“Yeah, I told you everything would be okay. Probably the reason why she didn’t tell you about this interview is because it slipped her mind, or something like that.”
Peter Welch walked up to them, Darell seeing that he looked familiar to his memory. Peter walked past him and stepped up to Helen’s desk.
“Hey, Peter, how ya doing?” asked Vivian.
“I’m a little nervous,” Peter replied, shaking Damen’s hand. Peter noticed Damen looked familiar, so he asked, “Hey, weren’t you at the party that got busted by the cops?”
Damen commenced to laugh and smile, answering, “Yeah, that was me.”
Without saying hello, Darell walked away from the heard of people, and sat down in a chair, alone. He didn’t want to talk to Peter, knowing that he was up against him, but also feeling nervous about the so-called contest, Darell just wanted to have some time to himself, to clear his mind of all the frightening thoughts that were causing his stomach to develop butterflies.
But then, Peter noticed Darell across the room; seeing his familiar face as well, he decided to walk up to him, and make his presence known. Peter questioned, “Weren’t you there too?”
Darell looked up at him slowly, directing his eyes up and down Peter’s image, face, his characteristics that allowed Darell to remember him, and suddenly answered, but with tremendous nervousness, “Yeah, I was there.”
Peter saw the way Darell sat, with his legs crossed, his right leg rocking back and forth, and the fact that Darell started biting his nails, even though he didn’t normally take on this nervous habit. That’s when Peter Welch knew he was here for the interview as well, he could tell because Darell had all the normal stereotypes of an actor being at an audition, let alone, an interview with one of the top talent agents in California. “Wait a minute, I can tell that you’re here for the interview too. Am I right?”
Without Darell even answering, Peter grew a grin upon his face, distinguishing that he definitely was here for the same reason as him.
Darell gave out a frantic smile, but a sincere one, seeing he was in the same boat as Peter; Darell spoke, “Yeah, we’re all her for the interview, everyone except for Damen.”
Helen got up from her chair. Seeing that all the actors were there for Tom Fryer, she stepped in the middle of the waiting room, and said, “Alright everyone, please sit down.” She looked at the clock on her desk, it read 9:59 a.m. “I have to explain something very important to all of you, at least the ones who are here for the 10:00 a.m. appointment.”
Peter looked toward her, saying in a smart-alecky fashion, “What do you have to explain to us?” Peter Welch was a type of person who didn’t like to waste time on having something, which he already knew about, explained to him. Peter stared at Helen, her knowing that he already knew the drill, just like all the actors did, but wanted to explain it anyway, because Tom told her to.
Helen took a big breath in, stared at all the nervous faces, and how they showed her nothing but fear to their eyes, and explained, “Listen, here’s how it’s going to be. Mr. Fryer is going to choose only one person out of you seven. Once he announces the name, whichever six are left can go, the one he chose can stay and start the interview.”
“Tell us something we don’t know,” Darell mumbled, still biting his nails one by one.
“Well, I didn’t know that,” Vivian spoke, looking vividly at Damen to see his face reactions.
“I thought you already knew the drill?” asked Damen.
“What do you mean? I already said I didn’t know.” During Vivian’s words, Helen’s phone started to ring.
Between the arguing, and the phone ringing, Helen’s mind felt like a ticking time bomb, waiting to go off at the right moment. So, she grasped ahold of the phone, put it on hold, and yelled, “Alright, enough with the both of you. Everyone knew except for Vivian, who cares.” Helen turned away from them and pressed the hold button on her phone, slowly beginning to talk into the receiver in lowness, so the rest of the people couldn’t hear her.
They just stared at Helen, watching her talk silently on the phone. Trying to see and hear what she was saying, all the actors focused their eyes on Helen’s lips, figuring out what words came out of her mouth, but her body turned away from them, facing her back toward the waiting room.
As she kept on talking on the phone, the thoughts from the actors’ minds surfaced the core of their consciousness and tapped at their foreheads, creating a pressure that seemed like they were 29,000 leagues under the ocean, without being decompressed. Through each of their thoughts, Vivian wondered in her mind, please, say my name, grabbing onto Damen’s hand tightly at the same moment her thought surfaced to her eyes.
