by Alena Pitts
“Lena, Lena! Mr. Fenway just called! Turn on channel nine! Remember the interview you did last week? They are showing it now!”
Dad grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels. He found channel nine just in time to see my face, along with Mallory’s, plastered all over the screen.
I was mortified. My legs started to tremble. My sweaty palms were shaking and my skin felt like it was on fire. Everything in my stomach gathered into one large lump and I thought I was going to be sick.
It was just so big—my face. I had to look closer to make sure it was really me.
Unfortunately it really was me and from that moment on, I felt like I’d lost my friends all over again.
Savannah screamed, Emma jumped up and started spinning in her polka-dot socks, and even Austin began barking uncontrollably. Dad pulled out his phone and started recording the interview, the scene that was taking place in our home, and himself. Mom started texting all of her friends.
It was complete chaos.
“Guys! Guys, please stop,” I begged. “It’s really not that big of a deal.”
“Lena! Yes, it is!” Emma reached down and attempted to pull me off the couch.
“Guys, be quiet! They are talking about Lena now!” Ansley shouted.
Everyone immediately stopped jumping, dancing, and talking and glued their eyes to the television screen.
They were so focused on what I was saying on the screen that they didn’t even notice when I slipped out of the room.
I was so disappointed. I finally had my friends with me and for a little while it felt like nothing had changed. I thought God had answered every part of my prayer. My old life had been back for a few moments and now it was gone again.
Hello, God,
Uhhh, this movie keeps changing everything. I was so happy to see my friends but now that they are here all they want to talk about is the movie! Actually, it seems like you’re the only one that doesn’t care whether I talk about the movie! It’s taking over my life! It’s all everyone has talked about for four weeks now. I need a break.
God, I know you are the one who put me here and I know that I am supposed to have crazy faith like Peter. I’m supposed to trust your plan like you told the Israelites in Jeremiah to do, and I’m supposed to see you in everything. But right now I just want to be normal. If this is how people are going to treat me from now on, then I don’t want it anymore. I want my friends back and I want to just be normal. I just want to be Lena.
“Rise and shine, sleepyheads,” Dad’s voice from the hallway startled me. Before I even opened my eyes, I could feel my cheek resting on the carpet.
“Great.” I opened my eyes and looked around. First, I spotted Savannah’s long slender fingers hanging off the edge of the bed. She was completely stretched out across the mattress.
Then I saw Emma balled up tightly on the other bed, under the lime green fleece blanket she bought for her flight. I was in the middle of the two beds, on the floor.
“Good thing Mom put two beds in this guest room,” I said while rising up to my knees and placing a hand on each of my thighs.
Dad was standing in the doorway motioning for me to come out quietly.
I looked around and shook my head to try to wake up faster. I knew I’d come in here last night to apologize to my friends for leaving during the interview, but I was pretty sure I walked to my room before they fell asleep.
“Maybe I was just dreaming,” I thought to myself.
I stepped out into the hall and wrapped both my arms around Dad’s waist.
“Hi, beautiful,” he said.
I stood there for a while, resting my head at the bottom of his chest.
Dad held tight for a second then gently pushed me forward so that he could see my face. “Are you alright?” He spoke just a little louder than a whisper.
“Yup!” I tried to smile big to make sure he believed me.
“Ok, well let’s get you dressed. You are filming downtown at the bank today. It’s a really big building and can be a little confusing. They are picking you up to make sure you get where you need to be on time.”
“What about Emma and Savannah?” I interjected.
“Mom and I will bring them to the set later on this afternoon—around lunchtime,” he continued. “You have about twenty minutes to get ready. Want me to fix you an egg?”
“No, I’ll eat when I get there,” I answered while heading to my room to get ready for the day.
Dad knows that my absolute favorite thing to do while on set is to eat, so he was probably just asking about breakfast to be nice. He was probably still worried about me after last night. I really did let my emotions get the best of me. So I was determined to make today better.
