Chapter 5
Movie Magic
Tonight was movie night for the McGees! They were all excited to watch a horror movie together. Once they were ready, they hit play as the movie began.
Unfortunately for the McGees, they were all bored by the movie. By the time the movie ended, they were just about ready to fall asleep.
"That wasn't even scary! Too many talking heads and not enough severed heads!" Darryl complained, disappointed by what he just saw.
"Yeah! And those ghost stereotypes? Answer me this, Molly! Do I talk like this all the time?" Scratch asked before he made his voice sound spooky. "Get out of the house!"
"Sometimes you do." Molly replied.
"Eh, that's just for effect!" Scratch explained.
"We could probably make a better movie ourselves!" said Darryl.
At that moment, Molly jumped up from her seat as she thought of an idea. "That's a great idea! I mean, we've got a real ghost!"
"I'll do it!" Scratch agreed to be in the movie. "And it'll be the performance of an after- lifetime!"
"So, I'll direct and Darryl can film on his phone! That just leaves the script!" Molly pondered for a moment before she thought of the perfect person to write the script. "Libby should be the one to write it! After all, she loves to write about horror stuff! Libby can do anything!" Molly had a loving look on her face as she happily thought about Libby.
Upon noticing his sister's expression Darryl rolled his eyes in annoyance. After seeing how Molly reacted after Libby kissed her at the softball game, it was obvious to Darryl that Molly is attracted to her best friend and just wished that Molly would confess her feelings already.
After Molly told Libby about her plan to make a horror movie, Libby immediately got to work on writing a script, excited with what she had to write. A few days later, Molly gathered everyone to the softball field, where they got to work on making the movie.
"Libby, your script is incredible! This is going to be an amazing movie!" Molly exclaimed.
"Thanks, Molly! I'm actually surprised you wanted me to help you, especially after what happened at the softball game awhile ago." Libby blushed, still embarrassed from kissing Molly.
Molly blushed as well, but decided not to think about it too much. "Hey, it's okay! You were just excited from winning the game for the Lemmings! Let's just forget about that and focus on making the movie! Which reminds me, we can't have a movie without the star!"
Libby's eyes widened in surprise as she knew exactly who Molly was referring to.
"Me? I don't know. Do you really think I'm good enough to play Angela, the leading role?"
"Of course! I know that you can do it! Besides, who better to bring Angela to life than you, the writer who created her?" Molly pointed out.
Libby took a moment to think about what Molly just said before she started to feel that Molly had a good point. Normally, Libby would feel intimidated from even thinking about being in a movie, but after winning the softball championship in front of a whole crowd, she thought it couldn't be that bad.
"You know what? You're right! It's time that I brought my characters to life!" Libby agreed to be the star.
With that, Molly and the others spent the next couple of moments getting ready to start the movie. They had the cameras ready when Libby stepped forward in her movie attire. The moment Molly noticed Libby, she paused as she gazed at how beautiful Libby looked in her teal colored dress.
"Molly? Are you okay?" Libby asked, noticing Molly acting strange.
"Wh-What? Oh, yeah. I'm f-fine!" Molly stuttered, realizing how long she was silent for. "Why don't we get started on the first scene? First we need the ghost!" Molly announced before Scratch showed up, disguised in a sheet.
"Who's playing the ghost?" Libby asked.
"Oh, him? That's our Canadian cousin, Carl!" Molly lied with a nervous smile.
"Yeah, I'm the ghost, eh." Scratch said.
"He's visiting! Anyway, let's get started on the movie! Action!"
Before today, Molly thought that movie making was fun and magical. She couldn't have been anymore wrong. Everything that could have went wrong today did go wrong. Darryl once set his phone on the wrong side, making it so that it recorded him the whole time, and Scratch was repeatedly forgetting his lines.
If that wasn't bad enough, Libby was repeatedly getting hit on the head with softballs. That was when Molly realized that making a movie in the middle of the softball field where students are still playing might not have been the best idea after all.
Exhausted from their long day, Molly and the others decided to return home. On their way home, a door suddenly swung open, hitting Molly in the face. Out of the doorway stepped Andrea, who was speaking to her fans on her phone.
"Listen up, fandreas! Warm winds are blowing this spring! That's why I stay cool with-" Andrea paused the moment just took notice of Molly, who was a mess after the long day she had. "Whoa! Someone call the police! There's a fashion crime in progress!"
