Natalie

"You're saying there's a movie that wants me to play the lead role?"

Catherine nodded.

"You're saying the screenplay for this movie was written by you?"

Catherine nodded again.

"And you're saying it was your idea for the director to have me play the lead?"

Catherine nodded once more.

Natalie Portman—no, actually Natalie Hershlag; "Portman" was her grandmother's last name, which Natalie adopted when she became an actress—sighed, covering her forehead with her hand. "Catherine, tell me, have you lost your mind, or have I?"

This question made Catherine ponder for a few seconds, then she firmly replied, "It's me who's lost it."

For a few minutes, Natalie genuinely thought the girl might be crazy. They had only met once before, and this was just their second encounter. Why on earth would Catherine pick her for a movie?

She looked over at Catherine, who was sitting in a chair with her head bowed, making it impossible to see her expression. From the time Catherine had arrived at her house until now, they hadn't even properly looked each other in the eye. It was all a bit too strange.

Natalie stood up and walked over to the window, leaning on the sill with her hands behind her back. The sunlight streamed in, warming her as she thought for a moment. "Catherine, can you tell me why you want me to be in this movie?"

"Natalie, look, filming doesn't take that long in the grand scheme of things. You could easily make time for it. You could earn some extra pocket money and hone your skills at the same time. Isn't that great?" Catherine slowly responded, her answer not really addressing the question.

"If you're going to talk like that, I can only say I'm sorry." Natalie shrugged.

At this, Catherine raised her head, her face full of a bitter smile, her green eyes wandering as if searching for something. She bit her lip and sighed. "Alright, Nat, I didn't want to say this, or maybe I planned to wait a few years, but it seems like I have no choice now. This might sound absurd, but it's the truth!" She said as she pulled a drawing from the bag she had brought with her and handed it over.

Natalie took it and, after just one glance, couldn't tear her eyes away. The girl in the drawing—the one sitting on a windowsill, hugging her knees with a hint of sadness—was unmistakably her!

"Is this… supposed to be me?" she asked hesitantly.

"When I drew this two years ago, I didn't know who it was. Not until the day before yesterday," Catherine turned her head aside, speaking softly.

"This… this can't be real." Natalie wanted to laugh at how ridiculous this all sounded, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The drawing clearly wasn't done in the last couple of days, which left her feeling uneasy.

"Cathy, this is a joke, right?!" Natalie looked at Catherine, not understanding why her heart was racing. Though she was smart and independent, she was still just a 10-year-old kid.

But Catherine remained turned away, silent. Natalie began to panic and reached out to pull Catherine closer, needing to understand why she felt so unsettled since seeing the drawing. Even if it was true that Catherine had drawn this two years ago, coincidences like this happened all the time, didn't they? So why did she...

But as Natalie reached for her, Catherine quickly pulled away, as if too nervous to make eye contact or even be touched. Catherine walked swiftly to the door, turned around, and sighed deeply. "I have to go, Nat. I need to get back to Los Angeles. School's about to start. I'll talk to Mr. Avner, but I really hope you'll audition. Truly."

With that, she walked out quickly. Natalie didn't chase after her. As Catherine left, Natalie clearly saw her shoulders trembling slightly. Was she afraid of something? Or was she sad? Natalie sighed, looking again at the drawing. Can someone tell me what's really going on here?

**************

Fierce music reverberated through the room, like a storm, like crashing waves. Amidst this tempest, it was as if a voice was constantly shouting, constantly roaring, refusing to be silenced even under the weight of nature's fury.

Just as the music reached its peak, it was suddenly interrupted by a dissonant note and came to an abrupt stop. Catherine tightly gripped the index finger of her right hand, having struck the piano keys too forcefully, causing her finger to slip and hit the edge of the piano hard.

The young girl blew on her finger repeatedly to soothe the pain, but at least the unfinished "Fate" had somewhat alleviated the heaviness in her heart.

She sighed. Though she had returned to Los Angeles, her mind was still occupied with thoughts of the girl in New York. Even though she had mentioned it to the Hershlags before leaving, and Luc Besson would likely reach out to them soon, Mr. Avner would definitely seek his daughter's opinion. Natalie, why won't you agree with me?

Though Natalie was still six months away from turning eleven, Catherine was fully confident in her abilities. But why did she feel so out of sorts when facing her? She could have stayed in New York until after Natalie's audition, but why had she panicked and rushed back?

Catherine didn't dare delve too deeply into this. She feared that the emotional barriers she had painstakingly built might collapse once again. So she could only sigh softly, resting her head on the piano, producing a few dull notes.

Fortunately, she had other things to distract her. Warner Bros. had already sent over the complete script for "Hide and Seek," and filming would start at the end of the month. At least she wouldn't have to sit in class, letting her thoughts spiral out of control. She was really looking forward to acting alongside Al Pacino. Of course, she couldn't afford to falter, so she planned to use the time before filming started to further study Emily's character. However, just thinking about how the role originally meant for De Niro was now going to Pacino made Catherine want to laugh. This was going to be interesting.

