Casting Practice With Mina

(All characters within this story are over 18 years of age.)

Mina laid on the couch in the living room. Her left leg was propped on a pillow and her right leg was held up on the backrest. The TV was on a competitive baking show but her attention was spent mindlessly scrolling through social media posts on her phone. Her brown curly hair was tied back into a ponytail. She wore a blue sports bra and black yoga pants, which she had put on with the intention of going for a run. There was a heatwave outside and she was now reluctant. Her skin was a pale milky white and easily risked getting sunburned. She was in good shape, slim and petite at 5' 2", but her exercises couldn't work away her soft puffy cheeks, which made her look cute and girlish despite her being twenty-three years old. She had big blue eyes, soft pink lips and a small chin.

She felt someone in the room and looked up from her phone to see the TV obscured by Donny and Trey, her younger brothers.

"Yes?" asked Mina.

"Hey Mina," said Donny.

"Will you help us with something?" asked Trey.

"Help you with what?" asked Mina.

"A project," said Donny.

"It won't take long," said Trey.

Mina looked between the two of them, sensing an air of mischief. They were both dressed in white button up shirts and black dress pants, which emphasized their lean, lanky builds. Trey's messy wavy hair was brushed back. Donny's shorter hair had been moussed and styled. They were clearly trying to look business casual.

"Is this another one of your get-rich-quick schemes?" she asked.

"Yes," said Trey.

"No," said Donny.

"I mean no," said Trey.

They had brown hair and were above average height. Donny, the older of the two brothers at the age of nineteen, was slightly shorter than Trey who was eighteen. Donny had spent the years after high school graduation making multiple attempts at failed ventures, always involving Trey as an accomplice. Since Trey graduated high school, the collaborations had increased. The two were inseparable and incorrigible. None of their plans had led to profit.

Mina loved her little brothers, but found their schemes less than lucrative and more of a nuisance. Their tenacity was funny, and sometimes she goaded their mischief with ironic encouragement. Their relationship was playful, but she maintained her role as the aloof older sister, a straight-man to their goofy whimsy.

"Well, what is it?" she asked.

Donny and Trey exchanged quick glances while maintaining their ever-eager salesmen smiles.

"It's kind of like a video project," said Donny.

"Videography," said Trey. "But also photography."

"A video of what?"

"We want to interview you," said Donny.

"We need to practice interviewing people," said Trey.

"Like a documentary?"

"That's part of it," said Donny.

"But not all of it,"said Trey.

Their rapid-fire delivery was already wearing on Mina's nerves.

"Interview me for what?"

"Nothing specific," said Donny. "We have a format we'll follow."

"You just have to play along," said Trey. "Like role-playing."

"Yeah, role-playing," said Donny. "Improv, sorta."

"It sounds like a waste of my time," said Mina.

"We'll pay you back!" said Donny.

"We won't waste your time," said Trey.

"It'll be easy," said Donny.

"You just have to play along so we can work out the kinks," said Trey.

"Jeeze, slow down," said Mina. "Okay okay. Just let me know when you're ready."

"We're ready now," said Donny.

"Really?" asked Mina.

"Yes, now," said Trey.

"Just meet us upstairs in like 5 minutes," said Donny.

"In your room?" asked Mina.

"In Mom's room," said Trey.

"Mom's room?" asked Mina. "Are you serious? Does she know about this?"

"No, and she doesn't have to," said Donny.

"She's gonna be out all day," said Trey. "We'll be done long before she gets home."

"The lighting in her room is better," said Donny.

"Much nicer," said Trey. "More flattering."

"Ugh," said Mina. "Whatever. Okay. I'll be up there in five."

"Thank you, Mina!" said Donny.

"The best big sister in the world!" said Trey.

They leaned over and each kissed her on a cheek simultaneously, squishing her face. She blushed and waved them off.

"Just don't waste my time," said Mina.

The brothers ran upstairs.

What are the little conspirators up to this time?

, she thought.

***

Mina walked upstairs. She walked down the hallway, past the doors to Donny's room, Trey's room and her room, to the end, stopping in front of their mom's master bedroom where the door was closed. She gave it a tentative knock.

"Come in," said Donny.

