Like Tarantino

(Quinn)

"Quinn, do you want what?"

"For the umpteenth time, I want you starring my movie!" Mike sometimes had difficulties to understand some basic information.

We were in a bar. Me, him, Santiago and Johnny. Mike sipped a cognac while I took my usual glass of wine, Johnny drank whisky and Santiago his usual beer. That pub near NYU campus was the place where we met when we needed to talk. But I didn't invite them after my classes to complain. I wanted to be with my friends after I get an idea of how I'd use my free time during my vacations from R&J: making a movie.

In early December happens The NYC Short Films College Festival that gathers students of some Universities that support this event, and mine is one of them. It was possible to enroll a movie until the beginning of November, the selection happening that month and the best productions would compete for a prize pool of $30,000 among the categories: best animation, best documentary and best movie. According the Festival's edict, each category will earn $10,000 and that the first place each will earn $6,000, the second place $3,000 and the third $1,000. There's an extra $1,000 for the winner in the popular vote. There were also trophies, without remuneration, to traditional categories: director, art direction, photography, script, edit and assembly, actor and actress.

When I saw the poster in my college walls, I talked to Santiago that we could work together. The inscription tax wasn't expensive and with low budget we could produce a decent movie. NYU's students could rent the equipment at a low price and still use the structures to assemble and edit the movies. I had a good idea for a movie and I wrote a script after a brainstorm with Santiago. So, we both planned and made a schedule involving three days of filming.

I thought about doing a tribute to Quentin Tarantino with the story of a betrayed fiance who, along his best friend, invades a party and kidnaps his ex-girlfriend to win her back. The problem was that the girl was a true bitch. The action scene would be a gain, the most attractive one with a lot of blood, like Kill Bill with some guns. The strength of the film is the dialogues of strong language full of pop culture references. I was working hard on the script. I had read academic papers about Tarantino's style and several classic comics as a fundamental part of my research. My plan was to shoot in the last weekend of October in New Jersey, where Santiago's uncle has a summer house.

Mike would be the perfect betrayed fiancé and Johnny could be his mate. Otherwise I could call someone from the theater, as Lucas Hibbs, since he was trying to be good to me after the gossips involving him and Rachel. Let's keep it real: Hibbs was a good actor, wasn't a mercenary and would be a way to show Rachel that our discussion and that my jealousy was in the past. The girlfriend, of course, would be Rachel. Santana also agreed to make a role as the girlfriend's BFF who has three lines and dies at the party.

"I think the idea is fantastic!" Johnny's eyes were glued on some girl's ass, but at least he listened to the conversation. "I know some mates that can make the soundtrack, if you want. They would freak to tie this type of work."

"Would you play the mate?"

"It's not my thing, blonde. But I can participate otherwise... I dunno... holding microphone, things like that."

I looked at Mike hoping for a positive answer.

"You won, Quinn!" I jumped on top of him into a tight hug.

…

I got a good team of volunteers to work on my short film. Rachel, Mike, Santana, Lucas Hibbs, Johnny and some college friends who entered the project with me and Santiago. And our friends called others to help. Santana called her boyfriend, Andrew. Johnny called a friend to do the original soundtrack. Mike called a colleague from the theater to help on the makeup. And Santiago called his friends and cousins, and cousins' friends from New Jersey to be the extras. For the crew I was accumulating the functions of direction, screenwriter, cinematographer and camera. Roger found my project interesting and said he would help me in editing and assembly. He had some recognition in this technical area before move to almost exclusively dedicate to executive producing. Anyway, he was far more experienced and I wouldn't deny this help from my boss. Santiago was in charge of production and art direction. Other friends of our school would be responsible for some technical functions.

In total, Santiago and I had 17 people in the crew and five main actors: everyone under my command. My proposal would be to spend all day on Friday and Saturday shooting the party scene to dispense the extras ASAP. Would use Sunday for the scenes focused on Mike and Lucas and Rachel. Sure this plan could be restated as seeing the reality of the set. Santiago and I still need to invest $3,000 to buy a few other things for the production.

