The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

AFTER everyone introduced themselves, the script reading finally began.

The first scene of the movie started with the panoramic view of the coastal town, Harborview. Then there would be a voice over, narrated by the character of Abby.

"In the enchanting embrace of summer, in the place where the sea meets the sky, a boy entered my world, weaving magic into my life."

Charlotte read that line, with just enough hint of mystery, joy, and love. Anyone who heard it would want to know exactly what she meant.

Astrid slightly raised his brow. That was a good line delivery. The fact that she didn't just say it and put the appropriate emotions to it just showed how seriously he was taking this. It made him look at Charlotte Anderson more closely. Astrid's competitive spirit was suddenly aroused.

As the other main lead, he couldn't just lag behind, right?

Charlotte, who was concentrating on the script in front of her, suddenly felt goosebumps all over her body. She instinctively looked up and met the gaze of the person sitting opposite her.

Astrid Townsend smiled at him. But that wasn't what startled Charlotte. It was the fire in those obsidian eyes. As if he was saying 'I won't lose'. It was similar and yet dissimilar to the looks she had received from people she acted with until now. Similar in the sense that they didn't want to lose and dissimilar because, unlike those gazes, Astrid was not glaring at her as if he wanted to stab her repeatedly.

She had never really understood what those looks meant. She didn't care enough to find out. As long as they didn't get in the way of her acting, then she didn't mind, even if they looked at her like she was some kind of trash.

She turned her gaze back to her script. The first scene where Abby and Jace were about to meet was coming. She had to concentrate.

And so, once again, Charlotte immersed herself in the script. As if everything written there was happening right at this moment. In her mind, the surroundings slowly changed.

She was no longer sitting inside a conference room, instead, she was inside a seaside cafe. She was sitting on a table beside the floor to ceiling window where one could immediately see the vast ocean. In her hands was a thick book, something already considered as uncommon in this era.

At that moment, she was no longer Charlotte. She was now Abby, a reserved and introspective teenager who had a heavy burden she secretly carried in her heart.

***

Abby turned the page of the book she's reading. Many people actually preferred reading on their Terminal. That's the norm in today's age. Physical books were just bulky things that take up space. But even with such an unusual sight, no one in the cafe was giving her weird looks.

That's because they were already used to seeing her there. It's not because they didn't find her weird, but because they had gotten used to seeing her doing such a thing.

Abby continued on reading. Unexpectedly, when she raised her head to look out of the window, she saw a motorcycle stopping in front of the cafe. Normally, she wouldn't give that a second glance and would just go back to reading. But just like her book, that motorcycle was not something one could usually see in this era.

Most travelling vehicles used levitating technology, so wheels were already a thing of the past. But surprisingly, a person suddenly appeared in this town riding such a motorcycle.

Abby couldn't help but be curious and looked at the person driving the motorcycle. Based on their physique, they seemed to be a man. The other got off the motorcycle and removed their helmet.

The person was indeed a man, no rather, he was more like a boy the same age as her. He had black hair that appeared to be sweaty and a pair of black eyes that seemed to be twinkling. The people who saw the boy couldn't help but stare at him. It's not only because he looked undeniably good, but because he just had that aura that pulled people in.

And unknowingly, Abby was one of the people being pulled in.

The boy walked into the cafe. He looked around as if searching for a place to sit. But then his gaze landed on where Abby was sitting. She panicked for a moment until she realized that the other wasn't looking at her but at the book she's holding. She suddenly felt like an idiot, thinking for a moment that this boy would be interested in her.

Then he started walking in her direction. Abby began to panic again.

When the boy was almost at her table, a waiter who was walking the opposite direction seemed to have his attention taken by the boy. He was so captivated that he unexpectedly tripped on his own feet, making the drinks he was holding on a tray flew up. And their destination was the booth where Abby was sitting.

Seeing the drinks about to be poured on her, Abby completely froze and could only close her eyes. Waiting for the mixture of cold and hot water to come raining down on her. But after a few seconds, she still didn't feel anything.

That's when she opened her eyes to take a peek. But her eyes completely widened when he saw the boy in front of her. There was liquid and cream dripping on top of his head. Obviously, those drinks landed on him instead of her.

"Are you alright?" he asked. His voice had a playful and lazy cadence to it, but one could still feel the gentleness hidden within.

Abby blinked. She felt like she was being sucked in by the pair of obsidian eyes looking at her. She could hardly think and could only stammer, "Y-yes."

***

That's the first meeting between Abby and Jace. In the script reading, the two actors playing them only exchanged one line. And yet, to the people there, they felt like they saw that scene directly played out in front of them.