"Cut!" Pagliani yelled impatiently, and I didn't blame him.

Although I was alone in this scene, and only ten people were in the vicinity, I couldn't get into character.

Druscilla's presence and her enjoyment of my struggles didn't help.

This was the first scene I filmed since the kiss, and it wasn't going well.

"Get Jeanette and be quick. Time's money!" he called to one of the production assistants. We were close to the house, and he quickly jogged in that direction.

"Bit off more than you can chew, chubby?" Druscilla needled, and I struggled to bite back a retort.

Tension knotted my shoulders and stiffened my neck. Stuck in my own head, her asides got to me and were not helping matters.

"Sit down, Mercedes, take a few deep breaths and relax," Pagliani suggested, sending another production assistant over with a bottle of iced water.

I took a seat on the chair with my name on it and never felt more like a fake in my life. Ignoring Druscilla took a great deal of effort, or "Bitchzilla" as Sherise called her. I hadn't seen much of my friend the last couple of days, and I missed her, but she must be busy.

"Go home before you cost my father a lot of money, and he has to reshoot every scene you were in before you quit."

Druscilla taunted with a smirk, hiding behind her water bottle as she pretended to drink so Pagliani wouldn't see her talking to me.

The director had already warned her once and wasn't in the habit of repeating himself.

Harris had a meeting with the investors on a zoom call, who were not convinced he made the right choice in casting me as the lead, and just at that moment, I agreed.

We'd already wasted an hour with my fumbling.

"Come with me," Jeanette said, walking past me at speed, and I had to hurry to keep up with her as she led some distance away.

"What the hell are you doing?" her sudden impatience stopped me short as she swiveled to face me.

"I can't do it."

"Bullshit, Mercedes. You're letting that bitch in your head and every bitch before her. Stop being Mercedes trying to act and be Arielle, as I've seen you do half a dozen times. Let go of yourself. Shift gears. You can do it."

She took me by my shoulders, our eyes inches apart as she towered over me.

"I believe in you. Forget everyone else; concentrate on Arielle. I'll stay for a bit if you need help and put a leash on that damned Chihuahua. Take a deep breath, and release. Again. Stop shaking, and find that place where it's just you and Arielle. Now, take your time, adjust, and do what you do best."

As I returned to the impromptu set, my gaze caught in that of Druscilla. She smirked and winked at me. Anger boiled through my veins like a floodgate collapsing, doing something unexpected; it shored up my determination instead of making me doubt myself.

"Are you ready? We'll run it once more so you can settle and do it again. Camera, action..."

Pagliani had calmed down, a worried crease between his brows. If my previous aptitude proved to be a fluke, his reputation would be on the line.

Everything changed. I stepped into Arielle's skin, and Mercedes became an awareness somewhere at the periphery of my consciousness, like a spectator. The cameras rolled, but they were unimportant as the place in my mind became more real than what surrounded me.

"Cut, that's a wrap," Pagliani called, ripping me from the realms of my imagination, smiling as he got to his feet and clapped his hands with some enthusiasm, something he rarely did.

A little disorientated, my brain struggled to settle back into reality.

I did it in one take, and there would be no doing it again.

Pagliani loved it.

A glance at Jeanette revealed a Cheshire grin and told me how proud she was.

The glow inside me was something I rarely experienced as she gave me two thumbs up.

I was unused to excelling at something and having people cheer me on.

"Great, now you only have to do it fifty more times," Druscilla vindictively tried to pop my happy bubble.

"Stop talking crap and get into position, Druscilla," Pagliani said, returning to his chair.

I walked into my room, lay face down on the bed, and didn't want to move.

Harris was right about the chemistry between Druscilla and me, our natural animosity translated well onto the camera, but the scenes were complicated.

There were hiccups on our side, and things went wrong around us.

Pagliani changed a scene almost forty times before he was happy with how it "translated."

Working with Druscilla was soul-draining, and I'd never been as tired.