Mike left his agenda free at that time. Rachel and Lucas Hibbs would stage the play on Friday and then they'd get to New Jersey on Saturday early morning. Lucas hadn't problem to be absent from the play for one or two days, but Rachel wasn't a big fan of the idea of giving a chance to her understudy. She had this neurosis that she would lose room for another actress. As if she, herself, hadn't become the star, going over (with her talent, of course) Heather and Sarah. I was aware that the absence of both at the same time would feed the rumors that they are together. At least, I was vaccinated against this specific gossip.

The rest of the team would be in place on Thursday to leave everything tidy. I didn't want to take risks, then I promoted, whenever it was possible, reading tables with my main cast before the weekend shooting.

"Quinn, I don't think this is working!" Rachel muttered. "Improvise, okay, but what Mark does is disrupt the entire understanding of the script!" Mark was Santiago's friend who studies acting in NYU.

"Rachel, my beautiful..." She crossed her arms and huffed. She hated when I called her 'my beautiful' in front of other people in an ironic way. I needed to take more care with my voice tone and expressions if I wanted to please the main actress. "Markings are different in the cinema. You are trained to develop an entire piece for two hours without interruption. In the cinema, the interruptions are constant. That's why cinema is a fragmental kind of art. Understand?"

"If so, for what we're rehearsing as it was a play?"

But Rachel had a point. I hadn't paid attention that I was dealing with three professional theater actors, an student and Santana. Amazingly, Santana was the one who gave me less work, perhaps because her part has three lines. Or maybe because her ego wasn't as inflamed as the others. That reading table/Rehearsals made me change some projections. I experienced the changes and everything worked better.

…

It looked like an invasion in the summer house of Santiago's uncle. Three large cars were needed to transport staff and equipment to the location, and another car was coming on Saturday morning with Rachel and Lucas. I was the first to get out one of the cars. I left Carl doing his gaffer job, coordinating all of our few crips and I went up to the lookout near the house to see the incredible coastline. It was truly beautiful. I loved the ocean, but in New York it looks like a bit sad and cold. Rachel and Santana always said stories of their trips to Caribe, that the sea there was the most beautiful of the world. I've never doubt it. But I think New Jersey coast had its beauty and I was already thinking the best way to use that light to my short film. Santiago did an excellent job with the storyboard based on this very local. For today, we would shot some takes of the party scene, and the death scene of Santana and Mark's character.

"Breathing before the chaos, Fabray?" Andrew surprised me. Santana's boyfriend rarely talked to me, even when he appeared at the house.

"Close enough."

"I've never thought I'd be part of a movie. I'm excited!"

"It's just a college short-film, but thanks for your help with graphic effects. I confess that I haven't found anyone among my colleges with your skills." He laughed that surprised me.

"You know... my dream was to develop games, but, maybe, this experience can drive me to specialize in graphic effects for films."

"Well, we need some guys like you developing technology. Cuarón spent four years with his team to do Gravity. Now, everybody can use the same process if they have some millions in the pocket."

"I heard."

The entire team had the spirit shown by Andrew: excited and anxious at the same time, which was good. Santiago was putting everything in place with some help to shoo the party, the extras was already there (some were helping my friend), Lilian was already doing the makeup and dressing the actors, and I had to plan the lights and command. In three hours, everything was almost ready and the sweet house became a set. We had a rail, a camera, monitors, two microphones, memory cards, lamps and a series of trinkets to shoot. Santiago preached the storyboard on the wall and discussed the scenes to do that day. I decided that Santana's death would be the first thing to shot since the special affects guys had a device with gunpowder prepared for the scene. Just one. Santana had testing her movements a lot because we had just one take with the special effect and she needed to be perfect and ready when I say "action".

