Smile, You're on Camera! (Open)

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia snapped awake gasping for air, her hands clutched at her sheets. Ike whined and nosed her before setting his head on her lap. With a shaky hand she stroked his head getting as much from the soothing gesture as he was. With her other hand she ran a hand through her damp hair and forced a breath through her lungs. That vision again. Someone was in trouble, lightning laced over the lake, but as per usual she had no way of knowing when that would happen. It was no ordinary storm, she was starting to realize, this was her third vision of the same event, but as previously noted, each was just slightly different. Either way, Ida could not shake the terrifying idea that someone was going to die. She looked over at her clock that read an unholy hour of the morning and gave a sigh, well, her alarm was going to go off in an hour, might as well get started.

Showered and put well together Idalia was about to drive herself to the station when she got a call from a friend. Ah, that's right, the Field Day was going on today. They wanted her to do the weather from it, she smiled, she hardly ever got to go out in the field and talk to people! This was exciting. She affirmed that she was very excited and he gave her the area where the camera crew would meet her. She was so glad he'd caught her before she got in her car, she would have been furious if she had had to drive all the way to the station only to come back. Even better, she could take Ike with her! He was better and though she didn't trust him to let him off the leash it would be a good way for them both to get out together. She'd have to forecast and record but there would be a lot of down time as well. Dressing herself in a pencil skirt with a lightweight blue blouse she wore flats so she didn't kill herself walking in the grass. She applied her makeup with quick precision and left her hair to fall in waves down her back.

She drove to the lake and smiled widely looking out over the water. Ike hoped out of the car after her and immediately started making motions toward everything, there was so much to see, so much to smell! She met the camera crew and smiled when she saw the familiar faces. She left them to play with Ike while she took a moment to consult her models, thankfully another one at the station who had been at work overnight had a forecast ready. Idalia's job today wasn't to forecast, it was to report and give a little bit of a hint of the clear weather for the day. When it was time to go she put the earpiece in and smiled broadly for the camera. Now, as I'm to understand our own Chief Meteorology Idalia Tsavaris is at the Field Day in Pilot Ridge at the moment, what can you tell us about the atmosphere there, Idalia?, the anchors voice said in her ear.

"Hello Chris, it is a beautiful day out here, as you can see, the sun is shining, people are out and about. We have an exciting atmosphere here in my hometown of Pilot Ridge today. I highly encourage you to get out for this. It's a bit hot and humid today so make sure you are drinking plenty of water as you enjoy the events today!" She gave a dazzling smile and concluded, "I'm looking forward to seeing all of you," she pointed into the camera, "out here today. Back to you, Chris." The camera man gave her a thumbs up to let her know he'd cut the feed and Ida smiled, Ike all the while was sitting so nicely at the camera man's feet, panting in the heat. "What do you guys say we take this show on the road and interview some unsuspecting pedestrians?" She grinned wickedly and the camera man laughed more than willing to follow along. It wasn't hard for people to notice the camera but Ida had a skill and she sidled up alongside someone waiting in line for food. "Hello," she said in a singsong voice, "Would you mind terribly if I asked you a few questions?"

[Julia Clark]

Julia had needed no reminder that the Community Faire/Field Day was today. Although she wasn't working at any stands this year and therefore was not required to actually show up on time, she still had the date marked on her calendar. It was great to be able to see everyone. And her dog, Waston, always seemed to enjoy all of the fun as much as she did. Although he got more out of the free food than the games.

That morning after trying to convince her roommate to join her and Watson (he had promised he'd think about stopping by later), she walked out the door already smiling. It was a beautiful day, perfect for hanging out around the lake. Watson seemed to understand the reason behind her cheerful mood and he tugged at the leash to try to get there faster.

So far, Julia had filled up on funnel cake and cookies. She'd also gotten a few hot dogs for her and Watson to split. She was eyeing up the snow cones at the moment, thinking she'd have one and then try out a few of the games.

