Intro
Intro
Coming to Thailand at the age of 16, to live permanently with her mother, after what was supposed to be a short visit, was proving to be one of her biggest mistakes in her short life so far.
Sure, the place was beautiful, the people very welcoming, and being near her mother, who had moved back to her home country when Becky was only 11 years old, was all fine, great even. But she missed her old life, the cold weather, her dad, her friends from home – she missed Home.
For the past five years, it had been England, where she lived with her older brother and her father. Near her loving grandparents, among friends she had worked hard to make after an entire childhood of being the ‘new girl’, moving to many different countries with her family due to her father’s business’ demands.
As a last-minute decision, Becky had decided to spend her 16th birthday with her mother, escaping the freezing cold in exchange for the beautiful beaches in the torrid Thailand summer. While there, something stirred within her, leading her to make the life altering decision of staying for good.
At the time, she didn’t know if it were the afternoons by the Sun, or the freedom she felt going around on her own by the places she vaguely remembered as a child, getting to know everything anew, through her now teenager eyes. Things that used to seem mundane and even boring - such as the intricately designed temples in the middle of the streets, or the majestic nature imposing itself so openly all around her in beaches, parks and natural scenery – were now amusing and inviting to her.
She called her father to let him know of her decision, and both her parents were surprisingly accepting of it, which made her feel even more in control of her own life. With their help, the whole ordeal was settled in a matter of weeks.
Before she knew it, she had been enrolled in the Shrewbury International school, where she was going to complete her high school while learning proper Thai, seeing as hers was rusty from lack of use in the past decade, since before her family moved away from Thailand for the first time, when she was barely five.
She made a few friends in school, had some fun, even though she was the ‘new girl’ once more, she told herself it was okay, as it would be the last time. One of her friends even heard about her dream of becoming a singer and told her, even though she didn’t know anything about the music industry, she was friends with a producer who was looking for a foreigner to play in a show called TharnType.
Becky thought that if she made it into the industry, she could eventually shift from acting to singing; So, ‘why not?’
And that is how, without being fluent in Thai, or without ever having had an acting class in her life, she ended up auditioning for the role and...against all odds, getting it!
That week she had celebrated with her mother, who had been nothing but supportive the entire time. She was welcomed on set with a lot of friendly greetings, shy waves and shallow conversations, half in Thai, half in English. Everyone was doing their best to accommodate her short comings, and she had nothing to complain. However, by the end of shooting, when promotions started, she felt like this just wasn’t it.
Maybe the excitement of the novelty was starting to wear off and things that didn’t bother her at all at the beginning – like people teasing her accent, or producers and casting crew making disguised ill comments about her ‘heart-shaped face’ and inexperience in acting – started to really get to her.
Even her friends from school didn’t feel as much like friends anymore, but colleagues whom she met during the day, and didn’t really seem interested in deepening their bond past cordial pleasantries in the halls or between classes.
One day, after a schedule, she went out with her co-starts - who were the few people she felt she could talk to – and some of their friends. Halfway through dinner, a man, not much older than herself, was walking by and stopped by their table, greeting her co-stars who were apparently old friends of his, and at their request, he joined them.
The man sat across from her and introduced himself with the friendliest smile she had received in a long time. “Hey there, I’m Saint! It is a pleasure to meet you”, the tall man offered his hand in a simple, yet polite manner.
Being an introvert from birth and currently battling a war against insecurities planted by bad comments about her accent, Becky timidly took his hand in a soft handshake and offered her name in a voice that could barely be heard by the remaining people at their table “Hi, I’m Becky. The pleasure is mine.”
Sensing her shyness and bashful antics, Saint took the initiative to carry the conversation, making sure to include her in every part of it, including his inside jokes with his old friends, and naturally adding sentences in English to ensure Becky would be able to keep up with what was being said. All in a way that didn’t make her feel like a burden or unwelcome at all.
It was the first time in weeks she was actually enjoying herself, and her worries about having made a mistake when moving back to Thailand took a backseat in her restless mind for the time being.
By the end of their dinner, her co-stars from TharnType bid their goodbyes making sure she had already ordered a taxi, but the man she had just met stayed behind offering to take her home. When she politely declined, he offered to wait for the taxi with her.
“Becky, as a matter of fact, I wanted to talk to you about something, if you don’t mind.” He said while they were outside the restaurant, waiting for the driver.
Becky had no idea what this man could possibly want with her having just met about a couple of hours ago, and she felt slightly uneasy about his question, but nodded anyway, allowing him to go ahead.
Sensing her tension, Saint took a step back, making sure she didn’t feel cornered, and continued to speak in perfect English. “I have a Company, it’s called Idol Factory. It’s okay if you haven’t heard of it before.” He extended a card to her. It held a gray and red Logo and a couple of contact details.
“We are small, but I have a lot of faith in the work we do. And I wanted to ask you to join our next project. Maybe, show this card to your mom and have her call me if you think that is something you would be interested in.” He completed with his easy smile.
Before she knew it, her taxi arrived, and she took his card with a smile of her own. Something about him made her feel comfortable and secure enough not to turn it down right away.
“I’ll talk to her, and we will call you. Thank you for waiting with me.” He opened the door for her and waved a friendly goodbye as her taxi drove away.
Maybe things weren’t so bad, after all.