Chapter Two: Where Have You Been?
Mark had disappeared. Oh, they all knew where he was: holed up in his room with his camera and his typewriter. It was just that no one ever saw him. He emerged sometimes, for coffee, or a shower, or a change of clothes. Sometimes, when he came out, he grinned from ear to ear. Sometimes he was crying. Sometimes both.
It was nearly a week later when he finally appeared. He was frantic.
"Everyone get in the kitchen! Stay there!" Julian blinked at the yelling, rushing Mark. "Where's the phone? Where's the damn phone!? Gotta get Mimi and Maureen and Joanne.... I said get in the kitchen, didn't you hear me? Hey!"
He finally herded everyone into the kitchen, including the three women. Everyone but Mark sat at the table. Julian, who had moved in during Mark's disappearance, still blinked at the filmmaker, who had become a fountain of energy.
Mark produced, like a magician, six bundles of paper.
"It's a screenplay. Read it. You're the stars." And he ran over to the counter, poured himself yet another cup of coffee, and commenced biting his nails in apprehension. No one touched the scripts that sat before each of them.
Julian, for once, spoke up, albeit quietly.
"Mark. You've lived on caffeine and dreams lately. Where have you been?"
"I've been creating! Just read it already! Oh, I'm going nuts. Hurry up!" He sat there and bit his nails while the others read. Collins absently threw him a box of Rice Krispies, which he munched on while he waited.
Joanne was the first to speak.
"Mark. Wow."
Maureen was angry. It was very good. It had a vision behind it. But the sonofabitch had turned her into a...a sort of evil seductress!
She liked what he'd done with Julain's character though...that boy was so fucking perfect...hard to deal with. She liked Mark's silent mime interpretation of him.
"Is this how you really see us?" she asked.
"Oh, God no!" Mark exclaimed. "Of course not! Look, everybody, lemme say something...just because the characters you play might share some...attributes ...with each of you, that doesn't mean I made you into the characters! God no!"
A smile was spreading over Julian's face. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again, and pressed his body against Collins'. He whispered something in the other man's ear.
"We'll do it," Collins said decisively, standing up. "No arguments, no buts. This is good shit, Mark. And we're doing it." He threw his script down on the table and his eyes dared the others to contest him.
Later that day, Mark was bursting with jubilance. He couldn't believe everyone had agreed to do the film. Even Maureen! He turned away from his camera for a moment to find Julian lurking behind him.
"Don't do that!" Mark said. "God, Julian, watch who you sneak up on! You scared the shit out of me!" Julian grimaced apologetically. "What did you want?"
"Um." Julian's voice was almost inaudible. "I...Mark, I...can you find someone else to play my part?"
"Are you nuts? No way! You agreed! I can't do it without you. I
won't do it without you. I wrote the damn thing for you! And I
won't let you skip out, just because you're camera-shy!"