Chapter 7

David went to the hospital Monday morning to get his CT scan. He remembered his mom telling him Mondays were usually bad for the kids in the pediatric oncology ward because their parents had to work. After his scan, he went to the children’s ward and found the head nurse at the desk handing out assignments.

“Sorry to interrupt, but would it be okay if I popped in and told the kids good morning?”

“You’re the football player?”

“Yes. David Dawson.”

“Okay, I’ll have Nurse Betty take you around.”

Nurse Betty was in her mid-twenties and wore scrubs covered with teddy bears.

“Have you ever done this before?” she asked before they went into the first room.

“My mom’s a cancer survivor. Once she got better, she started a charity to help families who have a member with cancer. She also volunteered, and I helped out a bit. When I came in for a scan, it reminded me that I haven’t given of my time recently.”

“Let’s start here, then,” Nurse Betty said as they entered the first room.

The girl sitting in bed there was probably eleven or twelve and totally bald. A younger girl sat in the chair next to her bed, and she was also bald.

“Hi, I’m David,” he said to the girl in bed and asked the younger girl, “Why did you shave your head?”

“Because my sister’s hair fell out from the cancer, and now we look alike again.”

“Mission accomplished. Why do you want to look like your sister?” David asked and gave the little one a warm smile.

“Because she’s the prettiest girl I know, and I want to be just like her.”

’Oh, boy,’ David thought as memories surfaced of the effect cancer had on his mom when it ravaged her body.

“Your sister’s very pretty. You are, too,” David said.

“My mom’s worried about money, so I’ve been collecting some after school. I’ve raised nearly a thousand dollars so she doesn’t have to worry about the rent,” the little girl said. “Why are you crying? Are you sad?”

David hadn’t realized that he was. Sure enough, a tear ran down his cheek.

“They’re tears of joy. When I was a bit older than you, my mom got cancer, and I got a job to help pay her bills. It makes me feel good to see you care enough to help out. What are your names?” David asked, changing the subject.

“My sister’s Lisa. I’m Sadie,” the younger girl said.

“Nice to meet you. I’m David.”

Lisa, the older one, finally spoke. “Will you come back to visit us?”

Something his mother had taught him was to tell kids the truth. It was hard enough to be sick; they didn’t need false promises.

“I don’t know. I have a lot going on with college,” David said and saw Lisa’s smile falter. “Why do you ask?”

“Sadie gets sad sometimes and needs someone to talk to,” Lisa shared.

’Just shoot me now!’ David thought. The sick girl was worried about her little sister.

“Do you come before school most days?” David asked Sadie.

“When my mom can drive me. We only live a few blocks away, but my mom doesn’t want me walking.”

“How about I pick you up two days a week? I can even take you to school after. I’ll do that until Lisa gets better,” David found himself promising.

“Or I go to heaven,” Lisa said.

David had to blink back more tears.

“Do you believe in heaven?” Sadie asked.

“I do. I’ll give Nurse Betty my information. Have your mom call me, and I can meet with her to make sure it’s okay if I help out,” David said.

When he got out into the hall, he had to stop and lean against the wall.

“Heaven?” David asked Nurse Betty.

“Lisa’s terminal. She puts on a brave face for her sister.”

David gave her his information for their mom and went to class. He couldn’t face more sick kids at the moment.

On Tuesday, Dr. Liao authorized David to begin light workouts with Tank. The doctor cautioned that this was only the second step of a multi-step wellness plan, so David shouldn’t think he would play against Texas.

The chat rooms and press were all over the David-versus-Matt-as-the-starter controversy. It was probably best that David couldn’t practice with the team yet.

He did have something to look forward to, though. Professor Blum had asked him if he could entice one of his former castmates to come in and talk to film students. David said he would so long as he would be the moderator. When he told them Rita James had agreed to come in, the entire department nearly had kittens.

When the event was announced, they quickly changed the venue to the Bovard Auditorium, which could hold over 1,200. David had been given ten tickets in the front row; he’d given five to Alex and five to Crystal. The rest were reserved for students, faculty, and USC’s film-school staff.

Professor Blum planned to film the interview and put it on the campus website. Thankfully, the student director he chose wasn’t the one who needed too many cameras.

