~ 1 Setting ~
Manny Biro flung his head backwards and exhaled loudly. He bit his lip and closed his eyes, stifling his desire to flee. He remained in position on the top step of the darkened stairwell. Construction paper and duct tape covered the light fixture above him while set lamps softened the shadows. Expensive film equipment encircled him in the narrow, cracked concrete space. Manny’s tight fists, knuckles white in contrast with his bronze skin, communicated his frustration with acting.
“Don’t pout, buddy!” Alan shouted at Manny from behind the camera. He wiggled out of his director’s chair and headed towards his actors, his scrawny body layered in a hip graphic tee and belted bling jeans that hung below the waistband of his plaid boxers. He repositioned his Lakers baseball cap while he patted Manny’s shoulder. “Just forget the lines. Say, ‘No’ instead.”
Manny shrugged off Alan’s hand.
Alan rolled his eyes as he returned to his chair, uttering profanities as if he was giving a speech, finishing with, “If you can manage that!”
Beth, the tall, voluptuous girl on the step below Manny, giggled as she pulled at her barely-there mesh tee shirt. “You can’t really think I look sexy.” She leaned to one side to get Alan’s acknowledgment. “Seriously, Alan, how is anyone gonna have sympathy for a girl when she’s wearing this?”
“Just shut up and act!” Alan flipped her off. “Damn amateurs!”
Beth smirked. “He thinks he’s so mature because he cusses out orders that we all ignore.”
On the floor of the parking garage above them, it was a bright and warm Friday afternoon in December in Santa Monica, California. Students were on their way home anticipating the Santa Monica High School Vikings boys varsity basketball game that would take place against their rival Beverly Hills that night. At least fifteen other students were stuck on the basement level awaiting instructions from Alan, high school senior, director, and son of rich and powerful studio executive, Ira Goldberg, about what they should do next in his ambitious anti-bullying film.
Trying his hardest to ignore Beth’s curves and unfamiliar made-up face, Manny stared into her bored but gorgeous royal blue eyes. “I don’t want to, like, assault you.”
Beth softly patted his cheek. “I hate acting, too. But we get some cash and help all these guys with their project.” The low cut tee flashed her cleavage. “Don’t worry about it.”
Manny sighed. “This crap isn’t worth the forty bucks.”
“Forty bucks? Per shoot?” Beth questioned. “I got twenty!” She repositioned the itchy blonde wig she wore over her short brown hair, reminding Manny that her sexiness was fake and temporary. He relaxed. She said to Alan, “Why aren’t we paid the same?”
“Negotiation, Beth; girls are paid less than guys.” Alan said as he adjusted a light. “Our project is in his little baby-boy’s hands and now you’re complaining?”
“My fee just went up. You pay me the same as Manny.”
YOU ARE READING
Starlet's Man
Teen FictionLights, Camera, and Lies. High school student athlete, Manny Biro, is caught between the boy he should be and the man he wants to become. Everyone around him accepts the Hollywood life. He doesn't. Manny wants no part of acting. On the surface, his...
