Chapter four : The step

Chelsie's POV

"Finally" I said with a sigh of relief as I inserted the last scoop of the flour dough into the oven. The small oven made a short, sizzling sound as soon as I connected the cable to the kitchen switch.

"Oops! This oven is getting faulty again. I guess I need to call the repairer before the end of this week." I said to myself with a grunt.

I looked around the small, cozy kitchen and was satisfied with the work done. I cleaned the kitchen while I baked. Jamie and I had decided to have bread and fruit juice that morning. I offered to bake the bread while she cleaned the bedrooms and living room.

I heard the sound of running water behind me. I had forgotten to turn off the water. "What were you thinking?" I scolded myself as I turned off the tap which stood above the ceramic kitchen sink and hurriedly cleaned the kitchen counter which was already drenched in water.

The kitchen was sparkling clean and shinny. The walls were painted in a glossy, pink colour marked with mild touches of white and green paints. The only freestanding gas cooker featuring the small oven stood on the kitchen cabinet. A big, brown shelf made with wood stood leant against the wall. It was filled with kitchen appliances. The plate rack was placed right before the cooker.

Dappled sunlight trickled into the kitchen through the window blinds. At the extreme end of the kitchen cabinet were two flower vases filled with blooming jasmines. I had made sure to water them that morning. The kitchen lights shone on the sparkling kitchen tiles of brown and creamy colours.

I leant against the kitchen wall nearest to me with my eyes fixated on the oven. I silently prayed for a good week. Jamie and I had not been getting jobs except for the ones we got in our mini photo studio. The money realized from these photoshoot sessions were barely enough to feed ourselves. We were fast running out of funds and within a short time, we might go broke.

During the previous year, Jamie and I were able to save up some money to rent a nice apartment. It was simple, yet classy. We got a room in the busy heart of Los Angeles which served as our photo studio. Though we were living just fine, there were bills to pay.

I smiled as I recollected memories of days when we just started and we had very low patronage. Those were really tough times for us. Within two years, we were able to get some contracts here and there. The money we realized from these jobs were able to sustain us. We got job engagements at birthday parties, proms, cocktail parties, funerals and house parties.

With the right usage of the social media for advertisement, we got more patronage. At times when luck stood on our side, we got calls from movie producers to be a part of their cinematography crew. Jobs like these fetched us a lot of money.

I reached out for my phone which I had placed on the kitchen shelf and checked my emails. I was disappointed to see no job invites.

"I guess we gonna starve for real." I said and sighed again as I put the phone in the pocket of my apron.

"Goodness gracious!" Jamie called out in a shrill voice from the living room. "You are not going to burn the house Chels, are you? The bread is burning!" She scolded.

Her voice alerted me and immediately, my eyes darted towards the oven and I switched it off. I was lucky to have turned off the switch on time. Jamie and I would have had no choice than to feast on a meal of burnt bread. The rest of the day would have been filled with scoldings from Jamie Russell.

I opened the oven and brought out the loaves of the neatly baked bread. I reached out for the plate rack and took two plates and trays. I placed the bread on the plates and went for the fridge. I got a bottle of strawberry juice and placed it on Jamie's tray while I took a bottle of pineapple juice for myself. My eyes darted towards the jar of mayonnaise and I picked it up too.

I held my phone and untied the apron. I took it off and left it on the kitchen counter. Carrying the trays with my hands, I walked to the dinning room and placed them on the dinning table.

There was nothing much in the dinning room except for a medium-sized dinning table and four high chairs. A drawer was placed in a corner of the room. On top of it was a ceramic bowl filled with sweets and candies. Right beside the bowl was a cheeseboard and a cheese knife.

The dinning table was covered with a blue tablecloth made with wool. Objects and materials like salt cellar, carafe, napkin, cutlery and two mugs were neatly arranged on the table.

"Breakfast is ready." I announced to Jamie who was still dressed in her night dress and had her hair covered with a beanie. She was sitting in the living room with her head bent. I could hear the furious clicks of her keypads from where I stood.

"She must be searching for works again." I thought as I sat down.

"Coming" She replied, not looking up.

Since the dinning room was adjacent the living room, I could get a very clear view of the living room from the dinning room.

"Seeking for jobs?" I asked her and took a bite of the bread. I found it so appetizing and took a bigger bite, this time, adorning it with a spread of mayonnaise.

"Of course and I am really tired." She said in a tired tone and rubbed her eyes lazily.

"Hmmm" She inhaled. "I need to have a taste of those scummy loaves." She teased and shut her laptop down. Jamie sluggishly entered the dinning room.

"I am hungry" She whined and rubbed her stomach in circles. Her stomach grumbled loudly. Our eyes met and we laughed out loud.

She sat down, looking forlorn. "Chels, no jobs are coming in." She said in melancholy. I placed my hands across the table and held her hands. "Come on Jamie, let's eat first, then we can talk about about the next line of action. We aren't gonna starve." I said in a pacifying tone

She slowly nodded and picked up her fork. "I sent an application to Glen Motion Pictures this morning. They are looking for videographers who would like to be a part of their cinematography crew." She told me and took a bite from the bread.

She gave me a thumbs up in approval. "Delicious!" She complimented as she savoured it.

I smiled as I watched her eat with readiness.

"You know..." She continued as she ate. "You know Nadia Grayson right?"

"That popular actress?"

"Yeah" She nodded in affirmation. "I learnt that she will be the lead actress in the movie"

I opened my eyes widely and covered my mouth with my palms. "Really?"

"Yeah"

"The movie is going to be a good shot." I asserted.

"Of course." Jamie confirmed, nodding her head. I patiently waited for her to continue as she gave her bread a spread of mayonnaise. "That is why there are many applicants for this job. Movies like these are well paying."

"I really do hope we get picked." I with hope, mentally calculating our chances of being selected.

"I do hope too."

"I am filled." I said and dropped my cutlery.

"Nice one" Jamie said with excitement and dragged my plate to herself. She really loved bread.

Jamie Russell was a year younger than me. We became best friends right from our college days and we both studied cinematology during our university days.

Jamie was one lady with a very pretty face. Her sunrise gold hair always flowed over her shoulders. Her glossy skin was one of her easily noticeable, admirable features. She had a dainty nose which perfectly aligned with her round face. Her petite body figure and burnished skin were perfect for her body. Jamie was indeed beautiful.

I was doing the dishes in the kitchen when Jamie's shrill voice startled me again.

"We did it!" Jamie screamed and excitedly jumped on me as soon as I appeared in the living room.

"What?" I asked her, looking confused.

She showed me an email on her laptop. "That is it. Glen Motion Pictures accepted us. We passed the review." She announced, her face beaming with excitement.

"Thank goodness!" I touched my chest in gladness. Jamie held my hands and we danced in circles, singing on top of our voices.

"The pay is quite high" She whispered into my ears. "It is three thousand dollars. We will be shooting for eight days."

"Hmmm..." I nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. We should..." I got interrupted by a loud ping. It was from Jamie's laptop.

Jamie and I rushed to see what it was. An email popped on the screen. GLEN had sent a message. It notified us of a meeting that was scheduled to take place in a hotel by 11am that morning.

"Wait! This is fifteen minutes past ten." Jamie said.

I checked the wall clocked and snapped my fingers. "Right! We have forty five minutes left."

Without saying another word, we rushed to the bathroom; dirty dishes forgotten. I would do them later.