Marcus went outside, and they followed. Outside sat a sleek convertible with the top down. Behind the wheel was a chubby white guy in his twenties dressed like he thought he was a rapper—oversized white tee, thick gold chain, baseball cap tilted sideways, and a cocky smirk plastered across his face.
Beside him sat a younger guy who looked similar—clearly related.
Arya might not have recognized the wannabe rapper, but she immediately recognized the one beside him. She called out in surprise, "Ryan?"
There was Ryan, sitting in the passenger seat, looking uncomfortable and shifting awkwardly.
"This is the right house." The white guy said with swagger, patting Ryan. "Little bro, where's the dude who wanted to rent my ride?"
Ryan stayed quiet, looking exhausted. "Big Bro—I mean, Benjie—can you chill out a bit—"
"I'm not here to 'chill,' kiss-ass." Benjie said, clearly not giving a damn. "Just tell me where this guy is. I need my money."
"That's me." Marcus stepped forward. "I'm the one who wants to rent your car."
"Oh, so it's you." Benjie got out of the car and walked up to Marcus.
Arya and the others tensed up, worried Benjie might start something. But to their surprise, he just pulled Marcus into a bro hug. "What's up, man!" He gripped his shoulder. "You really wanna rent my baby?"
"Yeah." Marcus nodded. "Just need it for a quick scene."
"Haha, that right?" Benjie laughed. "I'll let her go for two grand. What do you say?"
Marcus looked thoughtful, then said bluntly, "I changed my mind—"
"Fifteen hundred?"
Marcus shook his head. "I just need the car for a short scene. Won't take long at all. It's basically just borrowing it from you for a bit, then giving it right back."
"Alright, how about a grand?"
"Thanks for coming out here. I'll grab you some drinks for the trouble—"
"Five hundred?" Benjie's tone started shifting. Getting tense.
"That's way too much."
"Come on, man. Two hundred?"
Silence. The others couldn't believe Marcus was haggling like this with a guy older than him, completely unfazed.
"Fifty bucks and we're good." Marcus extended his hand.
"No way—that's insulting!" Benjie complained. He pretended to head back to his car. "If that's all you're offering, forget it. I'm out."
"Sorry for the trouble." Marcus said. "The car's not really necessary anyway. Any car works. I can just use my dad's—"
"Alright, you got it. Where's my fifty?" Benjie stopped dead in his tracks and demanded payment. He gritted his teeth—his bluff hadn't worked.
Marcus cheered internally. The haggling trick actually worked. 'Looks like my negotiating tactics with these types paid off,' he thought, drawing from his previous life's experience. He pulled out exactly fifty bucks from his pocket and handed it over.
Of course, everyone noticed. "You expected to pay fifty and had it ready?" Benjie looked insulted.
"Just keeping some cash on hand," Marcus said with a shrug.
He'd prepared for this. Ryan had told him all about his brother—obsessed with rap culture and gang wannabe shit, cruising around in a car their rich dad bought him. Benjie had a whole hustle going, renting it out to fund his aspiring rapper dreams.
"Alright, you got an hour. After that, I'm taking her back," Benjie said, pocketing the money without ceremony.
Marcus smiled at how fast the guy's attitude shifted once he got paid. "Won't take long." He turned toward the house. "Yo, Ryan! Let's go." He gestured inside and headed in with the others.
Ryan perked up, remembering he'd signed on to be part of Marcus's crew. "Coming!" he called out.
Benjie caught his brother's arm. "Hey, where you going?"
"What? I'm part of the crew for my friend's movie!" Ryan pulled away, annoyed.
"Oh yeah?" Benjie picked at his ear, completely unimpressed. "Go ahead. Mom'll be thrilled her little boy's actually hanging with friends instead of locked up in his room all day." He smirked at his own jab before strutting off.
Ryan let it slide and followed Marcus inside. In the dining room, he spotted Arya and some unfamiliar guy. 'Is that one of the actors who agreed to be in the movie?' he wondered. There was another woman too, but he could only see her back as she talked with the guy.
"Sup," Ryan announced.
Everyone turned.
"Late as usual," Arya said, like she'd called it from a mile away.
"Didn't you see me outside? I helped Marcus get my brother's car," Ryan protested. "Took forever to drag him here this early."
After some quick back-and-forth, Marcus made introductions—specifically to Mike, since Katherine already knew Ryan. "This is one of our crew members, Ryan." He gestured to Mike. "And this is Mike."
