Chapter 26: A Bit More Drama

Wednesday, August 10, 1983

I got most of the Debaters on the phone, one by one. Everyone decided we could wait until class to get going. It was a testimony to how much we’d accomplished over the summer. Last year, we’d been eager to hit the libraries. This year, we’d had more, and sometimes better, summer programs, and we knew we were ready.

That worked for me. I was really enjoying the week off. Of course, Angie, Jas, and I knew that we would get some unexpected vacation next week, and it would likely be a pretty quiet time. That said, we still enjoyed resting this week. All three of us felt as if we’d been going at full speed for much too long.

I didn’t get Darla, unfortunately. I’d been hoping to get an update.

Lunch with Jess, however, counts as ‘going at full speed,’ at least intellectually, or that’s how I expected it to go. Angie, Jas, and Paige all decided to come along. I think a lot of it was still finding ‘lunch with Jess’ a new and novel thing. I had been in Jess’s orbit. Angie had somewhat been there via Student Council. Jas had talked with her a fair bit after last summer’s blow-up. Paige, though, was still getting used to the idea that she knew — might even be friends with — Jessica Lively.

I opted for Fuddruckers. It does have a certain messiness factor, but it’s not serious. Putting your own toppings on a burger, and dunking chunky fries in condiments, is inherently lighthearted dining.

Jess complained about me trying to ‘fatten her up.’ Paige retorted that Jess burned more calories than the rest of us put together. Jess didn’t deny it, though we were all in good shape.

We joked around and made small talk through the burgers and some of the fries.

“So...” Jess said, finishing off another fry, “the reason I wanted to get together with Steve, and just as much with all of you, is that, well ... you probably know I went to UCLA this summer.”

Everyone nodded.

“It was great. The cheerleading program was probably the least great part of it. I got to be a coach and mentor, and that was ... well ... I mean, it’s what I do here, but here I worked for it and fought for it and all that. There, they just accepted me, and ... it just ... clicked. That was a big ego trip!”

Everyone chuckled. Paige offered her a high-five, which she took.

I grinned and did the same, all the while thinking that Jess was one of the least likely people to take a real ego trip that I knew. She knew what she could do.

“Anyway, by coincidence, a woman came by a week in. She was with a movie studio. Their film features a bunch of high school cheerleaders, and she wanted to observe what we really did. I get the feeling that the cheerleaders are eye candy and they couldn’t care less about realism, but they had the budget to send someone to look and take notes.”

I nodded. It was fairly clear where this was going. Perhaps, in Laura’s universe, something similar had happened.

“Anyway, she ... um ... we talked. Look, it’s no secret to anyone that I’m pretty. I’ve heard all of the comments about how pretty, and I accept that. Still, I didn’t want to do the pageant thing, and I still don’t, so ... cheerleading, right? Chris — that’s her name — approached me and said that I’d have an ‘in’ anywhere in Hollywood with my looks.”

I nodded again, and so did the others.

“I was skeptical, and mostly I still am. Maybe an ‘in’ to the casting couch or something, but that’s not me. Hollywood is full of really hot girls who couldn’t get a role, and a lot of them wind up doing porn. That doesn’t sound like me. Still ... I ... I’m tempted.”

“They’d be stupid not to consider you,” Paige said. “I’d watch you in a movie. You’re hot and you’re smart and you’re someone I think people could relate to.”

“What she said,” Jas said. “If they let you play someone like you are, anyway. Or, hell. Maybe the total opposite would work, too.”

“I think you could do pretty much anything you wanted,” I said.

I got four ‘awwws’ for that. Fortunately, everyone knew I wasn’t making a play for Jess. If I had been, and under other circumstances, it probably would have worked.

“Long story short: I’m seriously considering taking Drama.”

Everyone’s eyes widened (well, except Jess’s, of course).

“I just don’t want people annoyed with me, or thinking I’m just — I don’t know —taking over, or showing off, or horning in, or ... or anything! I just want to be another student and see what I can do. That’s dumb, I know, but it’s not, too. You can tell me if you think there’ll be hurt feelings.”

Jas shook her head, with Paige following. “These two,” she said, nodding to Angie and me, “came in halfway through the fall semester, not even taking the class, and got roles in the spring musical. Everyone loved them! Still do! If you come in and try, everyone will welcome you, and I know you’ll try. They’re mostly going to be intimidated, but...”

“It helps that so many of us know you,” Paige said. “I mean, I don’t know you well, but I know you enough to like you, and ... there’s Jas, and then Angie, and then Steve, and that’s a lot of credibility, plus Sheila knows you from Student Council.”

“You’d help? I feel like a fish out of water. You just spent more time in a summer program than I’ve spent in my whole life practicing Drama,” Jess said.

“That was Steve and me, too,” Angie said. “Everyone will help. Including us, of course.”