Peter and Darell just watched Helen’s lips moving, as she turned back to face the waiting room, trying desperately, once again, to see what Helen was saying.
The other three actors just lay back in their chairs and looked up at the ceiling, not realizing how important Mr. Fryer was to their futures.
And in Damen’s thoughts, while gazing over at Vivian, he hoped in his mind that she would be the chosen one for Mr. Fryer, knowing that she deserved it all after all Tom put her through.
He better choose her...
Then, he looked over at Darell sitting on the other side of him, watching his nervous face and mouth, and how his nails vanished, chewing nothing but skin. Damen then stared back at Vivian. Back and forth he went, thinking in his mind as his face landed on Darell’s forehead, thoughts that he had to argue with.
God, choose Darell, but choose Vivian also. If you choose Darell, then that will mean, it will mean fame to all of us...
Damen suddenly turned his face on the sight of Vivian’s lips again. Talking to God in his mind’s voice, he started to make bets.
But, if you choose Vivian, that will mean she loves me and my acting career could wait for me...
He grabbed onto Vivian’s hand and put his other hand on Darell’s neck, watching Helen slowly hang up the phone; Damen knew the time had come for the decision. She walked over slowly to all the actors, passing one by one, having each of them putting their heads down to face the floor. She finally passed them all and then stepped back four steps.
Damen looked at Vivian and Darell, saying as his head moved back and forth, “Good luck to you both.”
Helen stared at them all, knowing what terror each of them had inside, and feeling sorry for a lot of them, after hearing who got Tom Fryer as an agent. That’s when Helen announced, “Alright, he has only chosen one of you, and that person is...”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Helen’s words were cut off by a loud scream that Darell made, sounding like a dying horse after its leg broke. Everyone stared at Darell in awe, having Helen say, “Excuse me.”
“Sorry, it won’t happen again, I just had to get it out.”
She then looked at all of them, and spoke, “Alright, here it goes.” Helen’s voice sounded like a judge giving a sentence for life in prison; it was loud, and calm at the same time. All the actors looked at Helen’s lips, locking their sights on her mouth and eyes, it looked to them as if she was talking in slow motion. But Vivian and Damen jumped back into focus when she said, “Vivian, you can go in now.”
She jumped up out of her seat and started crying, her tears of enjoyment came flushing out from underneath her eyelids. It was like raindrops falling down from off of the roof during a big downpour. Drop. Drop. Drop. Her nose started to flush out more tears, and she crunched down in her chair, trying to hold in the prosperity, and not go overboard. But, she got out of the crouched position, hugged Damen and Darell together, and cried, “I am so happy, you guys, I have been waiting for this moment forever. Thank you for being here for this moment. This is the way I’ve always pictured it, having friends there to be happy for me.”
Darell looked up at her with watery eyes, the tears of sadness built up within them, but it wasn’t enough to make a single tear fall. He wondered in his mind, Why am I not that u
pset? This is my dream, right? The confusion built up in his thoughts about why he came to Hollywood. He tried so hard to release, at least, one tear from his eye. If I cry, that will mean I want this dream... please, cry already, Darell said in his mind; he wanted so badly to cry and release the pressure and bewilderment from his head.
Then, Darell turned to Vivian’s eyes of water, and spoke in a shaky voice, “Congratulations, Vivian, you’ve earned it.” He stuck his hand out toward her hand to shake it. Vivian grabbed onto his hand and shook it with her tear-drenched hand, Darell squeezing it tightly as the confusion set in deeper. She broke free from his grip and ran over to Mr. Fryer’s door, like she won the lottery, yearning to claim her prize immediately and not waste any time.