Mina opened the door. Their mother's room was orderly and clean. The large king-sized bed was centered. Facing the bed was a DSLR camera on a tripod with a shotgun mic attached. There were two director canvas folding chairs positioned behind the camera. There were two ring lights facing the bed on each side of the camera. Donny and Trey both sat in the chairs and waved her in, pointing to the bed.

"What is this?" asked Mina.

"Welcome to the interview," said Donny.

"Please take a seat right there on the edge of the bed," said Trey.

"And make yourself comfortable," said Donny.

Mina thought the set-up was ridiculous and had to stifle a laugh. She walked demurely and took her seat on the bed.

"I'm Don, and this is Trey. I'll be directing your interview."

"And I'll be taking pictures and assisting the director," said Trey.

"Pictures?" asked Mina.

A bright flash went off. When Mina's eyes adjusted, she saw Trey holding another DSLR camera.

"No time to waste," said Donny. "Let's get started. What is your name?"

"Um... Mina?"

"Uh, Mina?" said Donny, speaking quietly and breaking character. "We mentioned this is role-play, right? So for us to really get this right, it would be best if you could, uh, adopt a character or something? Nothing outlandish. Just maybe a fake name and answer as if you're a stranger. Not our sister. Mmkay?"

"Don't lie, necessarily," said Trey. "Answer honestly, but just as someone else. Got it?"

"No?" she said.

Donny cleared his throat. "So what is your name?"

"Julie?" said Mina.

"Excellent," said Donny. "Nice to meet you, Julie."

"Is that camera on?" asked Mina.

"No," said Trey. "It's not. I mean, the camera I'm taking pictures with is on, but that's just for practice."

"It's all for practice," said Donny. "We wanted to test the equipment, so it's on, but we aren't recording. Don't worry."

"You two are weird," said Mina.

"Just play along," said Trey. "The more you help us, the sooner we'll be done."

"So, Julie," said Donny. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-three," she said.

"Do you have a significant other?"

"A significant other?"

"Y'know. A husband or a boyfriend? Perhaps a girlfriend?"

Mina giggled. "You know I don't have a boyfriend."

A flash from the camera.

"I shouldn't assume,

Julie

," said Donny, emphasizing her name.

"Right," said Mina. "No, I'm single."

"How long have you been single?" asked Trey.

"Hm... I think it's been two years since, uh, my last one."

"That's surprising," said Donny, "for a girl as cute as you are."

Mina rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

"I'm serious," said Donny.

"Don would never joke about that," said Trey. "He would never lie to a woman about how attractive she is."

Mina was conscientious of the put-on, but the flattery still landed. She felt her cheeks flush and again rolled her eyes defensively.

"Well, thank you," she said.

Trey took another picture.

"Does the flash have to be so bright?" asked Mina.

"Yes," said Donny and Trey in unison. Trey took another picture.

"Do you have any experience with modeling?" asked Donny.

"No," said Mina. "Well, I've done some photo shoots, but not professionally."

"What do you mean 'professionally'?" asked Donny.

"I never got paid," she said. "It was just for funsies."

"But you are interested in modeling?" asked Donny.

"I don't think I've ever given it my full consideration," said Mina. She started feeling more comfortable, despite the camera flash keeping her slightly disoriented. The boys were just having fun. It started to feel like a game, and she was curious to where it would lead.

"Why not?" asked Donny.

"Well, I'm not your typical model type," said Mina.

"Can you elaborate on that?" asked Donny.

"Uh. Models are usually tall. Like over 5'11", and I'm closer to 5'2". And while I'm thin, I'm not like model-skinny. Or hot."

"You're not hot?" asked Donny.

"I mean. I dunno. I've been called a church mouse a lot."

"Are you religious?" asked Donny.

"No! Not at all. Like I've been to church and youth group with some friends once or twice, but I've been an atheist since like forever."

"Why do they call you a church mouse?"

"Probably because I'm cute and come off as innocent or whatever? I guess I'm pretty nerdy, so that cuts me off from being considered a hot, model-type girl."

"I think you're hot," said Donny.

"What? That's weird," said Mina.

Trey took a picture.

"It's not weird," said Donny. "I'm making an objective observation. You do seem nerdy."

"Gee, thanks."

"But nerdy girls can be hot," said Donny. Mina's nerves flared at the compliments.

"So, no modeling experience. That's okay! We can work with that. What about acting experience?"

Mina wore a big smile. "I have done some acting."

"What have you done?"