When Rita found him backstage, David was kicked back, doing his critical-thinking reading. That week, they were learning about cognitive bias, specifically the Barnum Effect, which held that when confronted with a vague statement, a person’s mind fills in the gaps.

Because our minds are given to making connections, it’s easy for an individual to take vague statements and find ways to infer their meaning so they seem specific and personal. The combination of a person’s ego wanting validation with the strong human inclination to see patterns and connections meant that when someone was told a story about themself, they would latch onto whatever fit their personal narrative.

Psychics, astrologers, and others use this bias to make it seem like they’re telling their clients something specifically about them. People should look at their statement and consider how it might be taken to apply to anyone, not just them.

David put down his book, stood, and gave Rita a hug.

“People are excited to hear from America’s Sweetheart,” David said to greet her.

“How could I turn down my son?” Rita teased about him being Ian Bond and her playing the part of his mother.

“Since you’re making me look good, I’ll save all the embarrassing questions for another time.”

Colleen stuck her head into David’s dressing room.

“They’re ready for you.”

David stood up and smiled.

“If you get nervous, I’ll be there for you.”

“Let me show you how this is done, boy,” Rita shot back.

“So much for softball questions.”

They were fitted with mics and walked out on stage together. The audience came to their feet to applaud the legendary star, and David stood to the side to give Rita her moment. When the applause died down, they took their seats.

“I’m starting to think that inviting you was a mistake. Every time I’m with you, I’m no longer the star,” David quipped. Turning to the audience, he continued, “In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, let me introduce Rita James.”

David read through the highlights of her career.

The interview format gave the students the opportunity to submit written questions. Professor Blum had given David a stack in the order he was supposed to ask them.

David looked at the first one, rejected it, and did the same for the next three.

“I was supposed to ask you stuff you’ve been asked a million times. I should know because I was there at a lot of your interviews for Devil May Care. How about we make this specific to what the budding actors in the audience want to know? How did you get your first job?”

Rita gave David a look every teen recognizes when a mom is frustrated with them. She then turned to the audience and smiled warmly before answering.

“You guys know what it’s like; the odds of getting a good role are astronomically small. I mean, when I was starting out, I had to ask myself, how am I going to break in? For an unknown actor to get a great role, every other actor has to pass on it. Then, it gets opened up to you and thousands of other actors trying to break into the business. And we all know about the handful that are available,” Rita said.

There was a rumble of agreement from the audience.

“I remember the first role I tried for was as a waitress in the rom-com, Fools Rush In. The role called for a proper English accent. I paid money I didn’t have to hire a dialogue coach, and then I didn’t get the part.”

That brought a chuckle.

“The next one I went for was Croupier, starring Clive Owen as a card dealer. It was one scene with Clive. The rest of it was me in the background for two weeks dealing cards to other extras, and most of the time, I was like, I don’t think the camera is even on me.

“I had one day of actual work, and when I did the scene the first time, I tried my accent. The director hated it, so much so that he almost kicked me off the set. I finally told him I could do it straight, so I kept my job,” Rita shared.

“And that led to The World Is Not Enough and your debut as a Bond Girl,” David said.

“From there, I was in and have been working ever since.”

The audience clapped. Before David could ask his next question, Rita turned the tables on him.

“Tell them how you got your start.”

“As you all might know, I play football. It was my freshman year of high school, and I went on my first recruiting trip to the University of Kentucky. At a party after the game, I spotted Ashley Judd and walked up to introduce myself.”

“You just walked up to Ashley Judd?” Rita asked, looking shocked.

“It’s like this,” David said to the audience. “In my first acting class, the other students wanted to know how I’d gotten into modeling, so I turned it around and asked what they wanted to do. The majority said they wanted to act on Broadway.”

“My uncle had taught me how to set and achieve goals. If you take a business management class, this is Project Planning 101. I had them tell me everything they would have to do to reach that goal. We put their tasks on sticky notes, and then I had them put them in order.

“They listed stuff like learning improv, diction, working out, headshots, hiring an agent, and getting their degree. Each student had a long list of steps that had to be taken to get a part on Broadway.