The first confrontation between Arielle and Serah would feature for less than four minutes on the final cut, but we spent three mornings filming it.

We were working on three different scenes because we were filming outside, and continuity had the scenes at three different times of the day.

Although I struggled a few more times, Jeanette got me out of my head, and with Druscilla being so relentless, I was getting immune to most of her barbs.

Something huge landed on the massive bed beside me, and I glanced at the door I had forgotten to close. Ice shot through my veins, and I glanced slowly to my left as the giant cat lay down beside me and started purring.

I was too afraid to move, but he pushed against my hand with that huge head, and my heart nearly stopped when that coarse tongue dragged across my skin. Was that affection or taste testing?

"Atlas?!" Jeanette called, running into the room, and froze in her tracks.

"Thabisho! He's in Mercedes' room," she called down the hall, and the warden skidded to a halt in the doorway.

"Sorry, Mercedes. Atlas is a nuisance when he likes someone. It concerned how he was slowly coming closer and closer to your chair in the evenings, but we didn't think he'd follow you into your chalet. Come on, Groot Man. You can't be in here."

The lion stopped purring and turned on his back with his belly in the air as I slowly slid off the bed, afraid to move more than an inch at a time.

"Whatever you do, do not run," Jeanette cautioned.

Run? I could barely stand, my knees knocking together like castanets.

The great cat made a little noise like a kitten crying, looking disappointed, and I hesitated. There was no malice or aggression in his manner. That didn't mean this wasn't the most dangerous situation of my life or that there was no danger.

"Rub his belly a bit, keep an eye on those paws, or he won't leave," Jeanette advised as Thabisho quickly ran from the chalet.

Was he getting a weapon? A dart gun?

I carefully approached the lion, nearly peeing my pants.

Atlas watched me with such happiness as I gently rubbed that hairy belly, with my hand trembling and arm physically shaking. When that purr returned with a vengeance, I almost squealed, but the big cat smirked, rubbing himself on the bed and ruining the elegant white comforter with a layer of dirt.

"Mother-in-law will have a fit when she has to wash that," Jeanette said.

Thabisho returned with a piece of meat he handed and approached me carefully. Atlas didn't move but kept track of me and the meat.

"Call the lion outside, don't give that to him until he's followed you, and watch your fingers," the warden advised.

I almost dropped it and, carefully taking the other hand away, started walking toward the door without ever turning my back on the lion.

"Come on, Atlas, let's go outside."

He lazily rolled off the bed and followed me like a dog, not even trying to pounce.

"Tell him to sit," Jeanette said.

"Sit, Atlas," I said as if to a dog, although we never had pets because mom's allergic to fur.

He sat, and I carefully extended the meat. That giant cat took it comically gently, and it disappeared like a magic trick.

"Go play, Atlas," I told him as I'd seen Thabisho and Barry do.

Although disobeying in the hopes that I had more meat, he stalked off when I showed him my hands were empty.

"I can't believe he listened," Thabisho said.

"Wonders never cease," Jeanette agreed.

Something dry and hard touched my hand, nearly making me jump from my skin, and I looked down to see Toby.

Instinct made me rub his wiry head, and it reminded me a little of touching a scouring pad.

Thabisho pulled a carrot from his pocket, and I caught it one-handed like a pro.

There was no need to tell me to be careful as I extended the vegetable toward the Warthog, having seen him bite through pumpkins like it was nothing.

The beast took it with less care than the lion and jogged off, following his friend.

"Well, now you're officially part of Bushbuck Ridge. They don't often adopt strangers and never listen to anyone who isn't family. Close your doors, and don't walk around alone. I'll get you a clean comforter and tell Arrie to close the gates during the day. Sorry that they gave you a scare," Jeanette apologized.

"You're scaring her. They will do nothing to her; she just needs to keep track of them when they're around her," he said.

"Rather safe than sorry, Thabisho, but yes, they're playful, and sometimes they don't think things through, just like people. See you at dinner."

(Version 2)