Fiona on Fire | ONC 2023

07. big break

The author of the books was present at Fiona's initial meeting with the filmmakers, and again when she was asked to formally audition. This reassured her that the movie would stay true to its source material and please existing fans of the series.

She thought the audition went well, noting the small smile on the director's face when she'd finished reading her lines.

"I'll say it outright," the casting director spoke to her in the hall after her audition. "They're heavily considering you. You've got the look and the ability. They just need to make sure you're compatible with the male lead. You'll be asked to go in and read lines with a few guys they have in mind."

"Can I ask who they're considering?"

The casting director peered over her should as if to assure no one was listening. "Adam O'Brien and Alex Monet, mostly," she whispered with an encouraging smile.

Fiona nodded and thanked the woman.

Her agent had been right that casting would take ages for such a big multi-movie project. She waited a few more weeks before the chemistry read.

When the date finally arrived, she met Adam first. He was almost excessively eager and friendly. It felt forced, like he was worried about proving their chemistry to the filmmakers.

"Hey, how are you?" he asked. "I'm Adam. So good to finally meet you." He gave a big grin, flashed his perfectly straight whitened teeth, and stuck a hand out.

"I'm alright, how are you?" She smiled back, shaking his hand.

"Great! Where are you from, then? Wait—I'll guess." He stepped back to observe her, squinting. "Texas?"

"Ohio, actually."

"No way! I'm from Indiana. Indianapolis suburbs. I guess we're home-state neighbors."

It went on like that, then they sat down to read lines from the script. Adam felt slightly wooden as a scene partner, as if he were nervous or his thoughts were elsewhere.

She'd meet Alex next. She decided she wouldn't tell him this wasn't their first encounter, embarrassed that she'd acted like an annoying fan.

He strode in, dressed in all black—a leather jacket, dyed jeans, and combat boots. He was tall and a little intimidating. His dark brown hair was swept back, fully revealing his deep brown, sharp eyes. More than Adam, he had the look of a carefully molded statue, like he was born to be admired.

It felt different meeting him now than when she'd seen him on the street. He was still more successful than her, but now they were closer to being on the same level. Before, it had felt like he was up in the stratosphere while her feet were planted firmly on Earth.

"You're Fiona, yeah?"

She nodded, almost staggering at the fact that he knew her name.

"Pleasure to meet you." He turned to face their small audience. "Can we jump straight into lines? As I explained, I like to stay in character until the shoot is finished."

This surprised her. Fiona was glad to shed her character and be herself the moment the camera cut. She couldn't imagine keeping a mask on even off-camera. Part of her questioned whether it was necessary or really improved his performance.

The casting director nodded.

He jumped immediately into the dialogue. His eyes took on a warmth as they stared into hers. With Adam, she had almost forgotten this character was her love interest who cared immensely for her own character. With Alex, she sputtered on some of her lines because the look in his eyes was so convincing, it made her heart feel light.

Before she knew it, they were finished. She stood and swayed, feeling off-balance and realizing how caught up in the scene she'd been.

"Thanks so much for stopping by, you two. We'll be contacting you," the casting director said with a wink.

Alex was silent beside her as they both walked out into the hall. She was even more in awe of him than she had been seeing him on the street by chance. He was very skilled at his craft.

"Jessica!" he exclaimed, striding toward a girl in the waiting room.

"Hey, Alex!" the girl said. "They've asked me to come in for a late audition for the leading role." She eyed Fiona. "Who's this?"

"Your competition." He smiled wryly.

Fiona knew Jessica as an up-and-coming actress. She'd seen her face on magazines, airbrushed and wearing designer brands.

"Great to meet you, I'm Fiona."

She slipped out the door as Jessica and Alex went on conversing, feeling ignored.

***

A week later, she got a call from her agent. "There's gossip that they're leaning toward Jessica Stewart," Lucy told her. "Her father is a director, so there's probably nepotism at play. Don't feel bad if you don't get it."

Fiona chewed on her lip, believing the real reason might be that Alex had outshined her, or that Jessica and Alex had an existing friendship and better chemistry.

***

One week passed before they officially announced that Jessica Stewart and Alex Monet had gotten the roles. Fiona had tried not to pin her hopes on this project, but a small part of her mourned what could have been.

Soon, though, she moved on. There were more roles and more auditions to set her sights on. She focused on the positives: a movie that big would thrust her into the public eye permanently; she would never be anonymous again, and every part of her appearance and life would be critically analyzed. She wasn't sure she wanted that.

Still, in the back of her mind, she knew when filming was about to start. She even had a dream one night of walking into the set on the first day and woke up a bit disappointed it wasn't real.

That's when she got another call from Lucy. "It turns out Jessica is ill. Meningitis. It's supposed to be serious."

"Oh, no."

"That means they'll go with you for the main role."

Fiona nearly dropped the phone. She hated to celebrate her good fortune at the expense of another, but she was ecstatic.

Days later, the casting director called to offer Fiona the role. After some silent fist-pumping to celebrate, Fiona verbally accepted. She went in to sign the massive contract the next day. Immediately, they wanted her to begin stunt training.

This was really happening.