And then we got started.
The interactions between Jason and his father ran through beautifully. To the point that no one else in the room could even hide it on their faces. We were right there with them, reacting to the arguments, getting angry, all that. It was awesome.
And then… it was time for Elodie to portray Tracy, and…
It was awful.
There was no getting around it.
It wasn’t on Elodie either – she was trying her best with what Sienna had made available. But compared to the poignant, superbly rendered scenes she hadn’t touched, it didn’t even feel like the same show.
Nobody could hide that on their faces either.
“What makes you think you can understand me, huh?” Jason demanded, staring across the space at Elodie as Tracy. “You see me walking the casino floor a couple times, you know who my father is, and what? You know me now?”
Tracy bit her lip, smirking. “You don’t know shit, nigga. I stroll up in this place like the bad bitch I am, and you think you know me, but you don’t.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Yes it is. Period,” she snapped. “I’ma get my family up outta here, watch. Everybody that doubted me is gon’ see it.”
“Tracy—”
“Fuck you!” Again, she smirked. “You and your daddy, ain’t nothing but tricks anyway. And you gone keep tricking, generation to generation. Every summer, til I get outta here. Watch. Period.”
Jason cringed. “Why just the summers? Why not year-round, save up?”
“Duh,” Tracy said. “Cause I’m at school, nigga. The same one as you.”
“You’re shitting me.”
She grinned. “Nope. Up there hustling they bougie asses too. I don’t even go to those lil bullshit classes, and guess what? I’ll still have the grades.”
“So what is this really about for you?”
“Securing a bag, what else? And don’t you fuckin’ judge me for it either,” Tracy snapped. “You think you and your people the only ones? Nah, fuck that, I’ma get mine – I’m sorry,” Elodie said, breaking character to drop the script into her lap. “P, really? This is what we’re doing now?”
Suddenly, it was all eyes on Pierre, who’d been very quiet since the scene started. This was the same one Elodie had auditioned with, that had been so great in the moment. The girl trying to pay her way through school to get out of the hood was by no means an original character arc, but the way Pierre wrote her, she’d had depth and heart, neither of which were betrayed by her penchant for a potty-mouth.
Under Sienna’s pen… Tracy was a caricature.
Maybe he hadn’t been able to see it before, maybe he needed to hear it out loud, but there was no possible way Pierre couldn’t see what was so obvious.
That woman’s input was not an improvement.
It was a fucking tragedy.
Pierre was wearing a hat, and had it pulled low over his eyes, arms crossed. Since he hadn’t spoken yet, and still seemed to be in deep thought, Sienna took it upon herself.
“I don’t really see any familiar faces, so I’m going to guess this poor attempt at a table read is many of your first,” she said, standing up. “You should feel honored to have been invited on the journey of something my hands have touched, and you should probably remember that. This is not a community project – you’ve been hired to do a job. So get it done – I’ve got places to be.”
“So go then, girl,” Elodie snapped. “Who even are you?”
I knew, for a fact, that Elodie knew exactly who Sienna was. I also knew it was a perfect question to accomplish Elodie’s goal of getting under her skin – she had no loyalty to this woman, and with her family and bank account, it wasn’t like Sienna could “do” anything to her.
It was perfect.
“I’ve written and produced three hit shows, little girl.”
“I bet they were some bullshit. Niggas get impressed by anything with some current slang thrown in these days.” Elodie waved her off and pulled out her phone, giving her the energy only a twenty-year-old socialite could do so very well.
I couldn’t front.
I loved this.
But I knew Pierre was probably ready to sink through the floor, so I couldn’t let it go on.
“So I think what’s happening here,” I spoke up, over the hum of voices starting, “is that everyone who signed on here, did so with the expectation that this was going to be a certain show. But now, with the changes to the script, it’s feeling like something else. Nick, Pierre, would you two be open to us going back to your script before the most recent changes, and let our actors read through that to see how it feels?”
