Jennifer Aniston was absentmindedly waiting for the bus. She wasn"t really disappointed. She had just graduated from her performing arts school last year and had only starred in a few drama plays. She had heard about the audition by chance and had sent a resume, she never expected anything.She was about to hail a cab when she heard someone calling her from behind. She turned around and saw the young man who had looked at her strangely during the audition.
"h.e.l.lo, you are… ?" Jennifer subconsciously asked and realized that she didn"t know his name.
Eric held out his hand and said: "h.e.l.lo, Miss Aniston, my name is Eric, Eric Williams."
Jennifer Aniston politely shook his hand and smiled: "h.e.l.lo, Mr. Williams."
Eric stared at her smile in a daze and forgot to let go of her hand.
"Mr. Williams, you…" Aniston could feel his warm hand wrapped around hers as she abashedly rebuked him with her gaze.
"Ah, sorry. Just call me Eric, Miss Aniston, do you mind if I call you Annie ?" Eric took his hand back, and awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he cursed in his heart. Granted, he had not been a playboy in his past life, but he was definitely not wet behind the ears. It was definitely his new body"s hormones acting out, definitely !
Aniston looked at him with a touch of alertness: "Well, Eric, we don"t seem to know each other ?"
Eric composed himself, smiled and said: "Don"t we now ? All friends start as strangers. Annie, it"s already noon, can I ask you to lunch ?"
"It"s too sudden, Eric, we"ve barely had a few words." Aniston refused.
"Then let me take you home." Eric smoothly followed.
"That… should be okay." Aniston was taken aback, she had always been good at rejecting people, but she still agreed to his request without really knowing why. Actually, that was Eric"s plan all along; asking her something she"ll reject first, then strike it home.
After boarding the car, Eric asked her for the address and started to drive.
Unable back her curiosity, Aniston inquired: "Eric, you"re a member of the 17 Again staff ?"
"Yeah, I"m the screenwriter. Well I guess I"m also an actor now." Eric said while manipulating the steering wheel.
"Oh wow, that"s amazing. You should be as old as me, and I now have only played some small roles in several stage dramas."
Eric smiled: "I was just lucky. Right, you said that you performed in some dramas ?"
"Oh, yeah." Aniston started talking endlessly as he had started a conversation on a subject that she liked. She would even giggle when he made comments.
How could a 19 year-old girl be Eric"s opponent, who"s soul was that of an uncle. Aniston gradually opened up and started to tell him about her life in Los Angeles.
"Although it is tiring to work at a convenience store eight hours day, it"s fulfilling. Besides I perform in dramas or go take auditions from time to time. I don"t believe that I need to rely on my irresponsible father to be successful."
Eric knew that in his past life, it was Aniston"s father who had introduced her to the movie industry. It was in 1990 to be precise, which should"ve been two years later if history hadn"t been altered.
As he remembered, Jennifer Aniston resented her father for abandoning her and her mother. In the end, John Aniston was the first one to break the ice and tried everything to mend their father-daughter relationship, adamant on helping his stubborn little girl. By the time he got her a role in Friends, Aniston was already 25 years old. It had to be known that, in Hollywood, if you still hadn"t made it once you reached 30, your chances of success were near nil. Aniston had been very lucky.
Eric tried to cheer her up as he said: "Your audition was very good, you weren"t unnecessarily dramatic unlike those who usually do drama plays. You know, there was a girl at the beginning of the audition, she brought drama to a whole new level."
Mentioning the audition, Aniston suddenly went quiet. After a while, she asked softly: "Eric, Maggie"s role had already been decided before I auditioned, right ?"
"I have to say, Annie, you"re really sharp."
"It"s just that you all seemed distracted back then, like you were all simply going with the flow."
Eric bluntly said: "If nothing happens, it should be given to Drew Barrymore. Her performance as Maggie was exceptional."
"Drew Barrymore, the cute girl from E.T ? She should only be thirteen years old now, isn"t Maggie a high school student who"s about to graduate ?"
