"Seriously, you're not even going to say one nice thing to help me out?"
Karla acted like she didn't even notice his look for help.
Claire, on the other hand, seemed in a good mood and wasn't trying to make things harder for Oakley.
"I don't really follow celebrities," she replied, straight-faced. "I spend most of my time studying. I just don't keep up with that stuff."
Oakley blinked. "Oh... then what do you actually like to do?"
With a sly smile, Claire answered, "I like sticking people with needles."
Oakley froze, totally speechless. He had so many questions but didn't even know where to start.
Claire couldn't help laughing when she saw his face. "I'm just kidding. Don't take me so seriously."
Oakley let out a long breath. "About that opportunity the director mentioned... it's actually pretty important to me."
"I know you're probably not interested in acting," he added, "but is there anything you want? Maybe we could trade."
He had figured out by now that Claire enjoyed messing with him. Hints and roundabout questions would just drag things out. It was better to just say what he wanted and get it over with, whether she said yes or no.
"My friend's a huge fan of yours," Oakley said. "Could you give her an autograph?”
Claire agreeing to the autograph made him relax a little.
"That's all? Just an autograph?"
It almost felt too easy. Oakley never refused to sign for fans anyway. Even if Claire said no to the cameo, he still would have signed something.
Claire grinned. "Not quite." She pulled out her phone.
Oakley kept calm. "So you want a picture?"
"Nope. I need something better." She held up the phone. "Can you record a video for me? Just say a few words to encourage her to study hard and ace her college entrance exams."
"She's not that into studying," Claire said with a knowing smile.
Oakley nodded. That, at least, was a breeze. "Sure. What's her name?"
“Shirley.” Claire started messing with the camera, making sure the angle was good.
Once Oakley was ready, he recorded a short but warm video, telling Shirley to keep pushing and do her best in school.
Claire watched the video and gave a satisfied nod. “Thank you, Oakley."
She agreed to his cameo request on the spot. Acting was totally new territory for her, but, after so many years living in The James Family and dealing with two faced adoptive parents, Claire had picked up a few things about pretending.
When it was her turn to film the scene as the childhood sweetheart, she got it perfect on the very first try.
Even the director was impressed. “Karla, are you sure you're not going to let Claire join the industry? With talent like that, it'd be such a waste if she didn't."
Karla shook her head but laughed. Some people were just gifted—it was that simple.
"If she ever wanted it, I wouldn't stop her. But she really doesn't care about the entertainment world."
"To be honest, her acting skill's
nothing compared to what she can
do academically," Karla added.
"You'll see soon enough she' competing in the international mata olympiad."
Karla never held back complimenting Claire.
Osborn wasn't sure he believed it all. But sometimes, there are just people who have it all great family, unceal talent. The kind of life everyone envies but nobody else gets to live.