After recovering from getting hit by the door, Molly gave Andrea an annoyed look. "We're making a ghost movie, Andrea!"
At that moment, Andrea let out an excited gasp. "Shut up! I love horror movies! Totally unrelated, did you know I'm a professional actress?"
"Wait? You want to star in our movie?" Libby asked, picking up on the hint.
"Well, if you insist! Your movie will get 5 stars just from my presence!" Andrea exclaimed.
"Why do you want to be in our movie?" Darryl asked, surprised by Andrea's decision. "We barely even hang out with you."
"Well, all of that is about to change! For I shall star in your movie!"
"Sorry, Andrea! The starring role has already been taken by Libby!" Molly explained as she knew that no one else would be more perfect for the role.
Much to Molly's surprise, Libby handed Molly the dress that she wore not too long ago. "It's okay, Molly! Andrea can have the leading role! I think I'm much more comfortable with writing anyway!"
"So, it's settled! Meet me at the store warehouse tomorrow morning! It's where we shoot our commercials, so we've got all the sets and equipment we need! We're going to make the best movie ever! Okay, love you, bye!" Andrea waved goodbye to everyone before she left.
The next morning, Molly and her friends approached the warehouse Andrea told them about. At first they weren't impressed as they thought it looked like any regular warehouse. However, as they opened the door, they were all surprised to see all of the fancy equipment Andrea had prepared for them.
There were all kinds of cameras and costumes for Molly and the others to use for their movie. There was even a director's chair with Molly's name on it.
"Sweet baby corn! I can't believe Andrea has this much equipment for out movie!" Molly exclaimed. "Our movie is going to be incredible!"
"Even so, I'm still keeping a bucket of blood just in case we need it for a later scene." Darryl said as he dragged a bucket of fake blood in the warehouse.
As Molly got comfortable in her director's chair, Libby approached her with her script in hand.
"Molly, Andrea took a look at my script and had a few notes on it." Libby explained.
"A few notes? Like what?" Molly asked.
Libby took a moment to read through the notes Andrea had for her. "Lead character should be more relatable, aspirational, beautiful, but not know how beautiful she is, and her name should be Andrea."
Truthfully, Molly didn't like the idea of Andrea changing the character Libby worked so hard to create. It was Libby's story, after all.
"But Libby, Angela was perfect just the way she was!" Molly pointed out.
"It's called compromising, Molly!" Andrea stepped forward in her dress for the movie. "I promise you would love this new version even more!"
Knowing that she should be open to changes, Molly reluctantly let Andrea have her way.
"Alright. Let's just start off with the first scene. Action!"
At that moment, everyone began to record the first scene for the movie. In the scene, Andrea was walking through a spooky graveyard set, looking scared.
"Maybe I shouldn't have taken this shortcut through these scary woods!" Andrea pretended to be frightened.
That was when Scratch was cued in with his sheet disguise. He was about to scare Andrea before he stopped at the last second.
"Line?"
Molly placed a hand up to her forehead in a facepalm, annoyed that Scratch still can't remember his lines.
"Boo!"
"Right!" Scratch now remembered. "Boo!"
Andrea turned around in fear. "Oh no! The hitchhiker's ghost has come to eat my soul!" Andrea then dropped her scared expression and turned to the camera, holding a pair of shoes. "Thank goodness I'm wearing Swedish memory foam running shoes! Available now at Davenport's Department Store!"
Surprised by the random product placement, Molly had no choice but to call cut, and stop recording.
"That was great, Andrea, um, but how about we stick to the script!" Molly said.
"Sorry, I just knew it was the perfect spot for product placement." Andrea replied, clearly not caring about the script. "Don't forget, this is how we're paying for everything!"
With a defeated sigh, Molly decided to go along with it. Things were not going the way Molly hoped them to be. With all of the changes Andrea made and all of the product placements that were added in each scene. This was not the movie Molly envisioned.
As the first day of filming came to an end, Molly and her friends left, each of them disappointed by how the film was turning out. Molly couldn't help but notice how stressed Libby appeared at the end of the day. Concerned for her friend, Molly decided to pay Libby a visit. The front door opened, and Leah looked up, surprised to see her daughter's best friend.
"Oh, Molly! It's good to see you!" Leah greeted.
