America: Child stars start with The Shining

Looking at the audition information on the notice board, Ciel's heart raced.

He suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a role in The Shining that would suit him perfectly.

It's a little past one in the afternoon, there's still time, he can give it a try, but the problem is, he has to find a way to skip work and sneak out.

What should I do?

Charles stood anxiously behind the cashier, watching the second hand on the wall tick away.

Time is running out for him.

Just then.

He suddenly looked at the black sunglasses and had an idea for no apparent reason.

[Equipped: Ray-Ban sunglasses left behind by the child star (rare)]

[Entry: Misplaced Gaze (Passive) is now active]

Current equipment slots: 1/1

Charles silently emerged from behind the counter and went straight to a male customer who was holding a coffee cup.

The man hadn't noticed him at first; after all, he was just a child, which was common in places like this.

But the next second, their eyes met.

The man couldn't help but look at Charles's face, which was very calm, without the slightest ripple, yet carried an unnatural mechanical quality.

Immediately afterwards, as if a beat slow, Charles tilted his head, gave a faint smile, and looked past the man's figure towards some unknown place.

boom!

The other person was startled by this expression, their hand trembled, and the cup flew out of their hand.

The coffee was spilled all over Charles's work clothes, and the white shirt was immediately stained and soaked.

"F*** you! What's wrong with you, kid? Are you fucking sick?"

The man angrily kicked the coffee cup that had fallen to the ground and began to hurl insults at Charles.

Charles lowered his head.

Hearing the argument, Frank immediately pushed through the crowd to the center, and without a word, slapped Charles on the head, yelling:

"Hey, what trouble have you gotten me into now, you bastard!"

But before he could finish speaking, the man suddenly grabbed his collar and raised his fist.

"F*** you! Look what your child has done!"

The two immediately started fighting, and Charles took advantage of the chaos to escape.

The timid fellow was frightened by him and dared not bully him, so he turned his attention to the obese Frank.

Plan A has been achieved, so what's next...?

Charles stopped and looked at the towering office building in front of him.

"The Shining, I'm fucking here!"

......

Following the notice on the bulletin board, he climbed straight to the top floor, sweating profusely from the effort.

There are only ten minutes left, just in time.

He pushed open the door to the stairwell, where a group of children of different skin colors were already sitting, and no one paid any attention to his arrival.

Their faces were filled with tension.

Charles found an empty seat and looked around.

Next to him sat a Black child, who, although a bit short, looked noticeably prematurely aged.

Wait a minute, whose baby is this?

Dude, do you look too precocious? How can someone like you be a child star?

Charles had heard before that some child stars would even inject drugs to suppress their growth in order to maintain their appearance.

This is the cruel reality of the American entertainment industry: once you can no longer meet the needs of capital, you will be immediately abandoned.

The black child seemed to notice Charles, and with a look of disgust, he avoided him, covering his nose and shouting:

"Shit, what's that smell on you? Did you just crawl out of a septic tank?"

Charles twitched the corner of his mouth and glanced helplessly at his shirt.

His current appearance is indeed not very elegant. He is dirty from head to toe, and his face is not clean. He looks like a miner who has just finished digging coal, but there is no time to change him into a new set of clothes.

The door to the side was suddenly pushed open, and a middle-aged man came out and said:

"Kids, you can get ready to go in for your auditions. Good luck!"

......

Kubrick flipped through the stack of child actor resumes in his hand, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

He's the director of "The Shining" and also the main person in charge of the auditions for this film, but his head is about to explode.

This film is adapted from Stephen King's novel of the same name and tells the story of a mad writer who brutally murders his wife and children.

so......

This is a fucking horror movie!

Those pampered child stars simply couldn't portray that just the right amount of fear; they were a bunch of idiots!

Kubrick worked for several days but couldn't find a single child actor who satisfied him.

Hundreds of child stars! Not a single one!

He was really going crazy with anxiety. If this continued, he would soon be like the protagonist in the book, picking up an axe and going to chop people up!

Sudden.

The door was gently pushed open, and a thin little boy walked in.

Kubrick looked up and was stunned when he saw the other man's shirt, which was covered in stains and sweat.

Where the hell did this little lunatic escape from?

Kubrick's eyes suddenly lit up.

That's exactly the awful feeling he wanted!

"Hey, little guy, come here, what's your name?"

"Charles".

"Good, good... Listen, I need you to demonstrate that reaction of being scared to tears, do you understand?"

Charles nodded, sat down in the chair, and immediately got into the zone.

Then, he paused for a moment before meeting Kubrick's gaze.

