Chapter 7

When Thompson had said it was a small production he wasn't kidding. The crew looked more the size of a porno film crew, only a handful and the location was an old abandoned apartment house, one of the rooms of which had been converted into a dorm room for the filming. It was hardly what Kathy had envisioned but in her mind it was nonetheless show biz. The dressing room was the apartment next door. A bored looking girl in her mid-twenties applied body and facial makeup. Since Kathy already had a great tan, little was necessary. A little pancake, some eyeliner and a touch of blush. She was handed a script with her lines highlighted. There were only four lines, but she studied them intently as well as the scene description. She then changed into the negligee.

The director was a middle aged man, thin and wiry with a bushy mustache. He seemed almost bored, as if he had done this kind of thing a hundred times before (perhaps he had). It was an extremely low budget and meaningless flick and everyone knew it, so the entire crew simply went through the motions.

Kathy, on the other hand, was truly excited. She shook the director's hand and met the other cast she with whom she would be working. One of the other women was the redhead Kathy had encountered on her first day in Thompson's office. Tall and beautiful, the young woman seemed to know her way around so Kathy guessed it was not her first film. The other actress was a petite brunette, more cute than pretty but with a fully developed body on her short frame. The serial killer was to be played by a pimply faced young man in his mid twenties. He seemed nice enough but didn't strike Kathy as the sharpest nail in the box.

At last they were ready as the technicians finished setting the lights, microphone and camera.

They rehearsed the scene as written, but the director seemed to think it needed something additional so he gave the redhead and the brunette an additional line or two and made them lesbians in which they are in the process of seducing Kathy when the killer breaks in.

Kathy had never even dreamed of kissing a woman before so she was a bit awkward as they started the rehearsal of the revised scene.

"Loosen up, Kathy," shouted the director. "Yeah, you're supposed to be hesitant at first but then you begin to like it just before Justin breaks into the room."

They tried it again and this time Kathy did as directed and although it wasn't perfect, they all knew it was as good as it would get.

Over the next couple of hours they shot the scene in which the three girls are watching TV in their dorm room, the redhead and brunette begin seducing Kathy who struggles at first then begins to succumb to their kisses and fondling when Justin bursts through the door. There is a lot of screaming as he grabs the brunette, rips off her negligee and rapes her, all the while threatening to kill her if the other two make a sound. Then it was the redhead's turn and finally Kathy's. The sex was only simulated but Kathy could feel Justin's manhood through his pants rubbing against her bare buttocks as the scene called for her to be thrown across a stuffed chair.

Then came the killings as first the brunette and then the redhead were stabbed repeatedly, the fake knife with the retractable blade looking realistic and the two women doing an acceptable job of grabbing their stomachs with the bulbs of stage blood hidden in their hands and squeezing, making the sudden spurts of blood oozing through their fingers seem real.

Then it was Kathy's turn and after several times practicing her screams of terror and pleading for her life, Justin grabbed her by the hair and drew a stage knife with hollow blade across her throat releasing the fake blood and Kathy, as directed, crumpled into a heap onto the bodies of the other two women. Serial killer laughs and exits, end of scene. Knowing that call backs to re-shoot or add additional scenes are nonexistent with these low budget movies, Kathy was handed a check and scooted out the door with the usual "we'll call you if something else comes up."

She called Spiker full of excitement from the day of shooting and the thoughts that she was now "in the movies."

But from there the disappointment set in. For the next several days she tried to contact agents but none were interested. At last one agent, a woman, took a few minutes to inform Kathy that without a folio, no acting lessons and only a brief nude scene to her credit, she would not be finding an agent and therefore no work.

"But I can't afford acting lessons. I can't even afford to get the photos for a folio," she pleaded.

"Sorry, Honey, but that's the way it is."

"You don't think I'll make it in the movies, do you?"

"Honey, I've seen hundreds if not thousands of beautiful girls, just like you come and go. Some, a rare few, have something special in the way of looks or talent. I'm sorry but you have neither. You're pretty and you seem like a nice girl. Why don't you go back to ... did you say Nebraska? Why don't you go back to Nebraska and find yourself a nice guy to marry."

"But ... but..."

"That's my advice," said the agent, showing Kathy the door, "take it or leave it."

Not only was Kathy unable to find an agent, when she went back to Thompson for another part, he laughed.

"Sweetheart, you got a nice body and pretty face but the truth is you can't act at all. I've seen the dailies. If this weren't such a low budget flick I'd ditch your scene and get a real actress. The other two weren't bad, but that was some of the worse acting I've ever seen. The truth is if you hadn't been such a good fuck you'd never have gotten the role in the first place. Now get out. And no, I don't have another role for you and never will!"

Crestfallen, Kathy wandered around aimlessly looking for work, any kind of work without luck before returning to her motel room and calling Spiker.

"I need you. Can you come over?"

"Sure, Baby. Be there in about an hour."