Meeting
CHAPTER 11: Meeting
Lizzie's POV, December 28th
It's been a busy few years with Marvel for me. I finished WandaVision and then moved straight into Doctor Strange 2, which came out this past May. I expected to do more with Marvel, but recently it's been quiet. One day in early December my phone rang and when I looked at the caller ID it was Scarlett. She told me that Marvel wanted to create an Avengers 5 and that she, Chris E., and Robert were going to be producers for it. They wanted to know if I would be up for joining. I quickly responded yes without even thinking. As much as I love everything I do, there is something special about Marvel movies.
After that the four of us plus Kevin would meet a few times a week. The movie was still in the early planning stages, but for a Marvel movie we were moving fast. About a week in, Kevin said that he wanted to bring Lexi back as Morgan as well as bringing in two new young characters. He decided that in order to provide some contrast with Wanda's twin sons, he wanted to bring in two young girls this time. He began to establish the characters using the comics with Robert and Chris and told me and Scarlett to see if we could find any girls that seem like they would be good for the roles.
While it is easy to hold auditions, for young actors and actresses there is something special you get when you spend time scouting them out rather than just auditioning a bunch of kids. At first it felt like we weren't finding that many who were the right ages, but one day I was scrolling through YouTube when I found a video of a young girl singing. Her name was Claire. She was around nine, but in film she could probably pass as seven if we wanted to. I showed the page to Scarlett who was amazed by her singing and the clear intelligence that this girl possessed. We were hesitant to reach out and decided that we wanted to find our other girl before meeting with them.
Today I went and checked their YouTube page and saw that they had posted two new videos. I might have only been watching their channel for a couple weeks, but I really enjoyed their videos. When I clicked on the first video I saw that there was another girl in this video. Apparently her name was Quintessence. She looked very young around three to five, but based on her speech she had to be at least seven. I listened to them both sing and it was incredible. Not only were they both at a level of singing most people can only dream of, but they also could feel the music, they were acting. I moved on to the next video of Quintessence and Claire interviewing each other. Not only was it adorable, but the two of them were very smart. I knew Kevin wanted both of these girls' characters to be smart and if the two of them were cast it wouldn't be that hard to pull off.
I finished the videos and smiled to myself. I felt like I had completed a big assignment for work but there was something else. There was something about that other little girl that I couldn't place. She was so sweet and funny and I don't know. Is it possible to love someone you've never met. There was something about that girl that made me want to hug her and protect her from everything. And I haven't even met her.
After being wrapped up in my thoughts for a long time I checked the clock in the living room and saw that it read 1:32 am. Robbie had already gone to bed and I had been up working. I quickly sent the videos to Scarlett and wrote: "I think I found our girls!" Then I closed my computer and headed up to bed.
≈≈≈ TIME SKIP, December 29th ≈≈≈
The next morning I went to check my email and I saw a few new messages. One from Scarlett that said: "Oh my god! They're so cute! I just want to hug them! I'm sending this to Kevin. Oh and WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP AT 1:32 IN THE MORNING!! GET SOME SLEEP LIZZIE!!"
I laughed at Scarlett going all mama bear over email before moving on to the next one from Kevin: "These girls seem great. I'm going to run a few background checks and get in contact with them. Also it seems that they're both in Seattle right now, so would the two of you be willing to meet them out there? I'll send the guys later, but I already scheduled the three of us for some important meetings. I want to connect with them as soon as possible and hope to start the filming process in January." I quickly emailed back saying that I would be glad to meet with them in Seattle and saw that in her excitement Scarlett had replied for both of us.
≈≈≈ TIME SKIP, January 1st ≈≈≈
Scarlett and I flew out to Seattle on December 30th and today we're meeting with the girls. Scarlett and I got in the rental car and drove to the meeting space that Kevin had rented for us. It was very cozy and looked more like a repurposed house. Not that I minded. We headed into the meeting room and waited.
