Chapter 291: A waste of braincell
"No."
Megan and Pixy froze on the spot, staring at Lola. She was casually lying in the corner, a cap pulled over her face.
"You haven’t even heard what we’re going to say," Pixy said, only to earn a lazy response from Lola.
"And my answer’s still a no." Lola pulled the cap down and peeked at the girls. "When people come to me, it’s usually because they need something. Whatever it is, it’s a no."
After saying her piece, Lola pulled the cap back up and continued her nap. Pixy turned to Megan, worry clear in her eyes.
"Lola, I know we... we didn’t start on the right foot," Megan cajoled. "And we’re really, really sorry for picking on you for no reason."
Pixy nodded. "We understand now that we didn’t see Melissa’s true colors before, and we believed everything she said just because she treated us a little better than everyone else."
"We didn’t come here to ask for anything excessive," Megan added. "We just came here to ask you..."
Megan trailed off, unsure how to phrase it. She realized it wasn’t as excessive as she claimed. Whatever they wanted would be excessive. Seeing this, Pixy bit her lips and glared at Lola bitterly.
"Don’t you hate Melissa?" Pixy asked, her chest rising and falling heavily. "You already have control over this production. Maybe not like Director Sarian, but you didn’t want Melissa in this film, right? Why keep her? Why even let her do what she wants?"
Megan held her breath in surprise, glancing at Pixy’s side profile. Pixy’s eyes welled up with frustration, but she didn’t stop.
"You probably don’t know this, but Melissa told us all sorts of things about you. We didn’t hate you; we just... we just believed everything she said. But now, we understand she’s been using us to do her bidding, and we don’t want to be used anymore." Pixy’s shoulders relaxed. "We just came here because... we offered our help — whatever it is—to bring her down."
"Down?" Lola let out a shallow laugh as she pulled the cap over her face again. She straightened up, looking at the two girls with desperation in their eyes. "I knew it. Whatever you came here for -- the answer’s a no. I mean, why would I bring Melissa down with you?"
"Huh?" Pixy froze, and Megan looked down.
"I came to you because Ida and Director Sarian are looking for your replacement, on top of other things going on with the production," Lola explained. "I just saved them the trouble. Director Sarian has been stressed out enough."
"As for the other things... I’m not really interested," she shrugged, standing up from her corner. "You can try to bring down Melissa if you want, but honestly? I’d rather you focus on this project first. Doing anything excessive for someone else is a waste of time."
Lola turned her back to them, then paused.
"Also, I’ve always believed that if you do good, good karma comes back." She glanced over her shoulder. "Melissa might do every stupid little scheme she could think of, but she’s a waste of breath or a brain cell to even think about. Save your energy. Who knows? You girls might become the next best thing in the industry. And I’m saying this not out of sarcasm. Don’t be like her. She’s not worth it."
Lola resumed walking, waving a hand at them without looking back. Megan and Pixy could only stare at her retreating figure in confusion.
"A waste of breath?" Pixy clenched her teeth. "How can she say that so casually? Didn’t she hate Melissa?"
Megan stayed quiet, eyes on Lola. "Or maybe she never really sabotaged Melissa in her life. Now that I think of it, it’s probably the other way around."
"What?"
"Pixy, she’s right." Megan turned to Pixy and smiled subtly. "It’s a little excessive to ask someone to ruin someone else. Let’s not become like... Melissa or Manager Kang. I think our emotions have been clouding our judgment."
Pixy’s shoulders relaxed as she lowered her head. Megan placed her hands on Pixy’s shoulders, waiting for her to look up.
"Let’s do well for now," Megan mused. "Who knows? We might become the next big thing this industry has."
Pixy slapped her hand weakly. "Megan, what are you talking about? Having projects and getting paid is enough for us."
"But come on. When did anyone ever tell us we might become the next big thing in this industry?" Megan bumped her shoulder against hers. "It feels nice to hear it, even if we know it’s not going to happen."
Pixy pursed her lips and sighed.
"Let’s just go," Megan winked. "We’re worrying too much — she’s right."
As the two walked away, they spotted Cedrick walking back to his tent. The girls stopped, watching him pass. They looked at each other before continuing, only to halt when Cedrick spoke.
"Hey." Cedrick noticed them pause and smiled. "Do you guys want to share a tent with me?"
Deep lines appeared on their brows as they looked at him in confusion. Cedrick scratched the back of his head, smiling awkwardly.
"The crew prepared a tent for me, but it’s a little big. Don’t worry! I asked others to share tents with me, so there’s more people in there — not just me and you two." Cedrick bit his tongue to maintain a smile. "No pressure, though. If you don’t want to, that’s fine —"
"No, we’ll take it!" Megan panicked, stepping forward. "Thank you!"
Pixy nodded. "Even if there’s just a small spot for us, it’s better than none."
"Then, just take your things in there." Cedrick’s smile stretched as he excused himself. As he walked away, he glanced back at where Pixy and Megan were headed, a smile tugging at his lips as he caught them giggling excitedly.
It was true that Cedrick offered his tent to others, and there were a few people in it already. But he offered the two girls a spot because he accidentally overheard them talking to Lola.
His smile widened until his eyes squinted.
I hope she doesn’t scold me for this.