The party was fake, but the beers were real. People were excited and everybody behaved beautifully at the death scene, that wasn't so simple. Santana surprised me positively. I still had doubts if she would hold herself at "action" time, but she was really great. Santana didn't drink a drop of beer to have perfect concentration. Despite being an amateur at this point, she was like Rachel: a perfectionist. At seven in the evening, I called a day, the extras went home or whatever and crew was arranged in sleeping bags lying around the house. We told jokes and drank vodka.

"What party you promoted, Quinn!" Mike met me on the porch in front of the house, and he offered me a glass of juice with vodka, which I refused. Someone had to stay sober in the set and that person was always me.

"Welcome to the cinema world." Mike smiled and nodded.

"If someone said that Quinn Fabray, the HBIC of William McKinley, president of the celibacy club, would become a filmmaker... I would say that that person could have into drugs. I've always thought you would be a lawyer or something like that. Still, I've never figured that Santana could be an economist and a business woman. Only Rachel confirmed the previsions."

"It would be more impactful if someone said that I would end up dating and living with Rachel Berry-Lopez, the biggest loser and school diva. The girl who stoles her grandma's clothes."

"True." And we laughed a little. "So… how are you and Rachel?"

"Fine, thanks. Our last big fight happened some time ago, when I had to sleep in the room after that." Mike chuckled, already affected with his drink. "It was horrible. The couch isn't so good if you have to go the night in it."

"If you had to sleep on the couch, it means that you and Rachel are officially an old married couple."

"Seriously Mike, I've never been so happy, so fulfilled. Rachel... she is the woman of my life, don't you know? It's doesn't matter what could possibly happen in the future, because I know she is my endgame."

"About that, nobody ever doubted. Even my mother knows that you two will finish together no matter what happens along the way." Mike's parents are very conservative. Still, they treated Rachel and I better than my own mother. "I'm glad for you. With you out of the market, that leaves more women to me. You are a tough competition, Quinn."

"So am I glad for you!"

"It's serious. If we both were in a bar and we talked for a girl to choose one of us, however she was heterosexual, she would get you. This is frustrating."

"Not true."

"Cut it out, Quinn. This happened once and I'm sure that time in the pub wasn't the first time that someone tried to hit on you."

"Yes, some have tried flirting and one time in NYU, one day girl literally opened her legs and showed me that she had no panties on..." Mike laughed as I felt my face getting hot. Not I'm proud of it, but I checked her pussy on for a second before say the girl to fuck off. "But I wouldn't do that to Rachel."

"I know that!" He hugged me from the side. "That's why I admire you so much. I wish I had just a little of your control of the Force"

"Force? If you call me Master Yoda again, you're out of my film!"

"Buzzkill."

"That's disgusting called me a green dwarf! But, I could be a female version of Obi-Wan... because, you know, Obi-Wan is kind of hot."

"Well, Obi-Wan is virgin."

"You're right. So, I could be Anakin and Rachel would be my Padme."

"Are um planning doing some Lukes and Leias with her as well?"

"One day..." Then, I realized something for the first time: I do want a family with Rachel. For real. I looked at my silver ring and think that, maybe, I should work harder to change the color of the ring and add a diamond.

…

It wasn't a simple task to command a team with hangover, still, the shooting began swimmingly. Rachel and Lucas arrived and they have had to get into the rhythm as fast as they could. As a matter of logistics, we again focus on the party scenes in which the ex-boyfriend and his best mate do the avenging apparition. I first recorded the general party scenes with Rachel in, then Rachel scenes with Mark, the confront, and the last scene of the fight. Mark made the best death scene worthy of those action movies of the 1980s starring Chuck Norris. It was beautiful and deserved applause on the set. If I had the resources and equipment, I would shot it in bullet time. Rachel, Mike and Lucas are professional actors and they did their jobs well, but Mark, the student one, delivered exactly what I wanted. We finished at ten P.M. after a neighbor complained because de noise and threatened call the cops. Party was over. I thanked all the extras before take a shower and got to bed. As a director, I had the right to occupy one of the three bedrooms on the house.

