this."
"So, how are you feeling about everything else? Fame, pressure, being a TV in the past few days, the pressure from the expectation for the company, the paparazzi although not much that started chasing you, how do you truly feel about it?"
At this time, Lisandra's impression of Emma was no longer that of a teacher but someone sent by the company to help her cope with the pressure, maybe a little like a therapist.
She replied: "Hum, how to say, my fame is a little unexpected, it's not something that I have prepared for; I was happy at the beginning, especially after Viktor, a friend of mine, asked me to join his band backed by the company."
'Viktor, huh?' it seems that this little rascal had some importance in the girl in mind. Nonetheless, she resisted the urge to ask her what role Viktor played in her career, so she let the latter continue explaining.
Lisandra continued: "After signing the contract and appearing on TV, it was at that moment that things started changing."
"At first, I started feeling a little overwhelmed, but now, I'm very excited; at the same time, I need to work hard in order to succeed; I also hope not to disappoint Viktor and let down the opportunity he has worked hard for."
Emma listened attentively to each word the girl said, especially calling Viktor's name twice; it seemed that she was also interested in Viktor; it's not a one-sided love.
Although she wanted to ask her how they met, and many others question, as it was their first time meeting, it was definitely not appropriate.
The conversation continued, with Emma guiding it subtly to explore more about Lisandra's aspirations. Lisandra didn't know it, but she had passed a big hurdle in her relationship with Viktor because she basically satisfied Emma.
END OF THE CHAPTER AND THE FIRST ARC
As you have remarked, the first arc is slow, only daily life and kinda boring sometimes, but it's the foundation and the introduction to the character and the world in the novel; now, I will try to accelerate the pace.
Don't forget to leave a review for the first arc