Julia hadn't noticed the woman sliding up beside her, though Watson had noticed the approach of another dog. He was always friendly with other animals, as well as people, so Julia never worried about keeping an eye out. So she was a bit surprised with the woman asked her a question. Even more so when she noticed the camera nearby.

"Uh..." Julia said, smiling as she took a moment to compose herself. "Not at all! Are you making a doctormentary...I mean documentary?"

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Her victim had a dog, which only made it all the better. Idalia loved dogs and Ike loved other dogs. The dog almost ruined her sneakiness as Ike and the strange dog decided to say hello to each other. Thankfully Ike didn’t immediately try to play with the other dog, he just started sniffing for now. Ida took a certain amount of pleasure in making people who were not comfortable on television get on the air. It made her think about how she used to be when getting in front of a camera made her queasy. Now, well she wouldn’t say it was easy, she still got nerves, but it kind of got her through. It fed her just enough excitement to keep her going through.

Idalia smiled at the woman as she got her attention and the immediately saw the ‘deer in the headlights’ expression flash across the young woman’s face as she caught sight of the camera. At the moment, Idalia wasn’t very imposing, but Carl who was currently holding the camera trained on the girl with a smile on his face was terrifying indeed to the unsuspecting. Ida let the woman take her time, they wouldn’t be airing any of this live, but later when she had a few interviews she would edit some of the reels together and make a quick little thing that would be shown on the news when the faire came up.

A smile crossed Idalia’s face as the woman didn’t immediately run away but instead she seemed enthusiastic about it. “Wonderful!” Ida exclaimed and held out her hand to the young woman. “I’m Idalia Tsavaris, Chief Meteorologist for Channel X. I’m going around and asking people what they are doing at the faire.” She explained with a beaming smile. She didn’t comment on the mix up of the word and simply smiled. “If you don’t mind me pulling you away for a moment, we’ll do a quick interview and then you can see yourself on the news at 6.” She nodded her head and waited for the girl to confirm that she wanted to be a part of this or not. If she did then Ida would turn it over to Carl to give her a place to stand. Meanwhile Ike tugged at his leash and Ida smiled at the girl’s dog. “Your dog is super cute by the way, what’s his name?” She held her hand out for the strange dog to sniff.

[Julia Clark]

Julia had certainly been shocked by the sudden appearance of a camera. After all, she'd never done anything news worthy in her life. In fact she was pretty sure the only time she'd ever been in front of a camera was when one of her foster dads had gotten a camera and make a few family films.

Still she wouldn't have described herself as camera shy. There weren't many situations that made Julia shy whether there was a camera there or not. Still she worried she wouldn't think of anything to say for this woman's news clip.

"I'm Julia...Julia Kells," she said, saying her full name slowly and into the camera in case they might need that for the report later. "Oh and this is Watson," she added when when asked, reaching out to pat him on the head. He was still sniffing around at the other dog, but in that 'hey new buddy' kinda way.

"Sure, I'll do my best," Julia said, grinning. She stepped out of the line, gesturing for the person behind her to go ahead. After all she didn't want to be rude and make people wait while she got interviewed.

"So where's a good place for the uh...shot?" she asked. Having never had a camera or been a reporter, Julia was perfectly okay with the other woman taking the lead here. She wiped her hands on her jeans out of habit. Sure this sounded fun, but she couldn't help but be a tad nervous.

And also excited. She couldn't wait to watch herself on the news later with her roommate.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia smiled to herself as she watched the process of understanding cross across the young woman’s face. She caught Carl’s eye and he returned a sly smile. Now, that face would have been exactly what would be on Carl’s face if he was ever on camera. She’d found out while they were out shooting footage that Carl had a terrible fear of being on camera. He joked that he became a camera man to make sure he was never in front of it. It wasn’t that Idalia blamed her, really if one wasn’t in front of a camera very often then it was always kind of a frightening moment. Ida knew before she got this job she had been very unaware of herself on camera. Part of the practice and what she’d learned from other meteorologists as well as anchor was how to convey confidence on camera.