The only concern was that Warner Bros. had chosen David Fincher as the director. Well, she had to admit that Fincher was an incredible director. Movies like "Se7en" and "Fight Club" were masterpieces; he was particularly skilled at creating an eerie atmosphere. In Catherine's view, selecting him to direct "Hide and Seek" seemed like a fitting choice. But the problem was, he had just recently transitioned to directing movies, having previously been a music video director. Of course, that didn't mean music video directors couldn't make great films—Michael Bay also started out directing music videos—but the young girl just wanted this movie to be perfect.

She knew that in her past life, "Hide and Seek" had done quite well at the box office, but it had received its fair share of criticism from film critics. Aside from the fact that horror films had already seen too many classics by that time, some bad timing, and the director John Polson's mishandling of the latter half of the movie contributed to the film's shortcomings. He was, after all, directing his first movie back then as well.

But despite her concerns, Catherine didn't have much power to change things. After all, Warner Bros. had already been very accommodating. It seemed she would have to wait until she was the director or producer herself to have that kind of influence.

Shrugging, the young girl pushed the fleeting thought aside, closed the piano lid, and picked up the script on her desk to review it again. Completely engrossed by the names Al Pacino and David Fincher, Catherine didn't notice that the role of the psychologist Catherine was played by…

"You'll like it here; it's a lot of fun." The girl under the big tree was jumping up and down, then looked at the other girl sitting on the bench beneath the tree and added, "You don't talk much, do you?"

She folded her arms and waited for the other girl to respond, but the girl remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. The first girl repeated her question, but the other girl still seemed dazed. Growing a bit annoyed, the first girl raised the script in her hand and knocked it on the girl's head. "Hey, Cathy, it's your turn."

"Huh, what? Jesse? Is it my turn? Oh, I'm sorry," Catherine said as she snapped out of her thoughts. She had received news last week that Natalie had finally auditioned, but she had been eliminated in the first round. However, after the second audition, she was selected again. Catherine found it both frustrating and amusing that Natalie was still destined for this role. Still, she was relieved to know that Luc Besson wouldn't risk his reputation on something trivial.

At that moment, Jessica rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Come on, Cathy, you dragged me here to practice lines, and if you're not serious, how can I be?"

"Alright, Jesse, I already apologized," Catherine replied, feigning innocence, then patted the seat beside her with a grin. "Let's take a break. We still have a week before filming starts."

Jessica shrugged and sat down beside her, then sighed. "I really envy you, Cathy, being able to write your own scripts."

"If you want, I could write one for you too," the young girl said with a smile.

"No way. I don't have your talent for acting. I'll stick to attending drama classes and honing my skills from small roles," Jessica said, shaking her finger.

True to her military family background, Catherine thought, but before she could finish her thought, Jessica was already grinning mischievously and spreading her ten fingers in front of her. "But when I get famous, you'll have to write me ten scripts!"

"What?" The young girl's mouth dropped open.

"You told me before, if I became an actress, you'd write me a script," Jessica said smugly.

"But isn't that a bit too greedy, Jesse?" Catherine said, feeling a bit exasperated.

"You didn't specify a number back then," Jessica retorted confidently.

"Is that so—" Catherine drew out the words, clenching her fists. Sensing the impending danger, Jessica quickly said, "Alright, five will do. Or maybe three. Fine, just one."

Jessica jumped up and was about to make a run for it, but Catherine was faster, leaping up and grabbing her. However, she didn't calculate the strength needed, and the two of them lost their balance, tumbling to the ground amidst a chorus of yelps.

"Ow, that hurt, Cathy. If my clothes get dirty, Mom's going to scold me," Jessica grumbled, pouting as she lay underneath Catherine, her arms pinned down.

"Jesse, this isn't my fault. You started it this time," Catherine said with a click of her tongue.

Jessica tried to free her arms, knowing from experience that Catherine was about to start tickling her. But before she could react, Catherine suddenly rolled to the side, sitting with her back to Jessica, seemingly doing something.

"Cathy, what's wrong?" Jessica quickly got up from the ground and asked with concern.

"Huh, what? Oh, nothing… nothing," Catherine mumbled, shaking her head in confusion. She glanced back at Jessica, then quickly turned away again, as if slightly out of breath.

"Really? Tell me the truth, Cathy. Ever since the New Year, I've felt like something's off with you. Is there something you can't tell me?" Jessica asked, moving closer to help her, but as soon as she touched Catherine, the other girl jumped up as if electrified, looking around nervously. "Okay, Jesse, class is about to start. I have to get back to the classroom. We can talk after school."

With that, she hurriedly ran off, leaving Jessica standing there with a worried expression. What on earth is going on?