Going Off Script

by Jen Wilde

  “Got it,” Alyssa says. She’s leading the way, having hiked this trail a few times before. Shrupty is behind her, followed by me, and then Gabby, who is living for the view of Los Angeles below.

  “I can’t believe I’m in Hollywood,” she says excitedly. I grin at her over my shoulder and reach back to squeeze her hand.

  “I’m so happy you’re here,” I say. I gaze out at the view beneath us, the multimillion-dollar homes nestled into the Los Feliz mountainside, the buildings reaching up to the sky from downtown LA, their glass exteriors sparkling in the sun as it begins its descent over the horizon. This is what I dreamed about from my bed in Westmill.

  My foot catches on a branch, but I steady myself before I fall. From then on, I keep my gaze off the view and on the trail. The basket I’m holding has all Shrupty’s camera equipment in it; the last thing I want to do is break it with my clumsiness.

  We’re heading to Cedar Grove, a wooded section of Griffith Park that Alyssa says resembles the outdoor cabin set on Silver Falls. The higher up the mountain we go, the more lush and dense the forest becomes. Tonight, we’re filming the opening scene of the episode: Sasha running through the woods and getting trapped by a hunter’s net, only to be released by Lyla.

  “I love this city,” Shrupty says as she takes in a deep breath of the fresh air. She looks adorable today, in a short olive-green romper, matching bandanna tied around her head, and her hair up in a messy bun.

  “You look like a sexy Rambo,” I whisper in her ear from behind. She bites her bottom lip, then laughs.

  “This is my very professional director’s outfit,” she explains, pausing to pose on the trail. “I wanted to look cute for my short film directorial debut.”

  “Ava DuVernay would be proud,” I say.

  Soon, we reach Cedar Grove and unload all our stuff in a small clearing with a picnic table. The pink sky stretches out past the trees, and the city lights grow brighter by the second.

  “What do you think?” Alyssa asks as she stands in the middle of the clearing. “Is it Silver Falls–y enough?”

  Shrupty inspects the area. “If we shoot it just right, we can make it work.” She lifts her tripod out of one of the baskets. “It’s all about the angles.”

  I know I should be as focused on the project as she is, but I just can’t take my eyes off her. I smile to myself in a way that I never did before I met Shrupty.

  Gabby pokes me in the ribs to get my attention. “You’re so cute.”

  I pretend I wasn’t just checking out my girlfriend—oh, how I love calling her that. “Huh?”

  “The way you look at her…,” she says quietly so only I can hear her. “I’ve never seen you look at anyone like that. It’s like when you’re a kid and you see a rainbow and have to stop to just admire it.”

  My cheeks warm. “Is it that obvious?”

  Gabby grins. “She’s your rainbow.”

  My heart grows ten times its size.

  “Shut up,” I say with a giggle, my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Gabby rolls her eyes at me.

  “Just own it,” she says, throwing an arm around me. “I see what’s happening here, and I’m living for it. Love looks good on you.”

  Tingles run down the back of my neck, and I drop my gaze. “Thanks, Gabs. She is my rainbow.”

  Alyssa opens one of the backpacks and gasps. “Whoa.” She lifts the wolf mask out of the bag and inspects it closely. “This is creepy. I love it.” We don’t exactly have the budget or the special effects skills to CGI a werewolf, so a mask and tons of close-ups will have to do.

  Shrupty walks over and touches one of the ears, then squirms. “God, it’s so real.” She turns to me. “Remind me later to give Parker a big thank-you hug.”

  Parker pulled some strings and managed to score the eerily realistic wolf mask from a prop house. “We have to be very careful with it,” I say. “It’s on loan and needs to be back on Monday.”

  Alyssa nods before gently tugging it over her head. “How do I look?” she asks, her voice slightly muffled.

  Shrupty helps her tuck the edges of the mask under the neckline of her T-shirt. “Not gonna lie,” she says. “You’re creeping me out.”

  Alyssa lets out a growl that makes Shrupty scream, then we all burst into laughter. Shrupty slaps Alyssa playfully on the shoulder, but she laughs, too.