"What a night!" Rachel was tired. "I've never seen a team so 'lively'!"

"We can be 'lively' too..." Rachel pulled into my body and I was driving her to the bed. Filming let us horny and I needed to discharge the energy.

"This isn't anti-business?" She pretended to protest as I was taking her clothes off without much kindness.

"Don't you know? The director should sleep with the actress. It's the tradition." I continued to be unkind and put her arms above her head and tied her wrists in the headboard with the band of my bathrobe.

"But Miss. Director, I am a professional and have a stable relationship with a student from New York. Look at my silver ring." I smiled at her before attacked her breasts with my lips.

"Poor girl. I'm sorry for you student lover, but if you don't have sex with me, I will cut your part of the film." I started playing with her, sucking her neck then I played again with her breasts, sucking the tits while my hand went south to play with her clitoris.

"It's not fair, Miss director. Oh, this is good… hummm. Well…" She tried keep in character. "I am an honest woman and I fought so hard for this paper. I attended five auditions, I got down on the cinematographer, I opened my legs for the blond producer, and I needed to push my competitor on the steps of the studio door. I swear I'd let you eat me first. I was just waiting for you finished your period."

I stopped with my caresses for a moment, because I had to laugh. Her victim voice was simply sensational. She also started laughing.

"Damn Rach!" I cried laughing. "You ruined my mood. How can I be a big bad wolf now?"

"Because you can't be a wolf with you are a lion." She invited me to a long, sensual kiss, those that left my legs trembling, and Rachel knew she had that power over me. "How about letting me take care of you? You need to relax after a stressful day."

"But I don't want to untie you right now." I pouted as I ran my finger on her nipple. "I love seeing you like this... at my mercy." and sucked her nipple, nibbling it a bit at the end.

"Who said you will need to untie me right now? How about you take your pants of and come over here so you can ride my face a little bit? I'm dying to put my tongue inside your little pussy and drink all you can give to me."

I opened a huge smile, as if I had won a Christmas gift that I looked forward for a long time. I obeyed her and positioned myself on her face, so her perfect tongue could do a wonderful job.

…

The best thing about not have any extras around is that my job got easier. After two days shooting the chaos and cheap fight scenes, I dismissed half of the crew to create a nice environment to Mike and Rachel do their scenes. And the last dialogue, the one who truly matters before Mike kills Rachel, was delivered wonderfully. I did two takes to be sure, but true be told: the first one was perfect.

"Quentin Tarantino would cry thrilled with this dialogue, Fabray." Santiago commented after we the shots, when we were dismantling the set. "I've never seen the word 'cunt' to be so well placed in a scene." I could only force a smile back to my seriousness and then concentration on the job. "One day we'll be in this business together for real, Fabray. Like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon."

"You and I in our own production for real?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Why not? We get along well and we complete each other… I mean… artistic saying. I'm the guy who imagine the sets, the art, the designer, and you take care of the light. We can make the scripts and take turns in the direction. And this short-film shows that we're both good producers."

"Really?" I smiled.

"Think about it, Fabray. It may be our future."

"If we survive the college, we can think of something."

"That's a deal?" He extended his hand.

Santiago was right: we do work well together. It's been like this since we met in one class and he invited me to work on an exercise with him. At that time, he just wanted to flirt and possible have sex, but as soon as I told him that I am gay, he backed off and tried to be my friend instead. That was when we became best buddies in NYU.

And I saw him waiting with his hand extended: a friend's hand of a talented guy.

"Deal." We shacked hands. "But we need to graduate first and make some money if we want to be able to produce some films."

"Yeah, we can start with the short-films and try some festivals. Professional ones, you know, like Sundance, Tribeca…"

My mind wandered while Santiago was making plans. I saw Rachel talking to Mike and Lucas, she was laughing. So beautiful.

"What do you think?" Santiago finished his plans that I didn't listen.

