I stepped out of my office and into the hallway to head down to the elevators to head home when Lorne walked out of his office, briefcase in hand. He looked up at me and smiled. "Jimmy, what are you doing here on a Sunday?" I rubbed the back of my neck and tried to stammer out a valid response when Lorne laughed and gripped my arm. "Ah. A few too many drinks last night at the cast party? You slept in your office again, didnt you?" I nodded and shrugged.
"Wait, how did you know that I sleep in my office sometimes?" I asked as I took my baseball cap off my head and flipped my hair backwards before replacing the cap on my head, this time the bill hanging in the back. Lorne just squeezed my shoulder and laughed. "Son, I know everything." I went to respond but he had already turned and began to walk down to the elevator bank. "By the way, Miss McConall is here. She wanted to get a feel for the studio. I figured maybe you would like to show her around since you're here." He called out as he walked down the hall. The elevator reached the floor and he stepped in. He pushed his button and smiled at me. "After all, you are the welcoming committee." And with that, the doors shut and he was on his way.
I looked down the hallway both ways and debated just going home anyways. I had a killer hangover, I needed food and a beer in a horrible way, and I was still wearing last nights clothes. I was not in the mood nor was I dressed to be hospitable to anyone, let alone some actress I hardly knew anything about. I walked towards the elevator bank and pushed the button to call one up for me to get home as soon as possible. I watched the numbers light up until the door opened in front of me. I stepped on and hit the button and leaned on the wall, waiting for the doors to close. I closed my eyes as the elevator went down until I felt the familiar jolt of it coming to a stop. I leaned up and stepped out onto the floor, shielding my eyes from the bright lights as the doors closed behind me. My head was pounding with each step I took. I yawned and looked down at the floor, realizing it was carpeted and not tiled like the lobby is. I looked up and scoffed as I looked around. I was on the 8th floor. I must have hit it out of habit from going to my office to the studio every day. Well, that or I was more hungover than I thought. I laughed to myself and turned to get back on the elevator when I heard a faint melody coming from one of the dressing rooms. I scowled and looked around. I didnt see anyone else on the floor but me.
I shook my head and walked back towards the elevator but slowly and surely, curiosity was getting the best of me. I'm sure it was Kinsley McConall but what she was doing in the dressing room was beyond me and she is all alone on the studio floor. Someone should be supervising her. Might as well just drop in and check on her. Just for a second, make sure she doesnt do anything questionable at the very least. "Okay, but only for a second and then you're going home, showering and getting some food in you and nursing this hangover away." I said to myself as I turned on my heel and followed the sound towards the dressing rooms. I made it just outside the closest one when I heard it.
"Tale as old as time, true as it can be. Barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly."
I stopped outside the door and leaned against the wall, listening to her singing. "Just a little change, small to say the least. Both a little scared, neither one prepared." I closed my eyes and scowled a bit. Is she singing...
"Beauty and the beast"
She sang as she finished my thought. I covered my mouth to stifle my laughter as I pushed myself off the wall and slowly opened the door to the dressing room. I looked around the room but didnt see a single sign of her. I knew she was there though because I could still hear her singing.
"Ever just the same. Ever a surprise. Ever as before. Ever just as sure as the sun will rise."
I followed her voice until I saw a single black Chuck Taylor sticking out from underneath the dressing room table. I followed the black sneaker up a tattered pair of jeans that had a green plaid shirt hugging them around the knees. Blonde strands of hair were moving back and forth against it as Kinsley McConall huddled under the table, eyes shut, swaying back and forth as she concentrated. She had hives on her chest and neck. She took a deep breath in as I stepped in and knelt in front of her. I smiled softly to myself as I took a deep breath in.
"Tale as old as time. Tune as old as song." She jumped under the table as I sang and I lunged forward and put my hand on her knee. "What the fuck?! Who the fuck?! I thought I was alone!" She grasped her head as she hit the bottom of the table and cowered as far back as she could. I put my hand up and leaned back so she could see my whole face. "Hey! I'm sorry! I didnt mean to scare you! I'm Jimmy! Jimmy Fallon...I work here." She scowled and leaned forward. "I know who you are. I watch the show and for not meaning to scare a girl you sure know how to. Sneaking in on me while I'm trying to calm down. Not knocking, not saying hello. Nothing." I nodded and scooted back. "I know. I'm sorry. I wasnt thinking." I watched her as she watched me. She's seemed to relax at least a little bit. I held my hand up and gave a little wave. "Hello." She let her arms relax off her legs and gave me a feeble wave. "Hi." She said, unenthused. I held my hand out towards hers. "Jimmy." She stared at my hand for a moment before reluctantly reaching forward and shaking mine. "Kinsley. Kinsley.." I shook hers and smiled. "McConall. I know, you just did a movie with my pal, Drew." Kinsley closed her eyes and nodded. "Right." I stood up and backed away from the table. I held my hand out. "Would you like to come out now or are you still scared?" I felt Kinsley's hand in mine and she ducked her head out and under from the table and slowly came out.
