Extra Famous

by Graham Salisbury

  “A zombie one,” Benny said.

  “Zombie.”

  “Zombie Zumba. That’s the title.”

  “You want me to be a zombie.”

  Oh boy, I thought. He better not say she has the look.

  “No,” Benny said. “You’d be a beach runner, a real live person. You’d do a couple scenes with the star. Get paid, too.”

  Stella’s squint vanished. “Paid? As in cash?”

  “Yeah. It’s a good part. Uncle’s doing auditions right now, down at the beach.”

  Stella studied Benny.

  Bunched her lips, puffed up her cheeks.

  Benny took off his mirror shades and looked into her eyes. “Come meet him.”

  She turned to stare off into space.

  Then looked back at Benny. “So what are we waiting for?”

  So that was how Julio, Maya, Willy, Rubin, Shayla, and I ended up in line at the beach later that afternoon with about a hundred other dreamers hoping to get in a zombie movie.

  Benny’s uncle had put an ad in the paper, and even though Benny said we were in, we still had to try out like everyone else.

  Stella came after Mom got home. She didn’t want to be seen with a bunch of zombidiots, which was what she called us.

  Mom and Darci would stop by later.

  Julio’s brothers ended up following us. But they were smart enough to keep their distance. There were only three of them—Marcus, Diego, and Carlos. Cinco was too young to walk to the beach.

  Julio glared at them. “Which one should I kill first?”

  “None of them,” I said. “What’s wrong with you today?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Well, stop being so mean.”

  There were all kinds of people trying out—giants, shrimps, happy fat guys, girls skinny as sticks, old dudes with ponytails, musclemen slippery with oil, moms with squirming babies, dads with grins and toothpicks, and guys like us joking around waiting for a chance to show how good we could act.

  “Where’d they all come from?” Maya said.

  “The moon,” Julio said.

  It was like a giant beach party.

  “All right!” Rubin said, rubbing his hands together. “This is gonna be awesome!”

  Julio coughed a laugh. “I don’t think they’re going to pick you, Rubin. Zombies are skinny, not puffy. Am I right, Calvin?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, but this is Hollywood, right? They can make him up like all goo-goo eyes and rotting flesh. He might even get picked first, because even without makeup he looks like a zombie. I mean, he’s got those empty black eyes, right? Like nobody’s home.”

  Julio looked at Rubin. “Good point.”

  Rubin grinned. “Once I get hired I’ll see what I can do for you guys … but it might be hard.”

  “Pshh.”

  I glanced over at Stella. She was with a group of girls waiting to try out for the beach runner part.

  Mr. Obi, Benny’s uncle, had long gray hair spiked up every whichaway. He looked like he’d just gotten out of bed. He wore a white shirt that hung down over khaki pants rolled up at the bottom. On his feet were rubber slippers, showing that before he became a famous Hollywood millionaire he was once a local guy like us.

  “How come they call us extras?” Shayla asked.

  “That’s the name for all the actors who just walk around in the background,” Willy said. And he should know. His family had moved to Kailua from California, where Hollywood is.

  “If they take you, you get paid,” I added.

  Shayla made big eyes. “Wow, Calvin, you really know stuff.”

  I ducked my head. “Yeah, well …”

  Maya grabbed my arm. “She’s up.”

  We all turned. Stella was next in line to say some lines for Mr. Obi, another guy, and a girl not much older than her. They sat in canvas folding chairs with clipboards over crossed legs.

  Benny stood behind his uncle, watching.

  Mr. Obi handed Stella a piece of paper and nodded for her to study it.

  Stella took a glance and looked up, ready.

  Mr. Obi raised his coffee cup, motioning for her to begin.

  I couldn’t hear what she said, but I could almost make up the words as she moved. She didn’t just stand there like the girls before her had. She paced, and looked down the beach, and moved her arms around and stuff.

  Mr. Obi watched her a moment, then put the cup down and raised his hand for her to stop. He turned and huddled up with the other two movie people.