  * * *

  “One more shot and we can wrap,” Shrupty says as she crouches down behind the camera. Alyssa yawns under her wolf mask, then starts bouncing on the spot to pump herself up. Hearing her yawn makes me yawn, and then Gabby, too. But not Shrupty—she’s been on fire ever since she first said “Action!” hours ago. I always knew she had a talent for making videos; she’s been a YouTube star for years. But watching her work, the way she cares about every tiny detail and crafts every second of the scene, I realize I’m witnessing something special.

  There’s nothing quite like seeing someone doing the work that lights them up from the inside out.

  “Okay,” she says, clapping her hands together. “Everyone ready?”

  Alyssa gets back in position under the fishing net Shrupty borrowed from her dad, then gives the thumbs-up. Shrupty hits record and steps in front of the camera and into her role as Lyla.

  Gabby and I are standing on either side of our makeshift set, me holding Shrupty’s fold-up light reflector sheet and Gabby manning the ring light. Outside of our little circle of light, the grove is pitch-black. We’re like witches making magic in the woods, and I’m loving every second of it.

  “Hold it right there!” a deep voice yells from above us. I look up to see a broad-shouldered figure watching us from a trail through the trees.

  Shrupty looks at her watch. “Shit. It’s ten fifteen.”

  “Do you have a permit for filming?” he calls.

  His flashlight shines down on us as we all look at one another, wide-eyed—except Alyssa, who’s still wearing the wolf mask. He trains his light on her.

  “What the…,” he says.

  “Run!” Gabby says, then grabs the ring light and tripod, hugging them to her chest as she races off into the darkness. Alyssa stuffs the net and mask in her backpack and bolts right after Gabby, leaving Shrupty and me standing like deer in headlights.

  “Hey!” he yells down at us. “Don’t move!” He takes his light off us as he starts making his way down the rocky trail toward us. We see our chance and take it, frantically packing up the last of our equipment and running for the hills.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  We’re almost out of the dense wooded area of the park when I trip on a branch and slide down the side of the mountain. Luckily, it’s not too steep and I manage to stop against a fallen log. My arms sting from grazing against the rocky terrain, but I don’t move.

  “Bex!” Shrupty whisper-yells from the trail. “Oh my god! Are you okay?”

  “I’m okay,” I call back.

  “Hold on,” she says. “I’m coming.”

  “No!” I whisper. “Keep going. I’ll catch up!”

  She ignores me and slowly sidesteps her way down.

  I wave a hand up so she can find me, and once she does she crouches down behind the log. “Did you hurt yourself?”

  I shake my head. “Don’t think so. I’m more worried about the camera equipment.”

  “It’ll be fine,” she assures me. “Let’s go before he—”

  But it’s too late. The sound of footsteps approaching makes us sink closer to the ground. Shrupty clutches my arm, and we wait in nervous silence as the guard paces back and forth above us.

  A voice crackles through what I assume is his walkie-talkie.

  “Hey, Steve,” it says. “Any update?”

  The guard clears his throat before answering. “I don’t see them. I’ll keep going, then let you know.” His flashlight beams through the trees around us, and I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping he can’t see us from where he’s standing. After what feels like forever, he continues down the trail.r />
  “What do we do?” Shrupty asks, her voice quiet.

  “We have to wait until he comes back this way,” I say, peering over the log. “He’s on the only trail out of here.”

  “We’re like Frodo and Sam hiding from the Nazgûl,” she whispers.

  I roll onto my side to face her, resting on my elbow. “I love it when you talk nerdy.”

  She moves her body closer to mine. “You know one difference between us and that scene from Lord of the Rings?” Her voice is low, and I can hear a smile on her lips.

  “Um,” I say. “We’re not hobbits?”

  She giggles. “No. They weren’t making out.”

  Shrupty crushes her lips to mine, taking the wind out of me in the most amazing way. The adrenaline that was already pumping through my veins goes into warp speed. All my senses are heightened. My back presses deeper against the rugged, uneven earth as Shrupty leans over me, running her hands down my waist and onto my hips. Loose strands of her hair fall down the sides of her face, like curtains separating us from the outside world. I breathe in the smell of her shampoo—hints of honey and fig blend with the scents of the pine woods around us. A gentle breeze rolls over us as I wrap my arms around her, kissing her like I’ve never kissed her before. Like I’ve never kissed anyone before.

