Chapter 68: Good Talk

Despite having sent in his audition tape yesterday, Niall kept practicing at the rink.

Given he was nowhere near the skill level he wanted to reach, he saw absolutely no reason to be lax.

In fact, he had been spending so much time in the rink, he already had a schedule that revolved around it for the past month.

Not that it stopped him from dedicating quality time to every important individual in his life as was necessary.

To that effect, Camille, his parents and Victor had been just as stunned as everyone else in the rink when they saw the insane progress he was making whilst learning how to figure skate.

In any case, just as he was removing his skating boots to hang them up for the day, Brendan walked up to him and asked;

"Are you perhaps, an athlete? In any other sport, I mean?"

"Nope," Niall casually replied, a thin smile touching his lips as he began slipping on his actual shoes.

"But I do have a profession that may or may not require me to constantly dabble in several skills here and there." he gave the youth a bit more to chew on.

Brendan tilted his head slightly in response to that, a thoughtful expression on his features as he remarked;

"So, you’re an actor?"

"Yep." Niall replied, rising to his feet as he did.

"How come I never hear about you then?" Brendan innocently asked.

"Oof. That’s a low blow." Niall amusedly chuckled.

"Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that!" the teen quickly tried to patch things up, a sheepish smile on his lips as he added whilst gently rubbing his nape;

"If it makes you feel any better, I rarely get to watch any film so I’ve only heard of the most popular ones through word of mouth."

"It’s fine," Niall assured him while vaguely waving it off as he said;

"Most actors aren’t all that renowned anyway."

"I see," Brendan kept rubbing the back of his neck, a wry expression painting his features.

"Well, though I probably won’t be able to see the movie you’re learning all this skill for when it comes out in cinemas, I’ll at least try to get it on DVD." he said while offering a light smile.

Hearing that, Niall flashed the kid a genuine smile and then said;

"I’d appreciate that."

To that, Brendan simply nodded to which Niall remarked;

"Good talk."

"Yeah. Good talk." the brown-haired teen reciprocated.

With that, Niall made his way out of the establishment and soon found his way to his car which was parked by the curb.

Just after he tossed his boots into the back seat, his phone buzzed with a dedicated ringtone.

Picking it up without having to check whom it was from, Niall casually said;

"Hey Vic. What’s up?"

"Well... I got a mail from Murray a couple minutes ago," came the response from the other end of the line.

"And?" Niall curiously inquired, a hint of anticipation in his tone as he leaned on the side frame of his vehicle.

"You did get a role," Victor replied, his words prompting Niall to cock a curious brow as he added;

"Just not the leadrole like we may have been hoping for."

"More than that though," the agent continued, adding more to his talent’s growing curiosity as he said;

"Murray asked to meet with you in person as soon as he possibly can."

No sooner had Niall heard that, his eyes widened in genuine surprise, as did his pupils...

...not that it stopped a flicker of realization from also phasing across his irises.

*

(The next day...)

Murray lived in a pretty nice Mediterranean house in Santa Monica.

As a result, a little over a half-hour drive was all it had taken for Niall and Victor to meet with the man.

Currently seated in his living room for guests, the sixty-year-old man casually regarded Niall who sat from across him;

"When did you start figure skating?"

"Last month." Niall casually replied, his cool-gray irises clear and his expression crystal.

In reaction to that, Murray simply cocked an impressed brow.

Searching the young man’s features for the subtlest signs of a lie or deceit, all the man was met with was a truthfulness that practically bordered on verity.

The kind he only saw every once in a blue moon in people.

Yet, for the most part, his overall expression barely reacted to it. Given the number of actors he’d worked with over the years, he really wasn’t surprised.

There were always oddities like that in Hollywood. The crazy ones, who by one means or the other, assimilated at a pretty frightening rate.

Often times, Murray wondered why they would even venture into a career like acting that was an utter waste of their talents when they could be doing so much more with it.

But then again, who was he to speak?

Given the sort of shit he knew and the talents he had, it was just as much of a travesty then that he’d spent the past forty-something years of his life to mastering his craft and pursuing his passion.

