บท 10: Chapter 10 - Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston was absentmindedly waiting for the bus. She wasn't too disappointed. She had just graduated from her performing arts school last year and had already starred in a few plays. She had heard about the audition by chance and had sent a resume, without too many expectations.
She was about to hail a cab when she heard someone call out. She turned around and saw the young man who had been looking at her intensely during the audition.
"Hello, you are…?" Jennifer asked after realizing she didn't know his name.
Eric held out his hand and said: "Hello, Miss Aniston, I'm Eric, Eric Williams."
Jennifer Aniston politely shook his hand and smiled: "Hello, Mr. Williams."
Eric looked at the smile in a daze and forgot to let go of her hand.
"Mr. Williams, can you let go…" Aniston could feel his warm hand wrapped around hers and was a little embarrassed.
"Ah, sorry. Just call me Eric, Miss Aniston, do you mind if I call you Annie ?" Eric took his hand back, and awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he cursed himself. He wasn't a big playboy or anything in his past life, but he was also not wet behind the ears. It must surely be his new body's hormones acting out!
Aniston looked at him with a touch of suspicion: "Well, Eric, we don't really know each other."
Eric composed himself and smiled: "Only for now. Don't all friends start off as strangers? Annie, it's already noon. Can I invite you to lunch?"
"This is too abrupt, Eric, we've barely spoken." Aniston refused.
"Then let me drop you home." Eric smoothly followed.
"Umm… Okay." Aniston froze for a moment, she had never been very good at rejecting people, and she had already rejected him once. So she agreed to his request in the end. Actually, that was Eric's plan all along; asking her something she'll reject first, then asking something more reasonable to get her to agree.
The two got into Eric's car together. He asked her where to go and started to drive.
Aniston was the first to speak and asked him curiously: "Eric, are you a 17 Again staff ?"
"Yeah, I'm the screenwriter and lead actor of this movie." Eric nodded while steering the car.
"Wow, that's amazing! You shouldn't be any older than me, and so far, I have only played a few small roles in different plays."
Eric smiled: "I was lucky. Right, you said that you performed in some dramas?"
"Oh, yeah." Aniston started talking endlessly as the conversation was on a subject that she liked. Eric made a few comments here and there making her giggle.
How could a 19-year-old girl resist Eric's charm, who's experience was that of a 44-year-old? Under his expert manipulations, Aniston gradually opened up and started telling him about her life in Los Angeles.
"Although working at a convenience store eight hours a day is tiring, my life's fulfilling. I can perform in dramas or go for auditions from time to time. I don't feel the need to rely on my father to succeed."
Eric knew that it was Aniston's father who had finally introduced her to the movie industry. But that should be two years from now if history hadn't been altered by me.
As he remembered, Jennifer Aniston resented her father for abandoning her and her mother. In the end, John Aniston was the first to break the ice and tried to mend their relationship, by helping his stubborn little girl. By the time he got her a role in Friends, Aniston was already 25 years old. It should be known that, in Hollywood, if an actress hadn't made it by 30, her chances of success were meager. Relatively, Aniston had been very lucky.
Eric tried to cheer her up as he said: "Your audition was very good, you weren't overly dramatic like some who usually act in plays. You know, there was a girl at the beginning of the audition, she brought drama to a whole new level."
When the audition came up, Aniston suddenly went quiet. After a while, she asked softly: "Eric, Maggie's role had already been decided before I auditioned, right ?"
"I have to say, Annie, you're really sharp."
"It's just that you all seemed distracted back then like you were all simply going with the flow."
Eric bluntly said: "If nothing happens, it should be given to Drew Barrymore. Her performance as Maggie was exceptional."
"Drew Barrymore, the cute girl from E.T? She should only be thirteen years old now, isn't Maggie a high school student who's about to graduate?"
Eric asked surprised: "Annie, didn't you see Drew in the waiting room? Although she's only thirteen, she looks… really mature."
Aniston bitterly smiled: "Well, I swapped shifts with one of my colleagues for today's audition and worked until twelve, so I arrived a little late."
"It's okay. Actually, I don't know if I should tell you ..."
Aniston looked at him curiously: "What is it ?"
"Just after you left… the others noticed that I had taken a liking to you."
Aniston's lips slightly curved as she blushed and said: "So… what then?"
"James, the movie producer, told me that the world was big and that if one missed out on a girl, they might not get another chance. So he encouraged me to come after you. He also said that if I did, he would give you a small role to provide us with more opportunities to interact with each other." Eric said, selling out James Brooks, justifying to himself that getting the heart of a girl was not easy.
"Ah, that, I… I… I-" Aniston was flustered by Eric's sudden confession, but she also felt he was sweet.
Seeing her panic, Eric hurriedly added: "Hey, you don't have to feel uneasy. Annie we've become friends, and friends help each other, it's normal. The role I mentioned is just a small role really, it's one of Maggie's three friends, there are only a few scenes. But if you accept it, you'll have a bigger chance of scoring other auditions. I believe that my movie will do well at the box office."
"Thank you, Eric, I really don't know what to say."
They drove for another ten minutes, Aniston then pointed to an intersection and said: "Eric, you can drop me off over there."
The car stopped in a narrow alley as the two of them fell silent. Aniston didn't want to get off, and Eric was certainly not stupid enough to let her slip away. They sat quietly for a while until the atmosphere got slightly uncomfortable.
Finally, after gathering her courage, Aniston said: "Let me thank you with lunch Eric, there's a small restaurant ahead, I often eat there."
Eric breathed a sigh of relief and replied: "Lead the way Annie, but I'm paying. I wouldn't be a gentleman if I let you treat me for such a small thing."
...
In the end, Aniston accepted the role, and during the preparations for the film, the two of them talked almost every day on the phone. She'd tell him about someone caught stealing in the convenience store, what she wore and anything else that came to mind. It had come to the point where she'd even tell him how many times she sneezed in a day.
Eric never brought up his own problems and kept comforting the girl who was alone and far from home. Despite Aniston being in contact with many people, she didn't have anyone to confide in, and Eric had unknowingly become the emotional pillar she relied on. Eric knew that if he asked her out now, she would definitely agree.
But he didn't rush it, he didn't want his relationship with Aniston to make things awkward on set.
During this time, another project was also being completed: The Jurassic Park novel. Half a month after Michael and he signed the contract, he finally got handed a freshly printed book. The cover was adorned with a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex pushing cars off the road. He got the idea from the Jurassic Park movie, and Michael Klaus thought it was great, he liked how the prehistoric era was clashing with the modern one.
Eric specifically asked for another copy and gave it to Aniston. His caring and gentlemanly behavior was heartwarming to a girl like her who had always lacked a father figure.
After receiving Jurassic Park, Aniston was awed by Eric's talent. He could write and he could act. In her heart, Eric had been branded a genius, and she seemed to have a hint of admiration when she looked at him.
...
While the 17 Again preparations were still underway, Eric helped select a few other cast members. The role of Mike's son didn't go to Brad Pitt in the end, and they didn't choose Blake Quinn either. The one who landed the part was a slightly stronger looking eighteen-year-old boy.
Since he had met Aniston, Eric didn't mind at all. After all, Brad Pitt and her were married once in his previous life.
Eric pettily thought about how when he became a director, he wouldn't let him star alongside Angelina Jolie either.
August 16th, 1988, the filming of his first movie officially started.
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