Challenge

As Lucas finished his voice acting work for the animated film, he didn't leave right away. Instead, he stayed back to chat with the voice cast and staff, as well as the Illumination Entertainment crew who were interviewing them for the behind-the-scenes featurette that would be released when the movie was about to screen.

Lucas and Taylor were interviewed the most, sharing their opinions on the film and their experiences. Lucas even said, "This is the kind of animated film that will bring awareness to corporate greed. It's not just for kids; adults will love it too."

During the behind-the-scenes voice acting interviews, the voice cast members were seen laughing together in the recording booth, having become much closer since they started working together.

Especially Lucas, who had formed a friendship with Ed Helms and Danny, in addition to his existing friendship with Taylor.

As they chatted, making the most of their last day together, Lucas's phone rang. He excused himself and stepped outside.

He glanced at the caller ID and smiled. "Yo, Vincent. It's been a while."

"Yeah..." Vincent's voice rang through the phone, "I've been pretty busy lately. I'm handling many clients now, so you could say I'm doing well for myself." He chuckled.

"That's great to hear." Lucas meant it.

"Well, it's thanks to you, man. Since you blew up, my standing in the agency skyrocketed. So, thank you for that." Vincent said, filled with gratitude.

"Nah, it's all your hard work paying off." Lucas chuckled modestly.

"It was still thanks to you." Vincent insisted, before saying, "By the way, our company Uber that we founded last year is already making great developments. The Uber app is now available, and I even tried it out by becoming an independent driver for a while. The app itself is operational, but it's not that popular just yet. Only thousands of people are using it, and because of the low user base, the waiting time for both drivers and customers is long. Awareness is our main issue right now; we need more people to know about it."

Lucas nodded, "Well, making it popular is no problem. I can endorse it for free."

"Exactly why I called you," Vincent said with a chuckle. "I was wondering if you could promote our company, you know?"

"Of course, no sweat." Lucas smiled, and after hanging up the call, he opened the App Store on his phone. He searched for "Uber" and downloaded the app.

Lucas opened the Uber app, granting it access to his GPS. After registering, he was given the option to choose between being a customer or a driver. He selected the customer option and waited for the app to find available drivers in his area. However, there were none. It dawned on him that there weren't many Uber drivers registered in Los Angeles yet.

Lucas stroked his chin, thinking of a way to promote his company. He went back to the booth, where the cast, producers, and staff were still gathered, laughing at the behind-the-scenes footage, particularly at the part where Lucas had stuttered.

"Guys," Lucas said, clapping his hands, "since we're about to part ways, how about we play a little game?"

Jenny, one of the voice cast members, raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Little game?"

"Oh, I'm game for a game, Lucas. Bring it on." Taylor said with a chuckle.

"What game?" Ed asked, intrigued.

Lucas pointed at the headphones nearby. "I'll called it 'The Whisper Challenge'. One person will wear these headphones playing music, and they'll have to guess the words the other person is reading from this paper." He held up a piece of paper with random words written on it.

Danny scratched the back of his head. "I don't quite get it."

Taylor explained, "It's like a guessing game. The person wearing the headphones has to guess the word that the other person reads from the paper."

Ken nodded. "I haven't heard of this game before, but it looks interesting."

Lucas grinned. "Alright, let's play. I'll write the words on these papers that you guys have to guess. Better do it right, or you'll lose face—I'll have someone record a video of this on my phone and post it on Twitter."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "You're not joining us?"

"Nope, I won't be the one guessing," Lucas said with a smile. "I'll be the one reading the words you guys have to guess."

Danny chuckled. "Alright, so you don't want to be embarrassed, I get it."

Lucas prepared the papers, writing down a mix of funny words and phrases.

He then looked at the group. "Alright, who's up for being the first guesser?"

Several hands went up, and Lucas chose Jenny. She put on the headphones, and as the music started playing, Lucas turned to the others.

"Oh, by the way, who wants to hold my phone and record this?"

A staff member volunteered, and Lucas thanked him before turning back to Jenny.

As the music of "Thneedville" blared in Jenny's ears, Lucas began to speak the phrase: "Horton Hears a Who!"

Jenny couldn't hear anything but the music, so she tried her best to read Lucas's lips. "Hot dog with a burrito?" she guessed, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

Jenny looked around, confused, although she couldn't hear them clearly, she could tell they were laughing. She tried guessing again, but it was wrong too. Even Lucas couldn't help but chuckle.

It took a few more tries before Jenny finally guessed the correct phrase.