“Why the fuck would they want that? Are you trying to say something’s wrong with what I wrote?” Sienna snapped at me.
“I think it’s quite clear your changes aren’t working, so I’m offering a suggestion.”
“Which I happen to think is a good idea,” Nick spoke up. “I didn’t think there was a problem to begin with, but these changes… if I’d seen these before today, I wouldn’t have signed off on it.”
“Because it’s not up to you and your wannabe highbrow eyes,” Sienna countered. “You show me something better, since you’re a critic now.”
“Respectfully… I believe Pierre already has shown us better.” I looked down just long enough to tap a few buttons on my tablet. “Our Jason and Tracy now have the scripts pulled up on their screens – their original scripts. We can go through that same scene right now, and everyone can see the difference.”
Frustrated, Sienna turned to where Pierre still hadn’t said a word. “If you do this, I am outta here. And I still want every dime you owe me for my time in this God-awful place.”
“I guess we should say goodbye then,” Pierre told her. “You’re welcome to stay, since I invited you here for your voice, and wanted you on this team. But this is, has always been, a collaborative effort. And if you’ve got a problem working with others, I’m not going to beg you. We’ll make sure you get your check, though.”
I fully expected her to storm out, furious at not having gotten her way. Instead, she crossed her arms, a self-satisfied smirk on her face as she returned to her seat. “Fine. Let’s see this in motion, so you can see – I know what audiences want. I know my shit. And you’ll see it. Let’s do it.”
I returned to my seat wearing a smirk of my own, because I knew what was coming next – one of my favorite scenes. The way Sienna wrote it, it completely changed Tracy’s motives and trajectory. But to me, the way she connected with Jason in the moment was a masterpiece.
I’d already seen the whole conversation about working over the summer, the family legacy, all that, in audition. It was beautifully clear in my mind.
Jason took a deep sigh, scrubbing a hand over his head. “Why just the summers? Why not year-round, to save up, and get outta here?”
“Duh,” Tracy said, wearing a sly smirk. “Because just like you… when it’s not holidays or summers, I’m off at school. At your school. You walk around there like your shit don’t stink too.”
“You’re shitting me.”
She grinned. “Nope. The same hard ass classes, difficult professors, high ass tuition as you. Only, I have to pay it myself. And then I come home for the summer and work myself like a dog at the mercy of some rich assholes, and have to listen to my parents, my friends, and everybody else encourage me not to fucking bother, cause nobody thinks there’s anything more out there for me than working at this goddamn casino. So… you know what… you’re right – I don’t understand you.” A dry laugh pushed from her throat, and she shook her head. “And really… you suck. So why the fuck would I want to?”
What came after that though, I’d only ever read, so I was excited to at least hear it.
“If you’re not trying – don’t even want to understand me, what is this conversation even about, Tracy? Why even bother, if you think you’ve already got me figured out?” Jason asked, mee
ting her gaze.
“Because I’m hoping it’ll get you to figure yourself out. You and your whole family… you walk around with your noses in the air while you build your fortunes off the backs of locals. You don’t care how many parents aren’t there to help their kids with the homework, or who are too stressed because money is tight to have the necessary patience to show them grace, and love, and what actually being happy looks like. You’ve never known the life of having to get your siblings ready for school in the morning cause your parents are dead tired from an overnight shift, so they can’t. But you think the shit is okay because y’all toss your spare change at a charity every once in a while. You think you’re the ones who couldn’t bear the suffering of a child to ensure your own livelihood, but no. Y’all are not the ones that walked away. You stand there and watch and then go right back to your castle,” Tracy said, disdain clogging her voice as she sat back, done.
“What does that shit even mean!” Sienna interrupted, before Jason’s next line. “It’s just word salad, trying to sound deep!”
“It’s a reference to The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas!” I informed her, shaking my head. “You were going on about how much you know, yet you don’t recognize something most people pick up in freshman level lit classes?”