Eric asked surprised: "That… Annie, did you not see Drew in the waiting room ? Although she"s only thirteen years old, she looks… really mature."
Aniston bitterly smiled: "Hm, to be able to come today I swapped shifts with one of my colleagues and worked until twelve, so I arrived a little late."
"I see. Right there"s something else, well it"s nothing really, but I don"t know if I should say it…"
Aniston looked at him curiously: "What is it ?"
"Just after you left… the others noticed that I had taken a liking to you."
Aniston"s lips suddenly drew a curve as she said: "So… what then ?"
"James, the movie producer, said to me that the world was big, and that if one missed out on a girl, they might not get another chance, so he encouraged me to go after you. He also said that if I did, he would give you a small role so as to provide us with more opportunities to interact with each other." Eric thought quietly in his heart, I"m sorry for selling you out James bro, getting the heart of a girl is not an easy thing.
"Ah, that, I… I… I-" Aniston was fl.u.s.tered by Eric"s sudden confession, but she also felt a little sweet.
Seeing her panic, Eric hurriedly added: "Hey, you don"t have to feel burdened. Annie we"ve become friends, and friends help each other, it"s normal. The role I mentioned is just a small role really, it"s one of Maggie"s three friends, there"s only few scenes. But if you accept it, you"ll have bigger chances at scoring other auditions since I believe that my movie will do well at the box office."
"Thank you, Eric, I really don"t know what to say."
They drove for another ten minutes, Aniston then pointed to an intersection and said: "Eric, parking there will be enough."
The car stopped in narrow alley as the two of them went silent. Aniston didn"t want to get off, and Eric was certainly not stupid enough to let her slip away. They sat quietly for a while, until the atmosphere got slightly ambiguous.
Finally, after gathering her courage, Aniston said: "I"ll invite you to lunch instead Eric, there"s a small restaurant in front, I often eat there."
Eric breathed a sigh of relief and replied: "What are you saying, how could I let you treat me ? Of course I"m paying, let"s go, show me the way."
...
In the end, Aniston accepted the role, and during the period of preparations for the film, the two of them talked almost every day through the phone. She"d tell him about someone who was caught stealing in the convenience store she worked at, about what she wore, it was to the point she"d even tell him how many times she sneezed a day.
Eric didn"t say a word about his own life problems, and kept comforting the girl who was alone and away from home instead. In spite of Aniston being in contact with many people, she didn"t have anyone to confide in, and Eric had unknowingly become the spiritual pillar she relied on. Eric knew that if he asked her out, she would definitely agree.
But he didn"t rush it, he didn"t want his relationship with Aniston to make things awkward on the set.
During this period of time, another project was also being completed: The Jura.s.sic Park novel. Half a month after Michael and him signed the contract, he finally put his hand on a freshly printed book. The cover was adorned with a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex pushing cars off the road. He got the idea from the Jura.s.sic Park movie, and Michael Klaus thought it was great, he liked how the prehistoric era was clashing with the modern one.
Eric specifically asked for another copy and gave it to Aniston. His caring and gentlemanly behavior was seriously lethal to a girl like her who had always lacked a father figure.
After receiving Jura.s.sic Park, Aniston was awed speechless by Eric"s talent. He could write and he could act. In her heart, Eric had received the genius label, and her eyes seemed to contain an additional glow of worship when she looked at him.
...
While the 17 Again preparations were still underway, Eric helped select a few other cast members. The role of Mike"s son didn"t go to Brad Pitt in the end, and they didn"t choose Blake Quinn either. The one who landed the part was a slightly stronger looking eighteen-year-old boy.
Since he had met Aniston, Eric didn"t mind at all. After all, Brad Pitt and her were married once in his previous life.
Eric pettily thought about how when he became a director, he wouldn"t let him star alongside Angelina Jolie either.
August 16th 1988 after Eric"s rebirth, the filming of his first movie officially started.