"Troy, what was the name of that restaurant we went to st time here?"

  I silently kept reading the spy in the back of our car.

  "Do you remember when we snorkeled on that isnd we booked a few years ago? That was fun, wasn't it?"

  I shot a deadpan stare at my mother, only to receive a mischievous grin iurn. She had decided imost wisdom to try to make me break character. After the first day, it had bee a game of sorts between us, one I was oddly enjoying—but I wouldn't let it show, or she'd only double down.

  After a few minutes of a teare-off, she sighed. "Such a heartless son I have, who won't eveo his mother, even though she's going thousands of miles away tomorrow."

  I picked up my trusty notepad and scribbled my response: Dick move!

  Mum could only giggle at my words, while I rolled my eyes at her childish behavior.

  Just then, we reached our location. It had been a very long drive from LA to Phoenix. We could have taken my private jet, but it was out for its yearly maintenance. Instead of taking a ercial flight or eveing a private jet, I chose the six-hour drive. A flight wouldn't have saved much time, given the security checks and iable deys. Not to mention, my general aversion to flying.

  "What are you thinking?" Mum asked when I didn't get out of the car immediately.

  I opened my mouth to reply but closed it again. My mother was a devious woman. I wrote down: That was good. I almost slipped.

  Mum sighed before leaning in to hug me. "I'm proud of you, son. I still don't like you doing this, but I'm proud of you for striving to achieve it."

  Her words touched me deeply, and I softly rubbed her ba response.

  "e on now," Mum said, stepping bad motioning toward the door. "Let's get you settled iel room before you go off to start rehearsals."

  The hotel life had bee standard for me whenever I wasn't shooting in LA, New York, or London, where we had family homes. Filming [Perks] and [Brick] had taught me a lot about living out of a suitcase, as both were shot far from my family homes.

  For this film, the directors took a unique approach. The entire produ would be shot in sequential order—a rarity in the industry. Moreover, real locations were being used instead of eborate Hollywood sets. That's why we started in Phoenix, Arizona, though it was standing in for Albuquerque, New Mexico. The producers had chosen Arizona for the better tax credits, saving nearly half a million dolrs in produ costs.

  After settling into my hotel room aing for a couple of hours, my ente and I drove to the rehearsal location. Other thahere was Tobias and my security team. Calling them ae might be a stretch, but I liked using the word. Mum stayed back at the hotel since she didn't have anything to do at the rehearsals especially when I was not speaking.

  Walking into the practice studio felt a little strange. Meeting new faces to work with for months is jarring for anyone, and it was doubly so for me, given that almost everyohought they already knew me. Adding to the awkwardness was my self-imposed silenbsp;

  "Oh my God!" a cute little 9-year-old excimed as soon as she spotted me outside the studio. "Mom, do you see him? It's Troy!"

  I reized her immediately, thanks to my power of déjà vu and the unique circumstances of this timeline. She was Abigail Breslin. Like me, she had made her feature film debut under M. Night Shyaman. While I had dohe Sixth Sense], she starred in [Signs]—a film I'd been offered as her brother but couldn't take due to scheduling flicts with [Harry Potter].

  Urged by her mother, Abigail stepped closer, her wide eyes shining. "Hi, Troy. I'm Abigail. I love [Harry Potter] a lot."

  This could go very badly if I didn't ha carefully. I pulled out my notepad and carefully wrote a longer message than usual: I know you. Loved you in [Signs]. I'm not speaking currently to prepare for the role.

  Abigail squinted a little as she read my chi scratch of a writing. I know my penmanship isn't great, but does it really matter? Most people type everything out these days.

  "Don't mind him, hon," Tobias said, stepping in to defuse the moment. "Troy's trying something new by practig method ag. He won't speak to anyone o until his character does as well."

  Abigail looked a little crestfallen but quickly recovered. "I uand," she said with a small nod. "It's all for the role, right?"

  I nodded seriously before her my hand and pointing toward the studio with the other. Her face lit up with uanding. Taking my hand in hers, she pyed along as though we were already siblings like our characters, and together, we walked inside.

  The studio was bustling with the rest of the cast and crew. Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, An Arkin, and, of course, Toni Collette were all present.

  "Hi, Troy!" Toni greeted me enthusiastically. I gave her a silent wave, surprising her. I tinued waving politely to everyone before taking a seat beside Abigail.

