arwen watson

well hello fabulous humans, i thought it would be a good idea to do an about me finally

~ im arwen watson

~ based in melbourne

~ books are my everything

~ she/ her

~ queer (i'm attracted to people of all gender identities, and i'm greysexual)

My drama teacher, Ms Jackson, walks into the room, carrying a big stack of papers and grinnning. Someone nudges me from behind and I turn, surprised, then smile when I see one of my friends, Mikaela.

‘Hi!’ she exclaims.

‘Hi’ I say back. ‘Look at Ms Jackson, she looks way too happy for this to be good news for us.’ Mikaela shudders, thinking the same thing as me. Last time Ms Jackson was this excited, we had to dress up as ducklings and waddle around on stage in a version of ‘The Ugly Duckling,’ where the duckling never turned into a swan.

‘Attention nuggets!’ calls Ms Jackson. ‘I ned your attention now please. I have an entrancing announcement for you all! One of my friends is in reality TV and was looking for a fabulous idea, so I gave her one. There is going to be a reality TV show set here, in this very school, about this very class. Unfortunately auditions are open to the whole school, but having me as your teacher, you should all hopefully have the talent by now to get in! Now, nuggets, come and grab two sheets each, one is consent, the other is information. Deadline is this time next week.’ With that, she stops talking and tosses her papers into the air.

~

Later that night I sit in our family room, looking over the sheets of paper. I want to do this, but I’m not sure what my parents will say. They don’t see a career in acting for me, so they’re unlikely to say yes to this. It is paid though, which will hopefully help convince them. The light flicks on above me suddenly and I jump, looking up to see my mum and dad entering the room.

‘Hey Alice’ my mum greets me cheerfully.

‘Hi mum’ I nervously reply. ‘So there’s something that I wanted to talk to you…’

‘You mean the show?’ my dad cuts in, ‘we know about that. Ms Jackson called us and told us that if we don’t let you audition she’s kidnapping you.’

‘Weird woman that Ms Jackson’ my mum mutters. ‘Alice, your father and I have talked about this opportunity for you, and we’ve agreed to let you audition, under a few conditions. Hows that?’

I agree, relieved, and they lay down the terms. No shirking household chores while I prepare of the audition. If I get in, I get ten percent of the money for spending, that’s it. The audition is at 11pm and I’m last in line, I don’t get out of school the next day. I agree to all the terms and then they sign the consent form.

At the audition a week later, I sit nervously in my chair, twisting my fingers as I try to relax. Mikaela’s also auditioning, but she went in half an hour ago and I haven’t heard anything. I look at my fingernails nervously. I give myself a little shake and remind myself that I’m an actor. They won’t be able to tell I’m nervous at all! Just as I’m thinking this, the door opens and Mikaela comes out smiling serenely at me. I jump up and speed walk over to her.

‘How did it go?’ I ask quickly. She smiles a bit more excitedly.

‘I hope it went well, I had prepared a script but it turns out they didn’t want one.’

I freeze. They don’t want a script? What do they want then? I’m about to ask Mikaela, but then the door swings open again, and a polished woman appears. She smiles at me. ‘Alice Mayers?’ She questions.

‘Yes!’ I smile, holding out my hand for her to shake. Her smile warms as she grips my hand.

‘We’re ready for you inside, so if you would please come with me’ she instructs. I step inside offering Mikaela a small wave as I go. Inside the room there are five people, who introduce themselves to me. Marissa, the woman who greeted me outside, Ms Jackson and three others.

I love creating characters, so im gonna put a few tips for what helps me make them here.

Dollify: Super useful for putting a face to them

Pinterest: i like to make boards for different characters, thinking about what they would save

I love this book. So much. Its so good.

MY FAVOURITE PART IS THAT BATS HAVE BELLYBUTTONS.

bats and peak have literally the cutest relationship EVER. like its actually so cute. i used to play violin, so know i have this ridiculous fantasy that this could happen to me. except my parents dont own a comic book store