"We will work on it."

…

(Rachel)

Quinn took seriously this Quentin Tarantino way of life. The meetings at the bar, something she hadn't used to, were a clue that something was changing. Quinn relaxed more in the month she took a break from the job. She started to drink a bit more beyond the usual glass of wine and laugh more. For the first time she enjoyed a college life without the responsibility of work in her back, and she was more open to make friends. It was how things should be with us: she was 20, but our life forced her to act like a 30 years old. The only thing that hasn't changed was her loyalty towards our relationship and her commitment with everything involving our house.

My girl decided to call friends who participated in the film for a sort of celebration party. We met in a pub in Manhattan after my job in the theater. Mike attended the party, as well Lucas, Johnny, Andrew, Sarah (who had nothing to do with the movie, but I invited her anyway), Santana, Santiago with his girlfriend. Jokingly, Quinn began to mature with tequila shots. She hadn't much resistance with alcohol, so after three shots, Quinn was already loose.

"You should drink more often, Fabray. It gets you less ordinary!" Santana teased.

"And you, more tolerable!"

Whistles came from our table. Santana felt challenged.

"I know many people that would say otherwise."

"You think you're the last chocolate cookie. But you are actually neck meat!"

More whistles.

"Still, Fabray, neck meat is a noble dish in cuisines. Unfortunately, it's too sophisticated to your prosaic American palate."

Now the whistles were against Quinn.

"Want to bet how people still prefer bacon and fries?"

Santana leaned on the table and said defiantly.

"If my sister doesn't mind, I have a challenge for you: take ten phones of people who are here in this bar faster than me."

"Do not put me in the middle of your mess!" I raised my hands.

"What's the deal?" Quinn also bent to face Santana.

"The dishes... for a month!"

"And if I win... you will ironing my dresses for a month."

"What? But it's just what you wear!"

"Almost true." I commented to our friends at the table and Mike confirmed. "I think she do have a jeans in our closet."

"Take it or leave it, Satan!"

"Deal!" These two shook hands and Santana immediately stood up.

Unfortunately, Quinn was a rookie in this kind of game. While she chose the most attractive people to try to honestly win a phone number, Santana chose groups at tables and told the real story of the bet, of course, vilifying the opponent. In less than 15 minutes, Santana returned to sit at the table with hers 19 napkins while Quinn just had a single phone in hand. Our friends celebrated and Santana won a kiss on the lips from Andrew.

"This is my girl." Andrew proudly announced. "The best neck meat in town." And raised his beer in toast.

"I doubt they are real!" Mike challenged. Quinn was his best friend and he always had a protectionist stance.

"That's not your business, washboard abs. I won the bet and now Miss Fabray will give me the satisfaction take the stand at the kitchen sink."

"I want to see one of these phone numbers!"

Mike took one phone and called. Someone whose name was Ryan. To our surprise, the phone was real and Ryan waved the bar right there. Santana won applauses and my Quinn was even more mortified.

"Drink one more shot, Quinn." Johnny placed the drink in front of her. "And be a good loser."

Mike, in turn, wouldn't giving up. He picked up another number that had the name Lily and dialed. This time activated the speakerphone and there was silence at the table.

"Lily talking." Said the voice and a strawberry blonde woman waved. "And your friend said the gorgeous blonde one will pay a beer. I'm waiting."

"Son of a bitch!" Quinn snapped loose and we all laughed. Besides smart, my sister still cause some financial loss.

"Yeah!" She raised her glass. "Drink another shot and pay a beer for the lady."

When I thought we had had enough at the small pub, the guys decided to go to a nightclub. Even I was excited to dance because it's been a while. I must say we had a great time. Quinn and I kissed in the dance floor, Mike has put on a show with his hypnotics dance moves. Johnny couldn't dance very well and seemed to want to win girls with his charming smile. Quinn looked beautiful, wild and drunk doing her sex dance against my body.