  The room grew quiet as everyourheir curious gazes toward me, clearly puzzled by my sileobias, who was standing just behiook the reins of the situation.

  "Hello, everyoobias called out, drawing their attention. "I'm Tobias, Troy's assistant. You might be w why Troy greeted you all so coldly. No, he's not like this all the time. He has vowed not to speak with ail his character speaks in the film. So please don't take his ck of speech as disrespect."

  "Wow, that's dedication," Steve Carell said, raising an eyebrow before turning to An Arkin. "I guess you should start taking some coe, An. It'd be great for your character."

  An Arkin, never oo let a jab go unanswered, shot back effortlessly, "By that logic, you should leave your wife and start sleeping with men."

  "Gentlemen," Greg Kinnear interjected with exasperation, "there is a child among us."

  Toni Collette patted Greg's arm gently. "Calm down, Greg. It's pretty tame pared to some of the other things they could've said."

  Not oo miss the moment, I whipped out my notepad and wrote a sarcastic message for Abigail: I hate them already.

  Abigail giggled beside me, and all I could do was smile at her i, delighted fabsp;

  Meanwhile, Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, the directors, exged knowing grins.

  "I don't think we could have asked for a better cast," Jonathan said, turning to his wife.

  "I cur," she replied, before addressing the cast. "Okay, before we begin rehearsals, let's start with a bonding exercise!"

  "What bonding exercise?" Greg asked warily.

  Valerie and Jonathan stood and motioned for all of us to follow them outside. Though skeptical, I plied and walked back out to the parking lot, where a bright yellow minibus awaited us. It looked eerily simir to the one from the inal timeline of the movie.

  "All of you," Jonathan said, gesturing to the bus, "get on this van and go out for a piic as a family. We've prepared a food basket for you to enjoy. Valerie and I will follow in a separate car."

  I stared at them incredulously but kept my thoughts to myself. This was nuts.

  "I know what you're thinking," Valerie said with a sly smile. "But we want you all to feel like a family as much as you're portraying one. So, get your butts in the van and try to stay in character as much as you . During this outing, you should even call each other by their character names."

  Suppressing a snort, I climbed into the van, silently impressed with how well the directors were leaning into this immersive exercise. Staying in character was easy for me after practig so intensely over the past few days.

  As I got into the van, I caught sight of my refle in the rearview mirror. The almost unreizable person staring back at me gave me pause. For this role, I had dyed my hair and eyebrows jet bck. It wasn't far from how I looked in my younger years, but the past few years had turned my hair a rich dark brown. Seeing the stark bck again was strange, like looking at a ghost of my past self.

  Slowly, the rest of the cast filed into the van.

  "Hi, Dwayne!" Abigail squealed excitedly, fully embrag her role as my on-s sister and calling me by my character's name.

  I waved at her zily, keeping my expression bored and ued. No way was I breaking my vow of silenbsp;

  As the actors took their seats, Steve Carell slid into the spot o me.

  "Hello, Dwayne," he greeted, shaking my hand. "How's it going?"

  I responded with a so-so gesture, earning a sympathetiod.

  "Yeah, I get it," Steve said with a mock sigh. "I haven't been doing great either—trouble sleeping and the usual depression."

  Soon, An Arkin, Toni Collette, and Greg Kinnear joined us, as Steve tinued his one-sided versation with me.

  "All right! Is everyone ready for the greatest adventure?" Greg called out with exaggerated enthusiasm.

  Catg his eye in the rearview mirror, I rolled mine dramatically. Greg, trying his best to stay in character, fought back a ugh.

  "I want to kill myself again," Steve stage-whispered.

  "Why did I have to birth a pussy like you?" An shot back, his voice dripping with mock disdain. "Pretty sure you got switched at the hospital."

  "Everyone, we please just go quietly? We're already te," Toni interjected, clearly irritated.

  "Grandpa, why are you calling Dad a cat?" Abigail asked ily, her expression a perfect mix of fusion and curiosity.

  "Good, let's go then!" Greg announced, ign the chaos, and hit the gas pedal as though none of it had happened.

  The banter was hirious, and I barely mao suppress my ughter. The dynamic between everyone was so natural it felt like we'd already been a family for years. The lighthearted bad-forth tinued for a solid ten minutes before An broke the flow with a loud procmation.

  "Stop the car. I have to pee."

  "Ugh, Dad," Greg groaned in annoyance. "Couldn't you have go home? We were literally there a few minutes ago."

