A/N: Happy Thanksgiving(kuh) and happy reading! Review!
Charles was sweating more over the incomplete script than he'd let on. The work on the Zombie movie had been hard enough, but the new alien movie may have been too far out of his scope.
Hell, the main character didn't even have a name yet, and he was suspicious the alien makeup was too low-key.
He mulled over the plot points again as he sat in the lukewarm bathwater, impervious to the sounds of his quarreling sisters and wrestling brothers just outside the door.
By the time the water was cold and his mother had yelled at him to get out of the bathroom for the fifth time, Charles had reassured himself and decided he'd take Martin to go see Elaine tomorrow morning.
A small storm had blown through Lillian around midnight, leaving the streets slick and the sky a solid gray. Two lone figures on bicycles pedaled through the town, riding up the main the street and turning into a suburb.
"Are you sure this is the house?" Charles asked his bespectacled companion. "They all kinda look the same."
Martin simply nodded.
After all, how could he forget the house where the beautiful girl lived?
The pair parked their bikes by the front door and rang the bell.
A muffled voice came from the other side. "I'll get it mama—go back to bed!" It was followed by thudding footsteps and a click as the deadbolt was slid back.
The door was swung open onto the infamous Elaine, who had tucked her hair into a simple braid that morning and was wearing some well-loved cutoffs.
"You came." she said, sounding a bit surprised but pleased all the same. "Ya'll can come in, but try to be quiet—mama's still asleep."
The boys exchanged expressions and followed Elaine into the house. She led them down a hallway until they came upon a kitchen with boxes on every countertop and cabinets half-full of dishes.
"We're still getting settled." Elaine explained, trying to conceal her blush. "Do ya'll want coffee? Tea?"
Charles gladly accepting a mug of black coffee and the three sat down at the dining room table.
"So tell me more about this movie." she said.
"It's about aliens." Martin said lamely, immediately kicking himself for such a bland statement.
"So I'm guessing a science fiction genre?" Elaine commented.
Charles nodded. "With some action and maybe a romance—I don't have the details worked out yet."
"Do you have a plot?"
"Yeah, but it's rough. We only started filming yesterday. It's about a man who tried to contact an alien race and thinks he's being watched by the government." Charles said.
Elaine "hmm"d, and nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting, but weak."
Charles swallowed. "That's why I was hoping you'd help—From what I read from you yesterday, I think you can turn this production around."
"What's in it for me?"
"Uh, experience..." Charles hadn't thought of that aspect, and struggled to speak for a moment.
"Friends." Martin pitched in, almost without thought.
Elaine raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"
"You're new in town, right?" Martin started, leaning forward slightly in his chair. "All the way from... Texas, I assume. School doesn't start for another two months, and you probably don't want to start your freshman year in a completely new state without at least knowing someone."
Elaine stared at him, long and hard, expression unreadable.
Bile began to rise in Martin's throat, but he swallowed hard and continued. "There's six of us—Me, Charles, Joe, Cary, Preston, and Alice."
Elaine's gaze flickered to Charles, who had begun to sweat for fear that his friend had offended his would-be script-writer.
Elaine smiled, slowly, and extended her hand towards Martin. "You've got yourself a deal, honey."