Having Emma and Savannah come to the movie set later in the day was going to be perfect. I’d have plenty of time to plan a great afternoon for us. I knew I wouldn’t have a lot of free time but I already had a few ideas. I wanted to make sure they met Mallory, Kay B, and the other interns so they could see just how normal everyone is. I knew they would want to see the cameras and movie set, so I’d take them to do that right away. Mostly I just wanted to find the perfect spot for us to just hang out. I still needed to hear about Mexico!
I grabbed my iPod and found Mallory’s station. I hopped in the shower, then brushed my teeth, and tossed on a pair of black gym shorts, an old yellow volleyball shirt, and Mallory’s white hat with the turquoise ‘2’ on it.
I was walking out of my bedroom just as Ashton was coming in. “Lena, you look funny,” she said.
“I don’t care,” I said a bit snarky. “We are all wearing gym shorts today.”
“Me too?” Ashton asked.
“Nope, just my friends and me!”
I poked her in the belly and stuck out my tongue.
She did the same, and with an equal amount of snark she replied, “So!”
“Lena, come on. They are here!” Dad called from the front door.
I raced down the hall, scooping up Austin on the way. His wrinkled gray paw flopped up and down as I ran. I dropped him at the front door and blew him a kiss.
“Oh, we forgot to pray!” Dad held my hands in his and said, “Lord, thank you for Lena. Thank you for this day. Keep her safe and use her for your work today. Amen.” Then he nudged me out the door.
“Bye, Daddy,” I yelled as I hopped in the back seat of the black car that was sitting outside of my house.
It took us a lot longer than usual to get to the set. I could hear the driver on the phone letting someone know that traffic was bad.
Dad was right. The big office building downtown was confusing but as usual, Kay B met me at the door where the car dropped me off. In her usual speedy fashion, she guided me down one hallway, then another hallway, and into an elevator. We finally reached the tiny room where hair, makeup, and wardrobe were waiting for me. I could tell the room was normally someone’s office. There was a desk behind a big black curtain that hung from the ceiling. I was trying to see the pictures sitting in the corner when Mallory stepped down from the hair chair with “X” legs and said, “Hey, Lena-girl, you’re up next!”
“Nice hat, by the way.” She flicked the brim and smiled. I accidently let out a snort and said, “Thanks!”
“Oh, Mallory,” I called before she left the room.
“What’s up?” she turned back toward me.
“Do you remember the video I sent you? And I mentioned my two friends, Emma and Savannah?”
“Oh yeah, of course. The ones who told you about the audition, right?” she asked.
“Yup . . . well, they are here visiting me and are coming to set today and they can’t wait to meet you!”
“That’s awesome! Make sure you find me when they get here. Can’t wait to meet them!”
Yes, I thought. I was already feeling accomplished, making plans for me and the girls.
The rest of the morning went really fast. After hair and makeup, I stuck to my normal routine—wardrobe, breakfast
, mirror check with Kay B, back to hair and makeup to remove traces of breakfast from my face and fix any smudges. I also ran my lines for the day over and over again. We could finally be happy again and everyone was getting back to their chipper selves on set since the more emotional and sad scenes were done. Even Mr. Fenway looked relieved.
I really prayed we could get through the scenes much faster than normal. But we didn’t. So after three long hours of filming, it was finally time for lunch. Just as I’d hoped, Emma and Savannah were waiting for me in the lunch area, wearing their gym shorts, old volleyball shirts, and baseball caps.
Mom, Dad, and my sisters were standing in a corner talking to Mr. Fenway. I am not sure what they were talking about but it looked interesting. Mr. Fenway’s hands were waving through the air and Mom had her bottom lipped tucked under her top two teeth like she does when she’s using all of her energy to listen. Even Ansley, Amber, and Ashton were gazing straight at Mr. Fenway’s moving mouth.