Kinsley stood up and dusted herself off. She was about six inches shorter than me. Blonde hair. She looked up at me and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Thanks." I gave a little chuckle and took a dust bunny off her hair. "No problem." Kinsley watched my hand as I shook the dust bunny off of it. She ran her finger through her hair and scoffed. "So, uh, how much of the medley did you hear?" She asked as she shook the rest of the dust out. I pulled the chair up behind me and sat in it. "I only heard Beauty and the Beast. There was a medley? Now, Im a little upset that I didnt come investigate the noise earlier." Kinsley flipped her hair back up and shot me a look. Green eyes. Almost emerald actually. "I'm a little upset I just admitted it was a medley." I chuckled a little bit as she put her hands in her pocket. She had an oversized plaid shirt on, the torn jeans, the Chucks. She looked like she just stepped out of a Nirvana video. Or at the very least raided Carvey's old dressing room and found the Garth Algar outfit. She cleared her throat and I looked up at her. I pointed to the table and then to her.
"If its not prying too much, why were you under the table singing.. apparently a medley of Disney songs?" She looked under the table and ran her fingers through her long blonde hair again. "You'll just think its stupid." I put my fingers on my lips and crossed my leg over my other knee. "Try me, Kinsley McConall. I've heard a many of crazy things in this dressing room. I'm sure yours will not top that list." Kinsley sighed and flipped her hair back again. She must do that when she's flustered. Endearing little quality. She looked around the room and I realized I was in the only seat. "Oh! I'm sorry, you probably want to sit down. Here, take the chair." I said as I stood up and gestured toward it. Kinsley waved me off and began to pace very quickly back and forth in front of me as she groaned. "Orrr Not..." I said softly as I stood to the side of the chair and crossed my arms over my chest.
"Its just that, I just got done doing this movie. This big.. big.. movie. And its a good movie. Its a great movie and its my first leading role and... and I did it. And it opens next week and its my first premiere and I have NO idea what I am doing. What do I need to wear? Do I bring a date? Do I not bring a date? I mean, do I call Kyle? But I havent seen Kyle in like five years since I left him at the airport and then just eventually the calls stopped coming. And now, I'm on Saturday Night Live and Ben Folds is the artist and I love Ben Folds but I'm not a comedian. I have no idea how to be funny and its LIVE for Christs sake so if I mess up the ENTIRE world is going to know it and I'm just this girl from Michigan who has no idea.."
I felt my eyes bug out as I tried to concentrate on every word she was saying but she was talking a mile a minute and pacing back and forth and quite honestly I was too hungover to try and comprehend what was happening. I reached forward and stopped her mid pace. She looked up at me and I gave a slight laugh. "First of all," I started. "Breathe." Kinsley nodded and took a deep breath. "Second, sit." I guided her to the chair and she started to protest. "I dont have to sit, I'm fine." I nodded and squeezed her shoulders a little bit. "You're pacing and you're talking crazy fast and if I'm being perfectly honest, I am way too hungover to keep up with it, so really this is for my benefit as well." She nodded again and mumbled an apology. I scooted over and sat on the dressing room table and reached for the arm of the chair, spinning her around so she faced me.
"There. Better." I said with a slight chuckle as I crossed my legs at my ankles and lightly swung them under me. "Now, so you're saying this impromptu Disney concert is because you're..." I paused trying to find the right word. "..nervous about how you'll do?" Kinsley pulled at the hole in the knee of her jeans. "Yeah, exactly. What if the movie bombs? What if I fail at this? I mean, SNL is HUGE." She motioned around the room and then looked at me. "Not that I have to tell you. You live this life, but this isnt me. I dont do this kind of stuff. I'm just scared that I'll fall flat on my face, humiliate myself." That was all I needed to hear. I pushed the chair back and jumped off the table. I held my hand out and pulled her from the chair. "Come on." I said simply as I pulled her out of the room.
"Where are we going?" She asked as I guided her down the hall to where I knew she needed to go. We came to a stop behind the door and I looked at her. "Open the door." Kinsley looked up at me, confused. "What do you mean?" I motioned forward. "Come on, just open it." She scowled at me but she took her hand and opened the door and took a deep breath in. I nudged her. "Go ahead. Walk out there." She looked back at me and shook her head. "I.. I dont know. I dont think I should." I nudged her again. "Oh come on. We've all done it. Its your turn. Besides, you're going to have to go out there in 6 days time anyways. Might as well get a feel for it now." She raised an eyebrow and bit her lip. "Are you sure its okay?" I smiled and let out a little chuckle. "I'm positive. Besides, even if it werent okay," I looked around for a second before looking back at her. "We're the only ones here. What they dont know, wont hurt them."