The game was a blast, even the producer, Ken, joined in and wore a headset with the volume cranked up, the music blaring in his ears. Everyone roared with laughter as he struggled to decipher the phrases, but after a few tries, he finally got it right. He was having so much fun that he volunteered to play three more times in a row before it was Danny's turn, then Ed's.

Finally, it was Taylor's turn again.

And this time, Lucas said the phrase, "Life is like an Uber request..."

The room fell silent for a moment, everyone confused by the phrase, especially the word "Uber." So far, every phrase had been from a movie title or popular movie quote, but this one was different. Lucas knew they weren't aware of Uber yet, as it wasn't popular, but he hoped that would change after he posted the video on Twitter.

Taylor made several hilarious guesses, her lips moving frantically as she tried to read Lucas's lips over the music. "You're... barely... a request?" she guessed, sending everyone into fits of laughter.

"No, no, keep trying!" Lucas encouraged her, barely able to contain his mirth.

After a few more tries, Taylor finally threw her hands up in defeat, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment but also amusement. She removed the headphones and heard the correct phrase. "Oh, man, I was so close!" she groaned, eliciting more laughter from the group.

The group continued to have a blast, laughing and cheering each other on as they took turns guessing the phrases. Finally, Lucas gestured to the staff member to stop recording, and the footage was saved on his phone.

Lucas knew he had captured some golden moments of the cast having a great time, and he hoped the subtle promotion of his company, Uber, would pay off. He believed that this more organic approach might be more effective than a direct promotion, and only time would tell if it was the right decision.

As the game wrapped up, the group thanked Lucas for suggesting the activity, and they all agreed it was a fantastic way to unwind after a long day of recording. They packed up their things, said their goodbyes, and headed their separate ways, unaware that the video Lucas was about to post on Twitter would soon make waves online.

***

Lucas settled into his hotel room, exhausted but elated after the day's events. As he kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the bed, his phone buzzed with a new email. It was from Neil, his agent, attaching the script for his role in "Game of Thrones" season 2.

Preparing for his role as Robb Stark in "Game of Thrones" season 2, he knew he needed to make some adjustments. The plot in his Mind Workshop, a mental space where he rehearsed his lines and scenes, was still following the storyline from the books more closely, and it wouldn't do to practice acting in such a plot when the actual filming deviated so much from the source material.

Changing the story development in Mind Workshop was something that would have been impossible for him before. But now, after months of honing his skills, Lucas had managed to upgrade his Mind Workshop to a higher level.

Lucas chuckled wryly to himself. "I guess the higher paycheck comes with a catch," he thought. Gone were the days when he could easily suggest keeping his character's storyline true to the books. In this season, his screen time might have increased compared to the previous one, but it was clear that the showrunners were now more invested in carving out their own depiction of Robb Stark, rather than sticking closely to the source material.

He knew the changes were coming. The biggest difference being that instead of Jeyne Westerling, Robb's wife would now be Talisa Maegyr, a character created for the TV series.

It was a far cry from season 1, where his captivating performance had captured the essence of the book's Robb Stark so well that the producers had no choice but to increase his screen time, even though the books didn't provide much in terms of screentime for the character.

Now, it seemed HBO wanted to make the most of his 210,000-dollar-per-episode salary by further developing Robb Stark's storyline in their own image, even if it meant straying even farther from the books.

Lucas sighed, knowing he'd have to work extra hard to adapt to these changes.

Lucas scrolled through the script, he can see the changes in his character's storyline. In this version of events, Robb Stark was making decisions that would cost him the loyalty and respect of his men, ultimately leading to his downfall. It was almost identical to the TV series' portrayal of Robb Stark in his previous life, except for one key difference.

In this world, HBO seemed to be capitalizing on his popularity by lengthening his lines and screen time. The changes were subtle but noticeable, as if the producers were trying to appease both his growing fans.

After finishing the script, Lucas decided to rehearse his character's scenes in his Mind Workshop. The mental space played out every scene featuring Robb Stark in the entire season, and Lucas threw himself into each one, acting out the lines and emoting as if he were on set.

After hours of practice, he replayed the scenes, analyzing his performance. In total, his screen time for Robb Stark in season 2 added up to around 25 minutes, a significant increase from the mere 14 minutes he had in season 1.

However, the script he'd been given was just a draft, and it was common for the writers to make changes based on actors' suggestions or even the author's input. His screen time could either increase or decrease, depending on the final version of the script.

After exiting his Mind Workshop, Lucas collapsed onto the hotel bed, exhaustion washing over him.