Page 48 of Hot Set

But how could we possibly do that? Just tell everyone to pack up and go home? Just leave an unfinished movie? Surely, we had to finish it.

“But that…” Bioncia trailed off, sounding as baffled as I was. “We’re just going to quit filming and wait until…some undefined time in the future? Really? We’ve already put all this time and work into it, though!”

“I know,” Brandon said.

“You can’t let him do this,” Seth argued. “You can’t let him just make you quit.”

“That’s right,” I said. “There are so many people working on this. We can’t just stop now.”

Brandon shrugged. “I don’t know what elsetodo. My father gave us a deadline, and we didn’t meet it, so he’s pulling his funding. No more passion projects. He won’t even let me finish this one, and I tried to convince him. I tried hard.”

“But we have all this stuff,” Bioncia said, sweeping a hand toward the sets and costumes. “What are we going to do with it?”

“I don’t know,” Brandon admitted, “Return what we’ve rented and get rid of the rest. I guess.”

“So, this is it?” Seth asked. “Today?”

“I’m afraid so,” Brandon said. “Dad wants this done now. We don’t even have money to make payroll today. Everyone can go home, and I’ll worry about everything here.”

A couple cast members drifted closer. “So, we’re just…going home?” Celeste asked, putting her hands on her hips. “Calling it quits?”

“We don’t have a choice,” Brandon said.

Seth threw his arms up and stormed off, furious but silent. I watched him go, unsure what to make of that. I’d expected him to be louder. On the way out, he kicked a chair, clattering to the ground, but eventhatsound seemed muted. I looked around, as word that we were shutting down spread. There were varying expressions of dismay, surprise, and uncertainty.

Bioncia sat back on her make-up trunk. “That’s…just it?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Brandon said, nodding slowly. “That’s it. We’re going to pack it up and…put this on hold. Indefinitely.”

“You can’t just end it today, like it’s some sort of spur of the moment thing,” I said. “After all the work everyone has put into it!”

“I don’t have much of a say in the matter,” Brandon replied. “I can’t ask people to work for free, and they shouldn’t anyway. But without funds, there’s no way of going forward.”

“But can’t you—I don’t know—do something? Not everyone can just—”

“Wouldn’t you do the same if you were facing financial ruin?” Brandon asked. “If you were about to lose everything? If we keep going, it’s notjustthe film that we’re going to lose. It’s me, too. My dad will cut me off, and then what?”

“Guys—” Bioncia began.

“You’ve just put everyone out of work!” I protested. “Without any notice at all! What about whatthey’relosing? People have bills to pay. They need dependable income! You can’t just drop this entire thing without notice. They need time to find other jobs!”

“There’s nothing I can do,” Brandon said, his voice shaking. “I don’t have the money to fund this, and if my father says we’re done, we’re done.”

How could Brandon just give up so easily? Surely, he realized not everyone was rich. Not everyone could just quit working and be fine. “But that’s not—”

“Look!” Brandon snapped. “I realize it’s a terrible thing to do, and I don’t like it either. But there’s nothing I can do about it. I can argue until I’m blue in the face, and it’s not going to change my father’s mind. I know. I’ve tried arguing with him again and again.”

“You’re telling me that, as creative as you are, you couldn’t findsomesolution?” I asked.

Surely, he could’ve boughtsomemore time. Just a little more. A couple of weeks. That would’ve been long enough for people to at least begin looking for other jobs.

“You think I haven’tlooked?”Brandon asked, narrowing his eyes. “Seriously, Alex? I get that this is a bad thing! I promise I do! But I don’t get much of a choice in the matter!”

“But there are loans, grants! Crowdfunding! For God’s sake, there has to besomething.”

Brandon ran his hands through his hair and clenched his jaw. “I don’t know why you’re so worried anyway,” he cut in. “You have a job lined up with the FBI, don’t you? This doesn’t affect you at all.”

My face grew hot. Never in my life had I been filled with such indignation, such anger, at a fellow human being before. I wanted to scream and kick something, but the only thing in front of me was Brandon. And I couldn’t kick him. Well, I could. But he’s bigger than me.

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