“What about me?” Damen questioned. “Aren’t you gonna give me a kiss?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, baby,” replied Vivian. She ran over to Damen and gave him a quick hug and a little nibble on the cheek. She then ran back over to the office and knocked lightly on it, leaving Damen hanging once more; he knew this was the beginning of the end for him and Vivian. The first sign she gave was hugging him quick; it was like he had a contagious disease, like she was forgetting him slowly. But, to Damen, he didn’t want to think of those things, he just wanted to enjoy Vivian’s happiness.
She opened the door lightly and stepped in his office. Closing the door while wiping her happy tears from her face with a tissue, Vivian saw Mr. Fryer’s back, he was facing the window. She sat down in a chair facing Tom’s spine, saying, “Thank you so much, sir, or I guess now I can say, Tom. Thank you.” He stared out into the Hollywood sky and held the photo with the face of a star ready to be made. Vivian noticed he wasn’t speaking, or even acknowledging her own existence, so she questioned, “Sir, are you alright?”
Tom stared at Vivian’s reflection on the window, asking, “Vivian, do you know what I am holding in my hand?”
“No sir, well, I think it’s a photo,” Vivian replied, knowing in her mind that it was her photo.
“Correct, this is the photo of the person I chose, this is the photo of the person I want.” He turned around to face Vivian’s happy tears, adding, “Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir, I understand perfectly.” Mr. Fryer handed her the photo faced down in her lap, laying it perfectly face down, and watched her hands to see if she was going to turn over the photo. But she didn’t, instead she left it lay there, on her prosperous trembling thighs, and questioned him, “So, Mr. Fryer, Tom, um, what auditions are coming up for me to try out for?”
He lit up a cigar, walked over to his mirror, and looked at himself and Vivian. “What?”
“What movie auditions are you going to take me to first?” she asked in a joyful tone. “I mean, you are the top agent in California, you’re not an average agent, you must have at least a few already set up for me.”
He took a large drag of his cigar. Blowing the smoke at Vivian’s reflection, he showed confusion in his eyes. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Vivian.”
“Tell me what?”
“I don’t have to tell you anything, the answer is on the photo, the answer to your question,” Tom explained, revealing a guilty expression through his tone.
She slowly picked up the photo and took a deep breath, not knowing quite what Tom Fryer meant. She turned over the photo slowly, without looking at it, she looked at Mr. Fryer, gawked at his vision, and tried to see why he wanted her to look at it, figuring out the reason through his sight. She put the photo face up toward the mirror, but Mr. Fryer was blocking the image of the picture with his body. So, he stepped aside from the mirror and allowed Vivian to see her destiny. She closed her eyes, as Mr. Fryer moved away, and began to sweat from nervousness, knowing that she was about to discover what Mr. Fryer meant. Opening her eyes a bit, and facing the back of the photo, she moved the photo down a little, and stared at the image in the mirror. She discovered that the photo wasn’t her image at all. She dropped the photo to the ground, and spoke with a whisper, “Why, why isn’t this my image, my photo?”
He turned around, and faced her, blowing smoke in her face that caused a stifling sensation in her tears-filled lungs. “Because the other casting agents didn’t like you, or your face.”
She stared at him, and shouted, “Then why did you call me in here? Did you want one last hug or kiss? Better yet, did you want one last screw?” Her voice was anger-stricken, subliminally saying that this was enough, and the games that he was playing would be over with right now.
“No, I called you in here to fire you.”
“What?” she asked, getting up from her seat, and running up to him. She went face to face with Tom, questioning, “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, you’re terminated from my place of business, I don’t want you here anymore, Vivian.”
A single tear of sadness, anger, guilt, and terror ran down her face, showing its presence to Tom, letting him know that he was the cause of its birth and death. “Why all of a sudden? Why do you want to fire me now?”
“Listen, I know the reason and you know the reason, now goodbye,” he replied. She grabbed a nail file from her purse and put it in the palm of her hand.
“No, I don’t know the reason. Why don’t you tell me, Tommy?” After her words, the file was tempted to jump out from her grip and stab Mr. Fryer in the heart, but her other hand stopped it from occurring, for the time being.