  Benny looked over and gave us a thumbs-up.

  Mr. Obi stood and reached out to shake Stella’s hand. She was the first one he’d done that with.

  Our line started moving, everyone bunching up, pushing us ahead. If we put our arms out we’d look like a giant centipede to a bird.

  “Here we go,” Willy said.

  “Listen up, folks,” someone called. “We’re going to take you off in groups, so pay attention.”

  I turned away from Stella, who was now swallowed up by movie people.

  The girl with a clipboard herded us into a group of kids who were mostly our age. Someone else took the older people to another area.

  The girl nodded at us, as if she liked what she saw. “Good morning,” she said. “My name is Lana. I’m Mr. Obi’s assistant director. It’s great to see you all here today.”

  “Good morning,” Shayla said back.

  I elbowed her—Don’t be such a teacher’s pet.

  Shayla giggled.

  Jeese.

  Lana studied us, tapping a pencil against her cheek. Then, like in a dog show, she pointed to the people she wanted.

  “You, you, you, you … and you six.” Me, Willy, Julio, Rubin, Maya, and Shayla. “All of you, move over here.”

  Dang. Were we out already?

  To the other group, Lana said, “The rest of you can go home or stay and watch if you like. This group is all I need. Thank you for coming to try out. We appreciate it. Feel free to have something to eat at the snack table.”

  All right! We made it!

  “Yahh!” I shouted. Then I realized I was hugging Shayla. I broke away fast. “Uhh …”

  Shayla smiled with dreamy eyes.

  Aiy.

  Some kids ran to the food table. Others slunk away, all huffy-puffy. But most stayed to hang out at the beach and watch. What else was there to do?

  “All right, people,” Lana said to us. “You are my zombie kids. Everything you do here over the next week will be under my direction. Are you all free next Friday night, and all day Saturday and maybe Sunday?”

  We all nodded.

  “So, I’m assuming you’ve all seen a zombie movie before, right?”

  “Yeah-yeah,” Rubin said. “Lots.”

  I said I had, too, but I hadn’t. Not even a cartoon one.

  But Willy had, and I’d heard Tito talk about one once at school, and sometimes on the playground we staggered around like zombies to be funny.

  “So,” Lana said. “There are basically two types, slow and fast. The zombies in this film will be the slow type. They’re serious and relentless. They have no facial expressions and say nothing. All they want is food, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it. Got it?”

  Yeah, we all said. Easy. Let’s go.

  “Great. Okay. So, show me your best zombie walk.”

  Lana stood back and studied us as we all did our best slow stagger.

  Down the beach the older group was doing the same thing. “Look how funny,” Julio said, grinning at them. “We must look like idiots to people who don’t know what’s going on.”

  True. It was hilarious.

  Julio’s grin fell off his face when he saw his brothers watching him.

  “Forget them,” I said. “Don’t ruin it.”

  Julio spat.

  I had no idea what a zombie walked like, so I watched everyone else and did that. Stagger. Shuffle. Limp. Make your arms like wet spaghetti. Let your jaw hang open. Don’t blink. Look ugly,
look dead, look hungry.

  Actually, I was hungry, so that part was easy.

  Lana waved her hand after a few minutes. “All right, I think we can work with all of you. Come over here and give me your names and phone numbers. And I have a form that your parents need to fill out. We’ll start shooting next weekend, right here on this beach. Can you all make it even if you have to get up early?”

  Yeah! I wanted to shout.

  Instead I said, “Sure,” with a serious look. After all, we were movie stars now and had to act like it.

  Lana grinned. “Good. Practice your moves between now and next weekend, and if you can, watch a zombie movie or two.”

  I bumped Julio with my elbow. “First we were bored, and now we’re going to be in a movie! Can you believe it?”

  Julio grunted while Maya jumped up and down holding hands with Shayla, shouting, “We’re in a movie, we’re in a movie!”

  Benny Obi walked over to celebrate with us. “I told you it was for real.”

  “You were right, Benny,” I said. “You didn’t make this one up.”