  I wish I could take everything about this moment and keep it for the days I feel like I’m hanging on by a thread. The fire I feel right now could keep me warm for a hundred years.

  My fingers run through her hair and move up to cradle the back of her head so I can kiss her harder. But our makeout session is interrupted when my phone starts ringing in my back pocket. The tune of the Silver Falls theme song echoes through the trees, making us both jump in fright and panic.

  “No,” I mutter. “No, no, no. Nope. Not happening.”

  “Quick!” Shrupty whispers as she rolls off me. “He’s going to hear it.”

  I lift my butt up to reach my phone in my back pocket and see Gabby’s face on the screen. I slide my thumb over it and answer her call.

  “Hey,” I say as quietly as I can.

  “Where are you?” she asks, her voice high-pitched. She’s panicking.

  “Hiding,” I reply. “Where are you? Is Alyssa with you?”

  “Yeah,” she says with a sigh. “We’re in the car. Did he see you?”

  I peek over the log, but there’s no sign of him. “Don’t think so. But we can’t move until he comes back. He’s still looking for us.”

  I hear Gabby updating Alyssa, then she says into the phone, “Should we come find you?”

  “No,” I say. “He’ll see you. Stay in the car and we’ll be there as soon as we can sneak out.”

  “Okay,” she says. “Be careful.”

  “You too.” I end the call, and Shrupty rests her head on my shoulder.

  “Are they all good?”

  “They’re at the car,” I say as I hold her close to me.

  She lets out a sigh. “We’re going to be stuck here all night.”

  I gaze up through the leaves, seeing glimpses of sky and stars. “There’s no one I’d rather be lying in the dirt with.”

  She lifts her head to look at me. “Aww!”

  I’m about to pull Shrupty close to me again when a light emerges from the trees above us. We both freeze in place. Footsteps approach down the trail. Shrupty finds my hand and squeezes it tight. I hold my breath as the beam from the flashlight moves through the trees around us.

  “Who’s out there?” he calls. My heart races like a hamster on a wheel, and I’m terrified it’s beating so loud the whole forest can hear it.

  Shrupty and I lay perfectly still, hand in hand, just waiting him out. After a minute or two of eerie silence, we hear the guard speaking into his walkie-talkie.

  “Shit,” he says. “I lost them. It was just a group of kids screwing around. But I swear one of them had a wolf for a head.” Laughter echoes through his walkie-talkie.

  “Hey, shut up!” he says. “I know what I saw!” The flashlight switches off, and then we hear his footsteps as he walks away.

  “Damn,” he mutters to himself. “That’s the last time I smoke a joint before my shift.” The more his footsteps fade into the distance, the easier I can breathe.

  “I think he’s gone,” I whisper. It’s too dark for me to see Shrupty, but I can hear her trying to choke back her laughter.

  “Shh,” I hush her, but now I feel her shoulders shaking from giggling and I can’t hold it in anymore either. I roll onto my side, struggling to keep my laughter at whisper levels. We both lie on the dirt, wheezing and snorting in the darkness. For a fleeting moment, I forget about the sadness inside me. The pain from being fired, from seeing my work taken and misused, from seeing my dreams crushed … it all falls away like leaves falling from the branches above us. Something my mom once told me comes to my mind: Bloom where you are planted. I must have been six or seven at the time. Mom came home from work with grocery bags hanging off her arms, humming a Backstreet Boys song to herself and smelling like fries.

  “Come here, pumpkin,” she said as she dumped the bags on the kitchen counter. “Help me unpack these bags.”

  I remember pouting and dragging my feet into the kitchen, where she pulled out a new fridge magnet she’d found at the dollar store.

  “Find a place for this,” she instructed me. “Somewhere you’ll see it every day.”

  Then I stood in front of the refrigerator, moving unpaid bills and family photos to the side, and smacked the magnet right in the middle. That’s when I read it: BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED. It was written in pink lettering over a watercolor sunflower.