"So I was like really into drama class in high school. I took it every year. I was a theater nerd for sure."

"What did that entail?"

Mina was excited. Her brothers were usually unimpressed with her passion for acting. She said, "We did scene reads. We did monologues. We did a lot of improv. And we did two productions a year for all four years."

"Which plays did you do?"

"Oh a ton. I was Mary Warren in The Crucible, which was challenging. I was Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. I was Marian in The Music Man. That one was really weird because most of the troupe couldn't sing, so we had to do a mostly non-musical version. Which was weird as heck. I was Abby Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace. We would do something serious or classic for the first play of the year and then perform something comedic. Arsenic and Old Lace was a nice in-between. My favorite was probably my last production in senior year. I was Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, which is like totally crazy for a high school production. I can't believe the school let us put that one on. It's very adult-oriented."

"Were you good in it?"

"Not to toot my own horn, but I think I was pretty good."

"That's very impressive," said Donny. "I wasn't expecting you to have so much experience. Are you still acting?"

"Not really," said Mina. "I mean, I love it. I would love to do it more. It gets harder when you aren't in high school anymore. Colleges are more competitive, and local theater companies are very insular."

"But you are interested?"

"Yeah, I'd say so," said Mina.

"That's excellent. I'm so glad you met with us today, because that's exactly what we're working towards. I think we can help you out with new opportunities."

Mina heard the grand statement and thought it was ridiculous. Getting to talk about acting had her energized, and she decided to start hamming it up.

"Oh that would be absolutely wonderful, Mister Don!" she said. "I would love nothing more."

Camera flash.

"I'm serious," said Donny. "We've started making connections to different areas of entertainment which are looking for new talent. We've got an in. We just need to find people who are willing to work hard for it."

Donny seemed eager and sincere. Mina was now second guessing their intent. Her little brothers are trying to be talent agents? Would that work? If so, it would make sense to use their sister, who they knew had acting experience, as a career guinea pig. A practice run for their business.

"Are you interested in sticking with the stage?" asked Donny.

"Or what?" asked Mina.

"Would you act in film production? Would you take roles in short films or full-length features?"

"Yeah, absolutely," she said. "You know any movie producers? Sign me up."

"We don't have a direct connection to Hollywood," said Donny.

"Yet," said Trey.

"Oh boo," said Mina.

"But we have connections to several acting groups, the local theater companies and the local independent filmmakers," said Donny. "Eager to work with us."

Is that true?

, thought Mina.

"How do you feel about nudity?" asked Donny.

The camera flash captured her surprise.

"Under what circumstances?" she asked.

"Whichever circumstances are open to discussion," said Donny.

"Oh. I haven't thought about it too much."

"You should," said Donny. "If you're serious about acting. Pretty much every modeling and acting profile nowadays includes a nudity form. It covers every iteration of nudity, and you choose which state of undress you'd be willing to perform."

"Maybe you're a prude and can't do any of it," said Trey.

"You'd put that on the form," said Donny. "If you're willing to show your breasts, you'd mark these little nude figures on the sheet saying you'd be topless."

"Maybe you're willing to be completely nude," said Trey, "but only want to be shown from the side-profile."

"You'd put that on the form," said Donny.

"I see," said Mina.

"We don't have one of the forms with us," said Trey, "but we have every client fill one out as part of our process."

If this is a practice run

, thought Mina,

why do they seem so confident? Like they've done all this before? Do they actually have these forms?

"Let me ask you this," said Donny. "If there was a stage production of HAIR and they were looking for actresses, would you be willing to perform the nude scenes?"

"You know about HAIR?" asked Mina.

"Please stay focused and answer the question, Julie," said Trey.

Mina said,"If it were a real production of HAIR--"

"Of course it would be real," said Donny.

"---Then I would be willing," said Mina. "I don't think I'd have issues with being nude for artistic intentions."

"That's great to hear!" said Donny.

"Why?" asked Mina.

Trey took another photo.

"It opens you up to more opportunities!" said Donny. "What about short films? Or feature length productions?"

"I think so," said Mina.

"How about erotica?" asked Donny.

"What?" asked Mina.

A flash from the camera. Mina blushed and felt a warmth rush through her.

"Would you do romance scenes?" asked Donny. "Would you make love on camera? Would you take a role with sexual and explicit scenes?"