"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Stein-Torres!" Molly smiled. "Is Libby upstairs?"
Leah nodded. "She is! She said something about writing a script for a movie. I am starting to worry about her though. Libby looked really exhausted, but told me that everything was fine. Do you think you can go upstairs and talk to Libby? I'm sure she will listen to you."
Molly nodded. "Don't worry, Mrs. Stein-Torres! I promise I'll help Libby!"
Without a second thought, Molly made her way upstairs, where she opened the door to Libby's room. Here, Molly found Libby hard at work, writing the script. Sensing Molly's presence, Libby turned to face her.
Dark circles appeared around Libby's eyes and her hair was a mess. It broke Molly's heart to see Libby so stressed out over making unnecessary changes to her script.
"Molly? What are you doing here?" Libby asked, surprised by Molly's presence.
"Libby, are you feeling okay? It looks like you desperately need sleep." Molly noticed.
Libby shook her head. "No, no! I just need to finish this script for Andrea tomorrow."
At that moment, Libby turned to continue her rewrites. However, Molly wasn't going to let Libby torture herself like this. She approached her and turned her around once again.
"You need sleep!" Molly said with a serious look on her face.
"Wh-What? But I need to finish this! Andrea said this needs to be done by tomorrow!" Libby explained.
"I don't care! Andrea can wait! Your health is more important! Just look at yourself!" Molly tried to reason with Libby.
After taking a look at herself in the mirror, Libby understood what Molly was talking about. "Maybe you're right. I've been working hard for several hours straight, and I'm feeling a little sleepy."
Exhausted from all the hard work she had done, Libby slowly closed her eyes before collapsing in Molly's arms. After catching Libby, Molly decided to place Libby on her bed. Seeing how exhausted Libby was, Molly decided that she was going to confront Andrea about this tomorrow, but first she was going to let Libby get some much needed sleep.
The next morning, Molly walked with Libby to the warehouse. While Molly was ready to give Andrea a piece of her mind, Libby was worrying over her script.
"Do you think Andrea would still accept the script even if it is late?" Libby asked Molly.
"It's going to be okay, Libby! Even if Andrea is going to be too stubborn to give you a break, I won't take no for an answer!" Molly assured.
Molly and Libby soon made their way over to the movie set, where Andrea greeted them.
"Oh there's my favorite director and scriptwriter! Ready for another day of movie making?" Andrea asked.
"Um, about that, Andrea. I didn't exactly finish the script like you wanted." Libby awkwardly looked away.
"Libby needed her sleep! You can't expect her to do a full rewrite in a single day!" Molly defended Libby.
At first, Molly expected Andrea to argue with her and demand that the script gets done right now. Instead, Andrea stared at them with a calm smile and said something Molly didn't expect.
"Oh, that's alright!"
Andrea's response caused Molly and Libby to share a couple of surprised looks with each other.
"It is?" Molly and Libby asked in unison.
"Of course! I just decided we should go in a bold new direction!" Andrea took Libby's script and tore it up without a care. Shocked by this, Molly glanced at Libby, who looked heartbroken that she went through all that hard work for nothing. "Ghost romance! Ghomance!"
"But that's not even scary!" Libby argued.
"Yeah! Libby worked really hard on that script! You are ruining her vision on her story!" Molly yelled, now angry with Andrea for how she treated Libby.
"Oh, Molly! Relax! This is still the same movie! Just with a few minor changes! Now let's get filming!" Andrea left for her next scene.
With a sigh, Libby sadly walked away, upset that she went through all that writing for nothing. As Molly watched Libby walk away, Scratch floated right next to Molly.
"So, is this still our movie?" Scratch asked.
Molly sighed. "No, Scratch. In fact, I think it's time to show Andrea just how scary ghosts can be!"
Picking up on the hint, Scratch gave a mischievous grin as he was ready to haunt the entire movie set. Suddenly music began to play out of nowhere and the lights started to flicker. Confused, Andrea looked around the set, starting to feel slightly scared.
"Gerard! We're not doing scary anymore!" Andrea yelled at her cameraman.
Before Andrea could say anything else, Scratch briefly appeared in front of her and yelled at her, causing her to scream in fear. That was when Scratch gained control over all of the movie equipment, forcing Andrea's crew to flee for their lives. If that wasn't bad enough, Darryl even dumped his can of fake blood onto Andrea, much to her dismay. That was the last straw for Andrea, so she ran away shortly afterwards.
