The Yellow Umbrella

Chapter Seven: Be Mine

"Action!"

On cue, Grayson strolled across to a lonely basketball resting in the middle of the gym. The camera shifted its focus from him to the ball. He picked it up and gasped! Because the basketball was a-

"Bomb?" He scratched the back of his head, breaking character.

"Cut!" I yelled.

Chelsea, a video club freshmen I forced to be a crew member, lowered the boom pole. Mark hit the pause button on the camera and sighed.

"Seriously, Jake?" He ran a hand through his perfectly honey colored hair, "Lunch is over soon and I promised Karissa that I would eat lunch with her." Then he elbowed Chelsea and smirked, "You know how the ladies be."

"Dude, don't say that." I groaned and walked over Grayson, who mindlessly dribbled the basketball.

The gym was mostly empty, except for some gym teachers playing basketball at the other end during their free period. I was hoping I could edit out their intense grunts and yelling in post production.  Or I could make it a silent film. The grunts sounded less athletic and more like porn. 

Or I could turn the film into a porno. That would definitely make the college boards remember me. 

Grayson shook his shaggy hair out of his eyes and smiled, "I hope this doesn't detonate."

I smacked the ball out of his hands.

"What's wrong Jakey?"

I groaned and covered my face with both hands, "Everything. All my college apps are due in two weeks and I have what? Two videos to show for my portfolio."

I kicked the basketball, "This is dumb. I need a better idea."

I sat down on the dirty gym floor and sighed. I was supposed to be the guy that had it all together, the guy who was done applying to colleges, early. I hadn't even written an essay for most of my applications. 

I shouldn't have wasted all my time pinning over Mia. 

Cause all that pining was for nothing.

What did I have to show for it? An idiotic video about a basketball being a bomb.

Grayson squatted beside me, his knees cracking. I winced. I hated the sound of bones cracking.

"You know," He said, "I don't mind acting in your videos for you, god knows you've asked me like thirty kazillion times."

"Kazillion isn't a number." I muttered.

"Regardless," Grayson continued, "Before getting the whole crew out here and missing lunch, maybe come up with an idea. Make something you're passionate about."

He effortlessly spun the ball on the tip of his finger, "Because let's be real. You don't care about sports, or bombs. You like bad romcoms and those weird movies with no plot."

I opened my mouth to object, but he held a finger to my lips and said, "Don't argue with me, you write some hella cute stories. Nothing to be ashamed of. Just come up with a video that's you."

He stood up and left, Mark followed after him.

"Later camera boy." Mark called, heading back to the cafeteria.

Chelsea timidly approached me.

"So uh, Jake," She said, giving me a hand up, "Do you need help editing this after school? I'm totally free, literally whenever."

She tugged nervously at the beanie covering short pixie cut.

I shook my head, "Thanks Chelsea, but I think we're gonna nix this idea and go back to the drawing board."