The bell rings. Dane stands in front of Cherry Lane High School, watching as students run up the steps and into the building. Dane wonders if this year is going to be a lot different from last year. High school. New classes, new teachers, new classmates. Will anything be the same again?
“I thought I smelled dirty feet. How the heck are you, my man?” Dane turns to see Prashant hurrying up the pathway toward the school and smiles. Maybe things won’t be so different after all.
They bump fists, and as the second bell starts, they run up the steps and push through the front doors. Day one, and they’re already late for class.
Dane tries to pay attention, but he’s distracted. It’s Penny again, but this time he’s not distracted because she’s sitting in front of him.
He’s distracted because she’s not here at all.
He keeps expecting to see her coming around the corner, or grabbing a seat in front of him in math class, or waving at him from across a crowded cafeteria.
“Did you hear the rumor?” Prashant asks him as they head into their last class of the day, geography.
“No, what?” asks Dane.
“Apparently Cherry Lane is getting torn down,” says Prashant. “This is going to be its last year!”
“No way. Really?”
Prashant nods. “My dad told me that a bunch of old students are planning a big rally to protest it. We’ll have to go!”
“Yeah,” says Dane. “That sounds like a plan.”
As they enter the classroom, Dane remembers that he’s forgotten his pencil case in his locker.
“I’ll be right back,” he tells Prashant. “Tell the teacher, okay?”
He hurries down the empty hallway to his locker, then scrambles to open the lock. Once he gets the door open, he crouches to rummage through the pile of junk that’s already built up. He’s just found his pencil case when he becomes aware of someone behind him. He stands, pushes the door closed, locks it, then turns around.
“I was wondering if I was going to see you today,” says Penny.
“Cut!” yells Bill. He smiles as he walks past the camera to Anais and me. He puts a hand on our shoulders. “That was fantastic, guys.”
It turns out that with enough money and enthusiasm, it really is possible to pull together a TV movie in record time. In just over a week, Bill and Seth completed a script, and we’re ready to shoot the TV special that will wrap up Pop Quiz for good. It’s sad to know that this really is the end of things, but it’s great to know that because of our efforts the show is going to get the send-off it deserves.
This is the first day of shooting. This morning I was the first person at craft services. I munched on a breakfast burrito (and gummy worms) and stared in awe as one former cast member after another entered the gym. There have been lots of hugs and laughter all day, and the hair and makeup stations have been going full tilt.
Everyone hustles around with extra purpose. We’ve all got a big job ahead of us. The school has agreed to let us shoot on premises for just five days, so the days will be long and everyone will be expected to do quick scene turnarounds. It also means we have to know our lines inside and out.
“So I take it you guys have read the script,” says Satri at lunch. There’s a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and I do my best not to fidget. He knows as well as any of us that Anais and I are expected to kiss near the end of the movie.
“It’s nothing we haven’t done already, Satri,” says Anais. With a wink at me, she turns and heads toward wardrobe to get fitted for her first scene.
“What the heck, man?” Satri is wide-eyed. “When were you going to tell me?”
“I like to maintain an aura of mystery,” I tell him. I glance across the room and see Seth and Bill enter the gym, chatting away. They spot us and wave, then head toward us.
“If it isn’t the men who saved the day,” says Bill. He gives us both a hug and then turns to Seth. “Mr. March and I were just going over a few details of our big project.”
“It sure is a great script,” I say. The genius of it is it gives a lot of the characters from throughout the years a chance to show up and have a quick scene or two. Basically, it’s the world’s biggest high school reunion.
“It certainly is,” says Bill, “but that’s not the project I’m talking about. Seth and I have been burning the midnight oil over the last few days, and it turns out we work really well together.”
“It didn’t take long before we started tossing around ideas for a new show,” says Seth. “Something smaller and more manageable.”
“Not to mention affordable,” says Bill. “Anyway, long story short, we are lucky enough to know a few actors who have just the kind of talent and enthusiasm we’re hoping for in our new cast.”
“Fortunately for us,” says Seth, “they have a proven track record already.”
“Are you serious?” asks Satri. “You’re talking about us?”
“Who else?” asks Bill. “I’m hoping you guys and Anais can meet up with us after this crazy movie is finished so we can workshop some ideas.”
“Amazing,” I say.
“Aiden!” I turn to see Dexi hurrying toward me. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she says. “We’ve got a schedule change. You and Anais are up first thing after lunch. I need you to get over to wardrobe right now.”
“Duty calls,” says Satri.
I get hustled through wardrobe, then a quick stop at hair and makeup. In less than twenty minutes I’m on the front steps, waiting for Bill to call the scene.
All around me, people are scrambling into place. Lights are being put up and adjusted. The camera crew checks their frame and adjusts focus. It’s weird to think about how much work goes into shooting a scene. When the audience at home sees it, they won’t be thinking about the dozens of people just off-camera who are responsible for making it work.
“You ready, my man?” Bill claps me on the shoulder as he prepares to sit back in the director’s chair. “You have your motivation all figured out?”
I turn and look down the hallway at Anais, who is waiting to enter the shot. She smiles at me and gives me a thumbs-up, a true professional.
“Yeah, Bill,” I say. “I think I’ve got all the motivation I need.”