  “Of course I was right.”

  “What about Stella?”

  “Uncle says every once in a while in the movie business a real artist shows up out of nowhere. Like Stella. She got the part.”

  “An artist?” I frowned. “No way.”

  Benny raised his eyebrows. “Uncle likes her.”

  I glanced over at Stella, who was talking with some blond kid. “Is that the star? The guy she’s talking to?”

  “Yup. Spike Black. Eighteen, and already he’s made seven movies. He lives in Beverly Hills, you heard of that place?”

  “Of course,” I said. “Beverly Hills Cop.”

  “Right. Good movie. Anyway, in the movie Spike is going to save Stella from the zombies.”

  “Wow,” I whispered.

  Julio leaned close and waggled his eyebrows. “A star is born.”

  “Don’t forget to practice,” Rubin called as he and Shayla headed home.

  Shayla waved. “Bye, Calvin.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled.

  Man, had I dodged a bullet. It seemed like nobody had seen me hug her. I liked Shayla … but not in public, where my friends could tease me about it.

  The rest of us went back to Julio’s front yard to practice, parent forms folded up in our pockets and Julio’s brothers buzzing around us like bees. I could hardly wait for Mom to get home from shopping.

  When her car finally turned down our street, I ran out and raised my hand like a cop stopping traffic.

  Mom braked and stuck her head out the window. “Something wrong, Officer?”

  “We got in the movie!”

  Mom tilted her head. “You did? Congratulations!”

  “Thanks. All of us did, and some other friends from school, even Stella—we’re actors now … like in Hollywood.”

  “Hollywood?” Darci said, leaning across Mom’s lap.

  “Yeah, Darce, a for-real Hollywood movie.”

  “Wow!”

  “Well, come on home and tell us all about it,” Mom said.

  “We’re zombies.”

  Mom laughed and drove away.

  “Laters,” I said to my friends.

  “Show me your stagger,” Julio called as I headed home.

  I zigzagged back and forth across the street. Julio’s brothers ran out to join me. “Zombie Zumba!” I shouted, dragging one foot after Mom’s car.

  Streak, who’d spent the hot afternoon sleeping in the shady garage, trotted out as Mom pulled up.

  “Hey, girl,” I said, squatting down to greet her. “Too bad dogs can’t be zombies. I could get you in the movies.”

  Mom and Darci got out. There were about a hundred shopping bags on the backseat.

  “So, tell me,” Mom said.

  I told her about Mr. Obi and his movie, and then about how we got parts. I pulled out the parent consent form and unfolded it. “You have to sign this.”

  Mom took it.

  “Stella got a bigger part. But prob’ly only because she’s kind of, you know … pigheaded.”

  Mom laughed. “Pigheaded?”

  I shrugged. “Benny said he was looking for someone with an attitude.”

  “Hmm. Well, let’s go see what Stella can tell us.”

  Stella was out back sitting in a plastic patio chair, reading something. Darci ran and jumped on her old swing set.

  “Stella,” Mom said. “Calvin tells me the two of you got parts in a movie. Sounds exciting. Tell me about it.”

  Stella held up what she’d been reading. Zombie Zumba. She handed Mom the bound stack of paper. “This is the screenplay.”

  Darci started swinging. The rusty chains squeaked and squealed:

  Give.

  Us.

  Oil.

  Give.

  Us.

  Oil.

  Mom read the title. “ ‘Written by Thor Obi.’ What an interesting name.”

  “That’s Benny’s uncle, Mom.” I tapped his name on the script. “He’s the director and producer, too.”

  Mom handed the script back. “Tell me about your part.”

  Stella shrugged. “It’s just a small one, but I have a few lines. There’s a form you have to sign first.”

  “Lines?” I said. “Don’t they know that when you open your mouth the camera will break?”

  Stella squinted at me. “Tread lightly, little man, or I might get the director to fire you.”

  “He won’t fire me just because you said.”

  “Sure he will. I’ll ask, How can an ignorant gnome be a zombie? It wouldn’t be realistic.”

