I put my backpack down in the center of the room as I climb into my bed. I’m thankful my parents aren’t home. Tears are still streaming down my face. There’s no way I want to talk with them right now.
Completely by accident, I look at the picture, right above my bed, of me, Meylin and Kanisha at the beach club last year. We’re all in our bathing suits and smiling. I have a gash on my knee when I accidentally cut myself on a rock. But I didn’t care. We were having so much fun that I…
Nothing. Forget it.
I take out my phone and start looking through my pictures. I’m not even sure what I’m looking for. Just need a distraction. Anything to take my mind off of what happened.
Why did I do that?
It’s a picture of Toby and I. It’s back when I was filming Zombie Graveyard and at the house Mom rented in Maine. It’s during the summer and I’m holding him on my lap. Dad and Toby were visiting for the weekend. We were all together again, at least for a little while.
You know what’s funny?
I can still picture that makeshift cemetery they built. It was really neat too. I used to run around and play quick games of hide and seek. Hiding behind the fake looking tombstones. I always pressured my on screen Dad to play with me during breaks (his name is Craig, by the way). He was cool about it but you could tell he didn’t really want to. And Michelle, the director, would pretend to get upset and yell at us.
Wow. That’s someone I haven’t thought about in a while. She was awesome. On the first day of filming, when I was incredibly nervous, she made me feel instantly at ease. It was just her personality. She was funny too. Oh gosh, I remember when I was supposed to cry during a scene but I just couldn’t.
Let me say this before I continue, crying on demand is a very difficult thing to achieve. You can ask any actor out there. It’s one of the hardest things to do, especially if you’re not feeling it.
The scene had me sitting on Craig’s lap and crying about not wanting my cat to die. Well, it was take after take and I wasn’t crying. I was really trying but nothing was coming out. So, Michelle is completely frustrated at this point and she walks over to me.
“We need to get through this, Autumn. Don’t you have any sad memories? A pet or relative dying that you can tap into?” Michelle asked.
“No.”
“How about anything sad that’s happening in the world right now? Anything you saw on the news?”
“No.”
She then gave me a weird look. Like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Okay. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you twenty dollars if you cry.”
Well, needless to say, I started crying. After filming wrapped for the day, she handed me the money. She then said something that stuck with me.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if horror movies were in your future. You have the eyes of a sociopath.”
Michelle was obviously joking and she laughed after saying it. I laughed too at the time. Now, after my fight with Meylin, and the things she said to me, I don’t find it so funny anymore.
You know what…I think I’m done reminiscing about my first film.
The next morning I call Howard before I head off to the set (he already told us he’s not going to be there today). I want to run my idea by him as soon as possible. It’s time to get focused on “Special Friends” again. I don’t want to think about anything else.
“Good morning, Autumn. I appreciate the early morning call. Aren’t you…?”
“Listen. I have an idea about a special segment we can film on the show.”
“Alright. I’m listening.”
“You know about my Instagram, right? Where I’m interviewing people with learning and developmental disabilities?”
“Of course. I’ve seen the interviews and they’re very inspiring. I’m very…”
“Well, I thought about having an interview on the actual set. I thought it could even be live and we can bus in a bunch of kids to sit in the audience.”
“We can’t go live, Autumn. The logistics aren’t there with all the PBS affiliates. Meaning that the different stations already have set times in which they air the show and they all differ.”
“Okay, fine. But you can still bus in the kids, can’t you?”
“Take it easy. Give me a second to think.”
“Come on, Howard. This is a big opportunity. You know how popular my Instagram is. This is just the next logical step. Think about the ratings this could get.”
“You sound like a producer in training. Anyway, I just don’t see it. We have a very busy schedule ahead before filming wraps. I don’t see how we can fit it in.”
“But we can fit it in. It won’t even take that much time. Just give me one full episode, twenty five minutes.”
“No way. I think you’re the one that’s not thinking, Autumn. When do you expect to film this episode length special? We’re in the middle of filming the bird smuggling episodes right now.”
“Do you really propose we interrupt that to shoot your special? This series is expensive and we barely have the budget for it. This is public television at its most restrictive. We can’t afford any interruptions.” Howard says.
“This is more important. This is about actual advocacy. Don’t you get that? Look, we can film the interview and then continue shooting the episode. It’ll be all in one day. Come on, Howard. You know I’m right.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just not feasible right now.”
“Wait a second. My educational segment, and this show is supposedly about education, isn’t feasible but that stupid back to school special was? Admit it, that was just filler because of rewrites.”
“How much time did we spend on that, huh? Huh? That was an entire day of filming. Sounds like a waste of money to me.”
