"Fucking hell!" she heard the short, pudgy man yell into the phone. "What the fuck am I going to do now? That bitch is going to cost me a shit ton of money!" The man hung up on the person on the other end of the call without allowing any time for an answer.
"Uh oh," Maci thought. Billy Badd got his name for a reason. He earned the extra d in his last name by being tough on any talent, crew, or producer that upset him. Several careers ended prematurely because of the grudges the director held. She'd heard about one instance when he, frustrated with what he saw as an underwhelming performance, berated the young talent to the point where she left the state.
"Stupid bitch can't even make it to a shoot! Gets her dumbass into a car accident and has to go to the fucking emergency room! That's the gratitude I get for giving that over the hill slut another fucking chance!" the director fumed to his cowering assistant. "With all I've set up for today, I'm going to be out thousands of fucking dollars!" he screamed, punctuating this statement by flipping over a table laden with expensive looking equipment. "Pick that shit up!"
As the assistant bent to pick up, Maci mustered up the courage and walked over to the furious man. "Mr. Badd, sir. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"What? Who are you?" the director turned toward what could only be his next problem.
"I'm...well...my real name is Maci," she got out before he interrupted her.
"No, your stage name sugar. Are you supposed to be the daughter for me today?"
"My stage name is Maddy Young, and yes, I'm supposed to be the daughter," she answered.
"Well, Ms. Young, we were supposed to shoot another well reviewed and financially successful scene of "Watching My Mom Go Black" today," he spat toward the tall brunette. "However, the stupid skank cast as your mother got in a tiny fucking fender bender and now has to go to the hospital. I'm now fucked because the entire shoot is worthless without the fucking mom, for which the title so succinctly and accurately reflects, to fuck a fucking black fuck."
Maci thought to herself. "Mr. Badd, if I can get someone else to play the role of the mom, would that help?"
"Sweety, if you can pull off the miracle of finding me another milf twat, I'll double your pay," Billy said before turning with enough speed that his shoulder collided with the assistant. The sudden contact caused the assistant to drop everything he picked up.
"Fucking waste of space!" the director screamed over his shoulder at the assistant as he stormed back toward the room that functioned as his office for the day.
***
"Can you do me a big favor?" Maci asked the woman on the other end of the call.
Maci had scrolled through her phone's contact list trying to find a willing replacement. Most of her friends in the industry were too young to pass as mothers. Of her older friends, one had retired, another was in Miami for some plastic surgery, and the last time she'd worked with the third had been a total disaster. Scrolling back up through the list a final time, she stopped so that her biological mother's name settled in the middle of the screen.
Maci grew up in the area. Her childhood home was no more than fifteen minutes away. Her parents still lived there. Maybe she could salvage the day.
"What are you doing?" she fired off.
"Hi to you too," her mom replied.
"Sorry. Hello mommy. What are you doing?"
"Not too much. Just finished up a load of laundry. All is quiet here. You know your dad is in Chicago for work this week."
"That's perfect," Maci responded, thinking on her toes. "I need your help. Uh, we are scheduled for a rehearsal for a low budget movie, and the woman cast as my on-screen mom can't make it in today. We need someone to fill in for her. The scene is mainly improv and just to set up the lights and blocking for when shooting begins. She's supposed to play my mom in the film. You'll be a natural. It is the role I was born for you to play"
"Oh Maci, I've never acted before. There has to be someone else. What about someone else on set?"
"Well, mom, they all have their own assignments for this rehearsal, and, uh, it would really make me look good to the director. Plus, wouldn't it be nice to see how movies are made? And you aren't doing anything right now? Please, please, please, Mommy."
After a long pause, Maci heard a sigh before her mother answered, "Fine, what's the address?" After giving the address, her mom said, "That's not that far away. I'll see you in about a half hour. Love you sweety."
"See you soon. Love you too," Maci returned, smiling to herself.
***
After finding the address her daughter gave her, Linda Samuels knocked on the front door. The door opened and Maci stood there, smiling at her.
"Come on in Linda. You're right on time," her daughter offered.
Strange, Linda thought, Maci never called her by her first name. Her daughter wore a tight, white tank top that stretched across her chest. Her red bra was visible under the top, a look Linda disapproved off, especially on her 20-year-old daughter. A mid-thigh length denim shirt and bare feet completed the outfit.
Linda hugged her daughter and allowed herself to be led deeper into the house. Passing doorways, she saw a flurry of action that she assumed she'd see on any film shoot. She turned her body in the hallway as she passed a tall, cornrowed African American man talking on a cellphone. She noted his broad shoulders over a muscled, but lanky frame. She also saw that he flashed a wide, welcoming smile as he focused his attention on the two women that passed.
"Here is the gist of what we need you to do today," Maci spoke as the pair arrived in the living room of the house. "First, you'll have to sign some paperwork and releases. That's standard in the industry because they are going to be recording the rehearsals and may want to put them on the Blu-Ray. Next, you will go through the motions on an establishing scene. You'll shoot it right outside on the street. What you'll be doing is walking toward the house, dragging a piece of luggage, and pretending to leave a voicemail to your character's daughter. That's me."
Linda nodded in understanding. So far, even in the whirlwind of preparation that swirled around her, it all seemed to make sense.
"After that, they'll bring you inside," Maci continued. "We're going to rehearse the scene with Charlie, you, and me. It's kind of a confrontation scene. You're gonna come in the house and see me in an embrace with Charlie, that's the male talent. There will be an argument. It's all improv, so just make it up as you go and follow my lead."
"Wait, there's no script," Linda asked. She found that to be strange. Also, Maci had called the other actor in the scene the "male talent." That seemed odd.
"Oh yeah, that's standard for the rehearsals. They are just checking to make sure everything looks right, and the lighting is good. The main thing is after the original confrontation, you just sit next to Charlie on the couch. After that, do what seems natural and follow the director's instructions. This will all be over before you know it. Any questions?"
About one hundred questions popped into Linda's mind, but she sensed that the sooner they got started, the sooner this whole thing would be over. She shook her head no, keeping all her thoughts, questions, and doubts inside. She felt a nervous anxiety.
"Good," her daughter replied. "Here is the director's assistant with the forms for you to sign."
A thin, anxious young man with glasses approached the older woman. Maci showed her where to sign on each document. More questions came to mind when she got to a page that talked about medical tests, but her daughter took it, and the remaining forms, from her and signed them with a fairly accurate version of Linda's signature.
The assistant's name must have been Mike because that is what Maci called him. "Mike, here you go. Everything signed and ready to go. Her agent will fax over her test results ASAP."
Linda raised an eyebrow to her daughter. Maci met her with a slight shake of her head. "One last thing mom, I mean Linda. You must call me Maddy during the scene. It's super important that you call me Maddy. Otherwise, if you use my real name, the footage will be way off."
Before Linda could reply, Mike piped up. "What is your stage name, ma'am?"
"Stage name? Linda is just fine for this," she replied before Maci could interject. The cowed beanpole began writing it on a line on the first form.