With all of the movie equipment destroyed, Molly and her friends had nothing left to make a movie. Now ready to give up, they decided to return home. Halfway through their walk, they noticed Andrea sitting on the sidewalk, her head buried in her knees. Her dress was still dripping from the fake blood Darryl dumped on her.
Upon seeing her like this, Molly and the others started to feel that they went a little too far with their revenge. Now overcome with guilt, Molly thought she should make things right.
"Hey." Andrea heard Molly and she looked up, surprised to see Molly holding a dress in her hands. "I know it's not much, but I found this extra dress at the warehouse. You can change into it when you return home."
With a hesitant look, Andrea accepted the dress, surprised by Molly's kindness.
"I-I don't understand. Why are you being so nice to me after I ruined your movie?" Andrea asked.
"Listen, Andrea. I know that Libby and I have never really gotten along with you since we met in first grade, but if you would give us a chance, maybe we can start over." Molly offered.
At that point, Andrea felt her eyes get misty before she wiped her tears away. "I think I would really like that, and Libby? I'm sorry, not just for making you work all night on the script, but for how I've treated you over the years."
It was a surprise to Libby that Andrea of all people would apologize to her. Maybe she isn't so bad after all.
"Oh, thank you, Andrea. I appreciate it." Libby replied, still surprised by this unexpected turn of events. "It's just too bad we don't have a movie anymore."
"I wouldn't say that." Andrea took out her phone and revealed that the haunting of the movie set had been recorded the whole time. "One of my crew members managed to capture everything, despite all the chaos! I have to admit, Molly, your cousin is really good with special effects! I don't know how he did it! Either way, I can send the video to you so that you can at least have a movie to watch!"
"Are you sure?" Molly asked.
Andrea nodded. "Of course! And don't even think about deleting it! I have never looked so terrified! It was my best performance yet! Anyway, I hope to see you again soon."
With that, Andrea waved goodbye before returning home to change into her new dress. At that point, Molly and the others stood in silence, surprised by this unexpected turn.
"So, does this mean that you two are friends with Andrea now?" Darryl spoke up.
"I'm not sure, but I think it is a start!" Libby smiled, having hope that she and Molly can be friends with Andrea after all.
Later that night, Molly and her family watched the new movie that they were able to put together, thanks to Andrea. Molly edited the movie by titling it, 'The Haunting of... The Haunting of Brighton.' After seeing how great the movie turned out, everyone burst into applause.
"Wow! Carl really committed to his performance! You can't even see the wires!" Libby exclaimed before glancing at the tv in suspicion. "Uh, wait. There aren't any wires. Carl, how did you-"
Desperate to distract Libby from figuring out Scratch's existence, Molly ran up to Libby before fast forwarding to the credits. "Uh, look! Your name is in the credits!"
Happy by what she was looking at, Libby squealed in joy before taking a picture of herself next to her name. "I'm a real writer now!"
Libby's suspicions were now gone much to the relief of the McGees. Molly's parents looked at the clock and noticed out late it was getting.
"It seems to be getting late, Libby. Would you like me to call your mom so she can pick you up?" Sharon asked.
"It's okay, Mrs. McGee! My mom said it is okay for me to stay the night!" Libby assured.
"Well, if your mom says it's alright, we are happy to have you here for the night, Libby!" Pete smiled.
A few hours had passed when everyone was ready to go to bed. As everyone was getting ready to go to sleep, Molly and Libby sat on the couch, thinking about the eventful day they just had. In all the years that they had been friends, they never would have guessed that they would be friends with Andrea as well.
"So, today has been unexpected, hasn't it?" Libby spoke up.
"It was! Despite everything, I'm actually glad that we can be friends with Andrea now!" Molly commented. "It's just too bad that you chose to give up on the starring role. I think you would have been an amazing actress!"
Libby blushed as she gave a shy smile. "Thanks, Molly! Maybe one day I will gain the courage perform onstage!"
"Well until that day comes, I promise to support you the whole way!" Molly promised.
As their long day came to an end, Molly and Libby soon drifted off to sleep on the couch, both of them leaning against each others shoulders. The girls slept peacefully together, neither of them aware that Pete and Sharon were staring at them, smiling from this adorable moment before they turned off the lights.