Mike gave a casual nod. Ryan nodded back.
"And her, you probably already know." Marcus gestured at Katherine.
Ryan was about to nod when his expression shifted to pure shock. "Ms—Ms. Katherine? Wh-what are you doing here?" He'd just realized the woman next to Mike was his teacher. "Have you been here this whole time?"
Katherine crossed her arms, clearly amused. "I've been here the entire time. I even saw you outside with your brother."
Ryan's stomach dropped. This was his Math teacher—the subject that terrified most people. And she was intimidatingly beautiful on top of it.
"I mean—what brings you here?" he asked awkwardly.
Katherine tilted her head, though she was clearly enjoying messing with her student. "Is there something wrong with me being here? Is that a problem?"
"No! Not at all!" Ryan waved his hands frantically, but his eyes shot toward Marcus, silently screaming for answers.
Marcus and Arya exchanged glances, both enjoying watching their friend squirm.
"Relax, Ryan," Marcus said, patting his shoulder.
Ryan leaned in close to whisper. "How the hell am I supposed to relax? Our hot math teacher is standing right there! Are we in trouble or what?" He assumed Katherine was here to report them to the principal for this whole filming setup.
Marcus burst out laughing. "What? Dude, Ms. Katherine's here to act in our film, not bust us."
"Wait, what?" Ryan blinked.
Arya jumped in to explain—their teacher was actually an actress who also taught Math on the side. That cleared everything up.
"O-oh, really?" Ryan exhaled in relief. "Then I'm even more pumped to start filming! Can't wait to work with you, Ms. Katherine!"
Katherine just smiled faintly. She knew exactly how teenage guys' minds worked.
She knew Ryan was probably thrilled to work with her because of how she looked. It got annoying sometimes—especially at school where boys constantly gawked at her—but she could tolerate Ryan. And Marcus seemed to genuinely respect her, which honestly warmed her heart a little.
"Alright, guys. Before we start filming, how about I cook us some food?" Marcus offered. "We're gonna need energy if we're shooting all day."
The others perked up at the idea.
"You guys can wait in the dining room. I'll whip something up quick," Marcus said.
Arya volunteered immediately. "I can help." Inwardly, she was curious to see how Marcus cooked.
"You don't need to," Marcus waved her off.
"I insist."
Marcus saw he wasn't going to change her mind. "Alright, fine."
"I'll help too," Katherine said, standing up.
Mike glanced at the women. "The guy said he didn't need help, ladies."
But they insisted anyway. Ryan started to get up too, but Marcus shut him down. "You probably can't even make instant ramen, let alone cook a real meal. Go wait at the table."
Arya and Katherine laughed. Ryan looked embarrassed but couldn't argue. Back home, he never lifted a finger—everything was just served to him.
Still, he didn't appreciate his friend being so blunt about it.
---
Marcus, Arya, and Katherine headed into the kitchen. As they started prepping, both women were surprised to see Marcus actually knew how to cook—fried rice and Japanese-style omelette, no less. They mostly helped from the sidelines, watching him work. He had the rice dancing in the wok like he'd done it a thousand times.
It wasn't professional chef level, but still pretty damn impressive for a teenage guy.
After he successfully flipped an omelette, Arya spoke up. "You didn't tell me you could cook like this."
Marcus smiled. "I've always been able to cook."
Katherine looked impressed too as she helped him plate things.
"Um, Ms. Katherine, sorry for prying, but..." Arya suddenly started, her voice lowering. "Are you really okay with doing intimate scenes with that guy? I don't like him at all."
"Mike?" Katherine turned, understanding immediately. "Well, it's part of the job. No point complaining about it."
"I'm just surprised you're willing to do it for some low-budget movie Marcus just threw together," Arya said.
"Probably not worth it for something this small, right?" Katherine chuckled, her tone a bit teasing.
Marcus felt a slight sting hearing that.
"But I trust my student can make a good movie. So I'll give it my best," Katherine added.
Arya nodded.
Though silently, Katherine didn't particularly like Mike's attitude either. She made a quiet request to Marcus that caught him off guard.
Half an hour later, the food was ready. Marcus, Arya, and Katherine set everything on the table. Ryan and Mike looked visibly impressed by the spread.
"Damn, is this what you made? Looks good," Ryan said, eyeing the omelette.
"What are you waiting for?" Marcus sat down. "Dig in."