  "I have bdder trol issues," Aed without missing a beat. "Unless you wao christen this precious bus of yours, you'd better pull over."

  "Jeez, let the old man pee, Richard," Steve chimed in. "I don't want him anywhere near me when he does his business."

  "He doesn't have to pee," Greg replied, eyeing An through the rearview mirror. "He probably just wants to snort some… stuff. I know him."

  An, unfazed, smirked. "The red light you stop at, I'm getting out of here."

  The impending showdown made it increasingly difficult for me to keep my bored expression intact.

  "Fod's sake, 't you just pull over, Richard?" Toni asked, her tone exasperated.

  Right on cue, a traffic light ahead turned red, and An, already poised for his escape, prepared to bolt. But in a burst of petty brilliance, Greg smmed the gas and sped through the interse, elig a cacophony of honks from angry drivers.

  That was it for me. I broke, erupting into untrolble ughter at their antics. Steve, my partner in chaos, joined me, his loud chuckles blending with my cag. Soon, even Toni, An, and Abigail were ughing along.

  Greg, despite pying the frustrated son, couldn't hide the huge grin spreading across his face.

  I doubted that ughing vioted my vow of silence, and even if it did, I didn't care. This makeshift family was absurdly eaining, and I was enjoying every sed of it.

  We hadn't filmed a single se yet, but I could already tell this would be one of the most memorable shoots of my career. The camaraderie and natural chemistry among the cast were undeniable. With every major pyer either already an Osominee or destio bee o was clear I was in the pany of some of Hollywood's fi.

  (Break)

  "A!" Valerie's voice rang out, marking the start of my first se in the movie.

  I y on my bed, pretending to read an exceptionally b book by some old philosopher, when the door creaked open. Toni Collette walked in with Steve Carell trailing a few feet behind her.

  "Dwayne, hi! Uncle Frank's here," Toni said, gesturing at the man behind her. I sat up zily, my disi palpable as the camera followed my every move.

  "He doesn't mind, Frank. We've talked," Toni assured Steve.

  Hearing her mention that I'd talked, I rolled my eyes in the background, a subtle jab at the absurdity of it since I hadn't spoken in days.

  Steve hesitated, gng back toward the hallway. "I know, I know," Toni said sympathetically, her voice ced with forced reassurance. "But we 't have you sleeping alohe doctor said… I'm sorry. I have to insist."

  Maintaining a perfectly deadpan expression, I got up from the bed and shuffled out of the room, my exhaustion written ay face as the camera captured every nuance.

  "Cut!" Valerie called out, her voice brimming with approval. "That erfect, everyone. Especially you, Troy—that eye-roll in the background? Chef's kiss."

  I gave her a small bow in aowledgment.

  "Let's move on to the se," Jonathan added. "Troy, you step out for a bit. Toni, Steve, you're up ."

  With a thumbs-up, I exited to prep for my moment. Ag without lines roving to be far more challenging than I'd anticipated—every gnce, gesture, and expression had to carry weight. The viewers should never feel that my potential was wasted in this movie.

  (Break)

  "A!"

  I trudged lethargically bay room, where Steve Carell sat on his cot, looking lost in thought. Using simple haures, I indicated it was time to eat.

  "What? Dinner?" Steve asked, his voice soft, his brows furrowed in fusion.

  I nodded.

  "What? You don't talk anymore?"

  I shook my head, my exhaustion radiating through every motion.

  "Why?" he pressed.

  I rolled my eyes, a silent rebuke to his unnecessary questions.

  Steve seemed to cat aured a guess. "You talk, you just choose not to."

  I hen poioward a painting of an old German philosopher hanging on the wall.

  "Is that zsche?" he asked, squinting at the painting.

  I nodded again.

  "You don't speak because of Friedriietzsche?"

  Ign him entirely, I turned around and walked toward the family living room, my disi in engaging with him crystal clear.

  "Cut!" Jonathan called out. "Perfect shot! Let me just review it."

  Relief flooded me as the day's smooth filming came to an end. Now I finally go bay hotel room and maybe book a massage or something…

  "Oh my God!" a female voice screamed, breaki of my reverie. "Troy! Steve! e fast. An's fallen down. I think he's having a heart attack!"

  Adrenaline spiked as I rushed toward the living room, all thoughts of rest repced by dread.

  _____________________________________________

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