My next project awaited me at Studio 6. Here we were working on a high school story, but our lead actor wasn’t even in high school. I entered a trailer and was greeted by a 10-year-old boy named Danny. A handsome, black-haired, polite boy; Mom and Dad raised him well.
My mom and dad. Danny is my much younger brother.
See, my parents were overprotective of me after they discovered my talent. I was homeschooled until I went to college. After that, they missed me so much that...well, Danny is the result. They’ve noticed recently that the kid has a talent for acting, so they sent him my way, hoping I could help.
“I’m kind of confused, Nolan. How am I supposed to play a kid several years older than me?” Danny asked as we sat down.
“Well, actually, you’ll be playing two kids in one. See, the story is that your character, Ben, turns 16, but he’s constantly bullied for being a giant nerd. He soon learns he has 16 wishes to use any way he wants. He uses the first few to boost his appearance, but nothing helps. So he wishes to be someone those guys respect, only to wake up the next morning as one of them, a new guy calling himself Eric. After becoming disillusioned with what they like, he wishes himself back to how he was, but keeps his original enhancements, and uses the rest to do good for others. So there’s Ben and Eric for you.”
“Ok, but...” Danny was interrupted by me.
“Now Ben, to start, is a total geek, so...” I trail off.
Danny groans as he stretched slightly taller but not much. He actually gets skinnier as thick glasses appear on his face, along with zits and serious braces.
Terrified, Danny looks at me. “Nolan, what’s happening?”
“Yes, that will do nicely for the beginning, wardrobe will do the rest. Now, wish by wish...let’s see, he wishes away his glasses and braces.” I snap my fingers and they disappear from Danny’s face.
“He gets rid of his zits, straightens his teeth, fixes his skin.” Snap, and it’s done.
“He makes his face handsome, grows his muscles a little, gets taller, and deepens his voice.” Snap again, and now a pretty good-looking teen stands in front of me. Danny is stunned into silence.
“Eric, meanwhile, is a blond Adonis. Complete opposite of Ben. So...” I snap my fingers and “Ben” disappears, replaced with “Eric”. He’s tall, blond, and sexy, very muscular. The stereotypical jock.
I snap again and my brother reappears. He is dazed.
“Any questions?” I ask.
Danny opens his mouth...