The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era [BL]

ASTRID filled Kiran and Snow’s cups with tea as they took a short break from studying. The three of them nibbled on snacks Astrid had made earlier, enjoying the quiet moment.

Kiran sighed happily after taking a sip. “This tea is amazing. It’s crazy that people can’t buy this everywhere. Seriously, Aster, you should talk your parents into growing more of this stuff. Their tea could be huge if they expanded the business.”

Snow nodded in agreement. “If investment is the issue, I can have my father partner with your parents. He loves tea. If he tastes this, he wouldn’t hesitate to become a major distributor.”

Astrid smiled at them and shook his head. “My parents aren’t interested in expanding. They’re happy just supplying our farm’s goods to Delryria and the neighboring planets.”

“That’s too bad. I really wanted to buy a bunch of this and drink it every morning,” Kiran said, pouting slightly.

Snow stayed quiet, but his face showed he agreed. Astrid chuckled at their reactions.

“I think my parents might make an exception for you two,” he said. “I’ll tell them you want to buy boxes of our tea. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind selling some to you.”

He could just give it to them for free, but he knew these two would think that was too much. Especially Kiran. Just as he expected, both their faces lit up at his offer.

“That would be amazing!” Kiran said.

Snow cleared his throat. “If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like a whole crate.” Astrid and Kiran both turned to stare at him like he’d just sprouted a second head. The corner of his mouth twitched upward. “I’m just joking.”

The three of them broke into laughter. Astrid grinned as he watched them, the sound of their amusement filling the apartment.

***

The week moved along steadily as they focused on studying for their upcoming finals. They spent their days reviewing materials, with little time for much else. The two days of finals came and went without much fanfare.

Astrid spent the weekend after finals just relaxing. He wasn’t particularly worried about his exam results. Even if he didn’t do well on the written tests, his practical exam scores would still pull his grades up. So he passed the time lounging in bed, reading through his script for [The Shadow Within].

Then, the next week arrived, marking the start of his new schedule. Most of his time would now be spent filming his new movie.

***

Astrid currently sat in a space shuttle on his way to FS08, the film studio planet where they would be filming [The Shadow Within]. Ellis naturally came along with him.

He’d been buzzing with excitement since morning. Part of it was because he missed being on set, but mostly he just couldn’t wait to start working on this particular movie.

Not to be biased, but [The Shadow Within] was exactly the type of story he loved. That’s why he couldn’t help feeling excited. After all, he’d personally chosen this role for himself. Something told him he’d enjoy playing Dr. Stevens immensely. The character had so many layers that a bad performance could ruin the entire movie’s interpretation. And if that happened, it would mess up the sequel they had planned to do.

Astrid’s thoughts were cut off when a voice announced they were about to enter FS08’s atmosphere and all passengers should fasten their seatbelts. The shuttle shuddered slightly as it passed through the artificial planet’s atmospheric barrier, a sensation like driving over rough pavement. A short while later, the same voice informed them they had landed. He and Ellis got up immediately when a flight attendant appeared, directing everyone toward the exit.

“I already arranged for our ride,” Ellis said as they walked. “There’ll be a driver waiting for us outside the spaceport.”

Astrid nodded. Since this film wasn’t a big-budget production, the crew was kept small to save costs. Most were provided by IndieFlix Studio’s resources. With such a tight crew, every person would be working double duty. Sending someone to fetch them from the spaceport would be an unnecessary drain on their already stretched-thin staff, the kind of diva move that could breed resentment on a modest production like this.

After stepping off the shuttle, Ellis guided him to the spaceport’s parking area where rows of identical-looking land vehicles were lined up. She scanned the license plates until stopping in front of one.

“This is ours,” she said, then moved to the driver’s side and typed a code into the keypad on the door.

The driver’s door slid open and Ellis climbed in. Astrid followed, opening the passenger side and settling into his seat.

Ellis entered their destination into the navigation system, and the land vehicle began moving automatically.

Astrid stared out the window. This was only his second time on FS08 since filming that special episode for [Blind Justice]. It felt like so long ago, even though it hadn’t even been a year since. Then again, with everything that happened since he and Reas arrived in the capital, it made sense why he felt that way.

“By the way, Sister Ellis, did Director McCann managed to get enough extras?” he asked after a while.

This was one issue he’d been concerned about. They needed a good number of extras for the movie, but budget constraints made it tricky. Even background actors without lines still cost money – something their production team didn’t have much of to spare.

“I wouldn’t say ‘enough’, but it’ll do,” Ellis replied. “As long as the director knows how to use the same people for different scenes without it being obvious.”

Meaning they’d have to carefully reuse extras across multiple shots.

Director McCann could likely handle it, so he shouldn’t worry too much. But if they needed more extras, should he put in more money himself? Maybe he could ask if anyone wanted to invest in the film. If it came down to it, he still had some funds left in his account. And as a last resort, he could probably borrow from the Grimaldis – though they’d most likely just give him the money outright. That was something he’d prefer to avoid.

As he was still mulling over that, they finally arrived at their destination.

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