"You know what?" Quinn said in my ear. "I'm so horny that I want to have you right here!" And tried to put her hand inside my skirt.

"No!" I pushed her off.

"Why?" She looked me with her hurt drunk eyes.

"Not here, Quinn."

"So, let's do it in the bathroom. I want you so much."

It's not that I was a prude, and Quinn and I had sex in public places before, but nightclub's restrooms were kind of nasty. No way I would have a quickly with her in that dirty smelling place with someone doing the same or into drugs in the next box while there was a huge line outside. No way.

"Let's do this. We get out of here and go home." I said seductively. "Then, we will have a nice shower together, when I will treat you very well with my tongue and after that, I will beg you to use that little friend of yours and fuck me senseless on my fours. What do you think?"

"Let's get out of here."

I would try to keep my promises, or some of them. Of course Quinn was so drunk that she wouldn't remember everything and I had a feeling that as soon as she had her first orgasm, she would sleep.

"Hey guy, what about go to a strip club?" Mike suggested for my despair. "I know a classy one near here and it was very good."

"Let's go!" Quinn celebrated. "I've never been in one… oh, I bet it is pure fun."

"Fuck!" I said and Santana heard me.

"Don't worry, sis." She said while Johnny and Andrew accept going to the strip club. "I will help you to keep an eye on her."

At that time, Santiago chose not to follow us. Good move, since he was with his current girlfriend. Mike, I, Santana and Andrew stood together, walking paces behind Johnny and a bouncy Quinn. The boys had fun as ever with her condition, whereas I and Santana still we couldn't believe what we were witnessing. Mike took us to a not too crowded club and Quinn went straight to near the stage looking topless women dancing.

I embarrassing to see those girls in just unbelievable thong doing a very sexual pole dance while a bunch of male stuck dollars in them. I was uncomfortable being there and Santana also wasn't enjoying the show as I thought she would.

"I thought you would like to see all these girls dancing."

"The girls are fine, but I'm not in the mood anymore. It's not that I'm craving for boobs these days."

"You don't like girls anymore…"

"I do like girls, Rachel. I'm just not in the mood and I won't discuss such things in a strip club when my boyfriend and your drunk girlfriend are over there putting dollars in some bitches thongs." And she pointed a man besides us, which's erection was showing. "All these hard cocks around here are making me sick."

She had a point.

"Rach... come here to dance for me!" Quinn spoke loud with a beer in hand "I wanna put money in your bra."

"Your girlfriend is not only gay. She is also a pimp!" Santana chuckled on my mortified face. So I approached my girl.

"How about a private dance when we get home?" I said hoping to convince her leave. "I can ride you and make you scream until you blow your drunk brain."

"Is that a promise? 'Cause I'll charge."

"Hey, Quinn, how about I buy you a lap dance?" Mike was excited, but he received a venomous look of mine. "Nevermind!"

"That's it. I'm out."

Santana said good night to her boyfriend and got in the taxi with me and Quinn. My girlfriend blew out on the way, to my relief. Santana helped me carry and put her to bed.

"I've never seen her like this." My sister was impressed. It was the first time we saw Quinn completely drunk. "And look, I've been to many parties with Quinn since my freshman year at McKinley High. I can guarantee you this is new."

"Do you think something is up and she's not telling me?" I said while taking off Quinn's shoes.

"I doubt. She just held herself too much and one day she would show her true colors."

"What?"

"Nevermind. We are tired. Want some tea?"

"I prefer a shower before sleep."

"Me too to be fair. Well, sis, call me… tomorrow if you need something. 'Cause right now, I need sleep for real."

"Right… well, at least it was a funny night."

"Until the strip club, yeah, I agree. Good night Ray."

"Good night Santy."

I looked once more for my girlfriend in an alcoholic coma and shook my head so admired. I didn't think Quinn showed her true colors as Santana said. But she had a point: Quinn held herself so much that she tends spill everything later in a bad way. We should work on that later.