บท 125: Chapter 125: Endurance Reached
The long night was ended by the rising sun, bringing light back to the City of Angels. Golden rays cascaded onto the elegant iron gate, casting a shimmering glow.
A black Ford slowly approached and halted in front of the iron gate.
The window rolled down, the door opened, and a cheerful laugh filled the air as a kiss landed lightly on Murphy's cheek. Kerry stepped out of the car and waved at him before heading towards the gate.
"I'll come pick you up this afternoon," Murphy nodded.
"Yeah, I'll be waiting!" Kerry smiled sweetly.
As the black Ford gradually drove away until it disappeared completely, Kerry turned and walked towards the gate, a faint yet blissful smile adorning her face. Her doll-like features radiated happiness, and even her golden locks shimmered in the morning sunlight.
She entered the gate but made a detour to the security room.
"Hello," she lightly tapped on the transparent glass door and asked when someone came over, "Has the magazine I ordered, 'Premiere,' arrived?"
The person glanced at her and then fetched a magazine, pushing the door open to hand it to her. "Just arrived half an hour ago."
Perhaps influenced by Murphy, Kerry sweetly smiled and took the magazine politely. "Thank you."
As she walked towards the three-story building where the acting class was held, Kerry Murray reached for her backpack and stuffed the magazine inside. The backpack, designed specifically for girls, was a bit small, and the magazine couldn't fit entirely, leaving about a fifth of it exposed.
Kerry Murray didn't mind, however. She slung the backpack over her shoulder and continued on her way, the sunlight casting a glow on the copper cover of the magazine with "Premiere" emblazoned on it.
Upon entering the building, she headed straight for the dressing room. Kerry had arrived later than usual, and most of the students were already present.
Pushing open the door, Kerry first spotted Keira, also from England, occupying the best spot in the dressing room as usual, with a few envious girls surrounding her.
Regardless, appearing in "Star Wars" was a credential worth flaunting.
"Forever a stunt double!" Kerry murmured, paying no attention to Keira and heading to her own wardrobe.
"Hey, Kerry," someone greeted her.
Placing her backpack on the long chair in front of the wardrobe, Kerry smiled back at the person next to her. "Hey, Liz."
Elizabeth had already changed into her clothes and approached Kerry Murray. Looking at Kerry's sweet smile, she teasingly asked, "Why are you so late today?"
Before she could reply the dressing room door suddenly knocked open, and another person walked in. Elizabeth glanced at the door and said, "Another newcomer."
Their acting class wasn't fixed, and people could leave or join at any time.
Following Elizabeth's gaze, Kerry looked over. The newcomer was a girl in her early twenties, with somewhat angular facial features and a great figure, but her most striking feature was her rare red hair.
"Why is she here?" Kerry frowned. "Isn't she the top student at the Juliard Academy?"
As Kerry looked over, the girl also spotted her and walked over.
"Kerry?" She seemed surprised to see someone she knew.
Approaching them, Kerry waved. "Hi, Jessie."
The newcomer was Jessica Chastain.
"How come you're here?" Kerry was even more puzzled and gestured towards an empty wardrobe beside Elizabeth's. "There's a free locker here."
Jessica went over to open the locker, placed her large backpack on the top of the long chair, and turned to say, "A friend recommended it."
Kerry took a couple of steps forward, leaned against the wardrobe behind Elizabeth, and curiously asked, "Aren't you the top student at the Julliard Academy? Didn't you specialize in acting?"
"No choice." Jessica shrugged. "After graduating in June, I auditioned for a few theater groups, but they all said my stage play style was too strong."
"Oh, I see." Kerry Murray nodded.
She vaguely remembered that Jessica's major seemed to be theater, which was different from film.
Subsequently, Kerry Murray introduced Jessica to Elizabeth.
With some time before class, the girls didn't rush to leave the dressing room. After changing clothes, they formed their own small circle, chatting about topics they were interested in. Most of the conversation revolved around movies, with Kerry, Elizabeth, and Jessica Chestnut frequently discussing films.
In a corner not ten feet away, Keira and a group of five or six girls discussed fashion topics.
Unlike the others, Keira, with her chestnut brown hair, occasionally glanced towards Kerry's direction, her expression tinged with resentment, and her ears perked up to catch their conversation.
Last time she was mocked by Kerry Murray, she had been plotting her revenge ever since. As a eighteen-year-old girl, she still cared about these things.
"So, are you really together with Murphy?" Jessica, not too surprised, asked. "Are you officially dating?"
"Yeah." Kerry shrugged. "We've been dating for a while."
Elizabeth chimed in, "Kerry loves Murphy, and Murphy treats Kerry very well."
Although I've only seen Murphy once, I can tell," she turned to look at Kerry, "even though it's only once."
"I knew you had good taste." Kerry's eyes were almost smiling.
Jessica glanced at her. This girl seemed clever but also quite naive. What kind of person is Murphy Stanton? A guy so ambitious and cunning. Could he really be completely captivated by a girl? Even if he could, it probably wouldn't last long, right?
She had been his assistant for a while, so she believed she understood him to some extent.
"Jessica! Jessica!" Kerry's voice interrupted her thoughts. "What are you thinking?"
"Oh..." Jessica quickly came back to her senses and smiled, "Thinking about the movie I watched yesterday. Murphy did an excellent job; he's really improved a lot! The ending of the film was so unexpected!"
Thinking about the nearly packed theater and the stunned audience, she suddenly felt that leaving Stanton Studios might have been a wrong decision. It seemed like she had missed an important phase of growth for both a company and a director.
This was also the easiest stage to build good relationships.
She turned to look at Kerry , this girl was truly lucky. If Murphy Stanton's film sold well, his position in the industry would definitely change. Would Kerry change along with it?
"I really shouldn't have left!" Jessica's inner voice cried out. "I really shouldn't have gone back to New York!"
She finished her last semester, returned to Los Angeles, and still accomplished nothing.
What if she hadn't left? She had contact
with Paul Wilson, who turned out to be the assistant director of "Saw"!
Jessica was lost in thought again, and Kerry Murray no longer paid attention to her, instead chatting with Elizabeth .
"I heard Murphy's new film has received a great response?" Elizabeth asked.
On the other side, Keira, who was eavesdropping, caught Elizabeth's words and then heard that annoying girl's voice, "It's doing very well. Murphy is sure to achieve a surprising success this time!"
"A surprising success?" Keira smirked.
She had been inquiring, and the so-called "Saw" was only screened in 30 theaters. Today, she specifically checked the latest North American weekend box office rankings, and the film's name was nowhere to be found in the top ten. Could this still be considered a success?
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