  “A what?”

  “See what I mean? You’re ignorant. Don’t know anything. He’ll fire you in a flash.”

  Heat swelled on my face, but I decided I’d better quit now, because maybe she could get me fired. And anyway, what was a gnome?

  Mom stepped in. “You two need to give each other a break. What do you say? Can you do that?”

  I mashed my lips. “Yeah. I guess.”

  Stella nodded.

  “Good. Now let’s go see what we can scrape up for dinner.”

  Stella waved the script in my face. “Too bad gnomes can’t read, because you might learn what this story is about.”

  I batted it away.

  Stella laughed. “Gnome.”

  Out in the yard, Darci pumped away on the swing, humming with her eyes closed.

  I had to find a dictionary.

  That night after dinner I was in the kitchen with Mom when her boyfriend, Ledward, came over. He clapped his hand on my shoulder. “I hear you had a big day.”

  “I’m going to be in a movie! At the beach.”

  Ledward looked down at me. He was about ten feet tall, a huge Hawaiian-Filipino guy. “I heard somebody talking about that when I was standing in line at Foodland.”

  “Yeah, and me and my friends are in it.”

  “Well, congratulations. That’s a big deal. You call your dad yet?”

  I shook my head.

  “Call him. He’ll want to know about it.”

  My dad was a singer, Little Johnny Coconut. He lived in Las Vegas now, and he had a new wife, Marissa. I wasn’t sure if I should tell him about the movie, because he was already a star and being a zombie probably wasn’t a big thing to him. “Sure,” I said.

  Ledward ruffled my hair. “Good.”

  He was fresh out of the shower and had come over to take Mom and Darci out for a ride. Mom told me he’d spent the day cleaning out Blackie’s mud pit. Blackie was his pet pig that used to be a wild one but liked people now. Sometimes Ledward drove him around in his jeep.

  When Darci came into the kitchen and saw Ledward she jumped up. Ledward grabbed her around her waist and lifted her over his head.

  “You ready for some ice cream, Darci girl?”

  Darci shrieked as Ledward swooped her back down to the floor. “Double scoops?” she said.

  “Triple.” />
  Darci turned to Mom. “Mom, get ready! Let’s go!”

  Ledward lifted his chin toward me. “How about you, boy? You want to come along?”

  “Can’t. Gotta rehearse. Stella’s going to be in it, too, and so are my friends, and we’re getting paid.”

  “Paid!” he said. “Sounds like serious business.”

  “That’s why I have to stay and practice.”

  Ledward nodded. “What’s your part?”

  “Zombie.”

  Ledward chuckled. “That would be the part I would want, too. What’s Stella?”

  “Beach runner. She gets to talk, but we just groan.”

  “She must have some talent.”

  I made a face. “I guess.”

  Ledward patted my shoulder. “Maybe we can bring something back for you.”

  Mom, Darci, and Ledward left, and I got ready to practice my part.

  Only I had no idea what to do.

  I crept down the hall to Stella’s room.

  “Stella,” I said through her closed door. “I … I need to see that script.”

  “Beat it.”

  “No, I gotta see what my part is.”

  She swung open the door and stood looking at me with her hands on her hips. “You’re a zombie. What else is there to know? They don’t speak, so there’s nothing for you to read in the script. You just walk around in a daze like you always do. Simple.”

  “That’s all?”

  “What do you think, Stump? Do you even know what a zombie is? Have you ever even seen a zombie movie?”

  I frowned. “No.”

  She hesitated. “Never?”

  “Never.”

  “Oh my gosh, this is too funny. An ignorant gnome zombie who doesn’t even know what he is.”

  “I know what a gnome is. I looked it up.”

  “Look.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me into her room. “Watch me. This is how zombies walk.”

  She let go and stood frozen with her eyes closed.

  “What are you doing?” I said.

  “Shhh. I’m calling up my inner zombie. If you can do that you can become that zombie, understand? You have to imagine the part first. You have to visualize.”