Kinsley nodded and her shoulders slouched, as if she were relaxing even the tiniest bit. She took a deep breath and walked through the door. I let her make it down the stairs and onto the stage before I walked through. I kept my distance, standing on the stairs by the band area while she walked to the center of the stage. The studio was empty of course and it was mostly dark except for the emergency lights by the exits. Kinsley stood in the mono spot and looked around. She nodded to herself and I could see her start to relax, slowly but surely. I smiled and sat on the step, watching her switch her footing from one foot to the other, the other sneaker sliding up and down the other calf. Maybe she was scratching at an itch. Or it was a nervous tic. I put my elbows on my knees and set my chin in my hands, resting my fingers on my lips. I watched her for a few more moments before she looked back at me. "See, its not that bad, is it?" I asked as leaned back on my palms. Kinsley let out a puff of air, her blonde locks flowing up into the air before slowly drifting back. "Its not bad now but it will be mindnumbingly terrfying when this studio is plum full of people come Saturday." I pushed myself up and skipped down the steps and walked up next to her.
"I understand that. Been there. Done that. You know, my first show, I threw up right before the first sketch. Right off the side of the stage there." I pointed to stage left and she chuckled. "You did?" I nodded and gave a little smile at the memory. "Yep. Sure did." Kinsley bit her lip and I could see her body tense up again. I put my hand on her shoulder. "But I'm sure that wont happen to you. You're an experienced actor." She scoffed and hung her head. "Yeah, at scripted stuff. This is live. I dont want to fail at this." I shook her a bit. "You know, you keep mentioning that but we spend all week going over the sketches. The lines. The costumes. It's not that different from learning a script and I promise you by Saturday, every sketch, every word will be embedded in your head. Even the ones you wont be in. Hell, I bet you could do Update better than I could by Friday, tops." She gave a little laugh. "Besides, if you do forget, that is what dress is for and even after that, we have cue cards. But you wont need them. You'll be fine."
Kinsley looked up at me and bit her lip. "You think so." I nodded and playfully pushed her. "I know so, but if you're still nervous come showtime there's a little trick of the trade." She perked up and she looked at me hopefully. "Yeah?" I nodded and smiled. "Yep. All you have to do is picture the audience in their underwear. It helps relieve the tension." Kinsley laughed and kicked at the floor. "I might have to try that but I'm still nervous. I mean, I wont know a single person out there. I'll be talking to complete strangers. I dont do well with strangers." I thought about that for a moment and nodded. I knew what she meant. I had an idea. "Well, how about this? I'll sit out there for your monologue. I'll be out there and you can look at me. Talk to me. I mean, you could do that right? You're doing fine talking to me right now." I pointed out to her and she shrugged and pouted her lip a bit. "Yeah." She looked up at me and smiled. "Yeah, I guess I could do that. I mean, if it wouldnt be too much trouble." I shook my head and stuck my hands in my pockets. "It's no trouble at all. I would be glad to help out a fellow cast member."
"I'm not a cast member." She said matter of factly. I shrugged. "Well you are this week." I looked at my wrist at the time. I needed to get home and rest a little bit before work tomorrow. "Speaking of, we should probably get out of here. Let the janitor clean up in here so it'll be all nice and neat for us. Besides, you should go relax and get some good rest. After all, you have a big day tomorrow." Kinsley nodded as we walked up the steps to the stage door. "Start of a big week." She said, almost to herself. I let her walk through the door before me and then shut it behind us as we walked back towards the elevators. "The best week. It'll go by fast. Enjoy it." Kinsley looked at me as I pushed the down button to call the elevator to us. "I think I might." She added with a smile before looking behind her. "Oh! I left my purse in the dressing room." She said as the doors opened to the elevator. I looked inside then looked at her. "Well, do you need me to come with you? I can let this one go and wait for you." I asked as I watched while she walked towards the dressing room. "No, its okay." She said simply, grinning at me. "Thank you, though." I put my hand on the door of the elevator and nodded. "Are you sure you dont need me to wait? I can walk you out." I offered one last time. Kinsley shook her head. "No, Its okay. I know my way out. But again, thank you, for everything." I stepped on and smiled at her. "It's no problem. Its part of the job. After all, I am the welcoming committee. See you tomorrow Kinsley McConall." I smiled and waved at her and Kinsley returned the favor, "See you tomorrow, Jimmy Fallon." She managed to get out before the doors shut and sent me on my way home.