Page 47 of Hot Set

“But itisn’tyou!” I exclaimed. “Andyouwouldn’t have anything to lose! You have your own money; you always have. If it didn’t work out, you could move back to Bluehaven at the drop of a hat. You have no idea what it’s like being dependent on someone, and that’s not a bad thing. But in this situation…”

Seth held up his hands in surrender. “I get it,” he said. “You’re right, okay? But I still think you ought to go for it. You’re not going to get too far if you spend your whole life assuming the absolute worst scenario is going to happen. You know that, right?”

Maybe. I wasn’t sure if I knew it or not.

I sighed. “I just think it’s for the best, Seth,” I said, slumping back into the chair and casting a sideways glance at my marked-up script. “There’s just too much uncertainty.”

It really wasn’t cowardice if it was uncertain, right? That was just being smart. I just wished doing thesmartthing didn’t make me feel so miserable.

Chapter seventeen

Alex

The set was always bustling and so loud that it would’ve put the Atlanta Airport to shame and entering into it was an indescribable feeling that went beyond any singular emotion or description. It was warm and bright and loud. Brilliant. If creativity could be defined in any space or moment, it would’ve been “days on set”. It felt a lot like ahome, and when I thought of leaving all of this, my stomach twisted. It felt like I was leaving something wonderful unfinished, as if I were abandoning everyone by joining the FBI. What would it be like to go to work each morning and not see Bioncia, Seth, or Celeste? Or Brandon? The thought of Brandon stirred a maelstrom of feelings inside me. I wouldn’t see him again after this. Maybe ever.

And it shouldn’t hurt. Itdidn’thurt. Or so I told myself. I was so bad at lying.

Sure, I’d still probably come back to Bluehaven to visit my mom. It wasn’t like I was marching off to a decade-longexpedition to chart icebergs in Antarctica. But I couldn’t build a relationship with that. It would probably be a while anyway. If I joined the FBI, I’d be busy; very busy.

But for a fleeting moment, I dared consider what would happen if Ididn’tgo. If I just stayed here and rode this out for as long as I could. I went to my usual place and imagined coming back here for all the weeks to come. Bioncia sat on her massive make-up case with her arms crossed. Her eyes were narrowed; squinting. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

She nodded. I followed the direction of the gesture to see what had caused her such irritation.

My eyes landed on Brandon, standing close to his father. We were too far away to make out what they were saying, but from Brandon’s downward look and Jonathan’s angry gestures, I doubted it was a pleasant conversation.

“He gave us a deadline,” Bioncia said, “And I think we just passed it.”

“So, what is he going to do?” I asked. “I mean, it’s not like any of us have ever worked on a movie set before. It’s got a learning curve, and we’ve had so many setbacks none of us had any control over or could’ve predicted.”

“I don’t think Brandon’s dad is the most reasonable person to talk to,” Bioncia said, “Particularly from what Brandon has said.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Seth muttered, joining us.

Seth glanced at me, his eyes seeming to linger on me. There was something strange about the expression, like he wanted desperately to tell me something, but he couldn’t figure out how to word it properly. I couldn’t imagine what it might be, unless he wanted to talk more about Brandon, but I thought we’d already buried that subject.

“I’ve met him,” I said, thinking back.

Admittedly, Brandon’s father hadn’t seemed like the nicest man around. I bit the inside of my cheek and wondered if one of us ought to go over and rescue Brandon from Jonathan’s anger. Not that I’d really figured out exactly how I could do that.

“I had the great honor of being here the last time Jonathan came,” Seth said, rolling his eyes.

Jonathan walked away. His manner betrayed nothing, but his smile was smug. Brandon glanced toward us and headed our way. With his slumped shoulders and lowered head, he looked like a kicked puppy. I felt a pang of sympathy twist in my chest. A deep sense of foreboding followed. Something was wrong here.

“How did it go?” Seth asked, shooting a withering glare at Jonathan as he left the building.

“Terrible,” Brandon said, seeming to deflate. “Beyond terrible.”

“It’ll be okay,” Bioncia said. “It’s always been okay in the past.”

“Not this time. We’re going to shut it down,” Brandon said, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Surely, I’d heard him wrong. “Shut it down?” I echoed.

Brandon nodded once, the motion stiff and awkward. “We’re going to put everything on hold until further notice.”

“When is that happening?” I asked.

“Now,” Brandon muttered. “Today.”

---