Whatever the Problem

The class bell rang, and Mr. Martin, who had been droning on, immediately fell silent like a duck with its neck squeezed. He licked his lips, somewhat reluctant, but shrugged and announced the end of class.

The quiet classroom instantly became noisy. Kids are always loud. Catherine finally stretched and yawned comfortably, her slightly red eyes clearly indicating she hadn't slept well the night before. In fact, it wasn't just last night; she hadn't slept well for the past two days. The reason? None other than that damned script of "Léon: The Professional."

The script for "Léon: The Professional" involved too many issues. The film was directed by French director Luc Besson, who was also the screenwriter. The movie was released in 1994, so production wouldn't have started before 1993, and the script might have been written in 1993, or possibly 1992, or even now. If her novel-like script fell into Luc Besson's hands and he happened to be writing his script, it would be incredibly awkward.

Although the recipient was Jean Reno, everyone knew about Reno and Besson's relationship. Besides, the envelope contained several of Catherine's colored pencil sketches of scenes, including a former poster image of Léon holding a potted plant in one hand, a gun in the other, and himself wrapped in a trench coat walking down the street, with the little girl Mathilda holding a bag and a teddy bear, looking at him. Even though the male lead was wearing sunglasses, his distinctive nose made it clear who he was. So, if Uncle Reno did receive the letter, he would undoubtedly pass it to Luc Besson.

However, neither of these was the main issue. Even if Besson was currently writing the script, Catherine's version was written in a half-novel format. Moreover, the postmark was from California, making accusations of plagiarism impossible. Besson might even say something like "great minds think alike." Also, the envelope didn't have her address, so even if Luc Besson wanted to find her, it would be difficult.

The problem was, what about Natalie Portman? If she distanced herself, Besson would have two choices: either risk legal issues by proceeding with filming or indefinitely delay the project. Either choice posed a significant risk to the Long Island girl not making her debut, which was terrible!

If the French director chose the first option, would the ten-year-old Natalie still be scouted and recommended to Besson as in the previous life? Catherine always tried to visit Long Island whenever she was in New York but had never encountered Natalie.

The second point was worse. In Catherine's previous life, everyone knew the Long Island girl's heart was never in Hollywood. If she hadn't stumbled into the role in "Léon," Natalie might never have had any connection with films!

This was the root of Catherine's anxiety. For "him," the character Mathilda, played by Natalie, was once "his" favorite, "his" dream. In that thick envelope were many of her drawings of Mathilda, including one where she was sitting by the window, hugging her knees and looking helplessly outside as the sunlight cast a golden hue on her. Another showed her sitting in a stairwell, glancing back while holding a burning cigarette. Both scenes were classic moments, and Catherine's dedicated artwork showed her deep affection.

So, if the silver screen's most iconic little girl was ruined by her hands, Natalie's eternal image of the ultimate dream girl for every fanboy or uncle was destroyed, she could never forgive herself!

The little girl stood up weakly, dragging herself out, occasionally chatting with the passing children. "The Parent Trap" had been out for a month and a half, and her classmates' enthusiasm had waned. Although her natural charm still drew attention wherever she went, she was no longer surrounded by crowds as she had been initially.

However, Catherine now wished for people to swarm around her, asking questions, so she wouldn't have to think about so many things. Besides the script issue, something else had also hit her hard. This morning, Jessica had not taken the school bus with her for the first time!

Thinking about it hurt Catherine deeply. But who could she blame? If it weren't for her strange thoughts and inappropriate actions, would things have come to this? Would years of friendship end just like that? Would they not even remain friends? The little girl stood by the hallway, gazing sadly at the children playing on the grass.

Just then, a pair of hands reached out from behind, tickling her sides. Catherine jumped and ran out of the hallway, angrily turning back to the giggling attacker, "Jessie! You snuck up on me again!"

"Come on, Cathy, you were daydreaming. You can't blame me," Jessica said, wiggling her fingers smugly.

"Really? Maybe we should have a fair competition." Catherine looked annoyed, but her heart was racing with excitement. She cleared her throat and casually asked, "By the way, why didn't you take the school bus today?"

Jessica gave a sly smile. "Why? Did someone miss me because I wasn't there?"

"Jessie, hasn't anyone told you it's rude to expose someone's thoughts in front of them?" Catherine gritted her teeth.

"Okay, if I hurt your little feelings, I apologize." Jessica shrugged indifferently. Seeing Catherine's anger, she quickly added, "Alright, my dad had some errands to run this morning, so he gave me a ride."

Catherine chose to ignore some of the half-truths in that statement and carefully asked, "Are you... okay now?"

"What do you mean?" Jessica seemed confused.

"I... I mean... I mean..." Catherine made several gestures but couldn't find the words, her face slightly embarrassed.

"I... don't know what you're talking about, Cathy, but..." Jessica coughed lightly into her fist, seemingly avoiding eye contact with Catherine. "But I'm really fine."

Catherine was filled with doubt. She felt something was off about Jessica but couldn't pinpoint it. As she hesitated, Jessica seemed to muster her courage, turned to face her, and said, "Really, it's nothing, Cathy. I just figured some things out." She breathed a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted off her chest.

But Catherine clearly didn't understand, still looking at Jessica with confusion. Jessica frowned, rolled her eyes, and suddenly leaned in to peck Catherine on the lips. Catherine jumped back as if shocked, barely having time to process before she saw Jessica's mischievous grin. Catherine frowned, not wanting to think too much, and opened her arms to grab Jessica. Jessica screamed and ran off.

At that moment, Catherine wanted to think of nothing else, not even the worries brought by "Léon," because Jessica hadn't left her.

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

"Sweetie, stay still. If you move, your eyebrows will be too thick and won't look good," her mom said, holding an eyebrow pencil over Catherine's eyes.

"If thick eyebrows would get me out of this, I'd prefer you make them thicker," Catherine grumbled, sitting upright at the vanity.

"That's not an option, honey. You agreed to this, so you have to follow through. If you can't..." Susan remained unfazed.

"Then I shouldn't have agreed, right? I know." Catherine quickly interjected. She sighed, "I agreed to go to the party because I felt bad about missing the premiere, but that's all."

"Then you need to learn to say no." Her mom said, putting away the eyebrow pencil and leaning her head against Catherine's to look in the mirror. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Catherine shrugged, looking at herself in the mirror. She was indeed beautiful. Her smooth golden hair cascaded down, slightly wavy and adding to her appeal. The light bangs on her forehead made her look very cute. Combined with her bright green eyes, she had a dreamy beauty. Her face was round with a hint of developing maturity, the kind that would captivate many admirers.

The little girl was satisfied with her appearance. Everyone loves looking good. Though her mom wasn't a professional makeup artist, she always knew how to dress her up perfectly. But how she wished she could swap the dress for pants. Although the beige dress reached her ankles and didn't show her shoulders or collarbones, Catherine still didn't like it. Maybe she really shouldn't go to the Disney party?

But who could have predicted "The Parent Trap" would gross $100 million nationwide, $40 million more than the previous version? It was truly surprising. Of course, Julia and Meg had played significant roles in that success.

"Mom, are you really not coming with me?" The little girl looked up at her mother, trying to appear as innocent as possible.

But seeing through her thoughts, Susan firmly replied, "Absolutely not. This is your work, and it has nothing to do with your dad or me. Besides, Mr. Sparrow will accompany you, and there will be people you know there. So be good and go."

Seeing her mother's smiling face, Catherine shrugged helplessly. "Alright then, I'm off."