Well it's that time again peeps, short story time! This one has been waiting in my inbox for some time as I don't like to read other people's work when I'm writing. But as I'm not writing anymore (sad face) it meant I could read this and then finally get around to publishing it on the blog.
I hope you enjoy it, it's one of my brother's so we're lucky to have it now that he's got his own blog to populate.
Kitchen Sink Drama
By Mike Lambert
The powder in the back rooms floated in the air like unwanted magic as the brushes whisked just as much into the atmosphere as it did onto the actresses faces. The make-up artists worked their craft with a fury, spreading all manner of potions and concoctions across the faces of the assorted talent so they would look “normal” in front of the cameras and under the fiery halogens that fried as much as it lit. Their wardrobes had already been selected, both their characters and mood for the scene at hand. They knew their lines well having rehearsed the previous week and needed no prompting for what they had to say. The only thing left to the actors was the interpretation, how they read the scene, but Letitia, Tradisha and Brett had been here so many times before that they all knew just how the game was played and how to make the cameras do their bidding ...mostly.
“Hello, Angels. How are we all today?” asked Antoine, the Director, mincing his way into the room.
“Fine,” “Hi,” replied the girls as they managed to fake a smile while still keeping their heads completely still. Brett ignored Antoine and instead chose to work on his glower while the make-up women moved seductively round him.
“Okay, people. Now we are doing episode 3, scene 24 today, okay?” asked Antoine, although it wasn’t really a question. Antoine wiggled off to today’s set and began barking orders, getting marks laid on the floor so the actors knew where to stand and lighting crew knew how to light the scene. The start time of today’s scene was 10am and so the crew had been on set from 7am to prepare. The actor’s turned up an hour later and the uncalm nature of the set became even less calm as Antoine started shouting even more fiercely than he had before. Eventually however, at around 10:20am a hush came upon the set and that seemed to act as a silent acknowledgement that the first shot of the day was about to take place.
“Okay, places, people,” whispered Antoine as loudly as he could while Letitia and Brett stood patiently on their marks. “And ACTION!”
LETITIA: SO, BRETT. THIS BOY’S HOLIDAY YOU’RE GOING ON ...WHO ELSE IS GOING?
BRETT: (WHILE PACKING HIS CASE) JUST ME AND THE GUYS. THAT’S ALL, BABE.
LETITIA: WHO ELSE IS GOING, BABE?
BRETT: WHAT DO YOU MEAN? (BRETT BEGINS TO LOOK SHIFTY)
LETITIA: THAT BITCH, TRADISHA IS GOING, ISN’T SHE BRETT?
BRETT: LETITIA, HONEY, IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK.
(DOOR OPENS. TRADISHA ENTERS)
TRADISHA: WHO YOU CALLING A SLUT, YOU F****** SLUT?”
LETITIA: IF YOU THINK YOU’RE GETTING YOUR HANDS ON MY MAN YOU CAN THINK AGAIN YOU F****** B****!
TRADISHA: HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE LIKE, B****! YOU’RE NOT MARRIED TO HIM!
LETITIA: YOU F******, C******, B****! I’LL F****** KILL YOU!
(THE TWO GIRLS BEGIN TO FIGHT AND SCREAM WHILE YANKING THE HELL OUT OF EACH OTHER’S HAIR)
“And CUT!” shouted Antoine.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!” said Letitia, wincing in pain. “Your rings are caught in my extensions, babe.”
“Oh I’m sorry, Hon,” said Tradisha as she carefully removed her fingers from Letitia’s hair. “You okay, Sweet?”
“Fine,” said Letitia as she straightened up and fluffed her hair out. Letitia and Tradisha began to chat while Brett merely looked in the mirror and admired his naked torso.
“Okay, okay, very good,” Antoine began, whilst not raising his eye’s from today’s script. “Brett, darling, you were divine ...ladies you fell out of shot during the fight so we’ll need to go again.”
Both women could not hide their looks of disappointment knowing the most potentially painful part of their scene had to be re-shot.
“Also ladies remember, Tradisha has to be seen to winning the fight first, and then, Letitia, you come back and win, okay?” asked Antoine with a wink. The make-up women came back on set to add more blusher and lacquer down the hair again whilst the crew tested the light levels.
“God, I hate working on TV,” said Letitia as everyone fussed around her, attempting to do 15 minutes work in 30 seconds.
“At least you don’t have to kiss Brett today,” said Tradisha with a smirk. They both looked back at the “hunk” as he flexed himself in front of a full length wall mirror.
“God, look at the state of him,” Letitia whispered. “He looks like they selotaped some pumpkins, mangoes and satsuma’s into a man shape and then sprayed it with even more orange fake tan!”
“Ha-ha-ha!” chuckled Tradisha with her hand over her mouth. “It’s even worse kissing him you know. He’s so Mister body-beautiful that all he eats is Tuna, and his breath ...stinks!”
“I know. I left some tic-tacs in his room one time. He came on set and said he’d got them for ME as a gift!” replied Letitia.
“Cheeky shit!” said Tradisha.
“Do you know he’s gay?” asked Letitia.
“Brett? No!” replied Tradisha, before being shushed by Letitia.
“Uh-Huh! Apparently that’s why he’s Antoine’s favourite because he and Brett are...” said Letitia raising her eyebrows.
“You serious?” said Tradisha.
“Mmmm,” replied Letitia. “They also like to play Priest and Choirboy together. But that isn’t the worst of it here.”
“What do you mean?” asked Tradisha.
“Well, you know the Producer, Greg?” asked Letitia, but even before Tradisha started to nod she had carried on talking. “Well it’s got out that outside of here the Producer is one of those execs that attends certain special adult baby clubs, shitting in nappies and having his arse wiped and stuff. Yeah, someone saw footage of this on his phone and so that’s why he doesn’t show his face round here anymore. He’s gay too!”
“When were you gonna tell me all this?” whispered Tradisha.
“Well, to be honest it completely went out of mind,” said Letitia.
“Jesus, Letitia, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this. When did you find all this out?” demanded Tradisha.
“Only before. I found out from the make-up woman,” said Letitia.
“Really?” asked Tradisha.
“Honest,” said Letitia. “Okay?”
“Okay,” replied Tradisha, uncertainly, before turning back to look at Antoine fawning over the shirtless, Brett. “Dirty bastards!”
“Yeah. Just glad I like girls really,” said Letitia.
“Not as glad as I am!” giggled Tradisha, mischievously. They both smiled secretively at each other as Antoine screamed positions and they went back to their initial marks.
“And ACTION!”
The rest of the day passed with one scene after another, commentaries, bloopers and DVD extras all being filmed for the UNCUT release that would eventually litter shelves of charity shops across the country. Afterwards all Letitia wanted to do was get the grease off her face, slip into her PJ’s and drink red wine while watching “Casualty” but that lifestyle was no longer her choice, instead she hustled over to E4 to be interviewed by some gormless music journalist. Yet more make-up was plastered on and she was squeezed into an even more ridiculous, supposedly-glamourous outfit.
“So, Letitia,” began Froydon Ratchet, with a come-on grin that she wanted to punch off his face. “You’re in the hit reality TV show “Sex In Man City”. What do you think is the key to its success?”
“I think it’s because it’s just so real,” replied Letitia, her fake triangular smile flashing perfectly.
Fin
