“M

y name is Huvy Levitan, I’m 16 years old, and I’d definitely describe myself as quiet and shy. I’m not the natural actress type — in fact, I’m probably the last person you’d expect to be acting in a movie.”

Rina leaned in closer to Gabriella’s laptop screen. Was that her Huvy, so poised and articulate? She threw a quick, wondering glance at Gabriella. How had she managed to not only draw Huvy out, but to work such magic on her personality?

“So what made me decide to audition for this film? Well, I’m the producer’s daughter.” She gave a slight grimace. Rina’s stomach clenched. “And that’s probably the most important fact about me. So much of my story is really about my mother.”

Rina reddened and stole another look at Gabriella, who was sitting off to the side, her eyes rapidly flitting around the room. Rina had never seen her look so uncomfortable. She dug her own fingernails into her palm.

“My mother’s the most amazing, vibrant, talented person you’ve ever met. Everyone who meets her adores her.” The image cut away from Huvy and onto Rina herself, energetically leading the girls in a song and dance scene. Huvy’s voice was still talking in the background.

“Most girls, I guess, when they’re young, believe their mothers can do absolutely anything. But then they grow up and at some point realize that it’s not true. But me, I’ve never reached that point. Because my mother really can do anything.”

Cut back to Huvy. “Except, I guess, for one thing. She can’t teach her daughter to be like her. My mother’s the most wonderful mother in the world, but I’ve always known, deep down, that she would have preferred I’d be different. More like her.”

The camera zoomed in for a close-up. “So you want to know who I am? I’m a girl who’s grown up in the shadow of a superstar mother. Who’s grown up with the knowledge that I’m one big disappointment with a capital D. And I thought that — just maybe — I could prove myself by being in this film.”

Rina gasped out loud. She wrenched her trembling hands away from their death grip on the table edge and punched Pause on the screen. Then she pushed her chair away from the desk and stood up. She started pacing the room, walked over to the window, then sat down again. She needed to get out of here, needed to escape that accusing voice on the screen.

One big disappointment. Was that what Huvy felt? Was that what Rina felt? What kind of mother was she, to convey that feeling to her daughter? What kind of monster mother?

No! Huvy, no, no, no! You’re not a disappointment!

But was that true?

She sat back down at the table. She couldn’t listen, but she had to hear more. What else did Huvy accuse her of? She turned the video back on.

“It was a crazy idea. I’d decided I’d prove that I’m an actress. But I’m not. I’ve never been one, and, what’s more, I never had any desire to be one. So what, exactly, did I think I could prove?”

(Excerpted from Family First, Issue 635)