Idalia giggled. “We’re not recording yet,” she told the girl who introduced herself very carefully to the camera. “Well, Julia I’m glad you’re taking the time to talk to us, even if we are pulling you away from whatever delicious thing you’re going to eat.” Idalia craned her neck to try to see what the tent was selling but failed on account of the thick crowd. Idalia held her hand out for the dog to sniff. “Hello Watson,” she said with a bright smile, “Do you mind if I pet him?” She asked, it was always better to ask then just start messing with someone’s dog. “This is Ike,” she said patting her own canine on the head. The Dane was taking no pauses in greetings and sniffed the other dog and then stuck his nose toward Julia. Ike really had no public manners.

“Carl,” Idalia said turning to her camera man instead of answering. The man splayed his camera’s legs and rotated it slightly. He stepped forward and directed Julia to stand in one place. “Alright, just like high school picture day, tilt your shoulders slightly toward Ida,” he said now safe behind the camera and looking down the sight. Idalia herself would be off to the side and Julia would take center stage in this conversation. “Are you excited?” Idalia asked with a bright smile on her face. She always tried to be as personable as possible when she was on the job. It was one thing when she was Idalia the random person, it was a whole different situation when she was Chief Meteorologist Idalia. Her job had her constantly in the public eye and she tried her best to break down those walls that some people put up simply because she was ‘that girl from the weather’.

“Alright, Julia, can you take a step just to the left? Idalia, stay where you’re at, though turn a little… just like that. Alright we are good to go, on your mark Ida.” He said. Idalia nodded and grinned at Julia. “Are you ready? I’m just going to ask you a few questions. We’re going to edit this and we’ll make sure you look good.” She said and gave the girl a sassy wink.

[Julia Clark]

Julia felt a little embarrassed at her mistake of thinking the camera was already on. But only for a split second before she joined Idalia in laughing at herself. She tried to never take herself too seriously, which meant it took a lot for her to be embarrassed for long.

"Oh, no worries. The snow cones shouldn't melt before I get back," she said, waving away the reporter's concerns. "I should probably take a break anyway." She laughed again.

"Oh yeah, he's friendly. I see Ike is too," she answered, reaching down to pet Ike as well. Watson was a bit more hesitant then Ike about approaching other people, but only because he'd been trained to let people come to him first. He sniffed a bit, but didn't push into getting a pet. Though he obviously enjoyed it when someone did pet him, especially when they messed with his ears.

"Always great to meet another dog poodle...I mean person." Though Julia was a tad nervous about the camera, she had a hard time finding the right word even when she wasn't about to be filmed. So she was used to it and didn't make a big deal with she had to correct herself. And it was great to find another dog person around Pilot Ridge. Especially one that didn't feel the need to give her a speech about letting Watson go off-leash all the time. It just seemed so pointless to have a well behaved dog and still have to tie him to her wrist.

"Uh...okay Carl," Julia said, position herself as the camera man told her and wiping her hands on the thighs of her jeans. Even though she wasn't shaking hands it was a subconscious act to wipe her hand to get off and soapiness that might be there when she was a little nervous.

"Actually...yeah," Julia admitted to the woman, surprising herself a bit too. Sure this was weird, but Idalia and Carl were nice. What's the worst that could happen?

"Good luck," Julia said, laughing and reaching out to pat the woman on the shoulder. She looked quickly to make sure that Watson was still sitting patiently just off camera. He and Ike seemed to be getting along well. Maybe they could toss around a ball for the dogs after the interview. "Let's do this!"

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Ida was glad that Julia was laughing, it made her job a whole lot easier. As fun as it was to pick random people and plunk them in front of a camera it was even more fun when they embraced their fate. “Mmm, I haven’t had a snow cone in ages!” Idalia mused happily. Ike tugged at the leash and she pulled him quickly away from an innocent bystanders’ hot dog. He looked at her like he had no idea what he’d done wrong. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and his ears perked curiously at her. She ruffled his ears and patted his shoulder, he was such a nutcase, she still wasn’t sure how she was going to keep an eye on him. The trend had been putting his leash around the camera leg, but well one squirrel later (only Carl’s ninja like reflexes saved the camera from utter destruction) and that had been deemed a bad idea. Now she just found the best thing nearby to attach him too, which was occasionally Carl, thankfully Carl loved Ike.