“That served a specific purpose, Autumn. You said it yourself. The scripts were going through rewrites. I’m truly sorry but it’s just not going to happen. Maybe we can produce the segment next year but…”
“You know what, Howard? Forget it. I quit the show.”
“You’re quitting just because you didn’t get your way? Autumn, listen to me, you have a contract. If you don’t show up for work, you’ll be in breach of that contract. I strongly suggest you come to work.”
“Funny how that contract works. Lorena was allowed to leave the show.”
“She gave us notice and…Autumn, why are you acting like this? What’s gotten into you?”
“I’m acting like this because it’s not fair. It would be so incredibly easy to fit my interview in but you just don’t want to do it. So, go ahead and sue me.”
“Autumn…”
“No, stop. Sue me and see what happens. You said I’m in breach of contract, right? Hmmm…let’s see. Isn’t Tim in breach of contract for doing those commercials? He still has his job. So, you’re going to sue the girl who has learning disabilities and wants to educate others but ignore the kid who’s trying to profit off the show (when it warns us not to in that very same contract).”
“Yeah. See how well that plays out.” I say.
There is silence on the other end for a couple of minutes as I rub the kitchen table with my free hand.
“Ten minutes. Ten minutes for your interview and that’s it. You don’t like it, we’ll find another actress to play Lexi.” Howard says.
“How about the kids?”
“You really need kids in the audience?”
“Uh, yeah, I do. It will add to the ambience.”
Howard sighs. “I can’t promise anything. Let me see what I can do.”
“When can I do the interview?” I ask.
“Probably sometime next week. I’ll let you know. Whoever you’re interviewing, touch base with them. We’ll talk more about this later.”
Can you believe that? Howard was definitely bluffing when he said that they could get someone else to play Lexi. If I ever left the show, millions would stop watching. It would finally be canceled for poor ratings.
Well, whatever. At least I got what I wanted. The next step is convincing Todd to participate in yet another interview. Let me see if I can…
Wait. I can’t call him now. It’s not even six in the morning yet. He’s probably still sleeping. I’ll just have to wait until the afternoon.
It’s almost five in the afternoon when I burst into my room. I’m finally done with that garbage for another day. I had to change my shirt because that stupid parrot pooped on me. Can’t Howard make sure they get better-trained birds? He’s so incompetent.
Okay. It’s time to call Todd. Just hope I can reach him and he’s not working (he told my Mom he works as a grocery stocker).
“Hello…” I start as I hear Todd in the background.
“Oh…Oh…Oh…Oh…”
“Listen, Todd. I need to ask you for a favor.”
“Oh…Oh…”
“Can you appear for another interview? Something…um…went wrong with the footage. It was accidentally deleted is what I mean.”
“I’m really sorry about that but you did a great job. But I do have some good news. I talked to one of the producers and he wants me to interview you on the show. Isn’t that great?” I tell him.
“Yeah…I…I…”
“Think about it. You told me you love the show and now you’ll get to actually appear on it. Are you excited or what?”
“I…I…”
“You want to do it, right?”
“I…I…don’t know. I’m not really comfortable in an unfamiliar place with a lot of people around.”
“How can it be unfamiliar when you see the set on TV all the time? You won’t even notice all the people around. Trust me on that. Come on, it’ll be so much fun.”
“Think of it this way, Todd. The interview will only be for ten minutes and, guess what, you’ll get to meet the cast. I’ll give you a tour of the studio too after the interview is finished.”
“I…get…nervous.”
“Hey, Todd. It’s okay. It’s a real chill environment on set. Everyone’s real nice. There’s no reason to be nervous. Think of this as an opportunity. You’re a graduate student in History, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, okay. If someone in your field, you know, watches your interview. They’ll be like; I have to hire that guy. You were so good in your last interview. Don’t let it go to waste.”
“Look, you had to talk in front of a group of people in college, right? You gave presentations in front of the class. What’s so different about this?”
“Nothing…I…I…guess.”
“See, I told you. So, will you do it or what?”
“Okay. I’ll…do it.”
“That’s great, Todd. It’s really going to be so much fun. My Mom will email you the details in the next couple of days. Bye now.”
That was a lot easier than I anticipated. I wasn’t sure that Todd would agree to yet another interview, especially after Emily’s meltdown. The only box left to check is the actual date of the interview. And then “Special Friends” will make its debut on PBS.
I like that.
Related Articles:
Being Special, Chapter 14: https://baltimoreraven87.medium.com/being-special-chapter-14-ebf7c4381c99
All previous chapters are linked in Chapter 14.
