Cheep, chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp.
Through the large, picture window in the kitchen, the red-orange vest of a robin bore a stark contrast to the bright, yellow flowers of the Angel's Trumpet tree. She loves to be amongst nature whenever she can. Her backyard, filled with trees, plants, and wildlife, is her favorite place to be. She usually delighted with the robin's song, but today it barely registers for her. This is how Gesine knew she is still off when she walks into the kitchen that morning.
She finds Sandra sitting at the table with her fist under her chin, staring at the wall. The beige mush in the bowl in front of her no longer resembles cheerios. The steam from her completely full cup of coffee has long since disappeared. It was 6:30 a.m. Usually Sandra was out of the house before Gesine descended the stairs each day, but she has a later call-time today.
"Good morning, sunshine," Gesine greets her. Whatever is on her mind, though, clouds out the sound of both the robin and her sister's voice. Gesine pours herself a cup of coffee and pulls the chair out next to Sandra. "Penny for your thoughts?" She probes. To no avail: Sandra does nothing but blink. The phone rings. Gesine sits quietly, watching to see if she'll respond, but still nothing. Gesine answers.
"'Sup Gesine. Lemme talk to Sandy." It was Nathan, calling from his location shoot in Montana.
Gesine covers the mouthpiece with her hand and shuffles back to the table, tapping Sandra on the shoulder, startling her. "Huh? What?" She asks, still in a daze.
Gesine holds up the phone and whispers, "Nathan."
Sandra signals her rejection with one hand.
"Hey, um, she's...in the shower. Yeah, sorry. I'll let her know though, okay?...Okay. Bye." Gesine hangs up and returns to Sandra. "Alright, sissy, what's up?"
Holding the now room-temperature mug, Sandra takes her first sip of coffee. "Wha—? Nothing. Why?"
Gesine recalls the scene from last night when her sister came home after filming. She barely said hello before heading straight upstairs to a long bath and then going to sleep. She didn't bother eating dinner, let alone sitting down with her and Raymond. "You've been a bit off since last night. What's up?!?"
Sandra smirks and then raises her shoulders. "Nothing!" She is irritated. "I've gotta go." That is her last word spoken before changing and leaving the house.
Weird, Gesine thought to herself before heading upstairs to shower.
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Keanu leans back onto his loveseat and stretches his arms above his head. He returns to his script and is jotting notes when he catches a glimpse of her walking past his window on her way to the trailer. He sits bolt upright, eyes darting back and forth, side-to-side several times. Finally, he stands with his script still in hand, determined to catch her before rehearsals start. He makes his way to her door and announces his presence with a soft, unassuming tap.
Knock-knock.
"Yeah. Come in."
The handle turns slowly as he enters her trailer. He inhales deeply, her vanilla scent invading him. She is sitting at her table, staring at a blank wall. Her sleeveless chambray blouse looks sharp against her tanned shoulders. Those shoulders. Keanu flashes back to the rumba a couple nights ago.
"Hey Sandra, uh, Sandy," he corrects himself, twitching, searching for words. "How was your drive?" How was your drive? Idiot. He throws his head to the side, unable to make eye contact.
She takes a year to turn her head and finally acknowledge his presence. "Hey. Fine. You?"
"Great! It was, uh, great...," his voice trails off at the end. Fuuuuuuck. He throws his hands down and taps his thigh with closed fist, searching the room for something to talk about, biting his lower lip with angst. He lowers his head toward the script still in his hand and his eyes open wide. The script! "Hey, you ready for today? I thought maybe we should run some of these lines and see how they feel. You up for it?"
Sandra regains some semblance of consciousness at this point and he is happy to see her face light up again.
"Yeah, we can do that."
His cheeks rise as he scrambles over to the table to sit next to her. He is relieved when she looks into his eyes. "Okay, so check out page fifty-eight?"*
Sandra flips her script open. Her fingers trace the words as she reads: "Steps out from behind a van right in front of the bus. Annie and Jack. Horror. It's too late. Annie shuts her eyes..." She looks up at Keanu, quizzically. "What am I looking for?"
He pushes his chin down toward the script, "Keep going. You'll see."
"The bus. Smashes into the baby carriage...she screams...Jack looks..." Sandra's tone is flat as she continues to skim. "Okay, Jack smiles. 'There's your baby?'" Sandra rolls her eyes towards Keanu. "What is that?"
"Keep going, it gets better."
"Annie is relieved, okay. 'Looks just like you, honey.'" She reads, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Looks just like you?? Is that for real?!?"
Keanu chuckles, "That's for real."
"Gross," she cringes. "Real natural: 'Hi, I'm Annie. Hi, I'm Jack. There's a bomb on the bus, Sam's bleeding out, we're all gonna die. Wanna make out now, or no?'" She lays her hand flat over the page and groans. "Totally normal, that's how all my relationships start."