In any case, the man soon adjusted his glasses as he gestured to Victor whom had been seated next to Niall thus far but had opted to remain quiet;

"I presume your agent already filled you in?"

"Yes. He did." Niall respectfully replied, not the slightest hint of nerves in his being.

"And your decision?" Murray curiously inquired.

Instead of replying immediately, Niall’s expression remained reserved as he gently tapped on the armrest of the chair, his legs crossed.

As Victor watched the first interactions play out between both individuals though, he couldn’t help but inwardly shake his head.

Just a couple minutes ago, his talent had been all giddy at the opportunity to meet one of his favorite directors.

Yet, that very same man was so composed, one would’ve probably wondered if they were one and the same person.

It was truly remarkable, how easily Niall could rein in his emotions when it came down to being professional. That was something Victor had really come to like about his talent.

That said, regarding the current interaction between the duo... well, that had to do with the role Niall was ultimately offered.

Instead of the lead role of Elias Mercer, Murray had proposed Niall played the role of Noah Bennett, a major supporting role in the movie.

Aged 20, Noah’s role in the movie functioned to serve as the very antithesis to everything Elias stood for.

He’s a young prodigy who’s fearless, impulsive, endlessly optimistic and skates, simply because he genuinely loves the sport, not because he feels he has anything to prove to anybody.

It’s also why Elias resents him. Yet, at the very same time, he’s also the kind of influence Elias needs to shift his mindset and grow into a version of himself he never thought possible.

Because, in contrast to several other movies where Noah would end up becoming Elias’ protégé, Noah in [Rink], is the benchmark Elias has to not only live up to, but also surpass... not in skill, but rather, in mentality.

Which was why,

"Yes, I wouldn’t mind playing the role of Noah." Niall finally replied.

"Besides, I objectively think it’s the only role in the movie that I can perfectly play." he casually added, his tone of choice reserved.

"Oh? And why’s that?" Murray curiously demanded.

"Well, you wouldn’t want to cast a twenty-something year old looking actor in a role that’s meant to be played by someone who looks to be in their early forties, now would you?" Niall stated like it was an immutable fact.

Yet, it was that very same factuality that threw Murray off, only for it to draw a hearty laughter from his belly immediately after.

Finding his sudden outburst rather surprising, Victor looked to Niall who simply remained as he’d been thus far--composed.

That said, after Murray finally gathered himself a minute later, he gestured with a pointed finger;

"I like your confidence, kid. I like it a lot."

"It’s a pleasure to hear that." Niall on the other hand nodded respectfully, a thin smile on his lips.

As Victor watched yet again another interaction between the two, it didn’t take long before he pieced together the cause of Murray’s laughter by backtracking on their conversation.

Though it didn’t seem like much, it was already weird enough that not only did Murray never say he rejected Niall for the role of Elias Mercer even once, he actually went ahead and proposed another instead.

Most actors might’ve considered that an automatic loss of the role, but not Niall.

Afterall, the only reason a director would offer an actor a different role despite knowing they could easily knock the one they’d auditioned for out of the park, was because they believed there wasn’t any another actor better suited to the role they were offering.

That was just how good Niall’s audition had been to Murray.

And in a way, it was the highest praise the old man could possibly give an actor he was only meeting for the very first time today.

But the fact that Niall had not only managed to catch onto it... but had also hinted at it without coming off as cocky...

Now that was what had the man utterly amused. Rarely did he ever meet any young actor that had the sort of easy yet respectful confidence that Niall had.

The kind that hinted that he knew the undercurrents of what was going on, but chose to be a good sport about it nonetheless.

In any case,

"Well, that aside, pre-production’s still a ways away, as is production, so you’ll have more than enough time to get yourself into the skin of Noah." Murray then said, a light smile on his lips.

"For the meantime though, I’ll have the contract forwarded to you before the end of the month." the man gestured to the agent.

"Then, come January, we should be ready to begin filming." he concluded.

To that, the duo simply nodded in agreement, both of them more than satisfied with what they’d heard.

And for Niall, well it gave him more than enough time on his schedule to not just visit home, but also prepare as best as he could, not just for the release of [The Spire of Fate] and [Silver Comets] in the coming months and but also the filming of [Rink], early next year.

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/Caer07