February 21, 2006
Eight
I arrive at Studio 4 a little bit earlier than usual.
It’s too cold in here, my knee is the first to resent it. The A/C must’ve been running on high for a couple of hours. All the doors have been shut for a while. As my eyes get adjusted to the darkness of the place, I make out a figure somewhere infront of me. Slowly it starts to take shape. I squint and right there, sitting in my make-up chair is Marcia. She’s got her back turned towards me, but there are only so many people who’d wear their hair the way she does. A cold feeling climbs up my back and to the bottom of my head. I try to say something, but nothing comes out. My mouth is dry and my lungs seem to have run out of air. I come closer. The emptiness of the studio gets to me and I feel someone somewhere is hiding. Looking at me. Smiling. Expecting. Marcia’s still not saying anything. Neither am I. I try to swallow, but there’s nothing in my mouth to swallow. I take a deep breath. The freezing A/C air makes my lungs hurt. I take a step towards her. Nothing. My stomach feels like a hole had just been drilled into it. I take another step closer. I look around, there’s nothing there. Just the cameras, un-used sets and lots of props. I feel a drip of cold sweat go down my back.
Step.
Another cold drip follows the first one.
Step.
Everything seems ok.
Step.
But the studio is empty. Well, I am early.
Step.
Nothing seems out of order.
Step.
Except that there’s no one else there which could be because I’m early, but Marcia isn’t moving.
Step.
I tap her on the shoulder and she moves a little.
Breath.
Frozen sweat.
Pause.
I tap her again a little harder.
Her head violently swings back and hangs there. She seems to be looking straight at me. But she isn’t looking at anything. Not anymore.
February 13, 2006
Seven
Calls to Action (CTA) are the segments of an infomercial program that specially motivate the customer to call and order the product. They’re usually two minutes long and they review the product’s main features and benefits. It also states the product’s guarantee, price, send check to address, 800/888 number, credit cards accepted, etc. That’s one of the last things to be recorded for the infomercial. I’m not there when that gets done. Where I am is meeting a friend of mine outside of a bar close to home.
Imagine Tobey Maguire in Spiderman, glasses and all, only instead of Tobey’s face use Brad Pitt’s. Mix that with Forrest Gump’s running. Throw in a little Woody Allen humor and finish it with just a touch of Homer Simpson. That’s Mike. He half jokes about being somehow related to William Wallace. His last name is Wallace.
I decide to wait for him inside and as I walk in I see him sitting in a table in a corner of the bar. Next to him is a new girl. A different one from last time. Last time is two weeks ago. She says her name is Sandy
Imagine Barbie. That’s Sandy.
She doesn’t say much.
We thank her for that.
I start the conversation after everyone’s hellos. “I was Forrest Gumping you outside for like 15 minutes�. Sometimes we use movie titles as verbs to express ideas, so for example Forrest Gumping is “waiting in a bench for someone�.
“Really? I thought we agreed to meet inside�.
“Whatever�.
Mike said he was thinking of going on a trip. “With Sandy?� I ask.
“Hell no!� Sandy’s in the bathroom right now. “I might as well go with the Duke!� Mike has a male 13 pound Jack Russell Terrier, he calls him the Duke.
I’m curious, “Where are you going?�
“I don’t know,� he picks up his beer and drinks a little “I’m thinking of just getting on the first bus I see and see where it takes me.�
Sandy comes back from the bathroom and sits on the chair opposite of where she was sitting before. She looks puzzled, “Where’s my drink?�
He might as well go with the Duke.
Sandy has the sort of laugh you only hear when people make fun of people like her.
“So, Joe�, Mike speaks between bites into his sandwich, “I was thinking,� bite, “how would you feel about,� bite “holding on to the Duke while I’m out?�
If you know anything about Jack Russell Terriers, you know they’re not exactly peaceful. They’re not the sort of animals who will go about their own lives and leave you alone to go on with yours. They’re also not the sort of animals who will sit in a corner and go to sleep, no, they will run around and jump everywhere as if their life depended on it. They also have a tendency to pick up fights with inanimate objects such as brooms, couches, socks, plants, walls and remote controls.
I’m not exactly thrilled about it, but I had to say yes.
Now comes what you might say was the beginning of everything this is about.
What I’m doing is running to the phone in the living room. The Duke decided every other phone in the house was his enemy, so this is the only one left. There was an obscure sort of muffled voice on the other end. They were probably holding some cloth over the receiver.
I have to sit down, my knee is killing me. The Voice doesn’t have a lot to say, it says, “Marcia. Good luck.�
42 Towels 