Her eyes snapped over to me, filled with fire. “I’m about sick of you!”
“Honey, the feeling is mutual. Can we get back to this, please?”
“What-the-fuck-ever,” Sienna screeched, ripping herself up from her seat to storm out.
“I’ll make sure your check gets to you!” I called after her, then brought my gaze straight to Pierre, who’d finally pulled that damn hat up. “Shall we finish this table read now?”
Without Sienna’s interruptions – or her awful script – the rest of the read went beautifully. There were minimal changes needed, which meant next week’s shooting date – pushed back to give some breathing room around the script and more time to perfect the sets – was secure. I could schedule the reads for the next episodes, as well as get the appropriate crew to build out shooting schedules… all kinds of things were unlocked now that this was done.
It was going to be a lot of work, but… it was work we were excited to do.
And I couldn’t wait.
I did, however, wait until we were alone in his office to broach the elephant in the room with Pierre – one of them, at least.
“I’m glad you were able to see the beauty in your own work,” I told him, as we were packing up to leave there, done working for the day. “I know seeing it shot and edited and all that will be a whole other level, but in the meantime… I hope you were able to see what we see.”
He stopped what he was doing to look up, meeting my gaze. “You don’t have to be nice about it, shorty. You can say it plain. I was bugging and was about to let this turn into some bullshit because I… couldn’t just believe that I could do it.”
“Everybody has to be reminded sometimes,” I shrugged. “Sienna’s invoice isn’t cheap, so that uncertainty is gonna cost you, but… things are back on track now. So… there’s nothing to sweat anymore, right? It’s fine.”
Pierre smirked. “Why do I feel like you would’ve made sure it ended up like this?”
“Cause you know I’ll do what it takes for you to win?”
The smile slipped from his lips, but he nodded. “Yeah. That’s it exactly. And I appreciate it.”
“It’s what I’m here for,” I assured, dropping my eyes so I could flip the heart charm on my bracelet from the uncomfortable spot where it had gotten lodged.
“You must really like that bracelet, huh?” he asked, and I nodded.
“I really do. It’s not my typical style, but it means a lot, so… here I am,” I laughed. “Am I messing with it a lot? I know I am. I just don’t want to happen across any of the girls and not have it on – which I know is ridiculous, but still.”
When I looked up, his brows were pulled together, confused. “Girls?”
“Yeah, remember? Or maybe I didn’t tell you, since I haven’t had any time with them since we started. Some seniors I met down at The Cartwright Center. I put some money into a trust for them, for college, and this was their way of thanking me.”
“Oh. Oh. Wow.” He shook his head, letting out a dry sort of chuckle I didn’t understand. “I… thought it was from Anthony.”
“What?!” I laughed. “You know, it does look like something a man would buy for someone, but… no. I absolutely would not have accepted jewelry from him, this soon. We haven’t even… nevermind. Just… no.”
Pierre raised an eyebrow at me. “You bought me jewelry though.”
“That was different.”
“Nah, I think you did it cause I’m easy. That’s it, isn’t it?”
“Stop it,” I laughed. “Um… speaking of… Rashad Martin sent me a couple pictures from your shoot. I saw you wore the grill.”
Pierre smiled, and nodded. “Absolutely. Had to represent, right?”
“Yeah… I guess so. You looked good.”
“Did you doubt I would?”
I giggled, shaking my head as I grabbed my bag and headed for the door, glad that for the first time in a while, it felt like we were parting on a good note. I was getting out while we were ahead.
“Nope. Never.”
18
Pierre
“I can’t sleep.”
I didn’t bother trying to hide what I was doing from El, since she probably already smelled the smoke anyway. From my lounged position on the balcony chaise, I beckoned her with my hand, inviting her to come out and join me in the pitch black of night.
I couldn’t sleep either.
“You’re really about to let me do this, huh?” she asked dropping beside me and extending a hand to insist I share. Reluctantly, I did, watching her take her turn and then blow the puff of smoke out of her mouth before passing it back.