  “What does it mean?” I asked. I assumed it was another joke magnet, like the one Aunt Laura bought that said THE HIGHER THE HAIR, THE CLOSER TO GOD, but Mom seemed to really like this new one.

  She stared at the magnet for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. “I think it means to be happy where you are, with what you have. You might not be planted in the nicest garden, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still appreciate what you have and make the most of it.”

  Maybe I’m high on love fumes, but I think I get it now. My life in LA isn’t exactly what I’d hoped it would be, but I’m going to make the most of it. I’m planting new roots right here in this patch of earth above Hollywood, and dammit, I’m going to bloom so hard that this town won’t know what hit it.

  With fresh determination, I stand up, wipe the dirt off my clothes, and reach a hand down for my girl.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I say.

  She takes my hand, and I help her up. “Okay, Frodo.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  “There’s a trick to this bitch,” I tell Gabby as I slide my key into the front door, just as Parker told me when I arrived in LA. “I’m pretty sure I’ve finally mastered it.” A turn, kick, and thud later, the door opens and I feel like such a champ.

  When Gabby, Alyssa, Shrupty, and I step inside, Parker and Dante are on the couch drinking wine and watching The Rachel Maddow Show. Parker pauses it and stares at my face, openmouthed.

  “What the hell happened to you?” he asks.

  I look down at my clothes, covered in dirt and grass stains. “I took a detour down the side of a mountain.”

  “And I came tumbling after,” Shrupty says, inspecting the damage on her shirt. “Sorry for barging in like this. I just need to clean myself up before I go home. My parents will freak if they see me like this.”

  Parker waves it off. “Don’t apologize! Everyone is welcome.” He and Dante scoot over so Gabby and Alyssa can sit down. I take Shrupty’s hand and lead her into the bathroom so we can get cleaned up.

  “I love this apartment,” Shrupty says, looking around. “So stylish.”

  “I know, right?” I say as flip on the light switch and close the door behind us. “Parker has great taste.” I turn to her and giggle when I see that the right side of her face is streaked with dirt.

  Her
eyes widen. “What?” She steps in front of the mirror and laughs when she sees it, too.

  I tear open my packet of makeup remover wipes and lift one out. She stands still while I gently slide the wipe over her forehead, down the side of her face, and over her chin.

  Shrupty closes her eyes. “Mmm. That feels so nice.”

  She makes me smile. “You know,” I say softly, “a couple of weeks ago, I would have been afraid to invite you here.”

  “Why?” she asks.

  My fingertips touch her cheek as I dab the wipe lightly over her skin. “I was worried you wouldn’t like me if you knew I was sleeping on a futon in an apartment that could literally fit into your bedroom.”

  Shrupty frowns. “Did you think I was that shallow?”

  I shake my head. “Not at all. I was obviously projecting my own shit onto you. But I see that now.” She opens her eyes, and I push her hair behind her ear. “I know you like me for me.”

  She looks deep into my eyes. “I really do.” Then she leans in and kisses me softly on the mouth, making my heart flutter. “Besides,” she adds when she pulls away. “The kind of people who judge you based on where you’re from or how much money you have aren’t the kind of people you want in your life, anyway.”

  “Facts,” I say as Shrupty takes a wipe from the packet. Then she touches her fingers to my chin, lifts it slightly, and slides the wipe down my cheek. It’s cool and soft against my skin as she moves it slowly down my neck.

  “Oh,” she says, pausing just above my collarbone. “You have a little cut.”

  “I do?” I turn to the mirror and lift my curls out of the way. A thin red scratch drags down the side of my neck. It’s raised slightly, but the skin isn’t broken. “Must be from when I fell.”

  Shrupty stands behind me, looking at it in the reflection. “Ouch. Does it sting?”

  I laugh. “I didn’t even know it was there.” Although now that I’m aware of it, it does start to sting. I open the mirror cabinet to get a Band-Aid while Shrupty gets a fresh wipe.

  “I got you, babe,” she says, taking the Band-Aid out of my hand. I tilt my head back and she very gently dabs the cut, making me wince a little. I watch her as she cleans my cut, chewing on her bottom lip in concentration. My mind drifts back to Griffith Park, to us lying among the trees far above the world. The electricity between us, the way her body felt against mine …