At 11 am Scarlett went out to see if they were here and returned accompanied by a little girl. I could tell that she was Claire. We talk to Claire for a little less than half an hour and learn a bit about her. We could tell that she is very intelligent for her age and very talented in the performing arts. Most of this we already knew from their videos but it was still nice to meet her in person.
Then Scarlett brought Claire back to the waiting room and came back with Quintessence. She seemed nervous so I quickly flashed her a smile, hoping to make her feel more comfortable. We began to talk to Quintessence who after being told that she could address me as Lizzie insisted that we call her Quin. She truly was as sweet as she seemed in the video. She also had a great sense of humor.
There was something about her that seemed a bit sad and lost, like she was out of place. It wasn't obvious but Scarlett and I could still see it. We asked her to tell us her "story" and she paused for a moment and stared at the table while she played with her hair nervously. After a brief pause she quickly told us that she was an orphan and had been one most of her life. As soon as she said this she broke eye contact and let her light blonde hair fall over her face, she could still see us through it.
Scarlett walked over and gave her a big hug. I watched as she flinched at the sudden contact, but eventually allowed herself to hug her back. I just gave her a look of empathy and spent the rest of the meeting consumed in my thoughts. How could someone so sweet and innocent have such a tough life. I don't even know the full story. Eventually the meeting ended and Scarlett walked over to give Quin a hug goodbye. This time she didn't flinch, but she did tense up at first. I wasn't sure if I should hug her or just wave or a fist bump or whatever. Eventually I decided on a hug. As Quin hugged me I heard a small voice in my ear
"I like you, you're special" Quin whispered in my ear. It didn't seem like she meant to say it, it was more like a thought that slipped out. I couldn't believe what I heard. She was just so cute and sweet. I hugged her a little tighter before letting go and watching Scarlett lead her out of the room. I hope that this won't be the last time that I see her.
Then Scarlett brought Ashley in and we began to talk a bit more business with her. We explained what being in the movie would entail as well as asking for more details on both the girls. Throughout the meeting I was curious as to what Quin's full story was, but I didn't want to prod.
Towards the end of the meeting Scarlett just asked Ashley was Quinn's "story" was, much to my surprise. Ashley explained that she had only known Quin for a few days. Based on what she knew, Quin was adopted by the Smith's when she was around 3 or 4. Her whole family had been in a car crash a few days ago and she had been living with them ever since. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. That poor girl. Only six years old and she has already been through more than most people will in a lifetime. Scarlett and I exchanged looks, no matter what the outcome neither of us were going to abandon or forget about this kid. We asked if we could take Quin out tomorrow to introduce her to Chris and Robert who were arriving this afternoon. Ashley agreed.
As she was leaving Ashley asked if we were around and if so her and her husband would love to have the two of us over for dinner while we're in town. Either tomorrow or Monday. We said that sounded great and that we would love to come over on Monday and then we parted ways. That night as I drifted off to sleep I had one thing on my mind, that blonde haired little girl.
Ashley's POV
Both of the girls met with Scarlett and Lizzie first. As I waited I looked through my emails and text messages and saw that I had one from Quin's family friend from back east. Her name was Amy. We started talking and eventually decided that she would be coming to Seattle on Monday along with some of Quin's stuff. Then I headed into my meeting with Scarlett and Lizzie.
The meeting was mostly logistics and explaining what we were signing up for. Then Scarlett began to ask me about Quin. I began to share what I knew of Quin's story hesitantly. Both of them were listening carefully. They seemed to genuinely care about what happened to her. The look on Lizzie's face was something else. I'm pretty sure that no one else would notice it, but I could. It was that face every mom gets when they hear something bad happened to her kid. It seemed like in a matter of minutes Quin had managed to win over Lizzie's heart in an incredibly special way. They just might not know it yet. I invited them over for dinner on either Sunday or Monday and they decided on Monday. They also said that if it was alright with us they'd like to take Quin out tomorrow and introduce her to some more people. I agreed and then we said goodbye.