Idalia smiled warmly and let the dog sniff her hand and the reached up to scratch his ears. Ike was all over Julia. He loved people, so much so she was willing to bet if someone broke into her apartment Ike would be all over them with love. Probably not, but he was lovable. “Hello, Watson,” she cooed and smiled broadly, nothing brightened the mood like a dog, all of the people Idalia knew were dog people and they were all the best kind of people, which made her laugh when Julia goofed up the term. “You know what I love? Dog puddles!” She cried enthusiastically. Idalia didn’t mind she smiled nonetheless making a joke of it. A little known fact that people missed from seeing her on television was that in reality she had a rather dry and nerdy sense of humor. Weather puns were her crack.

Watson sat so nicely next to Ike that Idalia hoped that Ike would take his lead. “Ike,” she said sharply getting the Dane’s attention. She made a watching motion from her eyes with her hand. Idalia tossed her hair over her shoulder and beamed at Julia. “Good!” she said, “Have fun with it.” The girl sounded a bit surprised herself and Idalia was doing her best to make her feel more comfortable than not. It wasn’t usually easy for people to get on camera, it took training for her to swallow her nerves. She still got nervous in front of a camera, she’d eventually learned what was her best light and now to keep herself in the camera’s eyes when it was important and step out when she just needed to voice over.

“Thanks, you too,” Idalia said strangely touched, hardly anyone ever wished her good luck. After all she was the one who did this all the time. It was the kind of simple statement that struck Ida to the core and she was even more determined to make this girl look fabulous on camera. Feeding off of Julia’s enthusiasm Idalia gave Carl that look. “Lets!” She took the microphone that Carl handed her and waited until he gave her the signal. She smiled warmly into the camera. “Hey folks, I’m Idalia Tsavaris and didn’t I tell you I’d better see you at the fair today, I’m here with Julia Kells right now to get the scoop on what’s happening. Hi Julia, are you enjoying yourself today?” She asked and extended the microphone to her for her answer.

[Julia Clark]

"You should join me after," Julia suggested. "If you're not too busy with more interviews." After all, everyone should enjoy a snow cone when they got the chance. And the community faire was a holiday, almost like Christmas, and that meant people should be enjoying themselves, connecting with their inner child, throwing out their diets, and so on.

While Watson would be endlessly with his puppy dog eyes and even go so far as to whimper a bit when it was Julia he was begging, she never had to worry about him running off after someone with a hotdog in their hand. Whether it was Watson's temperament, Julia's training, or a combination of both, he was a very well behaved little god. Julia got a lot of compliments on him. And it always made her feel wonderfully proud. Watson was her best friend, her favorite coworker, and her child all rolled into one.

Julia laughed a little at Ida's joke, even though she wasn't sure if the other woman was picking on her or not. Julia had been messing up words for ever. As a child she'd gotten picked on for it a lot. Now though most people just ignored it. And she couldn't remember anyone ever joining in to make a game out of it.

She took a deep breath, trying to hold herself in the position Carl had put her in without looking too much like a stiff robot, as Ida began speaking into the camera. "Yes. I'm having a great term...time here. Free food, games, great weather and great people. What's not to love?" she smiled, hoping she was doing okay so far. She turned her head to glance at Watson. He was still sitting patiently, probably wondering why the had suddenly detoured from getting more treats.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia chewed her lip, severely tempted by the offer. She made eyes at Carl and he smiled knowingly. “You know what I think that we’d both enjoy taking a moment or so off, besides we still get a lunch break.” She gestured at Carl who shrugged and nodded, as if noncommittal but also not arguing. “We have all day to do interviews, we just have to be at the office to edit so you can see it this evening.” She added, beaming, it was definitely a moment that she hoped Julia would share with her family and friends. It wasn’t a small deal, even if it seemed like it. Following the woman’s eyes to the dogs, Ida smiled, if she kept Ike hanging around all these well behaved dogs she might just get somewhere with him. No that was unfair, he was coming along very well, just because he wasn’t the picture of obedience didn’t mean he was bad.