Everyone started eating. Katherine took a bite of her omelette sandwich—the fluffy egg folded between slices of bread—and her eyes lit up. She seemed to genuinely enjoy it, taking another bite with clear satisfaction. After they finished, it was officially time to start filming.
"Hold this camera, Mike," Marcus said, handing it over. "You're gonna be 'documenting' your girlfriend's paranormal experiences."
Mike examined the camera closely. He quickly recognized it. "Isn't this the 2008 Fujinami model?" He didn't know whether to laugh. It was a damn handycam.
Even though he'd been warned, it was still kind of unbelievable.
"Yeah. Pretty neat, huh?" Marcus smiled.
Mike just exchanged glances with Katherine.
Even Katherine had doubts about that camera. The quality was fine for home videos, but for a movie? Not exactly ideal.
Marcus noticed their skepticism and cleared his throat. "Anyway, let's get started." He pointed at the car. "The opening is Katherine—your fiancée—just got home. And you're gonna greet her with that camera running."
"Alright," Mike nodded, though he still looked uncertain.
They got into positions. Ryan held the lighting rig, making sure that despite the camera's home-video quality, they'd at least get decent picture clarity. As for Arya, she handled the boom mic and kept an eye on sound levels, making sure no background noise would ruin the takes.
Marcus watched as the cast and crew settled in. He was about to call "action," but suddenly felt an unexplainable instinct. 'Something doesn't feel right,' he thought. 'Is this the Basic Directing Instincts kicking in?' His eyes lit up. He'd dropped 30 points on that system item—it better be worth it.
"Mike, I want you to start from this position. It'll look more realistic, and the camera angle will be better," Marcus said, guiding Mike to a different spot.
"Katherine, I need you to relax when you're driving. You look kind of... stiff sitting in that car. Act like you own it."
Katherine was surprised Marcus noticed her discomfort—it wasn't her car, after all.
"Ryan, adjust your light over here a bit," Marcus said, checking the handycam screen from Mike's position. "Arya, move the mic closer but keep it out of frame."
"Mike, just be comfortable."
"I am comfortable. Nathan's probably gonna be pissed about how comfortable I am in his house," Mike joked.
Everyone chuckled.
After final adjustments, Marcus nodded. "Alright, ready... and action!"
As soon as he said it, Mike started recording. He stood in front of the mirror, just like Marcus wanted, filming himself and panning around the house like someone genuinely new to using a camera.
Then came the sound of a car approaching. Mike pointed the camera toward Katherine, who was pulling up to the house in the convertible.
Katherine parked and got out, immediately spotting the camera. "Hey, babe. What's that?"
"Hello, beautiful," Mike said, grinning behind the lens.
"Hi." Katherine walked toward him at the door, eyeing the camera. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know what you think it is, but that's a pretty big camera," Katherine said, stopping in front of him. "What happened to those little handhelds?"
"This one's better. Easy to move around, more versatile."
"Versatile," Katherine repeated, shaking her head. "It's huge. And it has a really bright light on it."
"It's professional," Mike defended.
"How much did this cost?" Katherine asked, crossing her arms.
"Don't worry about it."
"That's not an answer," she said, moving closer. "Turn that thing off."
"Just one kiss for the camera," Mike said.
"I'm not kissing the camera."
"Kiss me then. Come on."
Katherine sighed but smiled, leaning in. "Fine."
Mike seized the moment, moving in for the kiss. Their lips met, and for a second it seemed sweet—until Mike's face suddenly twisted.
"Mmm—what the fuck?!" He pulled back sharply, his expression disgusted. "What is that taste?!"
"What's wrong?" Katherine asked innocently.
"The taste—it's—something's wrong!" Mike sputtered, wiping his mouth.
"Cut!" Marcus called out.
Marcus stood behind them, observing. He'd been genuinely impressed by how naturally they'd been improvising—right up until that moment.
"What happened?" Marcus approached, trying to look concerned.
Mike stared at Katherine for a long moment, clearly realizing something. Then he shook his head. "Nothing. I ruined the scene. My bad."
Marcus exchanged a quick glance with Katherine. "No worries. We're just getting started." He patted Mike's shoulder. "Let's take five."
Mike nodded, apologizing again.
Inwardly, Marcus and Katherine were both trying not to laugh.
After all, back in the kitchen, Katherine had quietly asked Marcus to make her sandwich extra garlicky and spicy—the way she liked it. And she definitely hadn't brushed her teeth or rinsed her mouth afterward.
Now the guy so eager for that kiss was paying the price.