Emma and Savannah were sitting at a small circular table away from everyone else. I headed straight toward them and did my best to avoid making eye contact with Mom, Dad, or my sisters. I just wanted to see my friends.
“Hi, girls!” the closer I got to them, the more excited I felt.
“Lena!” Emma greeted me.
“This building is so cool!” she exclaimed. Savannah stood up next to her, nodding and smiling.
“I know, right?” I said while motioning for them to follow me. “I’ve been waiting for you guys all morning!”
I looked in my mother’s direction and tried to get her attention. She was still fully engaged with Mr. Fenway and I didn’t want to interrupt.
Then I lowered my voice to a raspy whisper, “Come on. Let’s get out of here!”
“But Lena, where are we going?” Savannah asked cautiously, without moving.
“Just around . . . it’s fine. Let’s go!” I said convincingly.
“Where’s Mallory?” Emma demanded to know before agreeing to move.
“We will find her! I promise. Let’s go!”
We were trotting quietly toward the doors when Emma reached out one hand and swiped three chocolate chip cookies from the food table. “One second, guys!” she said while giggling. “We need our energy!”
“Good point!” Savannah finally gave in and joined the fun.
I led the girls down the same hallways Kay B had led me down a few hours earlier. We picked up speed with each new turn until we reached the long hallway with elevators on each side. I remembered that we went up for hair and makeup and down for filming. I wanted Emma and Savannah to see both eventually, so I decided to let them decide which one was first.
“Up or down?” I asked.
“Up,” Emma responded quickly while pushing the little red circle with the up arrow on it.
We hopped on and I pushed the button for the eighteenth floor.
I could tell by the look on Savannah’s face that she was worried about something. I reached out and grabbed her shoulders. Then I leaned in forward until the brims of our baseball caps were touching and said, “It’s ok. Cops in LA don’t arrest kids! It’s against the law!”
She smirked and replied quickly, “But parents do punish them!”
She continued, “Lena, something about this just doesn’t feel right.” She paused, “I mean, we didn’t even tell anyone where we are going.”
She was right. But we didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t really know.
I spoke with confidence anyway, “It’s not a big deal. I’m just taking you to find some of my new friends!”
“Sounds good to me!” said Emma with a mouthful of chocolate chip cookie.
When the doors opened, Mallory was standing on the other side.
Emma was so surprised and in shock I wasn’t sure she was going to survive.
She started hopping up and down like a little bunny trying to reach a carrot dangling from a string.
Savannah was much more contained. She clasped her hands tightly over the middle of her chest and smiled big with her whole face.
Of course, Mallory acted like it was no big deal. She greeted them with huge hugs and even tried to guess who was who. She didn’t get it right but her trying helped us to relax.
After spending a few minutes goggling at Mallory, I tried to recapture Emma and Savannah’s attention.
Mallory encouraged us to have fun with the glitter and shimmery lipstick and pointed to the huge sign with an arrow and the words HAIR AND MAKEUP.
We followed the signs all the way to the little classroom directly across from the big restroom. The door was open and Kay B was sitting at a table eating her lunch with a few people from the hair and makeup team.
“Hey, Lena!” she welcomed us in. “Are these the friends you have been telling me about?”
“Yup! They are finally here—I want you to meet Emma and Savannah!” I said gleefully.
Emma pranced right in, reached out her right hand towards Kay B, and blurted out, “Your hair is awesome!”
Kay B jumped to her feet while extending her arms around both Emma and Savannah at the same time. “It’s so fun to finally meet you two!”
“And I love your hair too!” she said while gently swinging Emma’s hot pink braid from side to side.
“So, what are you girls going to do while you are here? Is this your first time in California?”
“Yes!” they said in unison.
“You girls want to have some fun?” Kay B asked while drawing our attention toward the table full of color-coded eye shadows and an assortment of brushes and sponges.