The meteorologist flushed crimson and ducked her head. “I’m sorry, that was terrible wasn’t it?” She asked, taking the woman’s expression not as one of apprehension but rather as one of someone who wasn’t sure if they’d just witness someone prove their insanity or not. She smiled to herself, she knew there were people who she’d studied with who would have found that hilarious, not because it was funny, but because Idalia was trying so hard to be funny. Bad jokes, especially bad meteorology related jokes, were a sad fate of life. Idalia had been politely suggested to leave the jokes to someone else in graduate school. She hadn’t really taken it to heart but she had carried it with her.

Idalia made no indication she heard the flaw, it was quite easy for people to get nervous, it happened and Idalia wasn’t going to say she’d never said something stupid on air. Especially when she was a beginner and still not completely sure that she had a good handle on what she was doing. “Right what is not to love? Especially this great weather.” She put in charmingly, subtly taking the conversation and applying it to what she loved. She wasn’t here purely to talk about the weather but she was here to interview. “What would you say your favorite part of the day has been so far?” She asked looking at Julia and not at the camera so it seemed more conversational.

[Julia Clark]

Julia’s smile widened when Ida accepted her offer. She turned to beam at Carl as well. The more the merrier, right? After all, this was what the community fair was about. Meeting your neighbors, having a great time, and enjoying the free food.

Of course Julia couldn’t wait to watch this later on the couch with her roommate. The man was old enough to be her father but he was still her best friend. And aside from Watson, he was also the only real family she had. he would be proud and probably lovingly teaser her as well.

Julia waved away the woman’s apology even though she was glad that Ida had given one to help clear things up. It as still a bit odd, but then again everyone was allowed their share of awkwardness now and then. Julia often exercised more than her fair share.

She turned to face Ida more as well, following the reporter’s lead. After all, she was the professional here. “Well the weather sure ranks high. But I have to admit the free food is pretty amazing too,” Julia answered, she didn’t sound like a total glutton. “Oh, and all the people too! It’s great to see so many smiling fancies…I mean faces.”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Ida shared the young woman’s smile. After all it wasn’t often that Ida got to be out in the field. She might as well enjoy it. It was sunny and warm and she had Ike, she and Carl didn’t need to be back at the office until later this afternoon and seeing as it wasn’t even noon yet she had plenty of time. In front of the camera Idalia knew her angles and she knew what she would have to do to convey attention where she wanted and so did Carl. She and Carl had worked together for years, she always asked for him when she had to do things like this. Julia would look her best on camera, as Idalia had promised. The story itself was going to be a montage of different people in a sense. She would pick out Julia’s best lines and best moments to share with the world.

Ignorant to Julia’s worries and thoughts Ida smiled assuming the girl was just going to let that horrid joke slide into a memory. Julia was a natural in front of the camera, she didn’t try to be extra stiff, extra relaxed or overdo it. Idalia had interviewed people before and gotten a strange sense of a mask on camera, it was that kind of thing that interviewing allowed her to do. Some people were just plain fake. Julia was one of the many who were just excited and spoke her mind. Those were the kind of people that she loved interviewing. Not only that but Julia was making this very conversational and that made Idalia’s job a hell of a lot easier.

She beamed, personally glad that Julia had mentioned the weather, it was a glorious day, and even though she was playing with her reporter hat on right now, her weather geek kept peeking out. “Mmm, free food is always the best tasting isn’t it?” She giggled. She waited a quick moment to see if Julia would collect herself and correct herself and she did. Ida acted as if it had never happened. “So you’d say overall everyone here is having a good time?” She asked, “What kind of stuff is there to do here?” Idalia herself was curious about this one. When she had a day off and more time she would make it here herself, maybe call Cecil up and see if she could pry him away from his work. Or maybe she would just come herself and enjoy the company of strangers.