I think I really have a knack for writing real-life fanfiction, yanno?
REMEMBER TO READ THE END AUTHOR'S NOTE PLEASE!
Enjoy! XD
Catha Le'deboer was all set.
As the head writer for the American adaptation (Every Witch Way) of the Latin American drama (Grachi), she was in charge of the seasons' plots, and she had just finished writing up the fourth. It was centered on Jax Novoa's father stirring up trouble – including his mother's death being exposed as a lie – in Australia, forcing Jax and his girlfriend Emma Alonso to set out after him. Andi Cruz, Maddie Van Pelt, and Diego Rueda were supposed to follow them. Meanwhile, in Miami, Daniel Miller would be found by a talent scout and offered a recording contract, only to be beaten out by his ex-girlfriend, Mia Black. They would serve as the secondary conflict throughout the season.
She didn't know what, but it felt really solid and secure. Lots of magic would be involved; tons of romance, and families would be mended. To say she was excited was an understatement; she was over the moon.
Alas, today Nickelodeon's executive producers wanted to have a conference with her. They assured her it was nothing to worry about, but they hadn't let her in on the subject of the appointment. Just to be safe, she brought season four's plans with her in case that's what they wanted to discuss.
She found the correct door and knocked once before pushing open, her planner in her other hand.
The production crew guys were huddled around a computer in a corner, laughing so hard one fell over. She couldn't be sure, but she thought the computer uttered the words "your whole life is off". Huh. She cleared her throat to let her presence be known, and immediately five heads turned to her and ten hands shot out to the pat the guy in the chair. He frantically minimized whatever window they had open and killed the sound, spinning around and nervously smiling, face red from laughter. "Hi Catha." He then proceeded to cough really hard.
Catha raised her eyebrows but smiled at them politely. "Hi. Was that Nick on your screen?" She recognized the quick glimpse of the boy on the screen as Nick Merico in character.
He blinked, "Um," then started coughing again.
The guy to his left slapped his back and cleared his throat. "Uh, no. No it wasn't."
She knew they were lying, but she didn't have time for it. "Okay. Where are the executive producers? I'm supposed to be meeting them."
Yet another man pointed behind her and answered with, "Through that door over there. I think they're ready for you," before dissolving into giggles.
She nodded, face showing a bit of concern. "Thank you." And she hurried off to the door. She didn't bother knocking, as she was eager to get away from the crew guys. They were in charge of making all the promos and ads, but was it just her or did they tend to belittle her favorite character, Daniel?
Around the rectangular table sat four men and two women, all dressed professionally with their hands folded on top of the table. Catha suddenly felt underdressed; had she known that this was a very big deal – then again, they refused to tell her…
"Please have a seat, Catharina," one of the ladies motioned to the empty chair left for her.
Catha cautiously sat down, setting her planner on the table. Since when do they call me Catharina? "Is everything okay?"
A man tried to reassure her. "Everything's fi–"
"No, everything is not fine, Schteven," a man she recognized as Dennis Parlor snapped. He fixed his gaze on Catha and sent her a grim smile. "Now I want you to know this is not your fault, as you didn't originally create the character."
Her eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "Excuse me?"
"Well, it sort of is. I mean, she's responsible for the American adaptations, and he is most certainly a…a…" The first lady who talked – Arielle Gray – turned to the second lady and snapped. "What do the fans call it?"
Her colleague thought for only a second before spitting out, "Momma's Boy."
"Oh yeah," Arielle turned to Catha, "that's it."
Things weren't clicking into place just yet. Catha set a hand on her planner instinctively and asked, "Which character are we talking about, exactly?"
Dennis pointed at the planner. "Is that the season four plans?"
She almost pulled the planner back towards herself. They were confusing and scaring her greatly. "Yes…"
Dennis shared a look with Arielle before motioning for her to ask Catha the question. "By any chance, does Daniel, um…" She leaned over the table a bit. "Die?"
Catha's eyes widened. "Die?!"
Another man, Richard Eden, stated, "It's in everyone's best interest."
She was exasperated. "Except his!" She glanced around the table long enough to realize that not a single one of them saw how wrong it was to kill off a man character on a kids' show. "Why did you think he'd die?"
Schteven put his hands out. "Everyone wants him dead."
She blinked hard, hoping this wasn't actually happening. "No! People like Daniel, including me; I'm not gonna kill him off!"
Dennis sucked in a breath through his teeth. "See, yes you will."
"What?!"
Arielle looked at the other female, Cree Winters. Cree folded her hands and said in the most professional voice possibly, "Daniel Miller is very unappealing to most viewers, and no one seems to like him. Therefore, you need to kill him off to keep ratings up."
She couldn't even process the facts yet. She shook her head. "You actually want me to kill him off?"
Dennis shook his hands out. "Well, maybe not KILL him. Just, you know…have him not be there."
Schteven tapped his arm. "Oh wait, remember…?"
Dennis pointed at him, "Right." Looking back at Catha, he mentioned, "This is the last season."
Catha stared at him. "Why?"
Arielle couldn't help but grin. "This way Nick's departure is official."
The last man, Jed Hanna, glanced at Arielle. "Don't you mean MBM?"
"No one likes Nick, Jed."
Catha's mouth was open. "You use the acronyms for Daniel?"
"No one likes Daniel, either."
Dennis cut back in. "On the even brighter side, your spinoff was green-lit. And you know what that means?"
She was in a terrible mood. "What."
"No Daniel references, since he's gone." His smile was so wide it could break his face. He patted her arm. "I'm glad we had this talk."
Maybe Catha got the memo that she was no longer needed, or she just wanted to get the hell out of there – either way, she picked up her (now useless) planner, clutched it to her chest, and left the conference room, making sure to shut the door behind her.
The production crew was around the single computer again, holding their sides, their laughter varying in octaves.
Deciding to ask a question she was pretty sure she knew the answer to, Catha said, "Did you guys know they wanted Daniel killed off?"
At least three men fell down. One had the 'courtesy' to announce loudly, "Yeah! Pretty great, huh?"
Catha didn't even have time for this. Not with the whole new final season plot she had to write, not to mention WITS Academy's actual script now. She had pitched it early in case it got shot down a few times before EWW ended. She wasn't really prepared yet. She hugged her precious planner tighter to her chest, and just before she reached the door, one of the guys yelled for her to stop.
She turned around, one hand on the doorknob. "What?"
The dude sitting in the chair smirked and stated, "We lied. It was Nick on the screen." He leaned away so she could see they were on YouTube. "We're watching Danips!"
And with that, Catha was off to the Cat Cave – possibly never to return.
lovethatignites and I were joking around how Nickelodeon told Catha to kill Daniel off, and I guess I got inspired tonight? I honestly don't know; I was just in the shower chewing gum (YES, chewing gum) when I thought of how this could start out, and I ended up writing it! Catha's fake old S4 plot was pretty much lovethatignites idea - I remember her mentioning that to me before S4 aired.
So anyway. If you had a laugh, please review! :D