Kay B was so easy to talk to that within a matter of minutes she knew all about Ms. Blount, volleyball, and Mexico. It felt like she was my big sister that my friends were meeting for the first time.
By the time we left we were covered in hair spray, mascara, and a colorful mixture of shiny face products.
I jumped up on my tippy-toes and wrapped my arms around Kay B’s neck and squealed, “Kay B, you are the best!” followed quickly by, “Let’s go, girls!”
“Lena, you’ll need to be back here for hair and makeup in forty-five minutes. Ok?” Kay B warned as we pranced through the doors.
I turned from my waist up, winked, and gave her a bouncy thumbs up.
“Forty-five minutes, Lena!” I heard her voice chase us down the long hallway.
“Plenty of time!” I responded directly to Emma and Savannah. This was finally our chance to be alone and together again.
Emma, Savannah, and I scurried down hallway after hallway, wandering in and out of offices, peeking through windows, exploring restrooms, and waiting with anticipation behind elevator doors. We each had our iPod touches in our hands and randomly stopped for pictures along the way. We wrapped our bodies around every pole we could find, laughed uncontrollably at the strange artwork lining the walls, and listened to our voices echo throughout the large empty rooms of the forty-six-floor building.
“Here’s our floor, girls!” Emma squealed, as the elevator we were on dinged at the number twenty-two.
When the elevator doors opened my jaw relaxed and my mouth drooped open. The doors faced out onto a sort of balcony that was outside, and it was beautiful. Right in front of us were the letters H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D. They were boldly perched on the side of the Hollywood Hills. From this vantage point, although the sign was very far from us, each letter appeared to be within arm’s reach. We were captivated by how huge and beautiful it was.
“Wow,” is all we could each manage to say.
The closer we walked to the balcony’s railing, the more we could feel the California sun beating on our shoulders through our matching T-shirts. Once we reached the edge of the railing, we plopped our bodies onto the floor. Savannah laid flat on her back with her knees pointing to the sky. Emma leaned her back against the railing and stretched her legs out until they formed a perfect “V.” I sat straight up between them. I could not take my eyes off the huge white letters, the hill
s, and city in front of us.
The three of us sat and talked. I finally heard all about Mexico and how they played with dolphins, practiced volleyball on the beach at sunset, and, of course, the braids.
I hated to interrupt our time but I knew I needed to head back to the set. I had no idea what time it was or how long we had been away. I spent so much time waiting throughout the day that I figured being a little late would not be a big deal. However, it felt like we had been gone awhile and I didn’t want Kay B or anyone else to worry.
“Ok, girls. I gotta get back to work!”
We galloped toward the elevator but before we could push the button, the doors opened and Mallory was standing right in front of us. Kay B and my mother were standing directly behind her.
No one was smiling. No one was talking. No one looked happy.
“Hhhhi,” I spoke cautiously. Either they had all heard about the amazing view on the twenty-second floor or I was in major trouble. I blinked quickly and prayed they were just as amazed at the big white letters as we were.
“Lena,” Mom spoke first.
“What are you doing? We have been looking for you for almost two hours!” Kay B chimed in.
Before I could answer, Mallory stepped a little closer, looked me directly in my eyes, and said, “How could you do this?”
Her words froze me in my tracks.
“Uh-oh,” Emma whispered.
“Shh,” Savannah urged.
This was not the way I imagined our time together would end.
It felt silly and pointless to even say the words, “I’m sorry,” but that’s all my lips could manage to form. Mallory stared at me with disappointment for a few seconds before shaking her head and turning back toward the elevator.
“Let’s go.” My mother turned without looking me at me. Once Mallory removed her eyes, no one else looked at me. Not even Emma or Savannah.
“There are forty-six floors in this building and the entire crew is going from floor to floor looking for you right now. Actually, they have been looking for you for over two hours,” My mother continued to talk. “Everyone spread out over the entire building, and poor Kay B even walked around outside trying to make sure you weren’t hurt somewhere.”