Now we're in ridiculous territory,

thought Mina.

Are they trying to embarrass me? Is the joke about how far they can mess with me before I break?

The idea gave Mina a new sense of mischievous confidence. Okay, she'll play along and see how uncomfortable she can make them!

"If the money was right," said Mina, with a wink.

She caught a glance between Donny and Trey. She laughed. She raised her dainty hand to her mouth to quell the laugh.

"Are you willing to prove it, then?" asked Donny.

Mina's laugh subsided.

"I see," said Donny. "A lot of wannabe performers can say they're confident but can't actually follow through." He sounded disappointed, but the tone maintained an objective neutrality.

"No," said Mina. "I'm confident! Just surprised. Or caught off guard. Like, just do it here?"

"Julie, there's just you and the two of us here right now," said Donny. "How am I supposed to convince a theater director that you'd be willing to be nude on stage in front of hundreds of people when you can't prove it in privacy? How could we convince a director you'd be comfortable to film a nude scene on a closed set?"

Mina felt conflicted.

They raised the ante

, she thought. She had nothing to gain from accepting the challenge, but she also felt like folding was somehow losing whatever game they were playing. How far should she play along? If she's playing a character, what matters more: what Mina would do, or what Julie would do?

The camera flashed.

Mina pulled off her sports bra and set it beside her. She smirked. Her brothers' mouths fell open, which gave her a sense of satisfaction, like she had parried their dare. She thought,

This is probably the first pair of boobs they've seen in person.

Her tits slightly sagged with the weight of release. Her nipples were pale, almost the color of the surrounding creamy white skin. The air on her skin felt more brisk than before. She briefly pressed her tits together with her upper arms, propping them up in a taunt, and then let them fall.

"Wow," said Donny. "I am impressed."

"See anything you like?" she said in jest.

"Your nipples are so pale," said Donny.

"Ghost nipples," said Trey.

Ghost nipples?

, thought Mina.

Boys are so vulgar.

As if remembering he held a camera, Trey took a series of pictures in rapidfire. The sound startled Mina, and she felt insecure. She'd have to make sure they deleted those when they were done. They'd probably be jerks about it and put up a big resistance to tease her. She pushed the idea from her mind so she could maintain her current feeling of empowerment.

"Does that offend you?" she asked.

"Not at all," said Donny. "It's actually remarkable. Uncommon. They're very sexy."

She laughed and winked and shook her tits playfully, leaning into a flirty persona to keep her brothers off-guard.

"What size bra do you wear?" asked Donny.

"They look like double D's," said Trey.

She rolled her eyes and thought,

Boys have no real concept of the complicated world of bra sizes. If they're small they think they're A's and if they're big they think they're DD's and there's no in-between.

"Actually, I'm a 36C," she said, unable to restrain her annoyance.

"No way," said Trey. "They look so big."

"I think I'd know," she said. "I'm short and have a small frame, so they look bigger."

Donny gestured to Trey. "Why don't you give her some assistance? I'll hold the camera for you."

Trey handed Donny the camera. He walked over to the bed and sat beside her, conscious of his positioning in relation to the camera on the tripod. He reached an arm around her. He cupped his hands around her tits and gently felt them.

"They're so soft," said Trey.

Mina was shocked. She lost her upper hand with two hands on her tits. She maintained her composure and suppressed the urge to get up from the bed.

These conniving little dweebs

, she thought.

How far are they willing to go to embarrass me? Do they want me to run out of the room? Do they want me to have a conniption and curse them out for some reaction video?

To her it was now a battle of will. If their game had rules, they were showing themselves willing to break them. It was like the horny party game she'd played in high school, The Nervous Game. Someone placed their hand on your knee and asked if you're nervous. If you said no, they moved their hand to the thigh and asked again. If you say no, their hand moves near your crotch and they ask again. It progressed until someone got bashful. Her brothers had to break character soon and the game would end and she would win. This competitive urge to prove herself immune from embarrassment spurred her on. Relenting now would expose a weakness and only encourage her brothers to mess with her again and again. She felt a playful nefarious humor in her conviction.

The camera flashed.

Trey's hands were warm and gentle but awkward, as if her breasts were a novelty rather than a sensual part of her. She relaxed her rigidity and opened herself up more to his touch. She wore a rakish grin and looked from Trey right into the camera.