Bella sat in her seat, not expecting someone to talk to her. She froze for a moment, and then, feeling a bit awkward, said, "Uh... Okay. Do you... do you prefer sitting inside or outside?" As she spoke, she stood up.
"I’ll sit outside."
"Al... alright. Please, have a seat." Bella was already sitting inside, so she didn’t need to move.
They both sat down, and the actress smiled as she introduced herself, "I’m Sharon Cheney. Young lady, what’s your name?"
"I... I’m Bella Acker." Bella was somewhat nervous, yet excited, with her little face turning rosy, "I watched your performance in ’Snow Traces and Plum Shadows’. I really liked it."
Sharon was momentarily surprised. ’Snow Traces and Plum Shadows’ was a TV show from over thirty years ago. Back then, neither the makeup nor filming techniques were as good as they are today, and few young girls liked watching shows from that era.
Yet, when she acted in ’Snow Traces and Plum Shadows,’ she was only eighteen, at the prime of her youth. She was indeed very satisfied with her performance in that show, and even now, she occasionally looks back at her work from then.
But she hadn’t expected that the young girl before her, who seemed to be of middle school age, would have watched it.
Sharon’s smile grew a bit warmer, and she humbly said, "That’s a very old TV show."
"No, no, no." Bella shook her head, "A classic is timeless."
Sharon was taken aback once more by the unpretentious sincerity on Bella’s face.
She had spent her life in the glitzy entertainment industry, becoming accustomed to all kinds of social maneuvering. Even newcomers knew how to read the room and please people. It had been a long time since she encountered someone as genuine and straightforward as Bella.
Sharon’s smile finally contained genuine warmth as she changed the topic, "Ms. Acker, may I call you Bella?"
"Yes." Bella nodded, thrilled to be chatting with an actress she admired, she was nearly too excited to know east from west.
"Bella, you look quite young, have you just been accepted into the drama academy?"
"No." Bella shook her head, "I’m not studying anymore."
Sharon realized she had touched on a sensitive topic and froze for a moment internally, but her expression remained unchanged as she naturally continued the conversation, "Without other distractions, you can focus entirely on learning to act, and that’s actually quite good."
"Yes, yes, I’ll definitely work hard." Encouraged, Bella earnestly nodded.
Sharon smiled and said nothing more.
Bella worried about disturbing her, so she sat quietly without speaking.
Sharon closed her eyes, feeling even more fondness for the young girl beside her.
Once all the supporting actors for the day’s shoot were present, the bus began to depart.
Bella hadn’t slept well last night, thinking about today’s entry into the cast. Shortly after the bus started, she began nodding off without knowing when she fell asleep.
When she woke up, she found her head resting on Sharon’s shoulder and immediately sat up in embarrassment, "Ms. Cheney, sor... sorry."
"At your age, calling me ’Ms.’ really flatters me, call me ’Aunt’ instead." Sharon laughed, not minding at all, "Were you too excited and nervous to sleep last night because you knew you’d be joining the cast today?"
Bella nodded bashfully, her already apple-red cheeks turning even redder.