189 little women.

Massachusetts was cold, and although the ice had cracked in some parts due to the time of year, spring was taking root decisively where icicles once hung. Further up in some mountains, the cold continued to be a part of the communal life of the state's residents. Billy had managed to gain some recognition from the crew; the trip was planned calmly, avoiding the usual checks to steer clear of paparazzi and some more or less enthusiastic individuals.

The early morning was a way to dodge many of these people, as well as gain more preferential access, to a private area beside the public airport. The accommodation wasn't out of this world, but it had the advantage of privacy, only used on special occasions, a service that young Billy was unaware of until now.

-Bill, you have three hours to keep reviewing the script; we'll start recording some necessary scenes as soon as possible. - said Gilliam, who already knew some shots taken by assistant directors from quick shots and landscapes, along with some other shots.

-Thanks, director. - said Billy, who wished to take a break on the flight, but all his plans were cut short. The separation between actors and producers was evident. Some were already there, taking some shots or adapting to the crew. Billy adjusted his backpack, containing more than a whole stack of neatly ordered papers, by character, stories, some notes, tales, and stories from his major series. Without delay, the first class was already boarded on the plane; apparently, the airline was preferential, and only about 40 people entered, allowing for freedom of movement. The next three hours would be a long wait.

-Stop reading the script; they won't pressure you that much. I mean, you received the script last night; normally, you can't perform some scenes. Also, the scenes from the first week aren't entirely yours. - said Winona.

-I already have most of it memorized. - said Billy.

-Wow, quite arrogant. - said Trini, with a water bottle in hand, her white skin seemed sprinkled, along with her black hair, giving her a womanly appearance.

-Maybe he wants to show off. But don't worry, we're impressionable women.- said Claire Danes, laughing with Winona. Both had a spark of friendship, typical of two close female friends, but it would be impossible without Winona's charisma to make friends.

-A man to rescue me. - said Winona, supporting the dorsal part of her hand, causing more laughter from the three women, who continued their banter about who was the most defenseless.

The space for two ended up being occupied by Claire Danes, a blonde with brown eyes, occasionally tinted green. Upon closer inspection, they were bright green, highlighting the fine features she now had as a teenager without emphasizing her image.

-So, how's your reading going? - said Claire, trying to break the silence with Billy.

-Fantastic, I'm trying to keep up with the pace as much as possible. - said Billy, giving a textbook response. But Claire was determined to talk to Billy, as he was the only one awake on the trip. The cameras didn't detect a Winona with drool running down her cheeks or a Trini, hugging a pillow as if she were an infant.

-You're an artist. - said Claire, in the air, looking at some of Billy's drawings.

-Indeed, it's one of my great hobbies. Do you have one? - - said Billy, putting the script aside at Claire's insistence. The logbook of his drawings, drawings created by Billy Carson himself and not represented by the system, was in his arms. It contained two of his own stories and one in collaboration with Joe Kubert, "Dark Riders."

The first story was a representation of the Iliad and Odyssey in the best way possible, a quest that needed an advance in technologies for animated quality to give a particular shine to such strong and challenging-to-follow stories.

The second was a short story about a wild shark fisherman. The hunting of wild animals on the shores of the water in the Mesopotamian year by a madman who captured "sea monsters," including sharks, jellyfish, barracudas, and swordfish, in the waves and storms of the Indian Ocean. Projects he would follow on his own and publish independently, without much ceremony, guided by a few voices and more by a narrator, who would tell the story as if it were a tale for adults.

-Well, I like fashion. But my passion is theater and cinema. You see, I come from an artistic family. My father is a photographer, my mother is an artist, painter, sculptor, and clothing designer. My grandfather is a real brain, as my mother likes to say, but he has a unique artistic taste. I've made some pieces of clothing with my mother, nothing interesting, just a weekend of inventiveness. - said Claire. - But you have a lot of talent for drawing. -

Reviewing the drawing sketches, the methodical and bold landscapes of Billy are beautiful to the eyes; Billy's impressionism is strong, and with the help of his system, he can portray this style perfectly, causing a drawing to have a unique reality.

-Thank you. Since I was a kid, I've been drawing non-stop; it's like a job for me, - said Billy, looking at the portraits, especially the one of Alice, done in pencil. It depicted an afternoon while she studied, occasionally smiling at Billy before returning to her books.

-It's beautiful! - said Claire, pausing at the drawings of Achilles, a warrior reflecting the strength of a hundred men, blessed by heaven and earth.

-Thank you.- said Billy.

-I heard you're very close to Pixar; you've done two voiceovers in the last few years. - said Claire.

-Three voiceovers, and yes, I am. I particularly like animation of all kinds, and I have an unhealthy appreciation for how wonderful a good animated film can be. There are no limits to impossible scenes, you can highlight art, and, well... it just takes imagination to create things. - said Billy.

-I see. Surprisingly, you have sensitive tastes.- said Claire. She moved on to other images of Alice, dancing on stage, cooking, and posing.

-Who is she? - asked the girl, noticing that several images of Alice were repeated.

-She's Alice, my girlfriend. - said Billy.

-She's quite beautiful. - said Claire, looking at the lovely blonde, drawn in pencil, pen, and all sorts of different colors.

-She is. - said Billy.

-You should draw us. - said Claire, looking at her friends, laughing at their condition. - "Just not now, it's not our best moment."

-I can do it for you with all the pleasure that such an action requires, although it's not easy to portray people; it's a long and enduring task. - said Billy, thinking about the times he had portrayed, the developing colors of his art, and the jagged forms that didn't quite complete what he so desired to convey. The drawing was confusing and mortifying.

Shortly after, little Claire also succumbed to sleep. The early morning wasn't friendly to awake souls. They had already done some occasional work for the recording and were tired from the shooting the day before early in the morning. The plane settled down slowly, and everyone went to rest as much as they could.

Billy decided to continue drawing his stories. The fleeting knowledge of many works passed through his mind, but he dedicated himself to creating his drawings, paying no attention to all the knowledge that emerged in his mind. Greek stories always contained interesting details, and successfully creating a series of them was just a journey into the hot memory of myths and legends sung by prose writers in earlier times. He read the Odyssey about three times without a break, from top to bottom, a version with annotations, and of course, the Iliad. Intricacies came and went, supported by a wandering imagination. He wanted to capture the gift he acquired in these classical stories as appetizers for his future tales.

...