“What are you talking about, girl?”
“Your show, P. This is your baby, something you created, something you’re building. I don’t have any experience. I’ve never done anything like this. I didn’t even know I wanted to do something like this.
I grinned at her. “And now, here you are.”
“Yeah,” she huffed. “Here I am. Here we are. The thing is, when I look at you I’m not doubting anything. Every time you said you were going to do something, you made it happen. Whether it was making sure I was good or getting sober so you could be around our nephew or making the show. You made it happen. What the fuck have I done besides look cute on Instagram?”
“You’re twenty, El. What is it you think you’re supposed to have done?” I asked.
She sat back with a shrug, her posture defeated. “I don’t know. Something. A wack rap album. A clothing line. An amateur sex tape like all the other cool kids,” she laughed.
“That’s aspirational?”
“It’s proof they did something.”
I shook my head then gave her a nudge, inviting her to take another turn. It sounded like she might need this more than I did.
“Your proof is coming soon, baby girl,” I told her. “I’m not going to sit in your face and front like I always thought you had something great in you that you were just hiding. Not saying you didn’t have something like that, but you’re young. So I wasn’t really looking for that, which is maybe my bad because… goddamn, El. You are really fucking good at this. And I’m not saying that just cause I’m your brother. I can’t even imagine anybody else in this Tracy role. You are truly our mother’s child, and I know… her and Pops, they’re not here to see it, you know? They’re not here to give you that encouragement, bolster your confidence all that. I’m here though. So I’ll say it for all of us. We’re fucking proud.”
“Shut up,” Elodie muttered. Her head was turned away from me, but the sudden sniffles breaking through her silence told me I’d struck a nerve. I wasn’t trying to do all that, but she was my sister.
I couldn�
�t have her out here feeling down.
Especially when our first day of shooting was tomorrow – in a few hours, actually. I knew that’s what these nerves were about, because it was the same thing that had driven me outside, too.
Couldn’t sleep, the only person I wanted to fuck wasn’t on me like that, and turning to the bottle wasn’t remotely an option.
So my medicinal herbs would have to do the trick.
“You’re nervous, too?” she asked into the darkness, after several moments of silence between us had passed.
“Hell yeah,” I answered, truthfully. “Like you said… I created this. Now it’s time to give birth.”
“Is Nick gonna be there tomorrow?” she asked, a bit more excited about that prospect than I liked.
“Yeah,” I told her. “He rented a place for him and Noah to be here for the length of shooting.”
She sucked her teeth. “He takes that damn girl everywhere.”
“His long-term girlfriend? Yes, he does take her everywhere,” I laughed. “And even if he didn’t, you know I’d beat the brakes off his ass if I even thought he was looking at you, right? He’s too old for you.”
“I know,” Elodie whined. “I’m just tired of these wack ass dudes my age. I guess they are cute together. And Noah gives some good ass advice online, with all her self-worth talk and all that.”
“See? That’s what you need to be looking up to. Maybe you won’t end up with another Chaos or Hoodlum or whatever the fuck that boy’s name was.”
“Hellion,” El corrected me, giggling. “And he’s old news now anyway. And speaking of old news, now that you can’t get away from me and avoid the question… um, what were you thinking, bringing Sienna freaking Sparks into your writers’ room?”
I closed my eyes, dropping my head as I pushed a harsh stream of air through my nose.
“Dude. I want to say I don’t even know what that was about, but I know exactly what. It was just stupid. I mean, personal tastes aside, Sienna makes hit shows. People talk about them.”
“Yeah, people talk about them, but half of those people are clowning them because they’re wack. You’re not really on social media like that, so you don’t see it, but I do. And if you’d just run that idea past your little sister first, I could have saved you whatever you had to pay that harpy, plus some time and frustration. Thank God for Logan pushing to get everything back where it was supposed to be.”
Behind the Scenes Page 18