“Because, your boyfriend upset me that night, plus you’re a whore. Are those good enough reasons for you?” he howled, seeing tears running down from Vivian’s face that seemed like they were in a race. “You’re a bitch, Vivian, and a starving artist who is not going to make it as an actress.”
The anger built more in her mind’s stomach, hearing his words that continued on and on, and seemed endless to reality. He shouted, “You’re nothing but a secretary who gives good head, amongst other things.”
“You bastard,” she yelled. Vivian put the file up to his neck, coveting to press down and slice, but just keeping it there, and seeing the fear in his eyes for her own pleasure.
“Remember, I could still destroy your career? Oops, I mean when you get a career,” he stated, feeling the nail file locking onto his Adam’s apple. For some reason he didn’t want to show his fear to her, another game he loved to play, but Vivian was going to make sure she won this game.
“I will, I will do it and you’ll be sorry that you didn’t choose me,” she whispered, slowly making a little slit in his throat, seeing his fear finally for the first time. She dropped the weapon, knowing Tom was right about how he could destroy her career. She ended the race of her tears, wiped them off of her face completely with her hand, and grabbed the file, putting it into her purse slowly. She walked in slow-motion toward the door and said in her mind, I’ve always imagined coming into this office with Mr. Fryer telling me he wants me as a client. She ignored her thoughts, saying to Mr. Fryer, “You’ll be sorry. Just remember that.”
Tom put a tissue on his neck to stop the bleeding, stared at her, and asked in a careless tone, “By the way, would you please pick up the photo and give it to Darell. Tell him to step into my office.”
She ignored Mr. Fryer and shut the door, seeing Damen and Darell still waiting there for her to come out, and noticing that the other actors left already.
“So, how did it go?” Damen asked after he kissed her on the cheek and smiled. She saw Darell talking to Helen, and felt a little angered toward him.
She laid her head on Damen’s chest, saying, “Well.”
He lifted up her head lightly with his hand and noticed the tears that she left behind. So he asked, “What’s wrong, baby?”
Without answering him, she looked at Darell and said in a low voice, “Um, Darell?”
Darell replied in a jealous tone, “Hold on, I’m trying to talk to Helen.”
A tear began to work its way out of her left eyeball, slowly saying, “Well, I just wanted to say, um, that Mr. Fryer wants you to
come in his office...”
“What?”
“You heard me, Mr. Fryer chose you, Darell; he just wanted to discuss something with me,” she replied. The tear cheated and ran first from the starting line, the starting line that holds the memories of seeing Mr. Fryer caress her in a sick way and fondle her. The images grew strong as even more tears birthed, some were even falling from the tip of her nose. “So get on in there, you asshole,” she added with a grin. She tried acting like everything was fine, but her tears gave it away.
Darell ran into his office as Vivian and Damen started walking to the exit of the building. They got outside, when Damen asked, “What happened in there?”
“I don’t want to talk about it now, I just want to go home.”
“How about this, you tell me in the cab?” A cab stopped at their feet due to Damen’s hand signal, and his other hand held onto Vivian’s. They got in the cab and Damen whispered the destination to the driver, not wanting his voice to interrupt her pain of some kind. Vivian lay on Damen’s shoulder, and the cab drove off to the street, the cab that would go to the Hollywood sign.
She cried all the way there. Her tears became dry when the cab stopped at the Hollywood sign hill, feeling their stickiness on her face, she was tired of feeling them, and yearned to find a way to end her tears from ever coming from her eyes again. Vivian looked up at the sign and felt the depression building up inside of her, slowly but surely rising to her soul and squeezing it with all of its might. Getting out of the cab, Vivian ran up the hill; running without a purpose. Damen paid the cabdriver, turned and seen Vivian’s silhouette chasing the hills heights, and yelled, “Wait for me.”
They both reached the Hollywood sign, with dark clouds forming in the heavens, it became pitch black to their eyes and brighter to their thoughts. Damen took her in the darkness. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything,” she replied with thunder reaching their ears. “The asshole fired me today.”
Sugar Valley (Hollywood's Darkest Secret) Page 24