Lights, Camera, Smile!

Miraculously, two minutes later they were right at the steps to the stage, attempting to catch their breath before Luciela would be called. There were a few staff members who gave them a confused look when they rushed into the backstage area, but they were too busy to pay much attention to them at all. Only one member let them know to simply wait until Luciela was called, and then she could proceed to go up the stage, receive her award, and give a short speech before heading off to the other side of the stage to exit.

Luciela and Ms. Clara both nodded and thanked the staff member, before finding a few chairs to briefly rest on while they still had the chance. Luciela was still catching her breath, only half listening to the introductory speech regarding the ‘Best Young Actress Award’ that she was meant to go and receive soon.

She was so busy catching her breath, in fact, that she didn’t even have the mental headspace to feel nervous about walking up those steps and receiving such a major prize in front of a stadium containing more than a thousand fans and celebrities.

‘Hah, I guess I have Sydney to thank for that.’ Luciela smiled to herself, wondering if she should tease Sydney about it later on. But knowing her, she may start frantically apologizing the moment Luciela makes mention of it, and thus, she decided to just keep her thought to herself.

‘But I still don’t get what in the world she was saying…I thought she was proud of me, so why was she telling me those things? See myself for more than my acting? Take care of myself? But I do take care of myself…I do my three step skin care routine daily, even though I want to skip it at times…and I am good at acting, it’s my career, it’s what I’ve been doing for the past two years now…I’m good at that, so isn’t that enough? What more could there be for me to be…’ Luciela pondered to herself. She had known Sydney for some time now; she had seen her at a couple of shows, and Sydney had been her hair stylist for one of the movies she had filmed last year as well.

Luciela wasn’t sure what exactly that meant in terms of how close they were, but at the very least, Luciela did feel comfortable chatting with Sydney, and happy to be in her company. If she could compare that to something, perhaps it would be friendship?

‘Huh, friends…’ Luciela spoke aloud in her own mind, before Ms. Clara shook her and whispered loudly, “Luciela! That’s your cue!” Luciela, for the second time that evening, bolted up from her chair, realizing she had somehow managed to lose track of time yet again. She nodded her head, turning to head onto the stage, but not before Ms. Clara pulled her into a tight hug, shocking Luciela.

“Go get them, and remember I’m proud of you. Congratulations.” Ms. Clara told Luciela, her words laced with fondness and sincerity. Luciela looked at her, unsure of what to make of the sudden gesture. She however quickly composed herself, nodding her head and whispering back, “Thank you, I couldn’t have done this without you!”

And with that, Luciela took a deep breath, folded her hands into two fists at her sides, and thought, ‘Let’s do this.’ before carefully walking up the steps to the stage, holding the sides of her shimmering dark blue dress slightly up as she did.

She had to immediately squint her eyes, the bright lights of the stage illuminating the floor and making it difficult for her to initially see. As soon as she stepped into view, the audience started roaring with excitement, a huge surge of applause filling the vast expanse of the venue space. It was so loud that she felt her ears slightly ringing from the impact, yet the noise somehow acted as an anchor to keep her steps steady as she headed towards the lady holding her trophy in hand, patiently waiting for Luciela to come to her and receive it.

It was magnificent, a delicate twist of gold and silver twisted into the shape of a towering structure with two stars sitting atop of it. Her name was printed on the plaque that rested at the bottom, cursive letters that read ‘Best Young Actress Award: Given to Luciela Kawashima For Outstanding Performance in The Film Industry’.

Every step that Luciela took towards that trophy felt light, and yet like it took an entire minute to do before taking the next step. She could hear a few people shouting her name in the crowd, but even the noise coming from the audience seats seemed to dim in the background as she made her way to the center of the stage.

Finally, she stopped in front of the woman carrying her trophy, who smiled at Luciela, handed her the trophy, congratulated her, and posed with Luciela to have their photograph taken, before she herself let go of the trophy.

“And now, I’m sure we’d all like to know Ms. Luciela, how are you feeling right now? Nervous?” The woman, who turned out to also be the announcer, asked in a microphone before moving it to Luciela’s direction. Luciela let out a practiced laugh, cleverly responding with, “With the way I rushed to barely make it to the backstage in time, I think being nervous is perfectly reasonable isn’t it?”

This earned a genuine laugh from the announcer and the audience, and Luciela joined in on their laughter. “Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re glad you made it in time! Love the outfit by the way.” The announcer complemented Luciela, who smiled and replied, “Thank you so much! I had it specially made by ‘Beautiful is You’ for the awards ceremony! Super excited to be here by the way.”

“And we’re excited to have you! Now it’s not easy to win such an award at the young age of fifteen. But with the amazing drama you’ve been the main character for, which I love by the way, and your three-part movie series you’ve been filming since the start of your career, it’s definitely well-deserved. And with that, I want to simply ask; what does winning this award mean to you, and what’s your next big step?” The announcer asked after enthusiastically summarizing Luciela’s acting career thus far.

‘Okay, I’ve been preparing for this.’ Luciela took a deep breath, smiled, and, just as she rehearsed several times over, she answered, “Winning this award feels like seeing the culmination of my efforts gathered together in one place. The warm support of my fans, and the positive atmosphere of the filming sets where we brought our creativity and efforts to making memorable content is something that truly means a lot to me. As for my next step…once I get over the excitement of winning weeks after today,” this comment earned another laugh from the announcer, “I want to work towards strengthening my skills and try to grow even more as an actress, so I think I’ll try filming in genres like thriller and mystery to expand my range of experiences.”

“Ooh, how delightfully chilling! Whatever your next project is, we’ll be sure to watch and cheer you on! Once again everyone, Luciela Kawashima, the best young actress in the country!” And with that, Luciela thanked the announcer, the fans, and waved energetically as she carried her trophy and walked across the stage to exit from the opposite side of where she entered.

Once she was out of sight, she whisper-shouted “Yes yes yes!” to herself, feeling like the moment had lasted forever, while also feeling like it was part of her imagination when she had finally moved away from the stage’s bright lights and the crowd in front. She thought about her aunt and cousins, her manager, Sydney, everyone she was excited to talk to about today.