His breathing began to slow, his shoulders tightened slightly, but his expression remained unchanged.

There wasn't even a trace of fear or apprehension on his face.

Kubrick was stunned.

This feeling is like, it's like...

A newborn baby struggles and tries to learn the feeling of fear.

next second.

Charles's eyes suddenly reddened.

It's as if some emotion is a beat behind, creating a sense of dislocation.

then.

His throat moved slightly.

Immediately afterwards, a very suppressed, very slight and short inhalation reached Kubrick's ears.

The room fell silent instantly, and Kubrick unconsciously swallowed.

"director?"

Ciel sat obediently in the chair, his expression having returned to normal.

Kubrick took a deep breath; he felt like he had struck gold. This guy was exactly what he needed.

"Very good, child, no, Ciel, your audition is over. Go back and wait for our call!"

Charles was taken aback.

What does this mean? Did he use too much force?

He remembered that when he was an extra in his previous life, hearing the words "wait for notification" usually meant that he had not been selected.

Charles stood up from his chair and left the room looking dejected.

Sure enough, even with the system's help, he couldn't suddenly acquire acting skills worthy of an award-winning actor.

Behind him, Kubrick stroked his chin, looking at his retreating figure with satisfaction.

......

It's getting late.

Charles pushed open the door of the coffee shop; it was still his workday.

He works twelve hours a day here, but only earns less than half the salary of an adult, and can't even solve his basic food and clothing problems every month.

Six years old!

He's still a kid!

In his previous life, at his age, he would probably still be thinking about how to make up excuses to explain to his teacher the homework he hadn't finished.

That's great, I don't have to do my homework anymore.

He hated this hellish place that devoured people without spitting out their bones!

"Hey kid, you actually dare to come back!"

Frank, his face bruised and swollen, appeared before Charles, grabbed him, and began to curse in a rough voice:

"Do you even know what stupid things you did this afternoon?!"

Charles tried to explain:

"Uh, manager, I just..."

"Shut up! You're fucking fired now!"

"And also, all the losses incurred at the store this afternoon will be on your tab! F*** you, I shouldn't have given you this job in the first place!"

boom!

Charles was slammed to the ground by Frank.

It was nighttime, and there were no customers in the shop yet, so no one noticed his miserable state.

"Get out of here now! Right now!!!"

Charles rubbed the back of his head, which was throbbing from the impact, wiped his face, and looked up, staring coldly at Frank.

His gaze fell on the other person's face, but then seemed to shift slightly, as if he were looking at something that didn't exist.

Frank was about to kick him out when he suddenly stopped, frowned, and felt an inexplicable awkwardness.

"What...what are you looking at?"

Charles did not answer, but continued to stare at him.

then.

His gaze paused for a moment.

The air suddenly became a bit cold.

Frank felt a chill run down his spine and unconsciously took a half step back.

Just then.

Suddenly, the shop door was pushed open, and a man in a suit holding a letter appeared.

Just as Lyon was about to speak, he suddenly noticed the scene inside the shop and asked in surprise:

"Uh, did I come at the wrong time?"

Charles deactivated the effects of his equipment, got up from the ground, and turned his head away.

"Is there a boy named Ciel here?"

Charles paused for a moment, then said, "That's me."

Seeing this, Lyon walked up to him, handed him the letter, and said:

"Hello, I'm Leon, director Kubrick's assistant. He asked me to deliver this letter to you personally."

Charles opened it, stared at the contents, and read it aloud, word by word:

"Congratulations, our little actor, you have already..."

"WTF, what does this mean? I actually passed the audition!?"

He stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"If there are no further questions, see you tomorrow, future child star."

Leon smiled and then left the coffee shop; he had achieved his goal.

The shop door closed gently.

Charles took a deep breath.

He's going to act in "The Shining"!

Holy crap, he's actually going to leave his mark on film history!

Who the hell could have predicted this!

"Hey, listen up, you fatso! Starting today, I'm not putting up with you anymore! FXXX YOU!"

Frank hadn't heard the conversation between the two men, but after hearing Charles's mockery, his face turned as red as a liver, and he shouted angrily:

"You little brat, don't you dare come back! I want to see how you'll survive without this job!"

Charles held up two straight middle fingers at him, made a face, then pushed open the shop door and strode away.

He was a child laborer without any contractual obligations or protections, so...

He can go wherever he wants now!

This is fucking free America!

This is fucking 1979!

This is a fucking six-year-old!

Sharl loves it here!

He squinted, enjoying the evening breeze blowing in his face.