They spend the next hour crossing things off, mocking the one-liners, changing words. Sandra is animated, waving her arms around excitedly and talking a mile a minute. Keanu's stomach aches. Time stands still while he observes her as if she were on the big screen, reflecting on all he's come to learn about her: She's witty and hilarious. She knows the name of every single set worker and greets them every morning like family. She brings happiness into every setting. God I'm glad she's here. His in-person movie is interrupted by the alarm, telling them it was time to get dressed and get to the set.
"Alright, little Keester."
He usually doesn't tolerate cutesy nicknames but he says nothing to her. She raises her right hand to give him a high five. He raises his own. When their hands meet, he wraps his fingers tighter around her hand and lingers.
"I'll see ya after you get your falsies on, right?" her eyes squint tightly as she celebrates her zinger.
"Okay, okay, that's enough."
She pulls her hand out of his and turns to exit, ready to step into Annie's shoes again. He's completely normal. That's what I get for jumping to conclusions, I guess. Her mood is airy and light, her footsteps are full of bounce. She heads off to change, excited to get to work.
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"Hey Keester, wait up!" Sandra comes jogging behind Keanu as he and the rest of the cast walk toward the bus they'd be using for filming that day. He stops, turning his body toward her, allowing her to catch up. She wraps her hand around his arm and without a thought, he draws her in against his side. "Everyone's acting weird, have you noticed? Whatdya think they're gonna pull on us?"
Keanu is too focused on the warmth of her hand on his arm to fully comprehend what she's saying. "Uhh, dunno. I don't know."
"Melissa, you know?" Sandra looks to her other side.
"No idea."
There is no bus parked where they're supposed to board. Confused, they look at each other, then back to the empty freeway when they see something in the distance pulling up. As the bus gets closer to them, they see it's missing the windshield. In its place is a platform that extends off the front, enclosed in plexiglass. On the platform is a small bench seat, three cameramen and one camera on a stand.
"What the hell is that?"
"It looks like that car they keep the pope in." Sandra quips.
"The popemobile?"** Keanu asks.
Belly shaking, Melissa replies, "Yeah, that's what this is, the popemobile."
Everyone laughs. "The popemobile! That's it." 'Stephens' repeats.
The bus comes to a stop and the door opens. Jan walks down the steps. "Good morning, everyone. You're probably wondering what this is all about." He motions behind him.
"It's the popemobile!" Another bus cast member calls out.
Jan grins, "Yeah, well, okay I can see that. Today, we're shooting some of the scenes on the street. Sandra, you're driving the bus and we need to see that you're driving the bus."
"We're all gonna die." Another cast member teases.
Sandra throws her hand above her head without looking toward the voice and flips him the bird. Everyone laughs.
Jan continues. "Now, we're gonna be on the streets, right, so Sandra, as great of a driver as I'm sure you are—"
"Hey, I got my papers! I can drive it better than you," Sandra interjects, followed by more laughter.
"Yes," Jan agrees, "I know you can. But, we've got a special seat on the top of the bus where Brad, here, will sit and drive."
"Places everyone," Dallas commands.
The cast climbs onto the popemobile, Keanu bringing up the end behind Sandra. His eyes catch her flowery muslin dress, ruffling with every step she takes, unveiling a couple inches of the back of her thighs. Focus! He turns his gaze to the hand railing instead. Sandra takes her seat behind the steering wheel, humming the tune to Janet Jackson's "If." Keanu stands beside her as they wait for everyone to settle.
"Let's pick up from the point Jack gets off the phone with Harry. Ready?" Everyone gets to their spot and prepares. "Action!"
***Sandra looks all around her, acting scared, unsure what to do. "Officer... Officer? Shit, what do I do?" She grabs the microphone. "OFFICER!!"
Keanu stands up and surveys the traffic on the highway. "Ah, shit."
"What do I...what do I do?" Sandra continues in her character. "Which way? WHICH WAY?!?"
"Get on the shoulder."
"Okay," she whispers.
They sit in silence, waiting for Jan to call for the cut. Nothing happens. The cars on the off ramp are getting closer, but the bus continues on. It swerves to the right, bringing forth an audible gasp from a few of the bus cast members. About a quarter of a mile ahead on the right sits a tow truck on the side of the road. Two men are standing behind it on the gravel, chatting.
Sandra's hands grip the steering wheel tighter as the bus barrels forward at fifty miles an hour Her palms start sweating. A lock of hair falls forward onto her face but she is unwilling to let go of the wheel. She yanks it hard to the left, away from the tow truck, but the bus pushes forward. Brad is in control, not her. She and Keanu lock eyes, pulses racing. They realize they're going too fast and getting too close to be able to stop in time. Something is wrong...
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* Paraphrased, quoted and inspired by page 58 of an earlier version of the script.
**Actual name coined for one of the buses used in the film.
***Quotes from movie.