Victoria wasn't interested in taking me along with her and Alice, so for the past few days I've mostly been shadowing Penny for want of anything else to do. I'm actually learning a lot, and it feels good to help her out around the house. None of those odd jobs have felt like a particularly big deal, but I like being able to contribute.
Penny’s expecting a visit today. A local by the name of Sam. Apparently she mixes together some medication to help with their anxiety, since they don’t have proper insurance that could cover it from a more official source. She says they’ll be here before long, so I’m helping cook rather than assisting with repairs, chopping vegetables and throwing them into a big pot in which a thick stew bubbles. Stews account for a lot of Penny’s cooking. Apparently they’re pretty cost effective when you give out food the way she does.
We’re just about finished when our guest knocks on the door. Penny has a bit of an uncanny knack for perfectly-timed food prep. “Go ahead and keep stirring this, dear, I’ll be right back.” She hands me the ladle and walks off to answer the door. “Good evening, Sam. How’ve you been?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” Sam replies as they enter the kitchen. They’re maybe a couple inches taller than me, with jet black hair and a round face. I think I might’ve run into them a couple times before? It’s hard to say. If so, they didn’t leave much of an impression. “I’ve managed to make some progress on my script, though I can’t say I’m particularly happy with it.”
“Well, progress is progress,” Penny chirps. “You have good timing, the stew is just about ready.”
“Penny, you know I don’t need you to feed me. I ain’t rich, but I can at least afford food.”
“I know, but food’s better with company,” she replies cheerfully. “Don’t tell me you’d rather eat every meal alone in your apartment.”
“Well I can’t say I would, but-”
“Then have a seat! I’ll be back in a moment. Jackie, do you mind dishing up a bowl for Sam?”
“No problem,” I call over my shoulder, ladling a generous helping of stew into each of two bowls and carrying both of them to the table. I set one in front of Sam, then sit down across from them and begin eating my own. Sam’s expression is inscrutable as they wait for Penny to return. I’m nearly finished with my soup before I break the thick silence that’s settled between us. “So what was that you were saying earlier? Something about a script?”
They jump slightly, as if they’d forgotten I was there. “Ah, uh, yeah, I write screenplays. A couple of ‘em have even gotten made.”
“Gotten made?”
“Into finished movies, yeah. I probably wouldn’t be able to afford food if they hadn’t.”
Huh. That’s kinda neat. I’ve never really had time to try to make anything, let alone get paid for it. I’m about to open my mouth to ask another question, when Penny returns. “Here you are, dear,” she says, setting a bag on the table in front of Sam.
“Thanks, Penny, I really appreciate it.” They grab the bag and set it in their lap while they continue eating their stew. Silence falls over the table for a few minutes before I decide to break it.
“So what sort of stuff do you write about?”
It takes a moment before Sam realizes I’m talking to them. They awkwardly swallow down the stew in their mouth before replying. “Uh, myself mostly,” they admit with a chuckle. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen them crack a smile since they arrived. “A lot of it’s couched in action and crime since that’s what’ll actually sell to the studios, but at the end of the day I’m mostly just talking about myself.”
“Aren’t most writers?” Penny chimes in with a giggle.
“Oh for sure,” they reply, “whether they know it or not. At least I’m self-aware about what I’m doing.”
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“You said a couple of them got made into movies, right? What were the titles?”
They glance off to the side, looking uncomfortable. “Well, uh… One of them ended up in the hands of a director I don’t really care for, so I don’t really wanna talk about that one. The other one turned out alright, though, it’s called The Sudden Stop. I think I gave Penny a copy, actually, if you ever wanna check it out.”
Penny nods. “That’s right, I’ve still got it. And Jackie’s got plenty of time to kill lately, he’s been spending a lot of it helping me out around the house.”
“Well, there ya go. If you’re interested, Jackie, give it a look sometime.” With that, they finish the last of their stew and stand up. “Thanks again, Penny. I’d better be going.”
“Take care, Sam. It was good seeing you again.”
“You too. Nice to meet you, Jackie.”
I nod back at them and clear the dishes off the table. Penny comes and joins me at the sink once the door shuts behind Sam. “They’re usually nowhere near that talkative. I think they appreciated you showing an interest in their writing, dear.”
I shrug. “I wasn’t trying to put on a performance or anything, I was just curious.”
“That’s probably part of why they were so pleased. Do you think you’ll give their film a look? I’m sure you can find an opening somewhere in your busy schedule of killing time by doing my work for me.”
I shrug “Maybe. Is it any good?” I can't deny I'm a bit curious, but I kind of would prefer to keep tinkering with doll parts. I've really taken a liking to it.
“I enjoyed it. And there's nothing I particularly need help with right now.”
“Alright, alright, I can take a hint,” I relent with a smirk.
“First door on the left, dear,” she beams back at me. I walk off and enter the indicated door. Sure enough, there's a television with a DVD player connected and a collection of movies sitting on the shelf nearby. Just recently this door led to a conservatory, and I'm sure it's been many other things before that. I'm pretty used to the rooms being inconsistent in Penny's house at this point.
The shelf is neatly alphabetized, so it's easy to find The Sudden Stop. In short order I'm watching the opening credits play over a scene of a heist being carried out, and sure enough I see “Screenplay by Sam Zhang” appear at the corner of the screen over footage of a camera’s wire being cut.
The heist ends up accounting for most of the action in the film. It goes off more or less without a hitch, but no one seems to believe they actually pulled it off so smoothly. The further the film progresses, the more paranoid and aggressive everyone gets, convinced that everyone else is playing them for a fool and that any minute their door could be knocked down by the cops, or worse. By the third act the entire cast has completely unraveled, and then the shooting starts. In the end, only one man is left, driving away from a burning building with what little of their take he could grab before fleeing. He keeps anxiously checking behind him to make sure he isn’t being followed, and ends up driving straight into a barrier. In the end, none of them survive to spend the money they got away with stealing.
I’m not sure if I liked it. It certainly held my attention, but the more things unraveled the more I began to feel uncomfortable. It showed off the kind of paranoia I’ve seen a few times in my life, and on those occasions, it didn’t lead to any better ending than the one I just saw on screen. It's stuff I try not to think about too much. Pointless self-destruction out of fear. I shut the TV off and head back out into the kitchen.
Penny is sitting at the table, pouring over some notes on a slip of paper. She's concentrating pretty heavily, and doesn't notice me until I sit down. When I do, she jumps slightly, before her expression of focus melts into a relaxed smile. “Finished? What did you think?”
“It's… good, I think? I dunno, I kinda felt weird for a lot of it.”
She nods thoughtfully. “A little close to home, maybe?”
“Yeah, it brought up some uncomfortable memories.”
“That makes sense. I think Sam will be happy to hear you watched it, regardless. They'll be back in a couple weeks, if you want to talk to them about it more.”
“Maybe I will. I'm probably not going anywhere in the meantime.”
“It's a bit of a rare opportunity, isn't it? Not every day you get to pick the screenwriter's brain after watching a movie.”
“I suppose so, yeah.” I glance out the window. It's not that late, the sunlight is only just starting to fade, but I already feel so tired for some reason. “I think I'm gonna go to bed.”
Penny's brow wrinkles with concern. “Oh? Are you feeling alright?”
“Yeah, just… tired.”
“Hmm. Well, some early rest can't hurt.”
I nod and head to my room. Er, the room I'm staying in. It's feeling more and more like it's mine the longer I stay here. It doesn't take long to fall asleep after I lay down, and when I do I dream of old memories.