“Thanks!” Jess said. “I ... well. I trust all of you. My plan was originally to try to compete in gymnastics, too. Steve and I talked about that. I’d hoped to maybe get a scholarship for it. I mean, I’ll get an academic scholarship, probably, but some places see ‘cheerleader’ and assume we’re dumber than our scores indicate. I’m done with that plan. Even if it worked, it doesn’t get me where I want to go. I’ll never be Olympic-level, and I’d need that for gymnastics to matter. Pretty much, I’d just be getting my MRS degree, in the end. If I like acting, and people will pay me to do it, I’d love to do a theater program and learn to really act, and probably learn all of the behind-the-scenes stuff, too.”

“You’ll kick ass,” Jas said. “Seriously. I know you will.”

“Me, too,” said Angie.

I smiled. “You know that I have no doubts.”

“It means a lot to me,” Jess said. “With all of that ... I’ll still be dating, but I’m going to play the field this year. Graham probably gets some dates. I actually like the guy. No one at Memorial is ‘the one,’ though, and particularly if this takes off at all. I don’t need to pick the most compatible guy I can find right now. Being honest with myself, that’s what I’ve been doing, or trying to do.”

“Makes sense,” Jas said. “Oddly, since we’re all paired up, but I think all of us would agree that you don’t need a partner right now.”

Paige nodded. “If you find the right person, jump at the opportunity,” she said, leaning over and hugging Angie. “If not, keep looking, but don’t rush.”

“You know I agree,” I said.

Jess smiled. “I do. Thanks, all of you. I’m looking forward to this.”

“Honestly...” Paige said. “Most of us in Drama — maybe all of us — aren’t looking at this as a career. Not film, not Broadway, not ... whatever. It’s fun, we love it, some of us will do theater in college or maybe community theater, but it’s not a career. For you, it could be a career. If we can help, I for one would like to. It’d be cool to know a famous actress and say, ‘I knew her when.’ Or, better, just ‘I know her.’ Just that tells me that most people will welcome you. You’re not competition, you’re someone who’ll make us better. I mean, if you don’t make us better, it’s probably not a viable career, and then we don’t have to worry about you.”

Jess cocked her head slightly, then giggled. “That ... is both sweet and also ... well ... not. I like it!”

“This is going to be fun!” Paige said.

Jas said, “Are you going to compete? Dramatic or Humorous Interp? Duo Acting?”

“I ... might,” Jess said. “The problem is going to be cheerleading. I can’t miss anything in the fall. That means I’d only compete in the spring, and even then, I might have to miss some things.”

“What about your contact in Hollywood?” Angie said. “Can she get you any auditions? Anything like that?”

“So...” Jess said. “Maybe. The thing is ... that’s where people go wrong. Oh, of course some people go right, too. But the whole ‘Move to Hollywood and get discovered’ thing is a crapshoot, like I said. If I’m not there, auditions will be harder to get. Memorial Drama won’t get me discovered either — probably — but it’s the most consistent with getting my diploma and positioning myself for college. I could go to UCLA or maybe USC, though that’s expensive, or Pepperdine, or Cal Tech, or ... well, there’s lots of options. Any of those would get me a solid degree, and I won’t have to risk it all on the chance of becoming a star.”

“Makes sense to me,” Angie said.

“The funny part of this,” Jess said, “is that I had no idea any of it would happen when I asked Steve out, but I trace a direct line from that decision to now. No Steve, and last year is probably really different, which means no UCLA, which means ... well, I’d be my old self, which is fine, but I like this a lot better, and I like having all of you as friends.”

If anything, I thought Jess might be sugar-coating it, either for the girls or for herself. No intervention, and maybe — probably — Jess would’ve done things she really didn’t want to do. That wouldn’t leave her at ‘my old self,’ not at all. Even with her self-control, I was pretty sure that would have changed her, and not for the better.

“We do, too,” Jas said.

“I’m still surprised!” Paige said. “In a really good way, but surprised!”

“Me, too,” Angie said. “Things are different, and in a really good way.”

We wrapped up lunch and headed back, talking about what plays and musicals everyone would want to put on. I had to wonder if Steffie would pick roles to feature Jess. Steffie would only do that if Jess was up to the challenge, but ... this was Jess! Unless her skills only ran towards presenting herself as she wanted people to see her, I could see her doing an amazing job with any role she dedicated herself to.

For me, that was reason enough to support her desire to study acting before making a decision. She was far more than just a pretty face. The pretty face would get her into movies, most likely (since I knew it’d worked before). All of her other qualities gave her a chance to still be working decades later. It was a mature way to approach a goal, but I expected nothing less from her.

After we dropped off Paige, Angie, Jas, and I headed to the library and did some research into Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs). I’d created one in my first life to manage some consulting income. As I’d expected, the laws weren’t so different now that I couldn’t manage.

Based on that, we made a plan. We would create an ‘umbrella’ LLC in New Mexico first. Why New Mexico? Because they allowed the creation of an ‘anonymous’ LLC. The state, of course, knew who the principals were, and the IRS would know, but they didn’t make those records public. Most states did.