Chapter 20: Desire
Early in the morning in New York, Lucas woke up as usual. He noticed Paul was still sleeping, so Lucas brushed his teeth and took a shower before wearing some clothes. His breakfast was instant ramen, as usual.
After eating, Lucas went to work around 8:00 am. He headed to the restaurant, and as soon as he entered, he saw Manager Liza. The moment she saw him, she exclaimed, "Lucas? You're here!"
"Yeah, how's it been going, Ma— Liza?" Lucas said. He was about to say "Manager," but he remembered that Liza herself said he could call her just "Liza."
"We're doing fine. Anyway, how's your acting career faring?" Liza didn't mind Lucas almost calling her "Manager" formally and just curiously asked about his career.
"Haha, I think I did well, to be honest..." Lucas smiled as he remembered acting alongside the "Modern Family" cast.
"Good, good! When does your show air?" Liza asked curiously once more.
Lucas smiled wryly when he heard "your show," even though it wasn't solely his. He then said, "I think it's around September, from what I remember?"
As Lucas and Liza were talking, Leonard walked by, noticed Lucas, and approached him. "Lucas, my man! You're already here?"
"Yeah, I returned yesterday, around afternoon," Lucas greeted Leonard with a nod.
"I have high hopes for you, man," Leonard patted Lucas several times before heading to the changing room.
Lucas nodded to Liza and was about to walk to the changing room but then remembered something. He said to Liza, "Oh, right. Liza, here's your $2,000. I didn't really spend your money that much there; the production has already covered the accommodations and all..." Lucas was about to take the two thousand dollars from his wallet, but Liza stopped his actions.
"No need to pay me now, Lucas," Liza patted Lucas on the shoulder and said with a warm smile, "You can pay me back when you're famous!"
"Are you serious?" When Lucas heard that, he looked at Liza in surprise.
"Is she really so confident in me that I'll become famous?" Lucas thought. Although he was a transmigrator, he wasn't overconfident to the point of being certain he'd become really famous in the future.
"Of course, I'm serious," Liza said. Then she added, "I'm not really in a hurry to take the money back, anyway."
Lucas felt touched, not only because Liza was willing to lend him money without being in a hurry to take it back, but also because of the trust Liza had placed in him.
"Thank you, Liza," Lucas said with a smile and then went to the changing room.
Liza looked at the back of Lucas and, with a smile, thought, "I hope that you really reach the dream you are reaching for." Liza remembered her younger brother in Lucas, who died of cancer at the age of 13. She was just 14 at that time and was very close to her brother. Liza recalled that her younger brother wanted to become a star in Hollywood.
Liza teared up a bit, wiped the tears from her eyes, and then resumed her duties.
Lucas and Leonard donned their waiter attire and went to work.
The restaurant buzzed with activity around noon, customers streaming into the NYC establishment. After jotting down their orders, Lucas headed to the kitchen to relay them to the chef.
Days passed in a similar fashion. Initially, Lucas had joined the restaurant to cover his rent, but now he had the means to pay it off. Currently, he was gradually paving his way into an agency. While waiting for the "Modern Family" pilot to air and potentially catch an agency's attention, Lucas felt he couldn't afford to wait for months before taking action.
After singing "Wonderwall" at the bar, something stirred within Lucas. His desire to become an actor seemed to intensify, fueled by the aspiration to participate in a film project akin to his friend Paul Sterling.
Hence, as Lucas worked as a waiter, during his free time or after finishing work, he submitted headshots and his resume to various talent agencies like Innovative Artists and United Talent Agency, directly via mail.
He had included in his resume that he had a role in the "Modern Family" pilot, even though it hadn't aired yet – it still counted.
Realistically, his resumes alone might not be sufficient to grab the agency's attention. They could easily overlook submissions from aspiring actors. However, Lucas felt confident that he would, at least, receive some notice. Alongside his resume, he submitted recommendation letters provided by Christopher Lloyd.
Indeed, after receiving payment and an iPod gift from Steven Levitan, Lucas also obtained recommendation letters from Christopher Lloyd. Recognizing their significance, Lucas made copies of these letters to accompany his resume and headshot submissions to various talent agencies.
While it was only a letter, the talent agency could easily confirm its authenticity by making a quick phone call or recognizing Christopher Lloyd's signature. Thus, Lucas wasn't excessively worried.
Originally, Lucas hadn't intended to use the recommendation letter so soon, but his performance at the bar had a significant impact on him. He believed that the sooner he approached an agency, the quicker he would land a project in some capacity.
Moreover, his participation in the "Modern Family" pilot served merely as an augmentation to his resume, which, in Lucas's perspective, was insufficient for him to achieve his aspirations.
---
Several days after Lucas had submitted his resume and headshots by mail to various regional offices of talent agencies like Innovative Artists, a talent assistant at one of these agencies, Michael, reviewed the applications of aspiring actors and actresses.
During the process, Michael noticed a particular resume and headshot that seemed to include a recommendation letter. Upon opening and reading it, he discovered that it was a recommendation letter from Christopher Lloyd.
Excitedly, Michael informed his workmate, "Hey, we have a talent here who was recommended by Christopher Lloyd."
"Christopher who?" His workmate inquired, not catching the name clearly.
"Christopher Lloyd, the one who produced the 'Frasier' sitcom and some shows."
"Oh? He recommended someone?"
"Yeah. Look and read this."
As Michael and his workmate perused the letter they realized that, while Christopher appeared to be praising, there was also a hint of humour in the letter.
The talent assistant delved into the person's resume as well. "Well, this Lucas Knight seems to have some connections. Let the headquarters decide." Michael set the resume and headshot aside and continued with his work.
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